October Report Cards, Part 2

Note: Records are prior to games on November 1st.

Nashville Predators (6-5-2)
Grade: C
Would it really be Nashville Predators hockey if we weren't talking about a sputtering offense and a pretty good defense? Seems like every year the Predators insist on trying to win every game 2-1 and all anyone ever talks about is how tough they are to play against. They need to work on maintaining leads in the next few games, as they blew a 3-0 first period lead in Phoenix the other night, losing 5-4 in a shootout.

New Jersey Devils (3-5-4)
Grade: D
Hard to make an argument for a group that's lost nine of 12 games so far and is towards the bottom of the NHL in scoring while also in the bottom half in defense. Given the dearth of offensive talent on this team, the power play has been pretty good, coupled with an average penalty kill. The signing of Ryane Clowe has not worked out for this team, as I expected.

New York Islanders (4-5-3)
Grade: C-
I still believe that the Islanders are a better team than their record indicates and what they've shown so far this season. They're putting the puck in the net and have been good on special teams so far, but last night's 57-shot effort in Ottawa aside they're not winning that battle and they haven't been able to keep the puck out of their net.

New York Rangers (5-7-0)
Grade: C-
They get a bit of a pass due to all the injuries they've sustained thus far, but they still haven't been playing good hockey. The offense hasn't hit its stride yet, though that's to be expected when it has yet to be at full strength. The special teams have been pretty good so far but the Rangers are the NHL's worst team at 5 on 5 this season.

Ottawa Senators (4-6-2)
Grade: D+
Yikes, there are a number of defensive issues with this team. They were already 28th in the NHL in shot differential before last night's -26 against the Islanders. Goal scoring hasn't been a problem for the Senators and they've also been pretty good 5 on 5 and on the penalty kill, so I expect them to turn it around soon. They just have to avoid the defensive breakdowns and sustain the forecheck better.

Philadelphia Flyers (3-8-0)
Grade: F-
Yes, the Flyers get an F-, the worst possible grade on this scale. Their grade is even worse than the Sabres, Panthers, and Oilers because Philadelphia was expected to have a bounce back year. They've been beaten soundly all over the ice and some of their best players haven't shown up yet this season. Not that it factors into their grade, but last night's 7-0 loss at home to Washington is a microcosm of the laughable failure this team has suffered.

Phoenix Coyotes (9-3-2)
Grade: B+
Phoenix is looking like a serious contender out west, and the shocking thing to me is that they're tied for third in the NHL in scoring. The defense hasn't been as sharp as we're used to seeing under head coach Dave Tippett, but aside from that they are firing on all cylinders. They have the most points by defensemen in the NHL, and the trio of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Derek Morris, and Keith Yandle has combined for eight goals and 23 assists through the team's first 14 games.

Pittsburgh Penguins (9-4-0)
Grade: A-
Props to the Penguins for being the class of a bad division so far, because even with Evgeni Malkin's recent scoring drought they're still winning games. Jussi Jokinen has been on fire with six goals in October. Marc-Andre Fleury has been good, and it's really helped this team get settled in through the first month. The penalty kill has been a bit weak so far, but there's plenty of season left for that to improve.

San Jose Sharks (10-1-2)
Grade: A+
The Sharks are the NHL's best team through October, though fans in Colorado and St. Louis could easily make cases for their teams. Rookie Tomas Hertl has cooled off after his ridiculous start to the season, but now Joe Pavelski has the hot stick and it goes to show that their depth is their biggest weapon. Antti Niemi has been a brick wall in net, but I wonder if he's getting overused early on.

St. Louis Blues (7-1-2)
Grade: A
A light schedule in October has seen the Blues play just ten games (not including last night's win over Florida), but that hasn't stopped them from making quite an impression in the early going. If you haven't seen this team play yet, you need to fix that problem. Over the years I've never thought of the Blues as a particularly fun team to watch, but this season they are making me tune in regularly with their inspired play at both ends of the ice.

Tampa Bay Lightning (8-4-0)
Grade: B+
They've been impressive so far, but this is once again a stereotypical Lightning start to a season. They're always the team that comes out of the gate hot, but then as time goes on their defensive issues catch up to them and they fall back into the pack. All of their metrics look good except for the shot differential, where they've been outshot by 1.4 per game through the end of October. They need to get that number positive.

Toronto Maple Leafs (10-4-0)
Grade: A-
I had a feeling that the Leafs would be a solid team this season, but I didn't expect a 10-4 run through the first month of the season. There's a huge red flag with this team, though, and it's possession. The Leafs have been terrible in the faceoff circle and are 29th in the league in shot differential. However, they have won every game in which they outshot their opponent, and they are 4-2 in games that they have trailed after either the first or second period.

Vancouver Canucks (9-5-1)
Grade: B
This grade would be higher if John Tortorella hadn't already made their power play as horrible as he did the Rangers' during his tenure in New York. They're getting scoring from many sources, but not all at once and it has left them in the middle of the NHL in scoring. The penalty kill has been very stingy so far and Roberto Luongo is off to a nice start. They're headed in the right direction.

