The Hockey Writers Oct. 15

The Hockey Writers Oct. 15

October 15, 2013

Biggest surprises so far in the NHL

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We're two weeks into the 2013-2014 NHL season. There have been plenty of big stories so far, so let's take a look at the most shocking starts this year. Teams that were expected to do relatively well, such as Boston and San Jose, will be left off the list. Similarly, teams expected to tank, like the Buffalo Sabres, will also not be mentioned. Alright, let's get started then.

  5. Toronto Maple Leafs 

Standings: 5-1-0 (1st in Atlantic Division)

Best Player So Far: Jonathan Bernier (4-1-0, .946 SV%, 1.75 GAA)

Why The Surprise?

There was a lot of questions surrounding the Leafs this year - were they a good team? Or were they a bad team that got lucky?

- their PDO (a stat that tracks "luck") was off the charts last year, and the Leafs are generally thought of as one of the worst puck possession teams. So why do they keep winning? Advanced stats point to this team regressing heavily by the end of the year, but don't tell that to the Blue and White faithful.

Jonathan Bernier (Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports)

This team made a big splash in the off-season, acquiring gritty winger David Clarkson in free agency and landing center Dave Bolland from the Chicago Blackhawks. The team also decided to give a shot to defenceman Paul Ranger, who had been out of NHL hockey for several years. The biggest move has probably been the acquisition of goaltender Jonathan Bernier from the LA Kings, who has played lights out so far. By all means, on paper, this team is much stronger than the one that barely got into the playoffs last year. Still, the doubters remain. After all, the Leafs are quite used to starting strong before flaming out at the end of the year. It will definitely be interesting to see what head coach Randy Carlyle can do over a full season.

4. Edmonton Oilers

Standings: 1-3-1 (7th in Pacific Divison aka. last)

Best Player So Far: Taylor Hall (1g, 4a, -5)

Why The Surprise?

Perhaps the slow start was not a surprise to many people, but it was certainly a surprise to me. There's a lot of good things going for this team - another year of development for the kids, a huge offseason, and a new highly-touted coach. The Oilers added defencemen Andrew Ference, Anton Belov and Denis Grebeshkov this year to help solidify their blueline. They also replaced the aging Nikolai Khabibulin with the reliable Jason LaBarbera, Mike Smith's former backup. Up front, they added another former Coyote - the underrated Boyd Gordon, who is a fantastic defensive and faceoff pivot. They also made a huge deal for winger David Perron from the St. Louis Blues. They also landed one of the prized coaches this year - Dallas Eakins, who had tremendous success with the Toronto Marlies. Eakins is known especially for his ability to develop young talent, which fits the Oilers perfectly. So why have things gone so wrong? Well, the blame can be put mostly on starting goalie Devan Dubnyk. After a tremendous season where he posted a career-high .920 SV%, Dubnyk has started this year with a horrendous .829 SV% and 5.43 GAA. Can anybody explain why Dubnyk is struggling so bad?

 In several interviews, Eakins has stated his believe in a defensive zone coverage that pressures the puck carrier by overloading instead of passively covering shooting and passing lanes. This system is meant to reduce the opposition's time-on-attack and should help increase odd man rushes on the counter-attack. On paper, it seems fantastic. However, in reality, throwing more men at the puck-carrier in turn opens up passing lanes. This means Dubnyk is facing many more quality scoring chances on a regular basis. The blame isn't all on adjusting to the new system - Dubnyk truly has been very bad. Still, there's reason to believe this team could still turn it around.