Story Archive

Colorado leads the NHL in five-on-five finishing and is still 1-3-2 in one-goal games. Its chances have dropped from last season, and the shooting is covering for it.

Toronto has a top-five power play and penalty kill, and a five-on-five game that ranks 26th. The Leafs are 8-9-2 and the special teams are doing all the work.

Carolina is 14-3-2 and first in five-on-five share, chance creation and shots, and it did it with Seth Jarvis and Taylor Hall missing most of the season.

Wyatt Johnston scored 45 goals last season and has three this season on chances worth 8.3. No shooter in the NHL is further below expected.

Cutter Gauthier had two goals in his first 11 games and has 13 in his last six. We were wrong about him. Anaheim's five-on-five problem is still there underneath.

Florida has gone from 21st to 2nd in five-on-five chances allowed while playing almost without Aleksander Barkov. The offence is what needs him back.

New Jersey leads the league at five-on-five and is 8-2 since mid-October. The weak spot was its goaltending, worst of all on the penalty kill, and Connor Hellebuyck is 4-0.

Montreal went 5-0-1 without Nick Suzuki because Jacob Fowler has been the second-best goaltender in the league. The power play is still the worst in hockey.

Calgary was 0-5 when we said sell. It is 7-3-1 since, but the five-on-five numbers and the scoring have barely moved, and that makes this a better time to sell.

The Rangers are 5-5-1 since Igor Shesterkin's season-ending injury. Dylan Garand has held up, and a league-leading penalty kill has done the rest.

Connor McDavid has 37 points in 14 games and Edmonton leads the West. Away from his line, the Oilers have been outscored at five-on-five.

Nikita Kucherov has asked for a trade and Julien BriseBois says no. The numbers say Tampa's bigger problem this season is Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Seattle sent Shane Wright to Nashville for Matthew Wood. Both are at 47 per cent this season, and the trade does nothing about the Kraken's real problems.

Winnipeg is nine games without a win and 1-8-2 since Josh Morrissey hurt his wrist. The goaltending after the Hellebuyck trade has held up. The rest has not.

Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett returned in a 6-3 win over Utah. Philadelphia was last in five-on-five share, chance creation and shooting, and two wingers will not fix all of it.

Dylan Larkin has left the Red Wings until he is traded. Detroit is seventh in five-on-five expected goals share, and its best line this season does not include him.

Last season the Islanders' goaltenders saved 40 goals for a team that could not finish. This season the finishing is neutral, Matthew Schaefer is playing 27 minutes a night, and the Islanders are 7-4-2.

Alex Tuch has ten goals in 12 games and the Tuch, Strome and Kyrou line is at 66 per cent. Washington's chance creation is second in the league. Its defence is still 23rd.

Vancouver is 3-11-1, last in the NHL in five-on-five expected goals share and last on the penalty kill by a wide margin. Luck has very little to do with it.

Columbus has three power-play goals in 11 games, four of its five wins have come after regulation, and Kent Johnson's seven goals on 3.1 expected are hiding how little else is going in.

Utah is third in the NHL at five-on-five and has the most power-play goals in the league. Its penalty kill has allowed 13, and the power play cannot keep covering for it.

Mason McTavish leads the NHL in individual five-on-five chances. St. Louis is 5-6-1 anyway, and the gap between Joel Hofer and Jordan Binnington explains most of it.

Buffalo is level at five-on-five. Its power play is last in the NHL at 9.8 per cent, its penalty kill allows the third-most chances, and its special teams are minus-seven.

Pittsburgh is ninth in five-on-five expected goals share and 5-6-1. Its depth is winning its minutes while Crosby's line and Erik Karlsson are underwater.

Anaheim created the third-most chances in the NHL last season. After selling four defencemen it is 19th, Jackson LaCombe is at 37 per cent, and the Ducks have won one of seven.

Chicago is 2-1 with Connor Bedard and 1-5 without him, but the shots against barely move. The blue line has been the problem for two years, and Knight is no longer hiding it.

Last season Stamkos and Forsberg scored 24.5 goals more than their chances were worth. This season they are scoring about what they should, and the team underneath them is showing through.

Colorado has the hottest finishing in the NHL and a 1-3-1 record in one-goal games. The two pieces of luck cancel out, and what is left points at the crease.

Ottawa is 7-1 when Linus Ullmark starts and 0-3 with Samuel Ersson. Ullmark is on injured reserve, and the team in front of him is closer to average than the record says.

Boston has the best goal differential in the NHL and an expected goal differential of zero. Goaltending and finishing make up the whole gap, and this time more of it looks real.

Los Angeles finally won in Washington after an 0-4-2 start. The expected goals say the Kings were close to even, with finishing and goaltending costing nine goals. The real worry is on the blue line.

Jake Oettinger has three shutouts and leads the NHL in goals saved above expected. Dallas has allowed the fewest goals in the league, but at five-on-five it ranks 28th in creating chances again.

Kirill Kaprizov leads the NHL with 11 goals, but Jesper Wallstedt is the reason Minnesota's start can last. With Gustavsson on LTIR, the Wild should plan their crease around the 23-year-old.

Montreal is fifth in five-on-five shot share and 28th in five-on-five save percentage. The Canadiens are 1-2-2 when Jakub Dobes starts and 3-1 with Jacob Fowler. The crease decision is not hard.

Carolina is 8-2-1 and first in the NHL without Seth Jarvis, Jordan Staal or Taylor Hall. It is second in five-on-five expected goals share with bottom-third shooting and goaltending.

Macklin Celebrini has eight points in four games, but San Jose is last in five-on-five offence and all three of its wins needed overtime. The young forwards around him are being outplayed badly.

Vegas was 29th in goaltending last season and still reached the Cup Final. This season the skaters are the same, the goaltending is merely average, and the Golden Knights are 6-2.

Seattle is 5-2, but three wins came against Calgary and Philadelphia. The Kraken are 25th at five-on-five and more than ten goals ahead of expected on shooting and goaltending.

New Jersey has scored first once in six games. It also leads the NHL in five-on-five chances. The real problems are finishing, goaltending and the penalty kill, and they show up in the first period.

Winnipeg is 4-1-1 with Connor Hellebuyck suspended. Stuart Skinner has been above expected and the special teams are elite, but the Jets are 26th at five-on-five again. Why the trade price should hold.