It’s early. Very early.
NHL teams have only played between three and seven games in the 2024-25 season.
Still, that’s enough to make an early impression of how this season and standings could shape up. Whether it’s a star player’s resurgence or the solution to a hole in the lineup, there is plenty to take away from a team’s first handful of games.
This week, The Athletic asked its NHL staff for one thing they’re seeing from each team so far. Here’s what they said.
Mixed results from their talented youth: With just three games played entering Friday, the Ducks don’t have a large sample size to have any major trends emerge. But they’ve gone into this season with eight players 23 years of age or younger who could have regular roles. (And that doesn’t include 24-year-old goalie Lukas Dostal). Pavel Mintyukov has been logging big minutes on defense and is coming off his first two-goal game. On the other hand, Tristan Luneau and Olen Zellweger have had shaky moments on the back end. Jackson LaCombe has been dealing with an illness but figures to get in the lineup after a terrific training camp. Up front, Leo Carlsson got his first overtime winner Wednesday against Utah. Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish didn’t click in their first two games together but appeared to generate some traction with veteran Robby Fabbri. Cutter Gauthier has started slowly and sat for long stretches Wednesday. Moments of advancement and schooling are to be expected. — Eric Stephens
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Jeremy Swayman has work to do: It was always going to be this way, even before Swayman spent all of training camp unsigned. He lost partner Linus Ullmark. Swayman would have to adjust, physically and mentally, to the workload of being the clear-cut No. 1 goalie. Once he signed, Swayman had to manage the pressure of his eight-year, $66 million contract. Given all that, it’s natural that Swayman has not looked like himself. He is behind. — Fluto Shinzawa
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Special teams sinking them: The Sabres are 1-4-1 to start the season, and their play on special teams is a big reason why. Buffalo has started the season 0-for-17 on the power play and also has the seventh-worst penalty kill in the NHL. There are quite a few issues with the Sabres, but none is as glaring as their inability to score on the man advantage. After finishing 29th on the power play last season, the Sabres haven’t shown any signs of figuring it out under new coach Lindy Ruff. — Matthew Fairburn
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Martin Pospisil is a center: It was not on many bingo cards to start the season. Even head coach Ryan Huska wasn’t sure what to expect when he put Pospisil at center during training camp. But through the first juncture of the season, he’s near the top of the Flames’ leaderboard in points and has somehow become a viable option alongside Jonathan Huberdeau. The Flames are the league’s biggest surprise. Pospisil can make a case to be the team’s biggest reason why. — Julian McKenzie
Sputtering special teams: It’s early, but the Hurricanes’ special teams have been iffy in the first two games of the season. Carolina can’t be faulted for allowing a five-on-three goal late against the Devils on Tuesday — especially when it killed off the remaining five-on-four to help secure the team’s first win of the season — but the Hurricanes have still allowed three goals in nine opportunities entering Friday night’s game. More concerning is the power play, which was 0-for-5 and produced just two shots on goal in 7:40 with the man advantage. They did score two power-play goals Friday night vs. the Penguins so they can only hope that this is the start of a turnaround. — Cory Lavalette
The Blackhawks more resemble an NHL team: The Blackhawks went out this offseason after a couple of dismal seasons and added a number of NHL veterans. That’s showing up on the ice. We’ll see how good this team is, but it’s definitely playing with more structure and predictability. — Scott Powers
tic-tac-gooooooooal❌ pic.twitter.com/v2yvlGdfxj
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 18, 2024
Defensively, things aren’t as bad as they look: The Avalanche have given up nearly two more goals per game than the next-worst team through the first couple of weeks of the season, but underlying defensive metrics suggest things aren’t as bad as they seem. Colorado isn’t playing great defense, but the goaltending struggles are magnifying every mistake. The Avs have allowed fewer high-danger shots (7.09) and expected goals (2.15) per 60 minutes than they did last season (and in 2021-22 when they won the Cup for that matter). The problem is the .652 save percentage on high-danger shots. No other team is below .700 in that metric. — Jesse Granger
Yegor Chinakhov is set for a breakout season: Chinakhov was in line for a second-line role before Boone Jenner’s long-term shoulder injury opened a spot on the No. 1 line. So far, Chinakhov — a streaky support player the past two seasons — has been a revelation. Chinakhov has opened the season with a four-game point streak (2-4-6) and a team-best plus-5 rating playing on a line with veteran center Sean Monahan and right winger Kirill Marchenko. The No. 21 pick in the 2020 draft has shown flashes in the past — he had 16 goals in 53 games last season, including a career-long six-game point streak last December — but he’s looked like a consistent dangerous offensive player this season. — Aaron Portzline
Jake Oettinger signed an eight-year, $66 million contract extension with the Stars on Thursday. (Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)
