Watching the first few weeks of the NHL season has been weird. Teams have surprised me, and I have been caught off guard by some of the happenings among the 32 teams. This season has been one of the most puzzling in recent memory. So, here are the three most surprising things from the first month:
What is going on in Edmonton?
Was I expecting the Oilers to come out flying and dominate the league? No, but did I see them sitting at the bottom of the league? Absolutely not.
This has been genuinely shocking. This has been one of the most disappointing season starts I can remember. Everything that could go wrong so far has gone wrong in Edmonton.
Goaltending has been non-existent. Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell have combined for a 2-8-1 record, 4.25 goals against average and a 0.865 save percentage. This is all well below what is needed to have success in the NHL and what is expected of the tandem.
While the goalies have part of the blame on their shoulders, the defense has been horrendous. Giving up 47 goals in the first 11 games (4.27 per game), Edmonton ranks second in goals against only San Jose, who gave up 10 on back-to-back nights.
The biggest concern in Edmonton? The strengths of past seasons are nowhere to be found this year. What was an offensive juggernaut in recent seasons is now in the bottom portion of the league in goals scored.
As of now, the only bright spot is the power play ranking ninth in the NHL. Other than that, the Oilers are getting worse by the day. If Edmonton doesn't make major changes in the next few weeks, don't expect to see the Oilers in the playoffs in the spring.
The Sharks aren't just bad, they may be the worst ever
Through 11 games played, San Jose is 0-10-1, giving up around 5 goals per game and only scoring 12 total goals. The average final score of San Jose Sharks games is 5-1. Not to mention, they gave up 10 goals in two straight games.
Every season, there is a clear-cut team, or group of teams, that are clearly much worse than everyone else. This year, San Jose has proved to be worse than normal. With how populated the league is with talent today, it's wild to think the Sharks haven't even scratched the surface of winning a game. Seven players on the roster already have double-digit minus ratings. Only four other players across the entire league have suffered the same tough start.
The story of the year with the Sharks will be whether they are able to not finish with the lowest point total in NHL history, a feat currently held by the 1974-75 Washington Capitals with a minuscule 21 points in 80 games.
Anaheim may be a sneaky contender in the West
Heading into Nov. 7, the Ducks have won six consecutive games, including victories over the league's top two teams (Boston and Las Vegas), a winning streak few people saw coming. But this win streak is sustainable.
They likely won't win every game, but the things the Ducks are doing, combined with their roster makeup, make them a team to watch out for this season.
With a mixture of young stars and veteran players and a solid goalie duo, it's feasible to see the Ducks going on a run. Through the opening stretch of the season, Anaheim possesses the fifth-highest SRS, or simple rating system, which is a metric that takes into account who the team beats and by how much. Anaheim also has the highest strength of schedule. Seeing the Ducks' success after playing the teams they have, I think this could be the season when they take the next step into the playoffs.
Andrew Bowlby is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to share your thoughts about the column? Let Andrew know by tweeting him @andrew_bowlby.
