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.

Parting Shots - Week 2

We've got some things to discuss this week, so let's get right to it.

- What the hell is wrong with the Rangers? A 1-4-0 start to the season has seen them allow the most goals per game (5, and yes, you're reading that right) in the NHL while only scoring nine total. There have been injuries, namely Carl Hagelin missing all action thus far and Rick Nash's recent concussion, but this is still a mess. The new coach and system aren't getting through to the team just yet, as there are players constantly out of position and failing to execute. GM Glen Sather tried to shake things up today by placing Arron Asham and Martin Biron on waivers, but I'm not sure that's the answer and either way, those aren't the guys who should be buried in the minors. Brian Boyle and Taylor Pyatt are much more deserving of that fate. With four games still to go on the Rangers' nine-game road trip, they'll do well to finish strong and open up the home slate on a win streak.

- Suspensions abound this week. Brad Stuart got three games for concussing Nash, Alex Edler got three games for a high hit on Tomas Hertl (the crown jewel of my fantasy team), and Patrick Kaleta picked up two games (and potentially more) for his high hit on Jack Johnson. In my estimation, the punishments fit the crimes, but at some point we need to find a better way to legislate these headshots out of the game. If an official feels that the head was targeted in a hit, I think there should be no less than a ten-minute misconduct, in addition to whatever Shanahan and the league office want to do about it.

- Another week in the books, and we're down to four teams that are either undefeated or have no regulation losses, all of them in the Western Conference. Colorado and San Jose (each 5-0-0) lead the way in their respective divisions, with St. Louis (4-0-0) and Calgary (3-0-2) not far behind. I don't think anyone's surprised that the Sharks and Blues are on hot streaks to start the year, but the Avs and Flames are a different story. I picked them to finish in last place in their divisions, yet here they are two weeks in and playing great hockey. If you can believe it, Colorado has been winning with defense. They have yet to allow multiple goals in a game and have conceded just four so far this season. Calgary, a team I thought would have trouble scoring, has been playing very well offensively. They've tallied at least three goals in each of their five outings this season, and have scored 18 total.

- Can we all agree now that the Flyers aren't a good team and injuries were not the sole reason for their playoff miss last year? They're 1-5-0 through six games and have scored eight goals. They have all their top players in the lineup, and they're healthy, yet the production still isn't there. The team defense has been below average as well. An average of 31.3 shots against per game (20th in the NHL) is not going to get it done when the offense isn't scoring. Their 7.4% power play (28th) isn't helping matters, either. They've already fired their head coach, but they should've fired the GM. Maybe now that wheel will start turning in the front office.

- Obligatory mention that the Sharks are outshooting their opponents by nearly 20 shots per game. I'll let that sink in for you readers and leave it there.

- And now for the fantasy league update. The hometown teams are both 2-0, with my team still leading the league in scoring and George in 2nd. Four other teams are unbeaten, with no guarantees that the number will shrink as none of the 2-0 teams face each other this week. Should be an interesting week of hockey, looking forward to enjoying it!

30 Teams, 30 Days- San Jose Sharks

I think if there's one phrase that personifies the San Jose Sharks, it's "wait 'til next year!" Every season, it seems that the Sharks are showing such great promise and skill as they charge up the conference standings, and yet once they reach the playoffs they can't finish the job and take home the Stanley Cup. Last year's version of the team played solid hockey, entered the playoffs as the 6th seed in the Western Conference, and looked like a darkhorse after they swept Vancouver in the first round. They fought valiantly in the next series but ultimately could not close out the rival Kings, losing in seven games. Changes were minor for the Sharks, who let T.J. Galiardi and Thomas Greiss go and signed Tyler Kennedy. They'll also be without top-six mainstay Martin Havlat to start the season, as he recovers from offseason surgery. The Sharks are shooting for their 10th straight playoff appearance this year, and it's going to take another solid effort to get there.

