Too Early To Panic?
The NHL season has begun to the delight of fans across North America and the World. There has been great action so far with some teams shining and others showing concern. While it’s far too early for any teams to truly panic, Ottawa, Florida, Minnesota, Anaheim, and a very surprising New Jersey Devils are all win-less through their opening games. Minnesota had two close contests against Carolina in Europe to kick off the season, losing 4-3 in the opener and 3-1 the following day in the shootout. The Wild are still having some difficulty adjusting to a new system in season 2 of the post-Jacque Lemaire era as well as the loss of Marion Gaborik, both of whom departed for the Devils and the Rangers last season. Goaltender Nicklas Backstrom looks to return to form after a disappointing season last year and the Wild will need him to do so if they plan to make any noise in the Western Conference this year.
Ottawa lost a close contest with divisional rival Buffalo to start the season before being blown out 5-1 by the Maple Leafs. They were, however, able to get a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to one of the favorites to win it all this year, The Washington Capitals. With talented players such as Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredson, and Alexei Kovalev up front, new addition Sergei Gonchar on defense, you would expect the team to rebound. While Pascal Leclaire starting the first three games without a victory, it figures that Brian Elliot will soon get his shot between the pipes. Ottawa needs to find a consistent starter in net if they would like to get back to a serious playoff contender.
The Florida Panthers have not made the playoffs since 2000 when they were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the New Jersey Devils. Since that time the best they have finished is 9th in the east. There roster boats no superstars, and with a loss to Edmonton, one of the worst teams last season, it appears Florida is still in a continuous rebuilding mode.
Just a few seasons after the Anaheim Ducks won the championship it appears they have fallen up immensely. Last year the team missed the playoffs and they have gotten off to a terrible start this year being outscored 13-2 in three losses. They face a rough schedule in October playing playoff teams from last season including the Red Wings, Coyotes, Flyers, Sharks, and Devils. Defenseman Andy Sutton is out with an injury for 6-8 weeks which will not make things any easier. The Ducks do have a lot of talent up front with Saku Koivu, Ryan Getzlaf, and Teemu Selanne, but a less than perfect defensive group without Sutton and the retirement of Scott Niedermayer and poor play from Goaltender Jonas Hiller will make it difficult for the Ducks to be contenders. If Hiller can get his game back on track it will go a long way to helping the ducks get back to the playoffs.
Coming into this season, The New Jersey Devils were suppose to be an impressive team. After losing Paul Martin to Pittsburgh, they signed Anton Volchenkov and Henrik Tallinder to shore up their defense. Veteran goalie Johan Hedberg was signed to give Martin Brodeur a dependable backup and hopefully lighten his workload to keep him fresh come playoff time. Of course, the biggest story of the off-season for them was the resigning of Ilya Kovalchuk to a 15-year $100 million contract. With a team that has won the Atlantic Division title 4 out the last 5 years since the lockout, it seemed they would be destined for great things this season. What has happened is they have gotten off to an 0-2-1 start, salvaging a point in the season opener against Dallas by losing in overtime. They have been outscored 14-6, looking poor defensively, and now have injury issues. Defensemen Bryce Salvador and Anssi Salmela were both out for the long term before the season started. Volchenkov and veteran Brian Rolston are now both out with injuries. The Devils are already handcuffed by the salary cap due to the Kocalchuk contract and they have been playing undermanned all season before the Rolston and Volchenkov losses and now it will prove to be quite difficult to have a full fledged and healthy roster until the Devils cut some salary.
Plays Of The Night 10/14/10
It’s surely too early to panic for any of these teams as the season to this point is not even a week old. However, the win-less need to pick up their games fast, before they fall too far back to contend for playoff positions.
Next week we’ll take a look at the 2010-2011 NHL Rookie class.
