One-sixth of the way into the season, players are dropping like flies and there are a number of surprises ranging from how badly the Detroit Red Wings are swooning to the surprising resurgence of the Colorado Avalanche. Below are some other nuances to take note of.
BURNING BRIGHT
Vaclav Prospal (LW, NYR) – Not unlike Alexai Kovalev, Prospal has spent most of his career alternating between stellar and subpar seasons. Turns out he was having an off-year for a wretched Tampa Bay Lightning squad last year. Enter the New York Rangers who scooped up Prospal and threw him on a line alongside fellow free-agent Marian Gaborik. The result is eleven points through ten games with a prominent spot on the first line and power-play.
Andrew Brunette (RW, MIN)– The Minnesota Wild may be struggling to finds its way under the auspices of first-year coach Todd Richards, but team leader Andrew Brunette is rebounding nicely from knee surgery. Currently leading the Wild with five goals, Brunette and company are attempting to overcome a 1-6 start and not allow their division foes in Colorado to pull too far ahead of the pack.
Craig Anderson (G, COL) – Even though more than a few pundits picked Colorado to hover near the basement of the NHL standings, the Avalanche has instead rallied and gotten off to a 6-1-2 start. Heavy credit goes to net minder Craig Anderson, who came over from Florida and turned incumbent Peter Budaj into a backup by way of a .935 save percentage and stellar 2.09 GAA.
Jamie Benn (LW, DAL) – If Loui Eriksson was the young Stars player to lead the way for the Dallas Stars last year, then Jamie Benn just might be the heir apparent for the 2009/2010 year. Plucked by Dallas in the fifth round of the 2007 Entry Draft, Benn impressed enough in the pre-season to break camp with the Stars and has been rewarded with a spot on the second line alongside captain Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro. Benn has so far responded by netting eight points in ten games while notching 25 shots on goal.
Evander Kane (LW-C, ATL) – The Thrashers are making it interesting in the Southeast Division staying close to the runaway favorite Washington Capitols thanks to the mix of talents like Ilya Kovalchuk, Rich Peverley and Zach Bogosian. Add in eighteen-year old rookie Kane who despite doing time on the third line, has posted four points in seven games with a spot as a Top 6 forward in the not too far off future.
DL DEBUTS
Johan Franzen (LW-C, DET) – Following a 3-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 8 in which he scored the goal-winning goal, The Mule got diagnosed with a torn ACL that will have him out for at least four months. In the meantime, look for Coach Mike Babcock to shuffle Tomas Holmstrom, Jason Williams, Valterri Filppula and Ville Leino into the Top 6 forward mix.
Eric Cole (RW-L, CAR) – The prodigal son who returned to the Canes last year for a late season run after ending up with the Edmonton Oilers has been out since early October with a fractured leg. Cole incurred it during a third-period entanglement with Boston’s Dennis Wideman and isn’t expected back until mid-November.
Sergei Gonchar (D, PIT) – After having only played 25 games last year due to a bum shoulder, Sergei Gonchar is once again in the sick bay with a broken wrist that’s going to have him laid up for at least six weeks. With Gonchar’s absence depriving the Pens from utilizing a major power-play force, it’ll be up to young blue-liners Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski to pick up the special teams slack.
Daniel Sedin (LW-R, VAN) – Out west, the Canucks and twin brother Henrik will have to do without Daniel Sedin’s offensive firepower after the latter broke his left foot during a win over the Montreal Canadians when he took a shot off his skate. Expect him back in mid-to-late November at the earliest.
Marc Savard (C, BOS) – One of the best playmakers in the league and a key linchpin in the Bruins’ offense, Savard had four goals and seven points up through the first seven games of the season before fessing up that a shot he’d blocked in the pre-season had been ailing him. Following his taking another puck off his foot in practice, it was discovered that Savard had been skating with a fracture and now is slated to be out four-to-six weeks. It doesn’t help that the B’s will face further goal-scoring struggles with Milan Lucic on the IR with a broken finger that will keep him out until mid-to-late November.
GOALIE PLATOONS TO AVOID
Martin Biron/Dwayne Roloson/Rick DiPietro (NYI) – Love the youth movement, hate the results. It was not until the Isles played their seventh game before they were able to notch the team’s initial W for the season. Not necessarily a result of either Biron or Roloson’s play, it’s still very much-a-catch as catch-can situation over at Nassau Coliseum as Coach Scott Gordon refuses to name an outright number one starter even as the specter of DiPietro’s open-ended return looms large.
Vesa Toskala/Jonas Gustavsson/Joey McDonald/James Reimer (TOR) – The only team that’s more hapless than the Islanders, the Maple Leafs are still looking for their first win after seven through the season despite being guided by the formidable tandem of GM Brian Burke and Coach Ron Wilson. In the meantime, starter Vesa Toskala is tending to a sore knee and high-profile foreign import Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson has been grappling with a sore groin, leaving the net-minding duties to ex-Islander Joey McDonald, (who must be having flashbacks from last year) and prospect James Reimer. Stay away at all costs.
Pekke Rinne/Dan Ellis (NSH) – Even though backup Pekke Rinne wrested the starting job from Dan Ellis last season by posting a 2.38 GAA, .917 SV% and notching seven goose eggs while winning 29 games as opposed to Ellis’ 2.94/.900/3 shutouts and 11 win stats, Coach Barry Trotz has been playing his choice of starter very close to the vest. The two have been alternating games and in the process coming off as if they are doing their best to hand the starting gig over to their adversary.
Cristobal Huet/Antii Niemi (CHI) –Nikolai Khabibulin may have departed for the Edmonton Oilers and seemingly ensured that Cristobal Huet would be the uncontested Blackhawks starter going into the new season, Huet’s subpar play has allowed Finnish rookie Antii Niemi to come back into the mix. Unless Huet and Niemi are being handcuffed, owners will have to deal with another couple of weeks of indecision before Coach Joel Quennville decides to commit one way or the other.
Jonas Hiller/John-Sebastian Giguere (ANH) – Jonas Hiller clearly wrested the starting position from incumbent J.S. Giguere given the personal tumult Jiggy was dealing with off the ice. With the Ducks struggling to tickle the twine on a regular basis during the season’s early going, the goal-keeping hasn’t been much better. Not surprisingly given Coach Randy Carlyle’s secretive nature, frustration is a regular component of trying to figure out whether Hiller or Giguere is getting the start from one game to the next.