Report Card Grades for Every NHL Team After 2 Months
Was there ever a more nerve-wracking time as a kid than when report cards came out? Four times a year you'd be filled with dread about how well (or not) you had done in school and even more so, you'd be terrified to show your family the results.
At least that was the case for some of us.
Fortunately for NHL teams, they don't have official report cards—they've only got the emotional roller coaster of the 82-game schedule to ride day in and day out and the ever-judgmental eyes of the fans.
OK so maybe report cards aren't so bad...except when we're handing them out with our own parameters or success and failure to judge each NHL team by. We'll hand out letter grades, with pluses and minuses to make sure they're supremely exact, based on overall performance as well as expectations mixed in to use as a guide.
Sure, your team might be doing OK, but maybe they're supposed to be one of the best in the league and they're not! Or maybe they're supposed to be bad and they've avoided that, and we're congratulating them for it. Deep down we're all Edna Krabappel with the red pen, but only some of us get to live it out in real life.
Grades ahoy, let's roll.
Atlantic Division
1 of 4
Boston Bruins: A
Not only are the Bruins one of the best teams in the NHL, but they also came into the year saddled with the idea they were going to come back to earth after losing their top two centers, David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron, the latter of whom is a future Hall of Famer, to retirement.
Boston's continued to wreck opponents, with David Pastrnak loading up on points and once again getting superb goaltending from Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. It's almost unfair to see the Bruins continuing to win despite the offseason losses and then having rookie Matt Poitras jumping into the lineup seamlessly.
The Bruins seemingly can't keep getting away with it...but they do, and they do it by having the consummate winning culture with Brad Marchand as the captain.
Buffalo Sabres: C-
The Sabres were the chic preseason pick to get to the playoffs as their youthful, talented core of star players continued growing. Instead, they've dealt with injuries, inconsistent play and occasional fits of not playing at all the way they showed they could last season (fast, fun, filling the net with goals).
It's been maddening for fans in Buffalo and frustrating for the players while they work to get back to the way they want to play. They've showed signs recently of getting back to what they did well, and they're getting injured guys back into the lineup, but the hot and cold play has left them with a pile of teams to climb over to get into a playoff fight (they're four points out of the wild card but tied with three teams for 12th in the East).
Detroit Red Wings: B+
The Red Wings have had one of the most positive starts this season, and it looks like the Yzerplan is finally paying off. Alex DeBrincat's arrival has come as advertised, and he's given the Wings offense a big lift. DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond have all paced their attack, and they're getting goals all throughout the lineup and the blue line.
If there's a concern, it's that of the three goalies they've played regularly this season, the one who's played the most minutes (Ville Husso) has performed the worst (.886 save percentage). Alex Lyon (.931) and James Reimer (.911) have been excellent in the shared backup role, but the three-headed monster in goal usually needs someone to run with it to be the real No. 1.
How they'll handle that is worth watching, but so is how well Patrick Kane affects their lineup and if he'll be the player who helps push Detroit back into the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Florida Panthers: A
The biggest question for the Panthers this season was how well they would fare the first month-plus without Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour on defense. Turns out signing a pile of veteran blue liners (Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Niko Mikkola) and having Sam Reinhart have the ultimate contract-year start to the season was plenty to get Florida out of the gate fast and near the top of the division.
The Panthers not only weathered missing Ekblad and Montour, but they also thrived thanks to Ekman-Larsson stepping up after his sudden Vancouver exile. Reinhart is among the top scorers in the NHL and someone we tossed into the early MVP discussion.
Aleksander Barkov remains one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL, and support players like Carter Verhaeghe and Evan Rodrigues have helped Matthew Tkachuk and his gang make life miserable for everyone else in the East once again.
Montréal Canadiens: B-
The Canadiens probably shouldn't be in such a positive position, but they are because they play hard and play pesky hockey thanks to coach Martin St. Louis. The Habs don't score a ton of goals (fifth fewest in the NHL), but they've gotten solid goaltending from Samuel Montembeault, Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau—and, big surprise, good goaltending can win teams games they maybe shouldn't.
The Canadiens have had enough success to help their younger players grow and show they're going in a positive direction, but they're not so good it'll crush them in any possible race for the NHL draft lottery.
Still, the East being as messy as it is outside its top teams means they're in the mix for the playoffs, and that's surprising enough. If only they were scoring more goals.
