By: Greg Cameron
After a 119-day lockout, the 2012-13 NHL season is upon us, and it couldn’t have begun any
hotter. Due to the shortened 48-game
schedule, this season will be determined by the teams that get off to a quick
start and by the key players that can stay healthy. While typical pack leaders like Boston,
Pittsburgh and San Jose can be found in their usual spots in the standings,
other teams like San Jose and Tampa Bay have burst out of the gate; meanwhile,
disappointing starts like those of Washington, Philadelphia and Phoenix have
brought about an early setback on the road to the playoffs. Here are some surprises thus far and some
teams to watch as the season turns two weeks old.
The most surprising start to
the season is that of San Jose Sharks LW Patrick Marleau. He became the second player in NHL history to
open a season with four straight multi-goal games, and his league-leading nine
goals is four more than the next closest players (five tied at five goals). Marleau and linemate Joe Thornton are tied
for the league lead in points with 13, and their other linemate, Joe Pavelski,
is tied for third with 10 points. To illustrate
their impact on the team, the line of Marleau-Thornton-Pavelski currently accounts
for half of the Sharks’ point totals (33 of 67 points). This unprecedented scoring will keep coming
so long as the Sharks stay solid on defense and in net. It will be interesting to see how teams match
up against this high-powered scoring line.
The team to watch is the Chicago
Blackhawks. They lead the league and the
Western Conference in points with 12 and have started the season with an
impressive six-game win streak. The
‘Hawks opened the season in Los Angeles against the defending Stanley Cup
champion Kings, a tough task which they took in full stride, scoring three goals
in the first period alone, followed by a fourth that came one minute and 16
seconds after the first intermission.
They would go on to win by a score of 5-2. One day later, Chicago came to Phoenix and
beat the Coyotes in their home opener, 6-4.
Their next four wins against St. Louis, Dallas, Columbus and Detroit
came by scores of 3-2, 3-2 (OT), 3-2 and 2-1 (OT) respectively. What makes this team dangerous? First, examine their star power at the
forward positions. Their top two lines
contain potent scorers in captain Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp
and Patrick Kane. Fittingly, the top
four point-getters for the Blackhawks are: Kane (9 pts.), Hossa (8), Sharp (6)
and Toews (6). Second, their
inconsistent goaltending issues of years past seem to have vanished. Starter Corey Crawford already has a notable
stat line of five win sin five starts, with a 1.78 goals against average (GAA)
and a .933 save percentage (SV%). His
backup, Ray Emery, who started over a struggling Crawford for a portion of last
season, registered a win in his only start thus far against the Phoenix
Coyotes. A collapse similar to those in
years past is possible, but expect the Blackhawks to hold a top-two spot in the
Central Division, as the Blues look to be their only legitimate competition in
division.
The closest divisional race
down the stretch looks like it will take place in the Eastern Conference’s
Atlantic Division. This division is full
of struggling teams that are usually strong playoff contenders, but there is no
clear front-runner right now. New Jersey
leads the division with seven points, followed by Pittsburgh with six, the NY
Islanders with five and the NY Rangers and Philadelphia tied with four. Last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs saw four
Atlantic teams earn playoff berths. The
Penguins and Flyers provided hockey fans with an unbelievable cross-state
rivalry series in the first round that saw the Flyers take the series in six
games. The Flyers then met the Devils in
the conference semi-finals and lost in five games. The Devils and Rangers faced off in the
Eastern Conference Finals, with the Devils winning the series four games to two
and advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Atlantic Division is historically one of the stronger and more
competitive divisions in the league, and it is shaping up to be so this year as
well. This division has sent three or
more teams to the postseason every year since the 2005-06 season; the
expectation is for them to do the same this season, but we will not know which
teams until the last couple weeks of the season.
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