Jake Oettinger looks like his old self: Interestingly enough, the Stars’ underlying metrics are middling at best early on. But they’re 4-1-0 thanks in large part to goalie Jake Oettinger, who’s off to a dynamite start and who just signed an eight-year, $66 million contract extension. His .948 save percentage through three starts trails only Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck, and his 5.79 GSAx trails only Sam Montembeault and Hellebuyck. That includes a 34-save shutout of the Islanders. Oettinger was ordinary last season, and the Stars still had the best record in the Western Conference. If he keeps this up and returns to form this season, Dallas could be the team to beat in the NHL — and he’ll be worth every penny. — Mark Lazerus
Way too many goals against: The emphasis for the Red Wings this summer was improving their team defense. Or at least, it was supposed to be. Steve Yzerman signed Tyler Motte as a solid defensive forward for the bottom six, and brought in Cam Talbot in goal, but really didn’t do much to change the overall makeup of Detroit’s lineup. The early results have been predictable: Detroit has lost three of its first four games by three goals and already had two midgame goalie changes in that span. Granted, there’s also a shutout win mixed in there — but even that game required Talbot to stop 42 shots. It’s early, but Detroit’s team defense has not looked up to snuff. And that’s a big problem. — Max Bultman
Special teams need improvement: It took two games for the Oilers to allow more opposition power-play goals than they did over their entire run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. For reference, the Oilers surrendered four tallies in 25 contests in the postseason. Clearly, the penalty kill has had a rough start to the season. But at least there’s an excuse: The Oilers lost four regulars in Cody Ceci, Vincent Desharnais, Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele. The five stars are once again working the first-unit power play. Uncharacteristically, they’ve converted on just one of 13 chances through five games. — Daniel Nugent-Bowman
Aleksander Barkov’s quick rehab: We expect the Panthers to handle their business in the regular season, but a lengthy absence from Barkov could throw a wrench in the works. The defending champs got some good news Thursday — Barkov skated for the first time since a nasty slide into the boards on Oct. 10 and could return next week. — Sean Gentille
A rough transition away from the 1-3-1 system: Kings players — particularly their best offensive talents — were eager to shift away from their neutral-zone trap that helped them become one of the better defensive teams in the league but also left them feeling a bit stifled when it came to generating offense. The move to a 1-2-2 was supposed to let forwards like Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala get their feet moving sooner and create more in transition. The flip side of opening their game more was the potential of exposing their goalies to more scoring chances. That’s been apparent in the first five games. Natural Stat Trick has the Kings allowing 102 scoring chances, including 37 of the high-danger variety compared to 85 and 22 respectively after five games last season. Thursday’s 4-1 win at Montreal was their best game in a 2-1-2 start as they were far better with their neutral-zone play and got saves from David Rittich. Adapting without Drew Doughty on the back end doesn’t make the task any easier. — Eric Stephens
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The three-goalie plan is already an issue: Carrying three goalies always seemed like it would be problematic for a Wild team that couldn’t afford another league-minimum player with Jesper Wallstedt on the roster. And as we saw in two of the first three games, Wallstedt couldn’t even be on the roster when the Wild needed a seventh defenseman because of illness and then suffered three injuries. Wallstedt’s now down in AHL Iowa to get games and reps. He may be there for a while if the Wild continue to get great play from goalie/goal scorer Filip Gustavsson, who is 2-0-1 with a 1.66 goals-against average and .948 save percentage and has more goals than 13 Wild skaters through four games. — Michael Russo
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The defense is a work in progress: The clear weakness of the Canadiens roster was always going to be the young defense, but the inability to find three pairings that work has been the defining feature of the first five games. Mike Matheson leaving the game Thursday after one period with an upper-body injury only further complicated an already complicated situation. The reality is this will one day be the strength of the team, but right now the Canadiens lack the personnel to have a strong, cohesive blue-line group. And a solution in the short term, barring the acquisition of external help, is not evident. — Arpon Basu
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They have a hole to fill at center: Andrew Brunette gave Tommy Novak the expected first crack to center a line featuring massive additions Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, and that lasted for about as long as it takes to polish off a Prince’s hot chicken wing. Granted, the early struggles have been so widespread that Brunette had Novak back with Stamkos (and with Novak’s favorite fellow young gun, Luke Evangelista) in advance of a visit from Edmonton. But the reality is, Novak is best suited on a third line with Evangelista and TBD, and the Preds need to be out searching for a No. 2 center. — Joe Rexrode