Washington Capitals (5-7-0)
Grade: C-
They don't deserve a higher grade than this for their play in October, but they get an A++ for their 7-0 win in Philadelphia last night (and it was without Ovechkin too). The problem for the Caps is even strength play; they're a minus in that department and it's led to their sub-.500 record even though their power play and penalty kill rank third and second, respectively.

Winnipeg Jets (5-7-2)
Grade: D
I think it's time to end things with Ondrej Pavelec. He's a bad goalie, and Al Montoya has played wonderfully in his limited playing time so far. Stands to reason that they should give Montoya more starts, right? The offense has not produced so far, the new acquisitions have not fit into the lineup well and the power play has been punchless. Their 44.1% on faceoffs is the second-worst in the league, only ahead of Calgary.

30 Teams, 30 Days - Pittsburgh Penguins

Based on the way Pittsburgh steamrolled the rest of the Eastern Conference last year, you would think that they would have done the same in the playoffs. After getting all they could handle from the Islanders in the first round and then making short work of the Senators in the Conference Semifinals, they came into the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston on a hot streak. What happened next could not have been predicted - the Penguins scored just two goals en route to a sweep at the hands of the Bruins. There was some slight retooling done this offseason. They brought in Matt D'Agostini to bolster the forward depth and brought back Rob Scuderi to help the defense. They let a number of players walk in free agency, including Jarome Iginla, Douglas Murray, Brenden Morrow, Tyler Kennedy, Matt Cooke, and Mark Eaton. What's left is a Penguins team with the same top-tier core, but surrounding parts that might need time to take shape.

Projected Forward Lines:

Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
Beau Bennett - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Jussi Jokinen - Brandon Sutter - Matt D'Agostini
Tanner Glass - Joe Vitale - Craig Adams
Dustin Jeffrey - Andrew Ebbett

Bennett is the notable addition to the top six, as he will get the first chance to play alongside Malkin and Neal. Kunitz and Dupuis will again have inflated stats from being on Crosby's line, so consider them in fantasy if you're looking for forward help. The bottom six has some depth, with Jokinen providing secondary scoring and Sutter helping with faceoffs. As always, Crosby and Malkin will drive this team's ship, and provided they remain healthy the Penguins will be a force. I have to question the defensive merits of the forward group, as their constant attacking has left them open to poor defense in years' past.

Projected Defensive Pairings:

Rob Scuderi - Kris Letang
Paul Martin - Brooks Orpik
Simon Despres - Matt Niskanen
Derek Engelland

When Letang isn't an adventure in his own end, he's a top defenseman in this league. Scuderi will go right on the top pairing and should provide more stability for a defense that finished 12th in goals against but had trouble at times and really looked bad in the playoffs. Martin rediscovered his game last year and looked much better than in 2011-12, when he was a complete disaster. Niskanen's name has come up a bunch of trade rumors, and the Penguins might deal him to get under the cap. For now, he remains in the lineup. Engelland will play when they want an added physical edge.

Goaltending:

Marc-Andre Fleury
Tomas Vokoun

This is sort of a contract year for Fleury, but not in the sense that the term usually implies. One would have to think that if Fleury's awful performance in the playoffs carries over to this regular season and he struggles, that Pittsburgh will buy him out after the season and he'll be looking for a job somewhere else. Vokoun took over during the first round series win over the Islanders and played admirably, but at age 37 he isn't likely to get the starting job here or for another contender. The Penguins are capable of playing good team defense, but Fleury has to hold up his end of the bargain too.

Special Teams:

Pittsburgh's lethality on the power play continued last year. They finished 2nd in the NHL with a 24.6% conversion rate, topped only by Washington. They can roll out a lot of weaponry on the man advantage, with Letang quarterbacking things from the point. I'm not sure they have a second defenseman who can take on those duties, so we may see them use four forwards on the other unit. Pittsburgh was +3 on the special teams differential, but they have to do better when killing penalties. Finishing 25th in the NHL at 79.6% isn't going to cut it this season. They have to be better during scrambles, because they got victimized a few times late in the season on them.

X-Factor:

It has to be Marc-Andre Fleury. How will he respond after getting blasted in the playoffs again? Will see the goalie who we know is capable of winning the Vezina Trophy? Or will we see the man who gave up multiple soft goals en route to getting benched? Pittsburgh is a playoff team no matter who is in net, the success or failure of Fleury will be what determines how far they will go in the playoffs. GM Ray Shero has put together a Cup or bust roster here, so anything less than going the distance is a disappointment.

The Penguins will make the playoffs if...

... nothing goes tragically wrong, Crosby and Malkin aren't both injured for extended periods of time, and everyone does their job. Look, the Metropolitan Division is stout. It's filled with good offenses, defenses, and goaltenders. However, the Penguins are clearly a cut above the rest of the pack. Few teams can match their skill and depth, and even fewer can keep players like Crosby and Malkin off the scoresheet. This is a strong offensive team that knows how to win, and they'll use their talents to secure a playoff spot for sure.

The Penguins will miss the playoffs if...

... good one.