Ottawa Senators: C-
Somehow of all the teams that went to Sweden this season, the Senators haven't seen their schedule catch up with them the way it has for the other teams. It was tempting to be really snarky and give them an incomplete grade, but so much of how they've played when they have hit the ice has been inconsistent to a frustrating degree.
Ottawa's offense is pretty good (ninth in goals for per game with 3.39), but its defending and goaltending is somewhere in the middle of the pack allowing 3.22 goals per game). That basically means every game is like a toss-up. Brady Tkachuk is scoring goals (13), Tim Stützle is helping set them up (20 assists) and they're getting plenty of help from Claude Giroux, Vladimir Tarasenko and Drake Batherson.
They're also dealing with the loss of Thomas Chabot to injury and below-average goaltending from Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg. If they can tighten up the defense and goaltending, they'll be a really tough team to deal with, but right now they're basically just like the Sabres when it comes to expectations versus results.
Tampa Bay Lightning: B
The good news for the Lightning is they can score a ton of goals. Nikita Kucherov is having an MVP-like season, Brayden Point has been outstanding, Victor Hedman is looking like his old Norris Trophy-winning self again and Brandon Hagel and Steven Stamkos are also filling it up.
They're dangerous with the puck and can make any night a long one for opposing goaltenders. The problem is they're not getting any saves. Jonas Johansson did his best while Andrei Vasilevskiy was out after having back surgery, but Vasilevskiy is still getting his game back after returning (.894 in eight starts).
It feels like it's only a matter of time before Vasilevskiy gets back into form, but the Bolts are right there in the mix in the Atlantic Division with Toronto, Florida and Detroit. Veteran teams are the hardest ones to shoo away, and it feels like as soon as Vasilevskiy returns to form, they're going to be a big problem for everyone with the way Kucherov is playing.
Anyone who may have started pouring dirt on them after losing to Toronto in the first round last year might be really unhappy later on this season.
Toronto Maple Leafs: A-
If you never read a thing about the Maple Leafs and just watched their games, you'd be all about them. They're getting great seasons again from Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and William Nylander is having a dream contract year. Morgan Rielly is having a great year leading the team on the blue line and rookie goalie Joseph Woll has been superb.
Of course, they'll be without Woll for a bit because of a high ankle sprain, and that will be a big test for them, but it doesn't take away from how strongly they've played.
They score goals; their defense, while still a little dicey at times, is holding up; and with Woll in net they've figured out their biggest question mark. Now it'll be up to Ilya Samsonov and Martin Jones to keep it going while Woll is out.
We'll see what the Leafs can do in the face of adversity for the time being, but in the first two months they've been super.
Metropolitan Division
2 of 4
Carolina Hurricanes: C-
What gives with the Hurricanes? This team has played like a world-beater the past few seasons and has been poised to be a serious Stanley Cup challenger for the past couple years. But now the Canes are in the middle of the mosh pit of teams fighting for the playoffs in the East.
They're scoring goals regularly throughout the lineup, but all three goaltenders have been subpar. They've scored 92 goals this season and allowed 91. It's high-event hockey, and we all love that, but every game being a toss-up is not how they imagined the season starting.
If one of Antti Raanta or Pyotr Kochetkov can pick it up with Freddie Andersen out long-term, that would go a long way to turning things around, but this Hurricanes group was not meant to get into these kinds of nightly goal wars.
Columbus Blue Jackets: F
This season has been nothing but dramatic for the Jackets from the get-go. From Mike Babcock resigning before training camp, to seeing Patrik Laine getting benched and scratched, to Johnny Gaudreau getting benched with Laine and ultimately seeing their promising rookies getting the full-on rookie treatment when it comes to reduced minutes, it's a situation that screams for normalcy and fun.
They're the worst team in the Eastern Conference (.383 points percentage), they're scoring 2.9 goals per game while allowing 3.5 (fourth-worst in the NHL), and Zach Werenski is their leading scorer—and he has one goal (and 20 assists). The cherry on the sundae is that captain Boone Jenner will be out the next six weeks with a broken jaw.
At least Macklin Celebrini or Cole Eiserman will look cool playing with Adam Fantilli and David Jiricek, provided they're all allowed to play more than 11 minutes a game.
New Jersey Devils: C-
The highs of the Devils are so high they make you believe they're playing great hockey. Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes have been incredible, and rookie defenseman Luke Hughes has looked outstanding.