Jacob Markstrom has a .918 save percentage through five games with the Devils. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
New Jersey Devils
The trade acquisitions are fitting right in: The Devils acquired goaltender Jacob Markstrom, forward Paul Cotter and defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic via trade this past summer. All three have had strong starts to the season. Markstrom has a .918 save percentage and has saved 1.33 goals above expected, per Evolving-Hockey. Cotter leads the team with five goals, and Kovacevic has five points and a plus-3 rating. All three have contributed to the Devils’ 5-2-0 start. — Peter Baugh
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More of the same: The Islanders are trying to break out of a three-year doldrums in which they’ve either fallen out of contention quickly (2021-22) or had to make a mad dash to reach the postseason for a very brief stay. One of the keys to changing that was a strong start that showed off the identity the team built under 37 games of Patrick Roy last season. So far … it hasn’t been there. A 1-1-2 record, two shutouts already and too much inconsistency make this first week of 2024-25 feel very familiar. — Arthur Staple
Five-on-five numbers are up: The Rangers have excellent special teams and an elite goalie in Igor Shesterkin, but their five-on-five play has sometimes lagged behind in recent seasons. The early returns this season are that the team has improved at even strength. Through four games the Rangers have had 56.30 percent of the expected goal share at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick, and have also out-chanced and out-high-danger chanced opponents. That’s been a big part of the team’s hot start. — Peter Baugh
Special teams could use consistency: Four games in and the Senators’ penalty kill is near the bottom of the league with a 69.2 percent success rate. The Senators’ power play looks good on paper, but much of that had to do with going 4-for-6 with the man advantage in their 8-7 OT win over Los Angeles. Ottawa is 2-for-10 excluding Monday’s game. Considering that Ottawa has looked fine at five-on-five, the Senators need more success with special teams to keep them afloat early in the season. — Julian McKenzie
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The power play looks better: After finishing last in the NHL for three straight seasons, the Flyers put a priority on trying to fix the power play this summer. So far, it looks strong — scoring on the power play in each of the first four games (5-for-19 overall). Rookie Matvei Michkov is a big reason for that, with two goals and two assists on the top unit, including the first two goals of his career in Edmonton on Tuesday. The second unit, with rookie Jett Luchanko, has also looked dangerous at times, and could help his cause to stick around for the season. — Kevin Kurz
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Pittsburgh Penguins
A functioning power play: Erik Karlsson didn’t come to Pittsburgh last season for the Penguins’ power play to wreck best-laid plans. But that’s what happened. And it happened early, with the Penguins scoring only four power-play goals through nine games. They had that many through five to start this season, including two in a history-laden win over the Sabres on Wednesday. With Tristan Jarry in a funk and Alex Nedeljkovic on a conditioning assignment, the Penguins are counting on rookie Joel Blomqvist to play behind a turnover-prone group. That’s tempting fate. But a good power play will make life easier. A potentially great one might change everything. — Rob Rossi
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Winning isn’t going to be any easier: The Sharks have yet to get Ryan Warsofsky his first win as an NHL head coach and they’re now working through a rough end to their road trip. At 0-3-2, they are better than last year’s awful 0-10-1 start. They felt much better in their first three games, which included an opening-night overtime loss to St. Louis where they let a three-goal lead get away and taking Dallas to a shootout in a road game where they never trailed in regulation. But their level of play dropped in back-to-back losses in Chicago and Winnipeg. The penalty kill was lights out until the Blackhawks and Jets took advantage of a depleted lineup. Jake Walman and Cody Ceci will help on defense, and Tyler Toffoli is off to a scorching start. Still, they’re allowing too many shots on goal and need more offense. Getting an injured Macklin Celebrini back in action at some point will help. — Eric Stephens
The Kraken can score again: The Kraken struggled enormously to buy goals throughout last season. Despite their structural discipline and pace, Seattle could rarely find answers when it fell behind and struggled to pull away when it built an early lead. A lack of goal scoring up and down the lineup was a fatal flaw for this lineup a year ago, and so far, it’s been a different story. In fact, no team in hockey has scored more five-on-five goals than Seattle has in the early going this season. There’s some percentage-driven noise in this, and we won’t expect the Kraken to finish the year as an elite offensive team necessarily. But Seattle’s offensive approach looks more thoughtful, tighter and far more dynamic through Dan Bylsma’s first five games. — Thomas Drance
