We’re at, roughly, the 15 percent pole of the NHL season. No matter what the percentage of an NHL season, it’s never too early for a “What have we learned?”-type column.
So, what have we learned?
The Edmonton Oilers are going to be one scary team, if they aren’t already.
The Avalanche got a stud player at the No. 2 pick in Gabriel Landeskog, but, boy, the Oilers got one too in No. 1 selection Ryan Nugent- Hopkins.
Is it just me, or is there just a hint of similarity — looks-wise, number-wise, ability-wise — between “The Nuge” and a retired Oiler named Wayne Gretzky?
Along with Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers have great young forwards in Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, plus a goalie — Nikolai Khabibulin — playing out of his mind right now.
Somebody is probably going to get fired in Columbus soon.
It’s a strange situation in C-Bus, where the Blue Jackets are 2-11-1 after Saturday’s disgraceful showing in Philadelphia. The coach they fired (Ken Hitchcock) to make room for the new one (Scott Arniel) is still on the organization’s payroll and has been seen a lot lately sitting with other members of Blue Jackets management.
Is Hitch ready to come to the rescue? Or is this just a MacGuffin? We’ll see, but the strongest signs of a change coming are already in place: the denials from management that anything is coming.
Attendance has been horrible in several cities.
Despite another winning team, fans in Arizona couldn’t care less about their NHL team. Entering Saturday, Phoenix was averaging 9,544 per game at Arena, last in the league. Dallas, with a 9-3-0 team, was 29th at 10,001.
The Avalanche is averaging 15,016, but anybody who has been in the building lately knows that hasn’t been the actual number of bodies in seats. Colorado ranks 23rd in attendance — its third consecutive season among the bottom 10.
The Penguins are already good without Crosby.
There is a good chance Sidney Crosby will be on the ice against the Avalanche, when Colorado plays in Pittsburgh on Nov. 15.
The game’s biggest star — out since January with concussion symptoms — is practicing daily with the team and signs are pointing to a return in the middle of the month.
The Penguins entered Saturday’s game at Los Angeles at 8-3-3 without Crosby, so the question of how good this team will be after he returns is an interesting one. Sometimes, though, teams backslide after a superstar returns. “Phew, we won’t have to work as hard anymore” is a dangerous attitude symptom that can creep in after that happens.
The Shanahan effect is taking hold across the NHL.
The presence of the new sheriff of NHL discipline, Brendan Shanahan, is now widely felt in team locker rooms. Players are much more mindful of avoiding hits to the head now, for fear of becoming the subject of Shanahan’s latest suspension video on .
Some of the older players are still having trouble adjusting, though. Andy Sutton, the 14- year veteran D-man with Edmonton, is the latest example. Sutton remains suspended for his elbow to the head of the Avs’ Gabriel Landeskog on Oct. 28.
Otherwise, it’s a constant topic of conversation in the dressing rooms and the general consensus is the expansion and crackdown of Rule 48 — with stiffer penalties for hits to the head — is a good thing.
Some of the old-school guys still have the attitude of “No decapitation, no penalty,” but there is nothing tough about hitting a guy in the head when he’s not looking.
Because of hits like that, Crosby has been out for nearly a year now. And that’s good for hockey how?
Around the league
Grumbling about Stewart’s play now starting
Remember all those potshots taken at the Avalanche from critics over the decision to send Chris Stewart (and Kevin Shattenkirk) to St. Louis, principally for Erik Johnson?
Plenty of critics of the deal still exist, but some of the grumbling about Stewart that happened at times in Denver has surfaced in St. Louis.
Stewart had two goals, one assist and a minus-4 in his first 12 games, and his ice time was diminishing under coach Davis Payne. Stewart played just 11:49 in Friday’s 3-2 victory over Vancouver.
“I’m kind of known to be streaky,” Stewart told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It’s just a matter of when. I’m not going to worry too much and read into it. It’s a long year. We want to be playing our best hockey when it counts. I’m not saying now doesn’t count, but I’ll get back on track.” . . .
There was some high tension between Washington superstar Alex Ovechkin and coach Bruce Boudreau last week, but all appears to be calm now. Boudreau benched Ovechkin in the final minute of regulation in a game against Anaheim, with the Caps down a goal and pressing for a tie. That the Caps rallied to tie and win in overtime didn’t stop Ovechkin from expressing his displeasure afterward. Hats off to Boudreau from not backing down, though. That figures to raise his stock among the other players who might have wondered if Ovechkin received preferential treatment in the past.