The lows have been equally painful, however. Timo Meier is having a brutal start (11 points in 19 games and minus-15 plus-minus), Dougie Hamilton is out long-term with a pectoral injury and they've gotten some of the worst goaltending in the NHL (3.62 goals allowed per game, second-worst behind San Jose).
Like the Hurricanes, the Devils are supposed to be a Stanley Cup challenger this season. Heck, they were a preseason favorite to get out of the East, but they're stuck in the mud, and with a young team, those expectations can make life a lot harder when things aren't going well.
If they're going to right the ship in Newark, making a change in goal would be the biggest thing to do to address the situation.
New York Islanders: B-
If there's one thing we've figured out about the Islanders this season, it's that we have no idea what's going on with them. They're average when it comes to scoring (3.04 per game) and about middle-of-the-road in goals allowed (3.15 per game).
Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat and Brock Nelson are having strong seasons, and Noah Dobson should be getting hype for the Norris Trophy. They don't have great scoring depth, but those players have been excellent enough to carry them. Semyon Varlamov has played great in a backup role in goal, and Ilya Sorokin has done well, too, just not quite as good as last season.
The Isles have gotten wins of late (eight of their past 11 games), and that's pulled them out of the doldrums of the East to the point they're second in the Metropolitan Division.
Are they more like the team they've been recently or the team that lost seven in a row before this latest run?
New York Rangers: A
It's hard to be a hater when it comes to the Rangers' results. They've been on top of the division since the start of the season, and a lot of that is due to how Artemi Panarin has performed so far. He's in the MVP conversation as one of the league's top scorers, and they've once again gotten top performances from Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, not to mention Vincent Trocheck.
Jonathan Quick has been rejuvenated since heading east, and Igor Shesterkin is also playing well in goal. That the Rangers are doing this in the first season under Peter Laviolette is showing that he's still got it when it comes to coaching.
They've gone without Adam Fox for swaths of games because of injury, but when he has played, he's been excellent. Even Alexis Lafrenière has improved under Laviolette. When everything is coming up golden, you wind up being one of the best teams in the league.
Philadelphia Flyers: A
Seeing the Flyers surprise almost everyone and be one of the top teams in the Metropolitan Division has been a fun twist early in the season. Coach John Tortorella has the team playing the kind of relentless hockey he wants.
The Flyers have seen Travis Sanheim and Sean Walker emerge as top defensemen, Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson's returns to good health have given them a huge lift, and goalie Carter Hart is thriving.
What's more impressive is how their younger players have really taken to playing the kind of hockey Tortorella wants. Rookie Tyson Foerster is having a strong season, and other younger players such as Noah Cates, Bobby Brink, Owen Tippett and Joel Farabee are all stepping up in big ways.
No one was thinking of the Flyers being a playoff team this year, and yet now they're playing like a team that's bound to be a factor in the postseason. It's early, we know, but with how the Flyers are playing, it's hard to disagree with how they're getting the job done.
Pittsburgh Penguins: C
When you think about how close the Penguins were to making the playoffs last season (they missed by a point) and consider the big offseason moves to add Erik Karlsson and Reilly Smith, it seemed natural that they would be more of a factor in the race for the playoffs.
And when you see the great starts to the year Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel have had, you'd automatically believe they'd be a better team, especially with how well goalie Tristan Jarry has played.
But they're still just about average. They're right in the mix with most of the rest of the Eastern Conference in the playoff race, and so much of what they're doing is just kind of OK.
For every game they play when it's all clicking and they look like one of the most dangerous teams in the league, they've got games where they look like a team that should be thinking about pulling it apart and working toward the future. Maybe this is what it means to be a team built with aging future Hall of Famers, but it's frustrating for everyone involved.
Washington Capitals: C
Two things can be true when it comes to the Capitals. They're getting better-than-expected results, particularly when you consider they're winning games without Nicklas Backstrom and with Alexander Ovechkin suddenly looking very mortal. It's impressive that they're able to pull out games without a lot of help from their top stars.
They're also a team that's awash in flaws that's getting (literally) saved thanks to great goaltending from Charlie Lindgren (.931 with two shutouts in 10 games). The Capitals score 2.48 goals per game, third-worst in the NHL, but they're also allowing 2.84 goals per game, ninth-best in the league.