Philip Broberg has boosted the Blues’ defense: When the Blues acquired Broberg via an offer sheet from the Oilers this summer, it was understood that it might take time for the 23-year-old to fit in. It has taken no time. Broberg and defensive partner Justin Faulk have not been on the ice for a single five-on-five goal against in five games. If that’s not enough, Broberg has a point in each of those games, including an incredible saucer pass for an assist on the Blues’ game-winning goal in a 1-0 overtime victory over the Islanders. If Broberg’s $4.58 million cap hit is considered an overpayment, it may not be for long. — Jeremy Rutherford
NEIGHBOURS CALLS GAME. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/nTOE4fW9qv
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) October 18, 2024
The stars are starring: The Lightning’s strategy revolves around their star power, which seems to be delivering so far. After a year weighed down by back surgery, Andrei Vasilevskiy has looked sharp to open the season. Victor Hedman is driving play from the blue line. And offseason signing Jake Guentzel is clicking with Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point — just look at how they dominated Thursday against Vegas with 73 percent of the expected goal share and a 2-0 edge in scoring at five-on-five. — Shayna Goldman
Matthew Knies is making a leap: This wasn’t unexpected. I wrote before the season that Knies was the Leafs’ most intriguing player and someone with real breakout potential. It’s still early, but the early signs are there that the breakout is happening. To start with, Knies is playing a lot more than he did last season, with regular roles on both the penalty kill and power play as well as the Auston Matthews-led No. 1 line. More than that, Knies looks stronger and faster than he did as a rookie, more sure of himself and what he can do too. He’s shooting the puck a ton (something he didn’t do enough as a rookie) and looks like a good bet to crack 20 goals for the first time. Knies is just scratching the surface of what he might become for the Leafs. — Jonas Siegel
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Mikhail Sergachev has crushed his opportunity with the Utah Hockey Club so far. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Utah Hockey Club
Mikhail Sergachev has been a huge addition: Sergachev was always considered a solid defenseman in Tampa, but behind Victor Hedman and the other stars up front, he was often a bit overshadowed. Not in Salt Lake City. The Utahns have loaded Sergachev up with the third-highest minutes in the NHL so far (26:47 per game), and he’s crushed that opportunity, with a 63 percent expected goals mark when he’s on the ice at even strength. The high-scoring kids are getting a lot of attention early, but Sergachev could be their early MVP. And he’ll need to be with Sean Durzi out for a while. — James Mirtle
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Quinn Hughes is still the best defender on the planet: The reigning Norris Trophy winner has driven the Canucks in the early going and has become thoroughly peerless in terms of how he influences the game from the back end. Consider that with Hughes on the ice, Vancouver has outshot its opponents 50 to 31. In all other minutes, the Canucks have been outshot 33 to 60 at five-on-five. You’d be hard-pressed to find a skater anywhere on the planet capable of making that sort of consistent impact on an NHL ice sheet, but those few players who do, they’re all forwards. Hughes has been at the top of his game from the outset, playing over 27 minutes a night and functioning as Vancouver’s primary engine right off the hop this season. And Vancouver has needed it. — Thomas Drance
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Vegas Golden Knights
Jack Eichel leveled up: Eichel has been good from the moment he arrived in Vegas, but he’s taken his game to another level early this season and is driving the Golden Knights offensively. He’s second in the NHL with 6 points at even strength, trailing only his linemate, Ivan Barbashev (7). Eichel’s 6.34 points per 60 minutes is an absolutely ridiculous figure (for perspective, his career high is 2.45 in 2022-23). Eichel’s ability to transport the puck up the ice and establish possession in the offensive zone has been vital to Vegas’ offensive production. — Jesse Granger
A revamped first line: It’s too early for grand proclamations about any team, let alone one that’s only played three games, but Spencer Carbery’s decision to play Aliaksei Protas with Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome has already paid off. Washington is controlling the goal share, both real and expected, with those three on the ice. If Ovechkin keeps setting up Protas for goals as he did Tuesday — you’d expect the opposite — good things could follow. — Sean Gentille
Winnipeg Jets
Special teams are helping them win in a brand-new way: Winnipeg is a perfect 4-0-0 and it has achieved that record on the back of a 50 percent power play and a penalty kill that was the last to allow a goal this season. The Jets’ star players have also stolen games, with Mark Scheifele doing so in the home opener and Scheifele and Kyle Connor combining to steal Sunday’s game against Minnesota. Give credit to Scott Arniel and especially to assistant coaches Dean Chynoweth (PK) and Davis Payne (PP), though — Winnipeg’s special teams have been elite as opposed to abysmal early this season. That is a marked change from last year, with the power play (7-for-14) looking particularly dangerous thanks to great entries, multiple setups and crisp passing. — Murat Ates
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(Illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic. Photos: Jeff Vinnick, Michael Martin / NHLI; Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
