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Chel has hypomania behaviors creatin' headlines off the ice in the first 15 games (for most). Edmonton is a disaster zone; Panthers are sharpening their claws down south; and the Penguins are playin' with a loud squawk in the Steel City.
It's been a brutal start to the season in Edmonton. Oilers were the second best team in the Western Conference last season and now have started the new campaign as the second worst team in the entire league. Oiler's front office wasn't waiting around for things to get potentially worse: at 3-9-1 following a playoffs collapse they decided to can head coach Jay Woodcroft after going 79-41-13 over parts of three seasons with the club.
The fire happened over night and was a shock to the staff and players. Shock that struck captain Connor McDavid as he stated Woodcroft never lost the locker-room:
video via Edmonton Oilers//X
I don't agree with firing him to the personel and staff's surprise. McDavid's body language and shock is a prime example. I can quickly compare it to the situation with the Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis firing Raider's head coach Josh McDaniels. Davis did the firing well, interviewing players and staff members and then including their opinions in the termination decision. The Raiders' locker-room blossmed and the vibes felt positive all around. Here in Edmonton that's obviously not the case, McDavid proves that in the interview. In no way am I saying don't fire him; I happen to like the decision as the front office is showin' accountability & showin' their fans they are understanding of the fact the team's record is a complete an utter shame. Just don't blindside your players. Especially in this case when the team captain claims Woodcroft never lost the locker room (could be camera cap). Transparency is always a key factor to a successful work environment and for team morale.
Oilers replace Woodcroft with Kris Knoblauch who has been coaching the NY Rangers’ AHL team, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Knoblauch is a perfect fit. Mostly because he has some links to the club; he was Connor McDavid’s junior hockey coach. Knoblauch becomes the 'chises 10th coach in 15 seasons and the fifth since McDavid joined the team in 2015. Hall of Famer Paul Coffey joins his staff as an assistant, with Dave Manson also dismissed. A whole new feel behind the bench. I like the moves; it's not too late for them to salvage this brutal start to the season. It's now or never, though. The fact we are seeing another season of the power duo of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl be wasted is disgusting to experience.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl is without a question a top three duo of the 21st-century on the ice & I don't see them at 2 or 3. The Oilers wastage (no pun) of the duo is far worse than the Los Angeles Angels wasting the duo of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. The Angels didn't see a comfortable big leaguer in Ohtani until 2021- the eleventh season for Mike Trout. Draisaitl and McDavid started their careers together in Edmonton. Disregarding Leon's first season, the Oilers have had 9 years to build a quality roster behind their superstars. Last season, the two broke long lasting records as scorers & had the Oilers destined to be a power player in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The team sh** the bed. Now here we are and the team is in the bottom of the league to start the season. It's just nasty work.
Don't get it twisted, the Oilers losing isn't all on Woodcroft and Manson. McDavid and Draisaitl have been lackluster to start the season. More so McDavid. They need to step up too, but the concerns point directly to the defense. Knoblauch has a job in front of him as they need changes and STAT. I think he's a good man for the job. The team is already turnin' some gears as they ride a three game winnin' streak and two game since the coaching change. That includes two dubs and four big points in the Pacific with wins over the Kraken. McDavid has a spark since the coaching change scoring three points in the last two games after having just one point and no goals in the five games prior in November. Lets see if the hire was a) the right decision and b) the right timing in the season. So far things look on the up.
Panthers have some claws again! The cats are scorching hot matchin' the Penguins for the longest win streak in the league at five to move into third place atop the Eastern Conference. Florida is 8-1-1 in their last ten games, the best record in that stretch outside of the red hot Rangers. Last year's Stanley Cup runner-up is officially back.
The Panthers have flipped the table after starting the campaign 2-3-0 and are seeing Sam Reinhart; Aleksander Barkov; and Matthew Tkachuk start to catch some grooves on the offensive end of the ice. Reinhart is the hottest one on the win streak; the cat has points in each game puttin' up 4 goals; 8 assists; and one game winning-goal. The heatwave puts Reinhart second in the league in goals (12) & tied-third in the league in total points along Nikita Kucherov (23). Reinhart's spark has reflected off Tkachuk who has been an assist machine so far in November. Tkachuk has recorded an assist in six of the seven games this month and has one in each of the five games of the win streak. He has 7 total assists in the five games. A straight machine dishin' the puck for the Panthers' second line as he has elevated Carter Verhaeghe to a consistent scorer across the win streak scoring goals in four of the five. Panthers' fans love what they are seeing from the top two lines.
