After last night’s games, 30 of the league’s 32 teams have played at least five games. While it’s still too early to get a good sense of which early season performances are sustainable over the long haul, we’re starting to get a better picture of how the 2021-2022 standings may look.
Pacific Division
With a 1-1-0 record over the past week, the Seattle Kraken did enough to hold onto top spot in the Pacific in the full season projections. The Edmonton Oilers continued their hot start, going 2-0-0 this week to remain undefeated on the season through 5 games. The Oilers continued to win despite an injury to starting goaltender Mike Smith that thrust Mikko Koskinen into the starter’s net in games against the Coyotes and Golden Knights. The Oiler’s goaltending tandem is significantly weaker with Smith sidelined and could be an issue over the long term, however Smith is expected back as early as this weekend.
The Calgary Flames made the biggest upward move in the full season projections, posting a 4-0-0 record. The wins all came on the road and put the Flames in a position to chase down the division leaders. Andrew Mangiapane has been a big part of the Flames recent success. With strong projected 5v5 impact coming into the season, he’s been hot out of the gate and leads the NHL in 5v5 G/60 after Tuesday’s games.
Central Division
The Minnesota Wild continue to stake their claim as favorites in the Central Division, posting a 2-1-0 record this week to keep them atop the full season projections by a significant margin over the Nashville Predators.
The St Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets made upward moves in the full season projections this week, with both teams posting 3-0-0 records. The Jets did so despite the loss of captain Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele to Covid protocols. With two thirds of their top line on the sidelines, the Jets’ projected offense takes a hit, however their defensive strength gets a boost with some more defensively responsible forwards moving up the lineup.
The Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes continued to slide in the full season projections by continuing their poor starts to the season. Chicago went 0-2-0 this week, while the Coyotes posted an 0-3-0 record. The Coyotes also lost goaltender Carter Hutton and defenseman Conor Timmins to injury.
Atlantic Division
The Boston Bruins continue to lead the Atlantic Division projections by a wide margin. The Florida Panthers took the lead in the battle for second this week, with a 3-0-0 record keeping them undefeated so far this season.
The Maple Leafs continue to struggle, putting up an 0-3-0 record this week. The Leafs underlying number have generally been strong, however the results aren’t there so far. With Mitch Marner and Austin Matthews both in the top 20 projected 5v5 P/60 for forwards and Matthews 2nd in projected 5v5 G/60, it seems like a matter of time before their offense breaks out.
The Montreal Canadiens picked up their first win of the season, however their season opening slide continued with a 1-2-0 record overall this week. With Carey Price and Joel Edmundson out of the lineup, the Canadiens are missing a couple of key pieces, but they need to find their way soon to avoid falling too far out of the playoff picture early on.
Metropolitan Division
Another week has not helped clear up the Metropolitan Division projections. There are currently seven teams who legitimately look like they could make the playoffs. The Washington Capitals continued their strong start, posting a 2-0-1 record this week that has lifted them to the top of the pack in the full season projections.
The Pittsburgh Penguins cooled off slightly this week, with a 1-1-0 record. However, they continue to impress with Crosby, Malkin and a rotating cast of other key players out of the lineup on a nightly basis. They could be a dangerous team if they can get healthy.
The Carolina Hurricanes went 3-0-0 this week to keep them undefeated on the season. Their initial projection was a step below most of the contenders in the Metropolitan, however their strong start has pulled their full season projection within striking distance of the rest of the pack.
Full Regular Season Updates
For a full set of updated roster plots and in-season tracking, see the 2021-2022 Season Projections page.
