The 2023-24 NHL season is underway, and there has already been excitement in the first few weeks of the season. The reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights, are undefeated through seven games. The Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche were each undefeated through their first six games.
There are teams that were considered locks for the bottom of the standings or the middle of the pack that have gotten off to a hot start. There are teams that were expected to be really strong but have had a rotten start. Some players are blowing us away while others are having slow starts.
Let's take a look at some early winners and losers from the first few weeks of the 2023-24 season, featuring teams and players who have either exceeded or fallen short of expectations.
Winner: Detroit Red Wings
Prior to the 2023-24 season, predictions for the Detroit Red Wings had them among the bottom half of teams in the NHL. Bleacher Report released an early look at Stanley Cup Odds, listing the Detroit Red Wings as 24th under the category of "stuck in mediocrity." However, they have been anything but mediocre so far. They've truly taken the NHL by storm.
The Red Wings are 5-2-1 in their first eight games, and their eleven points have them second in the Atlantic Division behind the Boston Bruins. Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin are on fire, and Justin Holl and Shayne Gostisbehere have been excellent additions to the blueline. If they keep playing the way they have been, they could find themselves in an exciting race for a Stanley Cup playoffs spot this spring.
Loser: Edmonton Oilers
Ahead of the 2023-24 season, the Edmonton Oilers were a highly anticipated team, largely considered a Stanley Cup contender. Stacked with talent such as Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers are expected to be an offensive powerhouse. The way the team has played in October has been shockingly poor and disappointing.
The Oilers are 1-5-1 through their first seven games of the regular season. What's going wrong? Neither goalie, Jack Campbell or Stuart Skinner, has played well. The power play looks weak, the defense is a mess, Evander Kane is taking penalties left and right, and it doesn't help that McDavid is injured. There's time to right the ship, but the Oilers need to regroup soon.
Winner: Jack Hughes
New Jersey's star, Jack Hughes, is cementing himself as one of the top players in the NHL. His start to the season has been insane. He has 17 points in the New Jersey Devils' first six games, with 4 goals and 13 assists. He's the first NHL player to tally 17 points in the first six games of a season since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. Last season, Hughes racked up 99 points, a franchise record. It's clear that he's capable of reaching 100 points, and at the rate he's going, he might shatter that number. The prediction that he'll score 50 goals for the Devils this season doesn't seem so bold anymore.
Hughes was already in the conversation for the Hart Trophy prior to the season, and he's now become an early frontrunner. Hi stiffest competition is Connor McDavid, of course. Hughes has been unstoppable, and if he keeps up this level of play, the Hart Trophy votes will come pouring in.
Loser: Ilya Samsonov
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov has had a far worse start to the regular season than his 2-1 record shows. He has a 4.34 GAA and an .831 SV%. Yes, it's a small sample size, but it's concerning. Through four appearances, Samsonov has looked shaky. It's not the start the Leafs hoped for from a player coming off a career-high in wins and career-best SV%.
Samsonov was pulled 13 minutes into last Saturday's game after giving up three goals on four shots. The good news for the Leafs is that Joseph Woll came in to relieve Samsonov and was a brick wall. He will see more time in goal, as he should. Right now, Woll is clearly playing better than Samsonov.
Winner: Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins have gotten off to an incredible start to the 2023-24 season, going 6-0-0 in their first six games before adding an overtime loss to their record in their seventh game. Many people thought the Bruins would take a big step back this year following the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. After all, how do you replace two franchise players at once, one of whom was the team captain?
So far, the Bruins are showing they haven't lost a step, with Pavel Zacha and Matthew Poitras filling the top center roles. Forwards David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand have been key contributors, while the defense and goaltending have been exceptional. Boston has allowed the fewest number of goals so far this season. Notably, the Bruins haven't faced a very difficult schedule so far, so we'll see how they do once they face a string of tough teams.
Loser: Pittsburgh Penguins
After acquiring key talent in the offseason, it seemed like the Pittsburgh Penguins had reloaded and were prepared for one last push during the Sidney Crosby era. They have not started off the season well, though. The team is struggling with consistency, the defense needs refining, and Jake Guentzel, who led the team in goals last year, is having a slow start. (Yikes, these bold predictions aren't looking good right now.) They're currently 3-4-0 through their first seven games.
Sure, it could be worse. They could be in a deeper hole like the Oilers. Then again, expectations were far higher for the Oilers than the Penguins. Pittsburgh seems to be coming out of their early season rut, crushing the previously undefeated Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. But the Metropolitan Division is stacked, so the Penguins are in for a real fight.
As the 2023-24 season continues, keep an eye on these players and teams to see how they fare.