Tkachuk and Reinhart might be doing all the heavy lifting in terms of scoring, but Aleksander Barkov is playin' some of the best all around puck; executing the offense and being stout defending the backside blockin' shots and layin' some lumber. Barkov has the second best plus/minus among all skaters in the NHL. He's been a huge factor to the club's winnin' streak, don't let his light scoring be camouflage to that. The captain has been doin' captain things, let me just put it like that.
Winnin' is winnin'; we know that, but the wins on the streak do happen to be against below average teams in the standings. Business is about to pick up on their schedj, markin' the win streak to be very important as they are ready to prove legitimacy against a solid slate of comp to finish the month of November. They run a quick gauntlet in the Pacific against solid squads in the Ducks; Kings; and a possible resurrected Oilers team. Then they have back-to-back bouts versus two squads who beat them in October: the Bruins and Jets. Panthers wrap up with a Canadian tour against three stout Atlantic squads.
Time to buckle up Panthers. Luckily, they have sharpened their claws in perfect time. This team is ready to prove that the Stanley Cup Final appearance wasn't a fluke & that they are ready to be considered a team to beat in the Eastern Conference as the season progresses. I like them to finish the month strong. They look sharp and this kind of confidence and win streak can always turn dangerous for the oppositions- and quickly. Especially when they start beating high level comp. Times are an up; down south.
Winnipeg might not be scorching hot like the Panthers and Penguins, but they are cruising the jetstream with steady air while building up a dangerous offense. The Jets now have two three game-winning streaks on the campaign... the only issue? They have a three game losing streak in between the two for filling to a sandwich of inconsistency. Despite that, I still like what's cookin' in Winnipeg. I mean, the offense is straight fire!
Led by Kyle Connor, the Jets are provin' to have a top tier offense. They have scored more than one goal in all but one game ranking second in total points scored; second in total team assists; and tied fourth in goals-for per game. Seven of the Jets' eight wins had them score four or more goals. The problem is they have to score at will to avoid their poor defense- like the Oilers last season. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has been shaky in the net for the Jets despite his seven wins. His 2.99 goals/against per game ranks 27th among goalies and his .894% save percentage is tied-37th among all goalies. The Jets can score all they want, but if Hellebuyck and the defense don't step up and alter their play then Winnipeg won't beat the good to great teams.
Calgary is their only "bad loss" as the other Ls are against the Golden Knights; Stars; Rangers; Habs; and Kings. That's an extremely obvious trend. They can't beat the good teams. High scoring offense that electrifies scoreboards, but can't beat the good teams. Sounds like the Miami Dolphns. Jets have a chance to start a narration change as they face a good slate of comp to finish the month including games against the Stars and Panthers. They will continue to try and ride the heatwave of Kyle Connor.
Connor is playing like arguably the hottest skater in the league in the past week and a half. He has 8 goals and 5 assists on the month including a hat trick and 2 game-winning goals. His recent scoring onslaught has elevated him to a tie with Brock Boeser and Auston Matthews atop the league in goals with 13. Connor has been as clutch as clutch can be as he now leads the league with 4 game-winning goals. Embrace his elite scoring with this FILTHY deke and score against the Preds:
Video via Winnipeg Jets//X
Just a filthy move. Connor is on a tear right now and is straight fueling the Jets to third in the Central. They have more work ahead, more growth to be made. That's no cap, but you gotta love what they are cookin' considering the poor goaltending and defense. Quite simple set of goals in Winnipeg: get better on the power-play; get better in the net; and beat the good teams. Oh, and get better on the PK. They rank in the bottom six in PK percentage, cleaning that up will help Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit find some confidence in the net as the comp will only get tougher as the season goes on.
November slate of puck is lookin' dandy. The Eastern Conference has major attention as it has been an all out bloodbath from the top to bottom. The standings are tight in the East. Like, tight-tight cha heard. A week of puck could flip-flop the standings with ease. It's just the kind of noise we like. Especially for us journalists. So much to cover, so much to unravel. Just noise on noise- them good vibes! If you haven't peeped the most recent drop of my NHL Power Rankings; I'll include those as a conclusion. I will let the weekend of noise rang, but I will be right back with a new power ranking drop and Sin-Bin Chatter on Monday or Tuesday of next week. Enjoy some puck!
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