Are You For Real?

Nearly every team in the NHL has played at least 10 games by now, and there has been no shortage of surprise teams.

Exactly one year ago, on November 2nd, 2010, 12 of the 16 teams that were in playoff positions ultimately made the playoffs. Although a lot of the season is already “determined” early on, there is still time for teams to surge or plummet.

Here’s a look at six clubs who have performed surprisingly well or poorly and what you can expect from them the rest of the way:

BOSTON BRUINS

Who says the “Stanley Cup Hangover” is a myth? The Bruins aren’t the first team to feel the effects of it, but they have struggled more than previous defending Cup champs.

Last year’s Cup defenders, the Chicago Blackhawks, started last season a mediocre 7-6-1. However, the Bruins have a pitiful 4-7-0 record through eleven games this year and are dead last in the Eastern Conference. Boston is just outside the top third of the league in goals allowed per game, but the team is in the bottom third for goals scored.

Things are not totally bleak in Beantown. Tim Thomas is putting up strong numbers in goal yet again, and Tyler Seguin seems to be in the midst of a breakout year with 11 points in 11 games.

The only key players missing from last year’s edition of the Bruins are Tomas Kaberle (a late-season acquisition who only played 24 games in black and yellow anyway), Mark Recchi, and Michael Ryder; in their places are Jordan Caron, Joe Corvo, and Benoit Pouliot.

Along with Seguin’s emergence, the Bruins are in fine shape – at least on paper. Like a person stuck in bed on a Saturday morning with puffy eyes and a churning stomach after an excessively enjoyable Friday night, Boston will find its footing soon enough.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

Columbus made a few high-profile moves this off-season, adding the high-scoring Jeff Carter and James Wisniewski (both of whom would have ranked among the Jackets’ top four point-getters last season) and also luring in free agent forward Vinny Prospal.

These additions had many expecting big things from a team that has only qualified for the playoffs once in its 10-season history.

Of course, things don’t always go as planned.

Wisniewski was suspended for eight regular season games because of a vicious pre-season hit, and a collection of players are on the injured list: Carter played in just five games before being sidelined, and Kristian Huselius, who scored 44 goals in his first two seasons in Columbus, played in only 39 games last season and hasn't appeared in a game yet this season.

The Jackets were winless in their first eight games, but they’ve managed a 2-2-0 record since Wisniewski’s return and will improve further when Carter and Huselius are back. Columbus is better than their record indicates, but shaky goaltending and a rough start means the playoffs are probably a long shot... again. Maybe next year?

DALLAS STARS

Did anyone think the Stars would have the second highest points-percentage in the league at the start of November?

Goaltender Kari Lehtonen has been stellar in supporting what has been an underwhelming offence. Keep in mind, though, that the Stars and Lehtonen started off strong last season, too; the team sported a 5-1-0 record before going 3-6-0 in their next nine games.

In fact, Dallas was still leading its division by the end of December before it stumbled and missed the playoffs.

The Stars lost their offensive juggernaut, Brad Richards, over the off-season, and the team only added depth players to help out (although Sheldon Souray is trying to suggest otherwise, with eight points in 11 games). Lehtonen will have to be consistently spectacular in order for the Stars to survive by scoring just 2.36 goals per game.

The bet here is that Lehtonen will eventually fall back to Earth and the Stars will miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season.

EDMONTON OILERS

The Oilers are tied with the Stars and Blackhawks for the second highest points-percentage in the league. Amazingly, they’ve done this by scoring just 24 goals in 11 games.

Edmonton’s trio of young stars (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall, and Jordan Eberle) has provided almost half the goals so far, and the Oilers’ obscure defence corps has been backed by Nikolai Khabibulin, the league leader in goals against average and save percentage.

Yes, that’s right: the 38-year-old, who has played in just 65 games over the past two seasons (and mustered a measly .896 SV% in that time) and who served a 15-day sentence at an Arizona jail over the summer, has somehow put up the best goaltending statistics in the league – despite playing behind a defence whose top three players in average ice time are Tom Gilbert, Jeff Petry, and Corey Potter. The Oilers’ ‘other’ goalie, Devan Dubnyk, has also been superb, managing a .938 save percentage in four games.

Does trying to comprehend all of this make your head hurt as much as mine does?

Edmonton will surely finish with a better record this season than it did last year, but the goaltending can’t stay this strong for an entire season (can it?).

Once Vancouver, as it seems to eventually do every year, fully awakes from its lengthy off-seasonhibernation, Edmonton will likely lose its spot atop the Northwest Division and eventually bow out of the playoff race. Once the Oilers’ young stars reach their primes, though, watch out!

OTTAWA SENATORS

The Senators’ record to start the season was about as bad as many expected: 1-5-0. But suddenly, a light flicked on and the team won six in a row to push itself temporarily into a playoff spot.

The Sens have relied on resilience, a potent powerplay, and sheer offence.

Although dead last in goals against per game, Ottawa is tied for fifth in goals per game and is second in powerplay success (28.9%) and first in third-period goals (a whopping 22 – more than half of the team's total goals).

Nicknamed “The Cardiac Kids” because of their unpredictable performances and crazy comebacks, the Sens have ensured that their games have been some of the most exciting to watch this season.

Alas, Ottawa’s robust powerplay is probably not going to continue to motor along at 29% for the entire season, and neither the team’s defence nor its goaltending – both of which have been shaky at best – are likely to improve enough to earn the team a spot in the playoffs.

Fans should anticipate more surprises this season, but it should come as no surprise if and when, come April, this young team is on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. Much like for the Oilers, though, there are bright days ahead for the Senators.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Is there a team that wants to be back in the playoffs more desperately than the Leafs? One of only two teams to have not qualified for the playoffs since the lockout (the Florida Panthers are the other), the Leafs may finally get to play more than just a few games in April this season.

Through 11 games, Toronto has been scoring a lot, but also letting in a lot; the team is fourth in goals per game, but it’s fifth last in goals against per game and has the third worst penalty kill in the league.

Phil Kessel, the NHL’s first star of the month of October, is playing like a man possessed with 10 goals in 11 games. The off-season additions of Tim Connolly and Matthew Lombardi give the Leafs more offensive depth than they’ve had in a few years – at least when the two are healthy. Goaltender James Reimer was playing well before suffering an injury; his eventual return will help cut down on the Leafs’ goals against.

Put all of this together, and although Toronto’s 112-point pace probably won’t last the length of the season (remember, the Leafs started off last season strong, too, with a 5-2-1 record), the team is good enough to challenge for a playoff spot.