Welcome to another edition of the Hockeybuzz hotstove.
Now that the 2014-15 season is underway, I wanted to get the hotstove more involved with current happenings rather than predicting what will occur as the year plays out.
The sample size thus far is obviously small, but here are some takeaways from hotstove members on week one of the NHL season.
Note: we will run this post every Monday throughout the season. Todd Cordell: Devils young defensemen ready to contribute
New Jersey struggled mightily to fill the net at even-strength last season and, though they added a couple top-6 forwards in the off-season, they needed their young defensemen to contribute to see any kind of significant difference.
Through two games, they have done just that. The young trio of Jon Merrill, Eric Gelinas and rookie Damon Severson have combined for two goals and five points through New Jersey's first two contests, and have looked good doing so.
When you factor in Andy Greene and Marek Zidlicky can produce offensively, and that Adam Larsson hasn't even played a game yet, there should be no problem generating offense from the backend this season.
If the Devils can continue to get these kinds of contributions, they'll make the playoffs.
Ryan Wilson: Penguins systematic changes are going to have positive tangible results The Penguins are not a chip and chase team anymore. You see more and more teams talking about puck possession, but the Penguins early on in this season are executing it. Dumping the puck in is a last resort and you can see the Penguins actively trying to gain the neutral zone and offensive zone with speed and full control of the puck.
The result has been 11 goals in two games. This Penguins team will be one of the more dangerous ones in recent memory and it is because of that change in tactical approach.
Making things easier for Mike Johnston is that Pittsburgh has a cornucopia of defensemen who are able to play successfully in this system (Rob Scuderi being the exception).
Also Patric Hornqvist is going to fit in just fine. In two games he has two goals and four points while firing 13 shots on goal.
Tim Chiasson: Crosby ready to dominate, Sharks still elite Week one of the NHL season has shown me that Sidney Crosby is ready to score 120+ points. Crosby looked effortless and unstoppable as he dominated opponents in the first two games of the season while racking up six points. It seems that after almost 600 NHL games they've finally found someone other than Kunitz that can keep up with Crosby on the wing and that's a scary thing for every other team in the league.
I've also learned that the San Jose Sharks players don't really care about the past. The Sharks have shown everyone that what happened last year is behind them and they're ready to move forward as a group. Captaincy questions didn't seem to affect them while they were teaching LA and Winnipeg how to score goals. The critics that were once very vocal about whether or not this team could continue to be a top team in the West have been silenced for the time being. Coming into the season the Sharks needed to show me they could leave distractions off the ice, and so far they have. It's only been two games, but what would people say if they had started 0-2?
Adam French: Hornqvist will fit in, Wild are for real 1. A happy Crosby and a happy Malkin make for a deadly combo...unsurprisingly...oh and Hornqvist is justifying my constant drafting of him in every fantasy draft since 2009.
2. Sometimes a new message can really pay off, see Nashville and why Trotz had to go.
3. The Wild will scare teams. The young team looks poised to gel and improve. Suter is a monster, Brodin is back to form after a bit of a sophomore slump and just look at that forward core going forward. Really underrated. I'm not sure if Kuemper can keep this up, but if he does, watch out, the West continues to be a miasma of difficulty.
4. Nail Yakupov is the most maligned first overall pick in the history of the NHL. He basically makes the play on the first goal against the Canucks, scores a nice goal himself...see's 9 minutes of ice time. Now I know they were shorthanded a lot, but 9 freaking minutes? He's 21 Dallas, if you don't like him that much ask MacT to trade him to a team that will.
5. Wait...Debby Dubnyk is in the NHL? And he won a game? Is this Bizzaro World?
6. Phaneuf's "natural" side eh? Naturally horrendous side, yeesh. I don't know of any worse insult than being the number one defender on the team, playing the heaviest competition and in all situations...and having every zone entry attacking your side directly and getting great results. I'm not a Phaneuf hater, but get that guy to the other side and fast.
7. Sabres fans are in for a long season, but at least they get to watch Zemgus "best name in the NHL" Girgensons bust his rump 24/7.
8. I know the Montreal media wants to lynch him and run him out of town because...REASONS?...but Michel Therrien is a coach I would take any day of the week. He might have a limited shelf life and eventually a team will tune him out (like basically every coach other than Babcock apparently), but all he does is get the best out of his teams.
9. Speaking of Montreal, how about that Markov? Man is he ever underrated, he might be getting older and slower, but the brain more than makes up for it. While Subban gets all the press (good and bad), it's amusing to see Markov continue to lead the Habs in ice time and play in all situations.
10. Who gets fired first? Randy Carlyle or Craig Berube? Come on Flyers fans, it worked last time. Besides, it isn't a season without the Flyers doing something crazy. Then everybody getting to determine if it was "crazy good" or "crazy bad" in hindsight.
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What did you learn from week one of the 2014-15 season? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
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