{"id":331533,"date":"2025-10-25T12:30:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T12:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/331533\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T12:30:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T12:30:15","slug":"nhls-biggest-surprises-early-in-2025-26-struggling-stars-and-unexpected-starts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/331533\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL\u2019s biggest surprises early in 2025-26: Struggling stars and unexpected starts"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than two weeks into the 2025-26 NHL season, things are looking interesting. The Dallas Stars \u2014 our preseason Stanley Cup favorites<\/a> \u2014 look a little \u2026 off, Dawson Mercer and the New Jersey Devils are off to a hot start and Connor McDavid \u2014 our preseason Hart Trophy pick<\/a> \u2014 is struggling to score goals.<\/p>\n

Even our boldest predictions<\/a> are being surpassed by the surprises of a season in action.<\/p>\n

What has been each team\u2019s biggest surprise so far, good, bad or ugly? The Athletic posed that question this week to its NHL staff. Here\u2019s what they said.<\/p>\n

Anaheim Ducks<\/p>\n

Staying out of the penalty box<\/strong><\/p>\n

No team since the 2004-05 lockout has been called for more minor penalties or totaled more penalty minutes than Anaheim. The net difference of 723 more penalties taken than drawn over 20 seasons is more than twice the next greatest disparity. Things have changed for now, as Joel Quenneville has them playing far more disciplined hockey. The Ducks have taken a league-low 18 minor penalties through seven games. Just 16 times short-handed, another NHL-low. \u2014 Eric Stephens<\/p>\n

Boston Bruins<\/p>\n

Mark Kastelic is one of the best players<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kastelic is making an impact as the No. 4 right wing. He has two goals and one assist through nine games. He fought Liam O\u2019Brien. He is averaging 2:31 of short-handed ice time per game after averaging just 0:15 last year. \u2014 Fluto Shinzawa<\/p>\n

Buffalo Sabres<\/p>\n

Alex Lyon<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen went down with an injury before training camp, goaltending became the biggest question on the roster. But Lyon, the 32-year-old who signed a two-year contract with Buffalo this summer and has looked like the Sabres\u2019 best player. He\u2019s seventh in the NHL in goals saved above expected, has a 2.55 goals against average and a .924 save percentage entering Friday\u2019s game. Luukkonen\u2019s starting job may not be waiting for him when he\u2019s healthy. \u2014 Matthew Fairburn<\/p>\n

Calgary Flames<\/p>\n

Connor Zary has struggled out of the gate<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Flames didn\u2019t do much to adjust their offense this past offseason, so it\u2019s not a complete surprise to see it lag among the league\u2019s worst. But seeing Zary struggle as much as he has, with one point in nine games, has been a surprise. The Flames\u2019 rebuild is contingent on their young players progressing and taking a step forward. But it\u2019s been a very slow start for one of their more promising players. \u2014 Julian McKenzie<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Hurricanes\u2019 Andrei Svechnikov is still looking for his first point this season. (Luke Hales \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Carolina Hurricanes<\/p>\n

Andrei Svechnikov is still looking for his first point<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Hurricanes became the last NHL team to lose a game this season after dropping a 4-1 decision Monday in Vegas, and they\u2019ve done it without Svechnikov getting on the score sheet. Nikolaj Ehlers finally broke through with his first point by getting an assist against the Golden Knights and recorded another one against the Avalanche. Carolina is off to a 6-1-0 start despite being without star defenseman Jaccob Slavin since he exited Game 2. But the Hurricanes are still looking for Svechnikov, who was demoted to the fourth line, to get going. \u2014 Cory Lavalette<\/p>\n

Chicago Blackhawks<\/p>\n

11 forwards\/seven defensemen lineup<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jeff Blashill\u2019s decision to regularly go with an 11\/7 lineup has worked out better than anyone could have expected. Even some of the Blackhawks players were somewhat skeptical about whether it\u2019d be effective. But with Blashill and staff utilizing the seven defensemen, who are mostly still young, largely by situation and then giving a bit more ice time to the team\u2019s promising young forwards, the lineup has helped the Blackhawks get off to a strong start. \u2014 Scott Powers<\/p>\n

