1 Word for Every NHL Team After the 1st Week of the 2026-27 Season
We're a little more than one week into the 2026-27 NHL season, and phew, the goals keep coming. After a deceptively uneventful opening night, the floodgates opened, and the league's stars have shown up with some potentially record-breaking starts.
The Avalanche are averaging 5.75 goals per game. We've already got hat tricks from Carolina's Logan Stankoven and New York's Alexis Lafreniรจre. Speaking of Lafreniรจre, are the Rangers really back?
Let's cap off the first full week of the season with one word for every team.
Anaheim Ducks: Payoff
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The price for Leo Carlsson was steeper than anticipated thanks to an offer sheet from the Flyers last offseason, but it's already paying off.
Carlsson has seven points in three games, tied for eighth-best in the league. He's been integral on the Ducks' power play, especially, which is huge as they're looking to build a sturdier foundation there.
The 5-2 loss to the Oilers Wednesday wasn't ideal in terms of Pacific Division dominance, but the season is extremely young and a 2-1-0 start is decent enough.
Boston Bruins: Convincing
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The Atlantic looks like it's going to be even harder to compete in this season, but the Bruins might just be up to the task. The 'C' looks good on David Pastrลรกk, as his two goals led Boston to a 6-1 win over the Mammoth on Thursday.
They're 3-2-0; JJ Peterka has fit in great, and guess who's undefeated? Jeremy Swayman.
Buffalo Sabres: Murky
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The Sabres are off to a 2-2 start after Thursday's 4-0 loss to the Stars. While it's very early and they don't look awful, they've definitely got some tangible things to work on.
The most important things we have to look for in the Sabres at the beginning of this season are: 1. How are the promising young guys performing? and 2. How is the overall scoring depth looking?
It's encouraging to see Owen Power above a point-per-game rate, and we're seeing some contributions here and there down the lineup. But we need to see more from Josh Doan, who has been held off the scoresheet entirely through the first four games.
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Calgary Flames: Hilarious
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The Flames have had a hilariously bad start to the season, with just six goals through four losses and a brutal -17 goal differential. The good news is this season is more about letting one of the best prospect pools in the league marinate.
Carolina Hurricanes: Consistent
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After an opening-night loss to the Panthers and an overtime loss in the next game to start the season, the Hurricanes are back on track with three straight wins.
Scoring has been catching up, too -- Sebastian Aho's hovering around the top of the league with eight points in five games, and Logan Stankoven recorded a natural hat trick in Thursday's 7-2 win over the Canucks.
Chicago Blackhawks: Yikes
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The Blackhawks were anticipated to take another step forward this season after almost entering the playoff conversation last season, but so far they've gone in the opposite direction.
They're 1-4-0, they've got a -11 goal differential, and goals are hard to come by, as they're averaging two per game. They've got to find Connor Bedard, that elusive winger.
Colorado Avalanche: Dominant
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The Avalanche may not have a perfect record to start the season at 3-1-0, but they are playing near-perfect hockey.
They're leading the league, averaging 5.75 goals per game. Nathan MacKinnon has got three goals and eight points in four games; off-season acquisition Jaden Schwartz has got six points in four games, and so does Cale Makar. Thursday's 7-3 win over the Flames was just the latest reminder of this team's persistent dominance.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Boring
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Yeah, losing a goal scorer like Kirill Marchenko is going to make your team less watchable. The Blue Jackets are 1-1-0 with a zero goal differential to start the season. It's a perfectly mid situation for a perfectly mid team.
Dallas Stars: Compelling
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The Stars may be 2-2, but they're trending in the right direction, and the scoring is coming in after a quiet start. I'm just going to leave this here:
Detroit Red Wings: Messy
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Nothing like Dylan Larkin responding to getting booed by his own crowd with a goal.
Hey, he's still on the team after all; you might as well appreciate that response.
The Red Wings as a whole are struggling, of course, at the bottom of the Atlantic with a 1-2-0 record and a -1 goal differential. Is there any hope for this team until a new GM takes over and the final decision is made on Larkin? It feels like no one can move on until then โ and for good reason.
Edmonton Oilers: Chaotic
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The Oilers are nothing if not chaotic, and they, of course, started their season with a bang with a 9-7 win over the Canucks. The goals just keep on coming for Edmonton, as the Oilers are second in the league, averaging 5.50 goals per game.
Meanwhile, three out of the top four scorers in the league right now are Oilers. Connor McDavid is tied with Jack Eichel, leading the league with 12 points in one fewer game; Evan Bouchard has 11 in four, and Leon Draisaitl has nine in four.
This team still knows how to use chaos for its benefit, not against it.
Florida Panthers: Sad
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The early-season injury hits just keep coming for the Panthers, with Aleksander Barkov out for 4-8 weeks and now Brad Marchand out for a few weeks after a brutal leg injury. At least they're racking up those loser points in the meantime with a 2-0-2 record, although their lack of consistent scoring could become problematic.
Los Angeles Kings: Annoying
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The most infuriating team in the league is at it again with its one-goal losses and 0-2-1 record. Who would've thought that doing nothing to improve the team, other than signing a bunch of guys in their mid-30s, would lead to this?!
Minnesota Wild: Unfortunate
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I simply haven't moved past Brock Faber's skull fracture injury. The team itself has done alright on the ice at 2-1-1, but things are trending in the wrong direction, and you're starting to feel the weight of Faber's indefinite absence. What a shame.
