The Biggest Takeaways from Week 3 of the 2014-15 NHL Season

As the NHL winds toward the conclusion of the first month of its schedule, the biggest overriding theme might be that we'll have to be patient to see how this season plays out.

When the league's last-place Edmonton Oilers can beat the undefeated Washington Capitals for their first victory of the season, it underscores the idea that nothing is certain. In the age of parity, any team can win on any given night.

It'll take some time before we can start naming top candidates for this year's scoring title or for the Presidents' Trophy. In the meantime, the NHL had an excellent week on the public relations front, showing real leadership when faced with some sensitive issues.

Here's what got tongues wagging during Week 3 of NHL action.

All stats courtesy of NHL.com.

NHL Stands Strong in the Face of Tragedy

After Wednesday's game between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs at the Canadian Tire Centre was postponed due to the attack on Canada's Parliament Hill earlier in the day, teams around the NHL reached out to show their support.

Anthem singer Jeff Jimerson led a Pittsburgh crowd in an emotional rendition of "O Canada" on Wednesday night. Throughout the week, tributes continued, capping off with the simultaneous performance of the national anthems in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto to kick off Saturday's "Hockey Night in Canada" broadcast on CBC.

It was a heartfelt and moving display from the league and its teams both north and south of the border.

NHL Won't Mess Around with Domestic Violence Accusations

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On a darker note, Los Angele Kings defenseman Slava Voynov was swiftly suspended by the NHL on Monday following his arrest on suspicion of domestic violence, per NHL.com.

After the NFL was rocked by bad publicity for not taking a stronger stance against domestic violence issues, the NHL chose to act quickly and decisively to Voynov's case.

Voynov's suspension stands in marked contrast to last year's response to a similar incident involving goaltender Semyon Varlamov. As Eric Duhatschek of The Globe and Mail explained:

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In Varlamov’s case, the league acknowledged it was "aware of the situation" but would not "comment unless or until we have a fuller understanding of the facts and circumstances related to the legal charges that have been filed."

Varlamov continued to play and, ultimately, the charges against him were dropped.

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NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly emphasized in an email to The Hockey News this week that the issues in the NFL weren't the only reason why the Varlamov and Voynov cases have been treated differently. "I think the landscape has changed for all of us over the past six months," Daly said, "But that’s not the only reason for the difference in treatment. Circumstances were different in Varlamov. I can’t get more specific than that."

While the evidence has yet to be heard and Rich Hammond of the Orange County Register reported that Voynov's wife does not wish to press charges, the NHL has been applauded for its actions by writers like Bruce Arthur of The Toronto Star.

As Montreal Canadiens center Manny Malhotra told Duhatschek, domestic violence is "a sensitive issue, but also a very serious one...you want to be ahead of the curve."

Penguins Power Play Could Set a Record

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Back on the ice, the Pittsburgh Penguins are off to a record-setting start with their power play under new coach Mike Johnston.

For more than two decades the Penguins have terrified their opposition with the man advantage thanks to some of the best scorers of all time: Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and now Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

As pointed out last week, Johnston has lit a fire under a power play that was already one of the league's best last season. Through seven games, Pittsburgh is working at an unheard-of effectiveness of 40 percent, with 10 power-play goals scored on 25 opportunities.

It's a heady number that likely won't hold up with more than 90 percent of the season still to play. Even with some drop-off, the Penguins could have a real shot at challenging the all-time record of 31.88 percent set by the Montreal Canadiens dynasty in 1977-78.

Bruins' Blue Line Becomes Suddenly Shallow

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During the offseason, the Boston Bruins had more defensemen on their roster than they had spaces on their blue line. Faced with salary-cap restrictions, they held off until the last possible moment before signing restricted free agent Torey Krug to a new deal, then traded Johnny Boychuk on the eve of the regular season. 

Boychuk had been a reliable solider in Boston but was deemed expendable because he had just one year left on his contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent. It was time to make room for the kids.

Just three weeks after dealing Boychuk away, Bruins' general manager Peter Chiarelli might be wishing he had the benefit of hindsight. The best defenseman on an emerging New York Islanders team in the early going, Boychuk made his return to TD Garden as an Islander on Thursday when Boston captain Zdeno Chara was knocked out of action for at least four-to-six weeks with a knee injury, per Joe MacDonald of ESPN Boston.

Playing without Chara is uncharted territory for the Bruins. During his eight previous seasons in Boston, the Slovakian giant has missed just 20 games—an average of less than three per season. He plays big minutes, is a key part of the power play and is Boston's emotional leader.

With sophomore Kevan Miller already on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, the loss of Chara hits especially hard. Sitting fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 5-5-0 record, the 2014 Presidents' Trophy winners will need to see youngsters Krug, Dougie Hamilton and Matt Bartkowski step up in a big way if they hope to overcome their mediocre start and climb back up among the NHL's elite teams.

Edmonton Oilers on Road to Recovery

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After going 0-4-1 through their first five games, the hapless Edmonton Oilers appeared to be on the verge of plummeting even further below their 28th-place performance in 2013-14.

Week 3 saw a complete turnaround in the Oilers' fortunes. Edmonton went 3-0-0, allowed a very reasonable seven goals and beat two of the strongest teams in the Eastern Conference this year: the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals.

The Oilers deserved full credit for their wins, especially when they handed Washington its first loss of the year.

Edmonton's new veteran free agents could be the calm voices that have helped to right the listing ship. New arrival Benoit Pouliot is drawing on his experience from last season with the New York Rangers to help boost his teammates' confidence, reports Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun:

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In New York last year we were 2-8 after the first 10 games and went to the Stanley Cup final. We got crushed by San Jose 7-2 in the third game. It was kinda like this scenario right now. I’ve thrown it out there once or twice. It’s going to turn around. It’s a long season. It’s a long year.

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Edmonton's three-game winning streak gives the Oilers bragging rights as one of the hottest teams in the league during Week 3. Who saw that coming?

Nobody's Perfect

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Everybody has to lose sometime. Week 3 of the new season saw the league's last remaining unbeaten teams suffer their first defeats in regulation time.

On Wednesday, the Washington Capitals fell to the Edmonton Oilers by a score of 3-2, while the Nashville Predators were shut out by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday by a score of 3-0.

Matching the Oilers, the Los Angeles Kings and Montreal Canadiens were able to keep their winning streaks alive for the entire week, but the Anaheim Ducks' seven-game streak was snapped when they lost their first game since opening night to the San Jose Sharks in a rough-and-tumble affair at Honda Center on Sunday night.

The Sharks' win is an important moral victory for the lesser light of the California triad, especially since it comes on the road against a Ducks team that was virtually unbeatable at the Honda Center last season.

With the rivalries raging, perhaps the best hope for the NHL's other 27 clubs is that the three California teams will wear each other down in head-to-head matchups over the course of the year.