Surprises & Disappointments

We are one month into the NHL season and as is the case every year there things that are the way we thought they would be and there are surprises that nobody saw coming.

Whether these surprises hold up throughout the year remains to be seen but one thing I have learned in my years following the NHL is that if you get off to a bad start it can ruin your season.

(Cut to New Jersey Devils fans nodding their heads grimly while thinking of last year)

Anyway today we will take a look at a few surprises & disappointments of the 2011-2012 NHL season.

SURPRISES:

Edmonton Oilers:

Raise your hand if you thought the Edmonton Oilers would be at the top of the Western Conference after the 1st month of the season.

The Oilers are 8-2-2 on the season with a 6-1-1 record in Edmonton. They have won six in a row and are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for the best record in the West.

The Oilers young trio of forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (5G, 6A), Jordan Eberle (3G, 7A), & Taylor Hall (3G, 6A) are all near the top in scoring but two veterans are a big reason why the Oilers are where they are.

Nikolai Khabibulin is playing like he did in 2004 when he won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay. Khabibulin is 6-0-2 on the season with a GAA of 0.98 which is tops in the NHL and a save percentage of .963. which is 2nd to Josh Harding of the Minnesota Wild.

The other veteran who is having an impact for Edmonton is Ryan Smyth.

Smyth returned to the Oilers this summer after a five year sabbatical took him from Edmonton to Long Island to Denver to Los Angeles before returning to the Oil Capital of Canada this past summer.

While Smyth's return to Edmonton was a feel good story in the off-season his impact on the ice has been felt immediately. Smyth currently leads the Oilers in goals with six on the season and is tied with Nugent-Hopkins for the lead in points with 11.

The Oilers haven't made the playoffs since 2006 when they went to the Stanley Cup Finals. I'm not ready to say they are a playoff team yet but I do know this is a team that can skate well & score goals. If Khabibulin can keep playing at the level he is now there might just be hockey this spring in Edmonton. 

DISAPPOINTMENTS:

Boston Bruins:

When you talk about disappointments this season any list has to start with the defending Stanley Cup champions. 

The Bruins are 4-7-0 on the season and are tied for the worst record in the Eastern Conference. What makes this more disappointing is with the exception of a couple players it is the same team that won the Stanley Cup five months ago.

One thing the Bruins need to do is get David Krejci going. Krejci has played in 8 games this year and has one goal and no assists. Krejci is the Bruins most skilled forward and I have feeling that once he gets going so will the rest of the team. 

Another problem for the Bruins is their power play. Boston is 6 for 46 with the man advantage and are ranked 26 in the NHL. We saw their power play struggle last year in the playoffs and while they were able to overcome it and win the Stanley Cup I don't think they can afford to let this happen again.

I usually don't believe in a Stanley Cup hangover but watching the Bruins the few times I have this season I get the feeling they were a team that played the first month of the season resting on their laurels.

There have been rumors of G.M. Peter Chiarelli making a deal to shake up the team but so far nothing has happened. I'm guessing Chairelli is going to be patient and give the Bruins as much time as possible to play their way out of this funk but if they don't turn it around too soon it might be too late in Beantown.

Ville Leino:

I put him on this list only because he has been a personal disappointment to me.

While never finding his place in Detroit Leino made an impact for Philadelphia in the playoffs the last two years scoring 10 goals and 18 assists. As a result he signed a free agent contract with Buffalo worth 27 million over the next six years.

So far this season Leino has one goal & one assist for the Sabres. Coach Lindy Ruff has juggled his lines with Leino many times this season trying to find the right combination. So far nothing has clicked.

I've seen what Leino can do on the ice and I believe he is capable of being one of the better players in the NHL. Buffalo isn't in the dire strait that Boston is so the Sabres can be a little more patient with him. Hopefully Leino can turn things around soon.