Colorado Avalanche<\/p>\n

Scott Wedgewood\u2019s hot start in net<\/strong><\/p>\n

When it was announced that Mackenzie Blackwood would miss time due to offseason surgery, it felt like Colorado would need to weather the storm in net. It has done much better than that, as Wedgewood has been one of the best goalies in the entire NHL thus far. The 33-year-old is 5-0-2 with a .910 save percentage and has allowed only one goal in five of his eight starts. His skating has looked incredibly sharp, and he has stayed ahead of the play with good reads. Once the shot arrives, he simply challenges with good depth, drops into his butterfly and closes any holes for the puck to find. \u2014 Jesse Granger<\/p>\n

Columbus Blue Jackets<\/p>\n

Top-notch goaltending<\/strong><\/p>\n

This sounds like an echo from last week\u2019s All-32. But the goaltending tandem of Jet Greaves and Elvis Merz\u013cikins has been tremendous. Before Friday\u2019s NHL action, the duo ranked fourth in the league with a goals saved above expected of 7.16. It also has a combined save percentage of .927, third in the league. Last season, those numbers, respectively, were 10.77 (15th) and .896 (20th). Coach Dean Evason has been going back and forth between the two since the opener. Why change? \u2014 Aaron Portzline<\/p>\n

Dallas Stars<\/p>\n

They lost three straight games in regulation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the previous three seasons, Dallas\u2019 only three-game losing streak came at the very end of last season, when it was locked into second place in the Central Division and had literally nothing to play for. The last time Dallas went three straight games without a point was way back in March of 2022. They followed up the three-game skid with a better effort in an overtime loss to the Kings, but the squandered points are adding up. Giving up five goals on their last 10 penalty kills sure hasn\u2019t helped. Maybe they\u2019re just adapting to a new coach in Glen Gulutzan, or maybe it\u2019s just standard October wackiness, but the Stars just look a little \u2026 off right now. \u2014 Mark Lazerus<\/p>\n

Detroit Red Wings<\/p>\n

Emmitt Finnie<\/strong><\/p>\n

How could it be anyone other than the 2023 seventh-round pick? Finnie not only made the Red Wings out of camp at age 20, but is playing on their top line and has seven points through the team\u2019s first eight games. Even if the scoring numbers were much more modest, though, the Red Wings wouldn\u2019t care because of all the little things Finnie does: killing penalties, forechecking, finishing hits and winning races and puck battles. He\u2019s been a jolt of energy on the ice and is quickly establishing himself as a legit piece of the team\u2019s future. \u2014 Max Bultman<\/p>\n

Edmonton Oilers<\/p>\n

Connor McDavid\u2019s goal total<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Oilers captain entered the season suggesting he wanted to be more assertive offensively and get back to being among the upper echelon of goal scorers. Instead, he\u2019s scored just once in eight games. It\u2019s not like McDavid hasn\u2019t been shooting \u2014 he has 25 shots on goal \u2014 but how often he\u2019s passed off when in prime areas has been noticeable. At least he still has 11 points. \u2014 Daniel Nugent-Bowman<\/p>\n

Florida Panthers<\/p>\n

Sam Reinhart\u2019s slow start<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nine games into the season, it\u2019s certainly a big surprise that one of the league\u2019s most dangerous offensive players the past two seasons has been held to just one even-strength point and only four overall. Without Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, the Panthers simply aren\u2019t as deep up front right now, which is a huge part of their 4-5-0 slow start. It\u2019s also clearly made life more difficult for Reinhart, who has always excelled alongside Barkov. \u2014 James Mirtle <\/p>\n

Los Angeles Kings<\/p>\n

Adrian Kempe is still without an extension<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fact that Kempe hasn\u2019t been locked in long-term is a bit of a shocker considering how much he and the Kings have expressed a common desire for him to stay in Los Angeles. Simply put, they need their best player, and the winger\u2019s price is only going up, because he\u2019s off to the best start of his career with 11 points in eight games. The feeling is they\u2019ll get a deal done, but time\u2019s ticking on the pending UFA. \u2014 Eric Stephens<\/p>\n

