Oilers among several Stanley Cup contenders struggling early this season

Peter DeBoer was worried. The experienced manager present successful his 5th NHL occupation was acrophobic his Dallas Stars would get disconnected to a dilatory commencement aft back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Final.

“Is it going to instrumentality a portion to get going?” DeBoer wondered. “Are we going to person immoderate benignant of hangover?”

While the Stars are doing much than fine, immoderate of the different Stanley Cup contenders successful the West are not faring truthful well. Colorado, Edmonton and Nashville combined to suffer 13 of their archetypal 17 games, turning the league’s standings upside down done the archetypal 2 weeks of the season.

“There are teams that are struggling to find their crippled a small bit,” Avalanche manager Jared Bednar said. “I don’t deliberation year-to-year, you tin look astatine it and beryllium like, ‘Oh, I can’t judge apical teams are struggling.’ … I conscionable deliberation it conscionable benignant of depends connected a batch of details of your game.”

Not a Smashville start

Those details helped Dallas commencement 5-1-0. They person been peculiarly lacking for the Predators, who mislaid their archetypal 5 games each successful regularisation and are the lone squad yet to prime up a constituent going into Tuesday night’s location crippled against Boston.

Nashville has been outscored 23-10 aft a $100 cardinal escaped cause spending spree to adhd two-time Cup champion Steven Stamkos, 2023 playoff MVP Jonathan Marchessault and others.

“Every squad goes done these stretches passim the people of a season, but it surely gets magnified erstwhile it’s close retired of the gate, particularly erstwhile the anticipation for our radical successful present is simply a batch higher than what we’re showing close now,” said Stamkos, who near Tampa Bay aft 16 seasons to motion a four-year, $32 cardinal contract.

“You look astatine immoderate of the teams that person started dilatory and gone connected to person truly bully season, but we’re challenged with immoderate adversity present and we person to find a mode retired of it.”

Oil drip

A twelvemonth ago, the Oilers mislaid 13 of their archetypal 18 games and were 30th retired of 32 teams astatine U.S. Thanksgiving earlier a coaching alteration from Jay Woodcroft to Kris Knoblauch started to wage dividends. Edmonton reached the Cup last earlier losing to Florida.

The Oilers mislaid their archetypal 3 games this play and person been 1 of the lowest-scoring teams successful the league truthful far, adjacent with three-time MVP Connor McDavid, freshly extended Leon Draisaitl and their afloat complement of violative stars connected the ice.

“We’re getting bushed successful a batch of antithetic ways,” McDavid said recently. “The puck play has been atrocious each over.

“Guys person been fumbling it, guys not handling it. Passes successful the air, passes down guys, it’s conscionable not bully enough.”

Snowballing Avs

The Avalanche person 100 giveaways done six games and the defence and goaltending person not been bully capable to compensate. It does not assistance that Valeri Nichushkin is suspended, skipper Gabriel Landeskog is inactive not backmost from a multi-year lack since hoisting the Cup successful 2022 and injuries proceed to decimate the lineup.

“We’re getting successful these races against different teams close now, and we don’t person the firepower that we usually would have,” guardant Logan O’Connor said.

“I deliberation it’s connected america to defensively, conscionable smarten up and fig retired that that’s wherever we truly got to absorption connected and carnivore down and frustrate different teams. Because we can’t get frustrated ourselves.”

Fall habits

Turnovers and different mistakes are going to happen. Stars defenceman Thomas Harley said that peculiarly successful October “it takes a small spot to get retired of shinny habits successful the summer” and this is the clip to “bear down and enactment connected the little amusive parts of the game.”

The hockey is beauteous amusive to ticker close now, though, with pucks flying into nets each over. Teams are scoring an mean of 6.4 goals per crippled done the archetypal 89 — which would beryllium the highest successful much than 3 decades.

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“I deliberation the shooters are up of the goaltenders a small bit, and I deliberation everybody’s checking crippled is not successful order,” Vegas manager Bruce Cassidy said. “Checking to maine is habits, it’s details and it takes a while: Sticks connected the ice, playing done hands, angles, not worldly you enactment connected successful the mediate of August and July. That’s what I deliberation happens aboriginal successful the year. There’s much chances.

“You’ll inactive spot immoderate 2-1 games. That astir apt means the goaltending has been precise good.”

Who’s good?

Almost each the teams atop the NHL astatine the infinitesimal person gotten bully goaltending. Dallas’ Jake Oettinger leads the league with a .953 prevention percentage, Connor Hellebuyck of the undefeated Winnipeg Jets has the lowest goals-against mean astatine 1.25 and the New York Rangers person gotten immoderate stellar play retired of pending escaped cause Igor Shesterkin, who’s 3-0-1 with a 1.97 GAA and .935 prevention percentage.

New Jersey has played much than anyone else, but the Devils nether caller manager Sheldon Keefe person made the astir of it by going 5-2-1 from Prague to North America. The Capitals mislaid their location opener to the Devils earlier beating them connected the roadworthy and are disconnected to a 3-1-0 start.

“I emotion this team,” goaltender Charlie Lindgren said.

“We each came successful with a small spot of an cognition and that’s a bully thing.”

All eyes are connected Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s vocation goals record, and helium is present 41 from breaking it, but he’s not adjacent Washington’s starring scorer. Dylan Strome has a team-high 7 points and Tom Wilson a team-high 5 goals. Only 4 players successful the league person much than Wilson.

“He’s playing really, truly well, and he’s being rewarded for it,” manager Spencer Carbery said.

“We request accumulation and we needed guys to enactment pucks successful the backmost of the net, and he’s starring the mode close now.”

–with files from The Associated Press’ Pat Graham and Jim Diamond