Oilers, Habs, Canucks off to surprising starts
3 Canadian teams a combined 13-2-2
Hands up if you thought the Edmonton Oilers would have the NHL's best record, the Montreal Canadiens would be the top team in the East and the Vancouver Canucks would be a top-five club.
OK, we know the NHL season is only through its second weekend. But not one of the seven Canadian clubs made the playoffs a year ago, so the impressive starts have been noticeable for the speedy young Oilers, stingy Canadiens and comeback-minded Canucks.
The third-period magic wasn't there for Vancouver on the road Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks in a 4-2 loss — the first in regulation for the Canucks this season. Maybe it had something to do with the fact this was Vancouver's sixth game in nine nights and the Canucks endured a shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings the night before.
Still, it's quite a start for a team that came into the season with low expectations, hasn't won a post-season series since losing Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final to Boston, and missed the playoffs in two of the last three years.
The Canucks are 4-1-1 out of the gate, despite the fact that goalie Ryan Miller missed four games with an injury and high-priced free-agent signing Loui Eriksson hasn't scored yet — against the opposition, that is.
The 36-year-old Sedins have been, well, the Sedins, scoring five of Vancouver's 14 goals (three by Henrik, two by Daniel) but the story for Vancouver has been its penchant for comebacks.
In their opener, the Canucks scored late to tie the Calgary Flames and pulled out a 2-1 shootout win. The next night, Vancouver overcame a two-goal deficit with a pair of third-period goals in a 4-3 overtime win over Carolina.
A similar scenario then played out in Vancouver's 2-1 overtime win against St. Louis, and the Canucks fell behind 3-0 before they countered with three goals in the final 32 minutes of regulation to squeeze out a point in Los Angeles on Saturday.
The Canucks are 4-0-0 at home, with three of those wins coming beyond regulation time, and 0-1-1 on the road. They return home for three games this week before they embark on a six-game road trip that begins against the Canadiens on Nov. 2.
Habs ride goalies, depth to hot start
In the Canadiens, the Canucks will meet a team that successfully survived its first three games without a flu-ridden Carey Price. Backup Al Montoya was excellent until Price returned to steer the Habs to back-to-back wins.
Montreal has won three in a row to improve to 4-0-1. The conference-leading Canadiens have scored a league-high four goals a game and surrendered a league-low 1.6, resulting in an NHL-best goal differential of plus-11.
The Canadiens' strong start has been due to their goaltending and top-to-bottom roster depth. Already, 13 different Habs have scored. Top-six forward Brendan Gallagher has scored three times, as has fourth-liner Torrey Mitchell, and newcomer Shea Weber swiftly won over the Habs faithful with a five-game point streak.
McDavid, Talbot lead surging Oilers
Not even Connor McDavid can boast a five-game point streak in the early season, but the Oilers' high-flying sophomore centre hasn't disappointed. His four goals and nine points have him tied for the lead in the scoring race with San Jose defenceman Brent Burns and Boston left wing Brad Marchand.
Edmonton is off to a 5-1-0 start, and Cam Talbot has started all six games. You won't find him among the top 10 in save percentage or goals-against average, but he leads the league with five wins — two more than any other goalie.
The 29-year-old from Caledonia, Ont. capped off an incredible week (both on and off the ice) on Sunday with a 3-0 win in the Heritage Classic in Winnipeg against the Jets, becoming only the third goalie in 19 outdoor games to record a shutout (the visiting team, by the way, now has a 14-4-1 record in open air). Last Wednesday, Talbot's wife, Kelly, gave birth to twins, Sloane and Landon.
Whether or not the Oilers, who are off to their best start since 1985-86, make the playoffs for the first time since losing Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup final to Carolina will depend on Talbot's play. But there's a long way to go.