Minnesota Wild<\/p>\n

They can\u2019t score at five-on-five<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eight games into the season, the Wild have nine goals at five-on-five \u2014 the second-fewest in the NHL through Thursday. Kirill Kaprizov, fresh off signing the largest extension in NHL history at the tune of $17 million per year starting in 2026-27, and Joel Eriksson Ek have none. Matt Boldy and Ryan Hartman have two, with the latter having none since opening night. Marcus Foligno has no points. Vladimir Tarasenko has one goal. Jared Spurgeon hasn\u2019t even been on the ice for a five-on-five goal for this season. This is why the Wild sit at the bottom of the Central Division \u2014 tied at seven points with St. Louis and Dallas. \u2014 Michael Russo<\/p>\n

Montreal Canadiens<\/p>\n

Oliver Kapanen\u2019s hot start<\/strong><\/p>\n

Everyone expected the Canadiens to get major contributions from a rookie this season. This just wasn\u2019t the rookie most people had in mind. Ivan Demidov has lived up to the advanced billing, but it is Kapanen who entered play Friday leading NHL rookies in goals with four, and they are both in a three-way tie for third with six points. Kapanen\u2019s offense will likely slow down a bit, but it is his two-way play that has been most impressive early on. \u2014 Arpon Basu<\/p>\n

Nashville Predators<\/p>\n

Juuse Saros\u2019 fast start<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saros, typically a slow starter, has not been that this season, which is an encouraging and much-needed development for the Preds. Unfortunately, this team needs a few positive surprises to be a legit playoff contender, and early returns on its offensive punch are unsurprising \u2014 in other words, grim. \u2014 Joe Rexrode<\/p>\n

New Jersey Devils<\/p>\n

Dawson Mercer\u2019s hot start<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Devils have been one of the hottest teams out of the gate, and Mercer has played his part. He has eight points in eight games: an encouraging start after failing to reach his 2022-23 scoring heights (27 goals, 56 points). Mercer is an extremely useful player when contributing offensively. He can center the third line or move into the top six for Sheldon Keefe\u2019s club. There\u2019s a lot to like from his point-per-game start. \u2014 Peter Baugh<\/p>\n

New York Islanders<\/p>\n

Ilya Sorokin\u2019s slow start<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sorokin was one of the most talked-about goaltenders in this year\u2019s NHL Player Tiers project because of his play despite his surroundings. But his start has been underwhelming, even when considering his workload. Sorokin has a 0.873 save percentage and 0.61 GSAx, and that\u2019s concerning, given the Islanders\u2019 opponents. It\u2019s not like he hasn\u2019t been his best against the Avalanche and Golden Knights; instead, he\u2019s been iffy versus the likes of Senators, Jets and Sharks, who are all in the bottom half of the league in expected goal generation. He should bounce back; it\u2019s just something to keep an eye on. \u2014 Shayna Goldman<\/p>\n

New York Rangers<\/p>\n

Home-ice woes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Madison Square Garden is considered a landmark as far as NHL arenas go, but the Rangers haven\u2019t had much of a home-ice advantage. Thursday\u2019s 6-5 overtime loss to the Sharks dropped them to 0-4-1 at MSG to begin the new season, including a record-breaking three straight shutout losses out of the gate. They\u2019re about to embark on a four-game road trip, so they won\u2019t have a chance to pick up their first home win until next month when the surging Hurricanes visit on Nov. 4. \u2014 Vincent Z Mercogliano<\/p>\n

Ottawa Senators<\/p>\n

The defense and goaltending have been their Achilles\u2019 heel<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ottawa\u2019s core took strides last season as a group that possessed offensive talent finally put it together defensively. It helped them reach the playoffs for the first time in eight years. But now, the Senators are near the bottom of the league in goals against. Their goaltending, penalty kill and overall defending aren\u2019t at the standard they were last year. There\u2019s time to improve, but it\u2019s certainly surprising to see the Senators take steps back in those areas early in their season. \u2014 Julian McKenzie<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Flyers<\/p>\n

Dan Vladar<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vladar has been the Flyers\u2019 early-season MVP, backstopping them to each of their first three wins this season. In his first five games, Vladar allowed two or fewer goals in each of them, with a .932 save percentage and 1.81 goals-against average. For a team that has been starved for reliable goaltending, Vladar has given the Flyers just that \u2014 and then some. \u2014 Kevin Kurz<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Penguins<\/p>\n