Projected Forward Lines:

Patrick Marleau - Logan Couture - Brent Burns
Martin Havlat - Joe Thornton - Tommy Wingels
Tomas Hertl - Joe Pavelski - Tyler Kennedy
Raffi Torres - Andrew Desjardins - Adam Burish
James Sheppard - Bracken Kearns

The loss of Havlat leaves the Sharks paper-thin on the wings and also necessitates secondary scoring from the bottom six. Hertl is coming over from the Czech Republic this year and could figure into the Sharks plans sooner than expected. He might have to fill an important role this season as opposed to playing on the third line and cutting his teeth, but based on his two good seasons with Slavia Praha, the 19-year old should be ready to contribute. Couture is once again going to be counted on to improve his production, just like every year in his career thus far. This is his team now, and he has to become the leader on and off the ice. Burns will begin his first full season as a winger, and it's safe to say that the Sharks are expecting at least 20 goals from him. Even with an injury to the defense, Burns should stay on the top forward line, as the Sharks defense has enough depth to withstand the loss of one player. It's crazy to say that the forward unit might be the weakest piece of this roster, but the general lack of depth and question marks on the wings are troubling.

Projected Defensive Pairings:

Matt Irwin - Dan Boyle
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Justin Braun
Scott Hannan - Brad Stuart
Jason Demers

This unit can cover a lot of bases for the Sharks. Boyle and Irwin will work the power play, Hannan is their bruising shutdown defenseman, Vlasic is an elite skater who can make up for any lapses with his speed, Stuart brings experience, and Braun has size and can help clear the front of the net. Their 7th defenseman, Demers, would be in the lineup on most teams. This unit will be a strength for the Sharks, and they'll have to be especially stout early in the year while the forwards sort themselves out. They normally answer the bell when needed, and I think this year will be no different.

Goaltending:

Antti Niemi
Alex Stalock

Niemi had a hell of a season in 2012-13: 24-12-6, 2.16 GAA, .924 save percentage. Those numbers were enough to get him a Vezina nomination. He didn't win, but let that serve as an extra bit of motivation for the Finnish netminder heading into this season. He may have to work extra this year, because his backup (Stalock) only has three games of NHL experience. Niemi is used to a large workload, appearing in 43 out of a possible 48 games last year and starting all 11 games in the playoffs. He should play well again this season, but I wonder if he'll burn out at the end of the season.

Special Teams:

Few words go together better than "deadly" and "San Jose Sharks power play" - they finished at 20.1%, which put them in a tie for 7th in the NHL with the Oilers. They usually use four forwards on the first unit, with a front line of Marleau-Thornton-Couture and Pavelski-Boyle on the points. If Havlat is able to come back from injury and plays well, he could see time on the second unit with Burns, Irwin, and perhaps Wingels and Vlasic. The Sharks were equally good on the penalty kill, finishing 6th in the league at 85%. They were also +22 on the special teams differential, so they were trending in the right direction last season.

X-Factor:

The wing depth. How well will it hold up, if it does, and can they get scoring from the rookie Hertl and other unexpected sources? There will be a lot of pressure on the top line, Thornton, and Pavelski to steady the ship through the first couple of months. We may see the Sharks score five goals on one night but then get shutout the next. No matter how it gets done, the most important thing that this team needs to find in the early stages of the season is consistency on offense. The defense and goaltending will hold up and keep them in games, but sooner or later someone other than the big guns will have to start scoring.

The Sharks will make the playoffs if...

... they find the offense they need, the defense continues to play well, and the special teams remain lights out. This Sharks team looks vulnerable on paper. They have a good nucleus of forwards in place, they have a quality backend and a Stanley Cup winner in net, but they're an injury or two away from struggling. San Jose is really a better version of Dallas right now, with depth down the middle, a goal scoring winger, but not a whole lot else up front. They play in a tough division and they will get the best shot from opponents every night, given their success, but somehow the Sharks always seem to find a way to make the playoffs.

The Sharks will miss the playoffs if...

... the defense plays surprisingly poor, they suffer an extended slow start to the season, and Niemi gets burnt out because he isn't being rested enough. I could make a case against every team in the Pacific when it comes to making the playoffs. Well, maybe not Los Angeles. Anyway, the Sharks' window of opportunity for a Cup with this group is just about closed. They're rapidly approaching the time where they may have to blow up the forwards and rebuild around Couture, but they could also steal a page from the Red Wings' playbook and simply try to find the right guys for their system and build that way. Realignment does them no favors, with Dallas moving out and the western Canadian teams coming in. The Sharks are capable of running their streak to ten, but it certainly won't be easy.