Ovechkin is still their leading scorer, but he's got 16 points and only five goals. They have poor advanced stats when it comes to five-on-five shot attempts for and expected goals for (bottom-10 in both), and that all points to regression coming for them eventually.
But they're winning games, and that's keeping them in the mix for the playoffs. Sometimes teams have success despite all the evidence they shouldn't be, and right now, the Caps are that team.
Central Division
3 of 4
Arizona Coyotes: B
The Coyotes have had a fun start, and they've got the kind of young team with enough veteran help to make for a great underdog to pull for. Clayton Keller has had a great start to lead the way for Arizona, and he's getting more support from Nick Schmaltz and Matias Maccelli to help keep opposing defenses honest.
Michael Carcone has been one of the league's more surprising goal scorers (14 goals, 35 percent shooting), and Sean Durzi has given them the kind of point-scoring puck-mover on defense they haven't had since they traded Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Tying it all together, goalie Connor Ingram has been phenomenal in staking his claim to the No. 1 job ahead of Karel Vejmelka. The Coyotes play scrappy hockey, and there's good, young talent there with Logan Cooley learning the league on the fly.
Chicago Blackhawks: D
Everything about Connor Bedard's play has been as advertised. The rookie is a brilliant skater and is already a tremendous goal scorer with the kind of skills to rebuild a franchise around. And that's a good thing because that's precisely what Chicago is doing.
The team has also been stung by brutal injury luck, with Taylor Hall being knocked out for the season because of a knee setback. It also lost the expected veteran leadership from Corey Perry upon his release following what the team deemed "a workplace matter."
They've got other young players getting big minutes and learning on the fly, such as Kevin Korchinski and Alex Vlasic, who will be important down the road, but right now it's a struggle for everyone. They weren't going to be good this season, and they really aren't...but it's still not a lot of fun to watch outside of Bedard's shifts.
Colorado Avalanche: B+
The Avalanche's Big Three of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen have been every bit of incredible this season. All three players are above 30 points already, and MacKinnon is playing so well that he's in the early MVP discussion once again. Makar has been brilliant and is in an early one-two race with Quinn Hughes for the Norris.
The Avalanche are part of a three-way battle with Dallas and Winnipeg atop the Central Division, but when you get beyond the Big Three and Valeri Nichushkin, the scoring depth is lacking.
Fortunately for them, they're getting enough from their best players to be able to roll most nights. Goalie Alexandar Georgiev hasn't picked up where he left off last season, and if there have been struggles for the Avs at any point, they've come from there. Big surprise, a goalie struggling leads to losses, we know, but the Avs have outscored any issues he's had. If Georgiev gets his groove back, though, they're going to be an absolute menace in the West.
Dallas Stars: A-
The Stars look to have taken their run to the Western Conference Final last year to heart. Dallas' scoring runs deep, starting with Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson, and continuing through with Roope Hintz, Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene.
The Stars bring wave after wave of forwards capable of filling the net, and keep it up on the blue line with Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley. The goalie duo of Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood have been consistent, but not over-the-top great as of yet—although Wedgewood is 5-1-1 in his seven starts.
Even though Oettinger hasn't been at the same level he was last season (.904 so far), it's not hurting the team thanks to Dallas' offense being able to pile up goals like mad.
The Stars are very good, and if Oettinger gets back to where he was a year ago, and if they can be better at home (7-5-1), look out.
Minnesota Wild: D+
The Wild have already made their move to try to turn things around when they fired Dean Evason and brought in John Hynes. They're 5-2-0 under Hynes, and a lot of the puck luck they weren't getting under Evason showed up again once the new coach took over.
They averaged three goals per game under Evason and are up to 3.4 in seven games for Hynes. Even more importantly, Filip Gustavsson and Marc-André Fleury began stopping more pucks. In 19 games for Evason, the Wild allowed 4.05 goals per game. In seven games for Hynes, it's down to 1.57 per game.
Changing a coach can sometimes deliver a needed message, and so far it seems like the message was received. But a recent hot run isn't enough to save the Wild's grades for the first couple of months—if anything it shows they could've been a lot better. That's pretty damning on its own. But when you consider their grade was an F a few weeks ago, a D-plus shows they are, indeed, making progress.
Nashville Predators: B+
We were big fans of what the Predators did in the offseason when it came to changing up their roster and bringing in Andrew Brunette as head coach. They needed some fresh looks in Nashville, and new GM Barry Trotz did his best to kick-start that movement.