Justin Brazeau <\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think anyone had Justin Brazeau checking with eight points through eight games. I\u2019m not sure Brazeau expected that. But here we are. He\u2019s been a revelation and has clear chemistry with Evgeni Malkin. The 6-foot-6 Brazeau has been a force for the 6-2-0 Penguins, scoring five goals and consistently producing in a top-six role. Will it continue? It\u2019s hard to say. But his soft hands have been on display and there has not been a fluky element to any of his goals so far. \u2014 Josh Yohe<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Macklin Celebrini is off to a hot start this season with 12 points in eight games. (Brad Penner \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks<\/p>\n

Macklin Celebrini joining elite company<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nothing the 19-year-old Celebrini, who powered San Jose to its first win of the season on Thursday, is terribly surprising. But a second career hat trick and five-point game \u2014 at Madison Square Garden, no less \u2014 put him in elite company. Celebrini became the fourth different teenager to record multiple five-point games. Wayne Gretzky did it five times. Bryan Trottier and Dale Hawerchuk did it twice. It\u2019s an impressive achievement for the special young star. \u2014 Eric Stephens<\/p>\n

Seattle Kraken<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s hot start and the fact that it hasn\u2019t been driven primarily by Berkly Catton<\/strong><\/p>\n

Catton was a preseason standout. The gifted young center looked ready and is the sort of talent capable of elevating this Kraken team. Then the season opened, and Catton didn\u2019t have a significant role. In fact, it took a recent run of injuries for him to earn a shot in the Seattle lineup. Over the last three games, however, Catton has been in, and he\u2019s looked the part of a spark-plug player capable of elevating this team, even if the production hasn\u2019t been there yet. That Seattle is off to a promising start, and Catton is just getting started, seems like a good sign for the Kraken. \u2014 Thomas Drance<\/p>\n

St. Louis Blues<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve been brutal at home<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Blues ended the 2024-25 regular season with a franchise-record 12-game winning streak at Enterprise Center and then went 3-0 at home in the playoffs. That\u2019s 15 consecutive celebrations, and in those 15, they outscored their opponents 74-27. Tough place to play, right? Not this season, as there\u2019s absolutely been no carry-over. The Blues are 1-3-1 at home this season and have been outscored 23-11. They fell 5-0 to Minnesota, 8-3 to Chicago and 7-4 to Utah on Thursday, a night when Logan Cooley had a natural hat trick in the first period. The Blues\u2019 goals-against average at home is now up to 4.32, and their save percentage is .832. Heading out on the road has never felt better.\u00a0\u2014 Jeremy Rutherford<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Lightning<\/p>\n

How little offense the Lightning are generating<\/strong><\/p>\n

With just 2.56 goals per 60, the Lightning rank 27th in the league in all-situation scoring before Friday\u2019s NHL games. That\u2019s a major drop off from last year\u2019s pace of 3.54 goals per 60. The stars aren\u2019t producing enough, with just six combined goals from Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel and Brandon Hagel through seven games. The power play doesn\u2019t have enough juice below the surface, while the team is generating chances at five-on-five without enough to show for it. Since Tampa Bay can\u2019t outscore its problems, it\u2019s exposing how slow its defense looks in the early goings. \u2014 Shayna Goldman<\/p>\n

Toronto Maple Leafs<\/p>\n

Anthony Stolarz calling out the team<\/strong><\/p>\n

That it happened at all was surprising. Players, and goalies especially, almost never light up their teams the way Stolarz did. He slammed the team\u2019s competitiveness and work ethic in blistering fashion. That it happened after the sixth game of the season made it even more surprising. But Stolarz wouldn\u2019t accept any excuse for the performance, even early in the season. He wanted more from his team and said as much. \u2014 Jonas Siegel<\/p>\n

Utah Mammoth<\/p>\n

Nick Schmaltz is tied for second in NHL scoring<\/strong><\/p>\n

Schmaltz has long been an underrated top-six producer, but he\u2019s hit a whole new level in the early going. He\u2019s already up to five goals and 13 points in eight games, which included a hat trick against the Sharks and a three-point performance last game against the Blues. Everybody knows Schmaltz is a good player, but I don\u2019t think anybody would have expected him to be tied for second in the NHL in points at this stage. \u2014 Harman Dayal<\/p>\n

