NHL Quarter-Season Review: Rising Stars, Surprising Standings, and Major Injuries

The NHL has reached the one-quarter mark, and it has already been a doozy of a season. With all that has taken place, be thankful there are still nearly five months before we even get to the playoffs, plus an Olympic tournament. With that in mind, here are three hits and misses so far.

This past Tuesday provided a great look at the league’s future when Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks, the first pick of the 2023 draft, recorded a hat trick against the Calgary Flames. The 2024 first pick, Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks, did the same against the Utah Mammoth. 

Both rising stars are battling for the scoring title, but that is just the tip of the iceberg for the amazing youngsters around the NHL. Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson, chosen second after Bedard, is having a breakout campaign, while Matthew Schaffer of the New York Islanders is showing why the Islanders wisely took him first overall last summer. It is a treat to know plenty of hands are poised to take the torch.

The Anaheim Ducks, who last made the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2018, are atop the Pacific Division. The Detroit Red Wings, last in the playoffs in 2016, are neck-and-neck for the Atlantic Division lead. The Chicago Blackhawks, who last reached the postseason in a full season in 2017, are also in the mix. Save for the Utah Mammoth and San Jose Sharks, many longtime bottom-feeders are suddenly climbing while several perennial powers are struggling. We are seeing a genuine changing of the guard.

All 16 teams in the Eastern Conference are separated by merely 10 points, and the league is already closing in on 100 loser points with so many games going beyond 60 minutes. Love or hate the shootout — and how it fuels debates over a 3-2-1-0 point system — the stage is set for a wild playoff chase down the road.

The tsunami of injuries to key players began with the defending champion Florida Panthers losing Matthew Tkachuk and Sasha Barkov long-term before the season even started. It has only gotten worse. This past week, Boston’s Charlie McAvoy took a puck to the face and is out indefinitely. Winnipeg star goalie Connor Hellebuyck will miss up to six weeks due to knee surgery. 

New Jersey’s Jack Hughes is out two months after having surgery on a finger cut during a team dinner. Florida’s Eetu Luostarinan is sidelined after suffering burns in a barbecue accident. Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk has been out since suffering a thumb injury one week into the campaign, Vegas captain Mark Stone is sidelined with a wrist injury, and Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko is dealing with a suspected groin issue. The list only keeps growing.

Meanwhile, the reigning Stanley Cup champions and runners-up are struggling. The Panthers’ woes are understandable with all of their injuries. But why the Edmonton Oilers are so lost is mystifying. Suddenly Connor McDavid cannot score, and most of his teammates have followed suit. Edmonton has managed only four regulation-time victories — fewer than their rivals, the last-place Calgary Flames.

The big-market misery does not end there. The New York Rangers have only one home win and are struggling mightily to score goals at Madison Square Garden. Their defensive play hasn’t been much better. Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs, ahead of only the Buffalo Sabres in the East, cannot keep the puck out of their net, are dealing with a massive wave of injuries, and the vultures are circling. Sure, plenty of small-market fans are snickering, but these clubs are underachieving at a world-class level.