October Recap
The defending champs are off to a slow start, with
Crawford looking the part of a Stanley Cup hangover (.889 save percentage!),
Byfuglien a -5 and they have no secondary scoring up front after their top line of
Teravainen,
Kane and
Toews. So the West is looking pretty open -
St. Louis is on top of the Central, led by
Paul Stastny's league leading seven goals, and
Dallas (
Blake Wheeler has 10 assists already) and
Winnipeg are only one point back. The
Kings are looking good with an 8-2 record and
Tyler Toffoli tied with
Stastny for the league lead in goals with 7. Offseason acquisitions like
Alex Edler, Jannik Hansen and Selke winner
Marcus Kruger have bolstered a lineup that is still only one year removed from being Stanley Cup champions. The
Canucks and
Flames are both looking good early,
Vancouver mostly on
Jacob Markstrom's early run of strong play and a (thus far) resurgent season from the
Sedins and
Calgary backstopped by July first acquisition
Devan Dubnyk and with unlikely star
Curtis Glencross second in the NHL scoring race (15 points).
Carey Price has been amazing for the 10-2
Canadiens and is a big reason they sit atop the league through the first month of the season. The
Rangers and
Islanders are both looking very strong in the Metro, and though the
Rangers currently set the pace at 18 points the
Islanders are on their heels and
Halak is playing like a man possessed with four shutouts already. The Metro may be the toughest division in hockey this year, as the
Capitals,
Flyers,
Penguins and
Devils have all looked strong so far. The
Maple Leafs look to be having a bounce back year and are in the playoff conversation so far.
Jack Eichel has looked good so far.
Stamkos has been carrying the
Lightning to a solid 13 points but the rest of that team is going to have to step up around him if they want to keep pace with
Detroit and
Boston.
Team Stat Leaders:
GF/gm - NY Rangers (3.64), Tampa Bay (3.08), Boston, Calgary, Colorado, Dallas, Montreal (3.00)
GA/gm - NY Islanders (1.18), Montreal (1.42), Los Angeles (1.90), NY Rangers (1.91), Vancouver (2.00)
PP - Calgary (30.8%), Dallas (27.8%), St. Louis, Vancouver (25.7%), Pittsburgh (24.0%)
PK - NY Islanders, NY Rangers (93.8%), Detroit (93.1%), St. Louis (91.2%), Montreal (89.5%)
Goalie Leaders (min 5gp):
GAA - Price (MTL) 0.87, Halak (NYI) 1.09, Bishop (TBL) 1.38, Bobrovsky (CBJ) 1.60, Markstrom (VAN) 1.71
Sv Pct - Price (MTL) .966, Halak (NYI) .960, Bishop (TBL) .952, Markstrom (VAN) .948, Scrivens (EDM) .947
GSAA - Halak (NYI) 10.39, Price (MTL) 9.69, Bernier (TOR) 8.63, Scrivens (EDM) 7.71, Bobrovsky (CBJ) 7.36
SO - Halak (NYI) 4, Fleury (PIT), Price (MTL) 3, Bobrovsky (CBJ), Hutton (CAR), Rinne (NSH) 2
Rookie Leaders:
Points - Hrabarenka (NJD) 3-2-5, Danault (FLA) 2-3-5, Schmaltz (CHI) 3-1-4, Domi (ARI) 2-2-4, Galiev (WSH) 1-3-4, Duclair (NYR) 1-3-4, Eichel (TOR) 1-3-4
Other Stat Leaders:
Takeaways - Korpikoski (ARI) 13, Nielsen (NYI) 12, Ladd (EDM), Stone (OTT), Versteeg (FLA) 11
Hits - Borowiecki (OTT) 78, Manning (PHI) 69, Bjugstad (FLA), L. Schenn (CGY) 65, Tinordi (MTL) 60
Blocked Shots - Vlasic (SJS) 43, Martinez (LAK) 38, Brodie (CGY) 37, Gardiner (TOR) 35, Girardi (NYR), Trouba (WPG) 34
PIM - Borowiecki (OTT) 61, L. Schenn (CGY) 44, Manning (PHI), Tinordi (MTL) 40, Hartnell (ANA) 34
FO% - Glendening (DET) 62.8, Slater (CBJ) 61.9, Pageau (OTT) 61.5, Crosby (PIT) 59.9, Toews (CHI) 59.5
+/- - Stamkos (TBL) +11, Emelin (MTL), Hagelin (NYR) +10, Fast (NYR) +9, Franson (NYI), Oshie (PIT), Wisniewskki (CBJ), +8
Injuries:
F Lance Bouma (CGY) OUT 2-3 weeks (knee)
F Darren Helm (DET) DTD (leg)
F Joakim Andersson (DET) DTD (eye)
F Erik Haula (MIN) OUT 1-2 weeks (hand)
D Damon Severson (NJD) OUT 1-2 weeks (back)
F Ryan Strome (NYI) OUT 1-2 months (jaw)
D John Moore (NYR) OUT 1-2 months (concussion)
F Logan Couture (SJS) OUT 2-3 months (ankle)
D Dan Boyle (TBL) DTD (jaw)
D Jason Garrison (TBL) OUT 1-2 weeks (foot)
F Tyler Bozak (TOR) OUT 1-2 weeks (upper body)