End to End Hockey Blog

 Which of these teams who have had unexpected hot starts can keep them going.

Hey guys and welcome to another blog post as today we are checking in on a couple of teams who have started this year surprisingly well as there are a handful of teams (at least in my opinion) who have had way better starts then I was expecting, so we will break down each of their starts to the year and I give my opinion on if I believe their start is sustainable and if they can keep going and make the playoffs this year, so without further delay, here are 3 teams who have had a really good start to the 26-27 season.

3.) Ottawa Senators

Record 8-4-0

Goal differential 38-34+4

Point leaders T.Stutzle 16, D.Batherson 12, C.Giroux 8

Quick Analysis: now the Senators are one of my favourite teams and I was shocked when I saw most people say that they would fall out of the playoffs when they traded Tkachuk in the offseason, and I probably surprised some people when I took the Senators to make the playoffs as a WC team, but even as a Sens fan, I couldn’t have predicted this sort of start. They have been buzzing to begin the season as they have had one of their best starts in the last decade and it seems like without the Tkachuk distraction this team is playing like a well oiled machine, up front the Offense is looking great, they are getting scoring from everywhere, they are averaging just over 3 goals a game and getting key scoring when they need it, and on top of that Stutzle looks like a completely different player, as without Tkachuk this is his team now and he is putting up points like we haven’t seen in a while, as he already has 16 points in 12 games and might flirt with 100 points this year if he keeps it up, now defensively it hasn’t been as great but you do have to remember they were without Sanderson and Zub for the first chunk of the year (their top pair from last year) and while Ersson hasn’t been great as the backup,  Ullmark is looking like his Vezina self again being a beast in net, and take away the 2nd half of back to back’s (which they are 0-3-0 in) and this team is looking great, now I think if they can keep this sort of play up they will definitely make the playoffs and while I think they might slow down a bit, I can definitely still see them doing well and finishing top 3 in the Atlantic after this start they have had, so that’s my thoughts on Ottawa, now on to the next team.

2.) Seattle Kraken 

Record 7-4-1

Goal differential 45-42+3

Point leaders: K.Kakko 10, J.Eberle/B.Catton/B.Montour/C.Stephenson 9

Quick Analysis: now another team who has had a bit of a surprising start and a team who I wasn’t expecting to even sniff the postseason this year is the Seattle Kraken. Now me along with a lot of people I saw were expecting the Kraken to be a bottom dweller this year, as I had them in the bottom 5 in the NHL but they have not looked like a team who got worse this offseason as they look like a well oiled machine early on and now sit 3rd in the Pacific, now unlike with Ottawa I would take their start with a grain of salt because 4 of their 7 wins currently came against the Red Wings and Flames, as I don’t think either of those two teams are great teams and I believe the Kraken probably should have won those games, but they still took down 2 good teams in Utah and Washington so far this year as well, so they are doing better then expected for sure. Now their offense is scoring by committee as no one is a point per game (with Kakko leading the way with 10 points) but 8 separate players have 8+ points which is reminding me a lot of the season a few years ago when they made the playoffs as they are scoring at nearly 4 goals a game, but their defence hasn’t been as sound which is to be expected after losing Oleksiak in the offseason but Daccord and especially Grubauer have been looking good in net and have been keeping Seattle in games, so with all that being said I do still think I need to see more from Seattle before I believe in them as I still don’t know if this start is sustainable and I think SJ and Anaheim will get better, but I think they will at least be competing late into the season unlike what I was expecting and I think they may have a outside shot now to make the playoffs, so that’s my thoughts on Seattle and lastly going over to Boston. 

1.) Boston Bruins 

Record: 9-2-1

Goal differential 38-26+22

Point leaders D.Pastrnak 17, F.Minten 10, E.Lindholm 10

Quick Analysis: now the last team and in my opinion the team who has surprised me most this year to start has to be the Boston Bruins, now unlike Seattle I wasn’t expecting the Bruins to do poorly as I had them in the high 80’s in my preseason predictions and just missing out on a playoff spot, but now they are looking like the ageless wonder as they just seem to never go away, this team is being good on all sides of the puck as the offense is humming and just like with Seattle they are scoring by committee as 6 different players have 9 plus points but unlike Seattle Boston has a suprstar producing at over a point per game and that is Pastrnak who already has 17 points in 12 games and is looking lethal as ever, but it’s their defence that has been impressive as they look great on the defensive side and with a elite goalie in Swayman they have been keeping their opponents to nearly a 2 goals against per game average which is amongst the best in the NHL, so they have elite scoring, elite defence and have looked all around great, now as much as the pains me as a Sen’s and Sabres fan, with Swayman in net and their offensive contributions from top to bottom I think they can keep this up and even if they falter a bit I would think the Bruins stand a good chance to make the playoffs which is something I didn’t think at the beginning of the year.

Honourable Mentions: UTA 8-4-0, NYR 7-5-1

Quick analysis: now two other teams who I think had solid starts but who I would put just outside the rankings is Utah and NYR, as I expected Utah to challenge for the Central title this year so at least in my eyes the Mammoth start is just impressive and not surprising like it might be to other people, while NYR was off to a blistering and surprising start in the first 3 weeks but the last two weeks without Shesterkin have been rough on NYR and they haven’t looked as good which is why at this point their start doesn’t look at good as Ottawa’s or Boston’s.

So those are my thoughts on a few teams who have had great starts and how I think they will do going forward, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the Comments, so you think Seattle, Ottawa and Boston can make the playoffs after their hot starts or are they poised to fall off eventually, love to hear your thoughts, thanks for tuning in and don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel as well, thanks and have a good night.