Now the Predators are right in the playoff hunt and being led by their top players. Filip Forsberg's return from injury has given them a top scoring weapon. Ryan O'Reilly is proving to be a steady scoring veteran leader up front and Roman Josi continues to be a top defenseman.
With those three players being at the top of their game, the Preds' role players are able to contribute in waves via different guys night in and night out. Whether it's vets like Gustav Nyqvist or Colton Sissons or younger players such as Luke Evangelista or Tommy Novak, they're getting it done.
That they've gotten wins without goalie Juuse Saros playing his best is also impressive, and we've seen what Nashville can do when he is at the top of his game—and now he's starting to warm up.
St. Louis Blues: D
Well, this is awkward. The Blues' record wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible at 13-14-1, either. Still, they fired coach Craig Berube on Tuesday night after losing to Detroit, and it's not to say it wasn't for cause.
The Blues' five-on-five game has been rough, as they're in the bottom 10 when it comes to shot attempts for and expected goals for. That they'd won enough games to not be buried at the bottom of the division or conference was covering up some of these issues.
They've gotten strong play from forwards Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich and even had improved play from goalie Jordan Binnington. Still, there's a lot that hasn't been clicking for the Blues. Jordan Kyrou's shooting has been ice-cold (5.6 percent), which has hampered the offense. They also haven't gotten enough from veterans Brayden Schenn and Kevin Hayes to help make up for that.
Their offense has been an issue for a few seasons now, and it only continued into this year. It's up to new coach Drew Bannister to help get that fixed.
Winnipeg Jets: B+
Seeing the Jets rebound after an offseason that was so full of big question marks has been a great story. The team clearly got a lift from seeing Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele make long-term commitments, and it's led to Nino Niederreiter getting locked in as well.
With Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit locking things down in goal, the Jets have surged in the Central. They've gotten great offense out of Kyle Connor and Scheifele up front, and Josh Morrissey is once again proving to be an elite puck-mover and distributor on defense.
When you mix in Cole Perfetti and Nikolaj Ehlers' offense, it's a potent attack that's given them an edge alongside their top-tier goaltending and defense. Unfortunately, we'll have to see what the Jets can do without Connor, as he could be out for the next six to eight weeks after a knee injury.
But with how they're playing and the kind of goaltending they've gotten, their chances of weathering Connor's absence are a little better than not.
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Pacific Division
4 of 4
Anaheim Ducks: C-
The first month of the season saw the Ducks surprise a lot of teams thanks to Frank Vatrano scoring goals, rookies Leo Carlsson and Pavel Mintyukov exploding onto the scene and new coach Greg Cronin breathing in some new life to a young group.
Unfortunately for them, reality has started to hit in Anaheim. The Ducks are thin, on top of being young, and some of their scorers rode shooting-percentage heaters to success. Now they've lost 11 of their last 12 games, having sunk to the basement in the Pacific Division.
Growing pains are hard, and the Ducks are getting a healthy dose of them. They were the worst team in the NHL last season, and even though they've changed coaches, they're still dealing with injuries to key players as well, going without Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale at different points.
Calgary Flames: C-
Is it too on the nose to give the team known for the "C" of Red a C-grade, or are we suckers for a good gimmick? Either way, it's the grade the Flames are most in line for—with just a little extra taken off.
The Flames aren't getting a ton of offense, and they're getting poor goaltending regardless of who is in net. Nazem Kadri is the team's only player with 20 or more points (22), and Blake Coleman is second with 19 points. Jonathan Huberdeau is struggling to score despite having a new coach, and the one positive sign they've had up front is how rookie Connor Zary has done since coming up (14 points in 19 games). His 0.74 points per game is second behind Kadri's 0.76.
They've already traded Nikita Zadorov, and even though the Flames are very much in the hunt for the wild card, there are likely more trades on the way (at least there should be) with their UFAs to be (Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Elias Lindholm).
If they get any kind of strong goaltending from Jacob Markstrom (injured now), Dan Vladar or Dustin Wolf, maybe they can get this turned in a better direction. Right now, it's a struggle all around.
Edmonton Oilers: C
The Oilers looked all kinds of lost under former coach Jay Woodcroft. They couldn't score and they couldn't stop teams from scoring. Sure, Connor McDavid was dealing with a nagging injury during that time, but Edmonton's overall play under Woodcroft was poor beyond belief for a team that was supposed to be a Stanley Cup contender.