Vancouver Canucks<\/p>\n

The way their five-on-five game has cratered<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Canucks have been bitten by the injury bug hard in the last week, but from puck drop this season, the Canucks have struggled enormously to generate chances or control play at five-on-five. This was a team that still controlled play reasonably well last season, even when Pius Suter and Teddy Blueger were their top-six centermen down the stretch and Quinn Hughes was playing hurt. That Vancouver is suddenly being out-attempted and out-shot by this wide a margin night in and night out is difficult to understand. \u2014 Thomas Drance<\/p>\n

Vegas Golden Knights<\/p>\n

Pavel Dorofeyev\u2019s hot start<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that surprising that Dorofeyev is leading the Golden Knights in goals. He did that last season, after all. What is a bit surprising is how many he has poured in over the first seven games of the season. Dorofeyev\u2019s seven goals are tied for the league lead before Friday\u2019s NHL action. He\u2019s on pace to crush his career high of 35, set last season, and while he won\u2019t score a goal-per-game all season, he should maintain a good pace as the primary weapon on Vegas\u2019 exceptional top power-play unit. \u2014 Jesse Granger<\/p>\n

Washington Capitals<\/p>\n

Power-play problems<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a bit since the Capitals had a reliably elite power play, but it\u2019s still a little jarring to see their conversion rate below 20 percent; at 18.2, they\u2019re 24th overall before Friday\u2019s NHL action. It\u2019s too early, though, to be a major concern \u2014 they\u2019re generating better chances than the conversion rate indicates and they\u2019ve been one of the best five-on-five teams in the league. \u2014 Sean Gentille<\/p>\n

Winnipeg Jets<\/p>\n

No. 1 penalty kill<\/strong><\/p>\n

Winnipeg\u2019s penalty kill struggled badly to start last season, had a strong second half, and faltered in the playoffs. This year it\u2019s been outstanding, killing 32 of 34 penalties, while equaling opposing power plays with two short-handed goals. Scott Arniel attributes the success to assistant coach Dean Chynoweth\u2019s preparation: \u201cThere\u2019s only so many looks that come from a power play \u2026 we have an idea of what their next plays are.\u201d The execution has been good, too, and the goaltending has been spectacular. \u2014 Murat Ates<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than two weeks into the 2025-26 NHL season, things are looking interesting. The Dallas Stars \u2014 our…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":331534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[3115,3103,1720,3113,3107,291,2995,3110,1320,2993,2997,3000,1323,2081,3112,3104,3111,2994,1301,1302,293,3105,3108,1334,1328,2999,62,2996,3106,1304,67,132,68,2082,3114,3116,3109,292],"class_list":{"0":"post-331533","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-anaheim-ducks","9":"tag-boston-bruins","10":"tag-buffalo-sabres","11":"tag-calgary-flames","12":"tag-carolina-hurricanes","13":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","14":"tag-colorado-avalanche","15":"tag-columbus-blue-jackets","16":"tag-dallas-stars","17":"tag-detroit-red-wings","18":"tag-edmonton-oilers","19":"tag-fantasy-hockey","20":"tag-florida-panthers","21":"tag-los-angeles-kings","22":"tag-minnesota-wild","23":"tag-montreal-canadiens","24":"tag-nashville-predators","25":"tag-new-jersey-devils","26":"tag-new-york-islanders","27":"tag-new-york-rangers","28":"tag-nhl","29":"tag-ottawa-senators","30":"tag-philadelphia-flyers","31":"tag-pittsburgh-penguins","32":"tag-san-jose-sharks","33":"tag-seattle-kraken","34":"tag-sports","35":"tag-st-louis-blues","36":"tag-tampa-bay-lightning","37":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","38":"tag-united-states","39":"tag-unitedstates","40":"tag-us","41":"tag-utah-mammoth","42":"tag-vancouver-canucks","43":"tag-vegas-golden-knights","44":"tag-washington-capitals","45":"tag-winnipeg-jets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}