Montreal Canadiens: Alarming
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The rip-roarin' Canadiens are not having the start to the season we thought they would. At 1-2-1 and riding a three-game losing streak, this could be a wake-up call that the regular season is not nearly as fun as all that heart-attack playoff hockey.
The Habs need more from the top of the lineup to return to their winning ways.
Nashville Predators: So-So
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The Predators aren't having a mind-blowing start to the season, but it's been decent enough with a 2-1-1 record and a goal differential of one. They're going to need to make an above-average impression on us in the next few weeks if we're to gain any trust in them, but they haven't done much to lose our trust thus far. We'll let the new guys acclimate for a bit and check back.
New Jersey Devils: Woof
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Cutlery jokes aside, the Devils look pretty discouraged at the start of the season.
They're 1-2-0, trending in the wrong direction, and they've got a -7 goal differential. They've only played three games, but we're going to need to see more from just about everyone not named Luke Evangelista before we can feel positive about this team going forward.
New York Islanders: Tolerable
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The Islanders had a tougher start to the season, but things are looking up as they've now evened it all out to a 2-2-0 record with Thursday's 4-1 win over the Blackhawks.
This team needs way more scoring, but the core pieces like Matthew Schaefer and Ilya Sorokin are there. Get them some help at the deadline, and the Islanders could find themselves back in the playoff conversation, but it's going to take some work.
New York Rangers: Euphoric
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Don't look now, but it appears the Rangers are so incredibly back. They're leading the stacked Metro with a 4-1-0 record, and they're riding a very convincing four-game winning streak.
They've handily beaten opponents throughout the streak; Igor Shesterkin finally got his goalie goal, and Adam Fox looks back to his old self with five points in five games.
Ottawa Senators: Determined
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The Senators look determined to prove that they won't let the loss of Brady Tkachuk deter them from making the playoffs for a third straight season. They're in a multi-team tie for first in the Atlantic at 3-1-0, and Linus Ullmark has had a great start in net.
Philadelphia Flyers: Dreadful
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What a dreadful start to the season for these young Flyers. It kicked off with a 7-0 opening-night loss to their rival Penguins, and somehow it hasn't gotten any better. Philly is now 0-3-2 through its first five games with a -13 goal differential. This team could sure use a Leo Carlsson down the middle.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Concerning
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The Penguins are trending down after a strong start to the season, and the rollercoaster is certainly raising an eyebrow. They've got two straight losses after two wins to even out their record, so we'll see where Sidney Crosby takes it from here.
San Jose Sharks: Phew
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We held our breath for a second when the Sharks lost Macklin Celebrini to injury, but they're back on track with a 3-1-0 record and a 3-2 overtime win on Thursday over the Blues to right the ship.
Hopefully, we'll see their captain back in soon.
Seattle Kraken: Passable
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The Kraken look better than we thought they would to start the season, which isn't to say they're looking amazing, but they're giving themselves a chance to stay in the conversation so far.
They're 2-2-0 with a goal differential of four, and Shane Wright is off to a solid start with two goals and three points in four games.
St. Louis Blues: Bad
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The Blues do not look good to start the season. They're 1-2-1 with a -4 goal differential and three straight losses. Thursday's overtime loss against the Sharks at least got them a point, but they're taking some time to adjust to the off-season changes, for sure. We'll see if they end up meshing together and figuring it out.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Quiet
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The Tampa Bay Lightning have us right where they want us. Don't look now, but they're tied for first in the Atlantic despite not making much noise or experiencing much drama in their first four games. They'll keep chugging along.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Mid
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The Leafs are 2-2-1 to start the season, and that record is just about right in terms of how the team is actually playing. The shootout loss to the Golden Knights obviously stings, but hey, Gavin McKenna recorded another assist in the loss. He's now got one goal and three points in five games to start the season.
Utah Mammoth: Hmm...
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The Mammoth look decent enough to start the season with a 3-2-0 record and a goal differential of four, but Thursday's 6-1 loss to the Bruins certainly raises some eyebrows. How they respond to that defeat against the Sabres on Saturday will teach us more than anything we've learned about them so far.
Vancouver Canucks: Ugh
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I write about 10 of these types of "one word for every team" articles each season. For the past three seasons, there may have been two slightly positive words to describe the Canucks, and they were about the distant future. That's, like, 28 bad words to describe the Canucks.
Ugh, indeed.
Vegas Golden Knights: Swaggy
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We wondered how the Golden Knights would fare without top scorer Pavel Dorofeyev. Jack Eichel said, "I got this," and now he's leading the league with a whopping 12 points in five games.
Vegas sits atop the Pacific right now after Thursday's 4-3 shootout win over Mitch Marner's former Leafs. Can't ask for much more out of this team to start the season.
Washington Capitals: Fine
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There's not much great or terrible to say about the Capitals one week in. Of course, beating the Penguins on a rare off night for Sidney Crosby is always a perk for Washington, so we'll give them that. But their quiet consistency has been good for a 2-1-0 record and a tie for third in the Metro so far.
Winnipeg Jets: Surprising
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Wait, folks, the Jets have not entirely imploded amidst the Connor Hellebuyck drama and his ensuing absence from the team! Perhaps it even gave this roster a chip on its shoulder and a little motivation.
The Jets are currently leading the Central Division at 3-0-1, including an overtime win over the Avalanche. It hasn't been perfect โ they're definitely going to need more scoring โ but they're giving themselves a chance to prove the haters wrong.