With Woodcroft out and Kris Knoblauch in, McDavid is back to top health and looking like his old self, and suddenly goalie Stuart Skinner is looking like he did last year during his great rookie season and the Oilers have won eight in a row.
Their play makes you want to believe they're back, but also we're left with memories of how awful everything was not too long ago. That's what makes a "C" grade ideal for this group. There's sky-high potential for greatness here, but they've yet to achieve it. Maybe they're on that road now, but it's not enough to totally save their grade.
Los Angeles Kings: A
We've seen the Kings building up over the past couple years, and this season they've come out and rocked just about everyone with how they've been able to score goals, grind down opponents and also prevent goals against.
Cam Talbot is an early season Vezina candidate with his brilliant play out of the blue (.931 save percentage and two shutouts). The Kings score goals all across the lineup, from Adrian Kempe, Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala.
Trevor Moore might be one of the more underappreciated players in the NHL, and now Quinton Byfield is breaking out and showing that the wait for him was worth it. The Kings have a loaded group and a great coach in Todd McLellan, and, oh yeah, they can win road games with ease, too, having won an NHL-record 11 in a row away from home. It's been a great start in L.A.
San Jose Sharks: D+
For the first month of the season, the Sharks were shaping up to be in the conversation as one of the worst teams of the modern era of the NHL. They couldn't score at all, and they couldn't prevent teams from scoring. They gave up 10 goals in a game in back-to-back games in early November, which capped off an 11-game losing streak to start the season.
They were thoroughly putrid to watch. Since then, however, they're 9-7-2 and no longer look like a team that's going to set the sport back 100 years. Tomas Hertl is playing like the top veteran on the team and leads them with 24 points. Mikael Granlund is playing well, and rookie William Eklund is starting to round into form as well.
The Sharks still aren't terribly good, but they've gotten competent goaltending from Mackenzie Blackwood, and, listen, the bar was already low for them before the season. But now they're taking advantage of teams looking past them, and that's good to see.
Seattle Kraken: C
The Kraken are victims of the expectations that came out of their surprise success a year ago. After a 100-point season, the idea that the Kraken were on the kind of path the Vegas Golden Knights took to the top of the league was there.
Perhaps that was unfair.
The Kraken have struggled offensively, and outside of Jared McCann, they're lacking in other consistent goal scorers. Defenseman Vince Dunn is showing that his breakout last season was for real, which is good, but Kraken forwards aren't the same widespread threat they were a year ago.
What's also not helping is they've gotten poor goaltending out of Phillipp Grubauer and Joey Daccord. They're still in the playoff hunt because the West is like that, but they've lacked the kind of consistency that drove them last year.
Vancouver Canucks: A
What a story the Canucks are. They're an offensive dynamo led by Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek on the back end, and J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser among others up front.
On top of that, goalie Thatcher Demko picked up where he left off in the second half of last season and is now in the mix for the Vezina Trophy. The Canucks are making it fun for those in other time zones to stay up late to catch West Coast hockey with the way they're able to score goals at will and attack the game relentlessly.
Seeing Hughes drive the game, with their bevy of scorers up front feeding off it, rightfully has the Vancouver faithful all kinds of fired up again. Watching them duke it out with L.A., Vegas and maybe Edmonton later on this season will be a treat.
Vegas Golden Knights: A
What's a Stanley Cup hangover? Vegas never heard of it, apparently. The Golden Knights look great, and they've been at the top of the NHL once again. Jack Eichel has taken over as the forward driving their attack, and they're getting a resurgence from William Karlsson to go with it.
Captain Mark Stone is healthy and dominating games with his physical play, defensive ability and goal scoring, once again showing he's one of the best in the league.
Making it all stand up even more is the dynamic goaltending duo of Adin Hill and Logan Thompson. Remember when we all thought Vegas was wild for putting more money and faith into Hill after his heater carried them to the Cup in June? Silly us—he might be the Vezina favorite at this point. What's more is how a now-healthy Thompson has picked up where he left off last year when he was one of the NHL's best goalies.
The West is going to be mayhem in the playoffs, and Vegas looks ready to go to battle there again already.
Advanced statistics via Natural Stat Trick. Salary-cap info via CapFriendly.
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