10. Brandon Dubinsky (Columbus). Rangers fans may recall it took Dubinsky 15 games to score his first goal last season. A change of scenery doesn’t appear to have helped the 26-year-old rediscover the form that saw him score 24 times in 2010-11.
9. Devin Setoguchi (Minnesota). In a related story, welcome to the fourth line.
8. Henrik Sedin (Vancouver). Granted, he’s typically been the set-up man for brother Daniel. But Henrik also has just five assists in the Canucks’ first eight games, and only two of those helpers came even strength.
7. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton). Like Henrik Sedin, he’s more of a play-maker than sniper; however, he still managed 18 goals as an 18-year-old rookie. Meanwhile, another Oilers center, Sam Gagner, is off to a great start (3G, 6A).
6. Ryane Clowe (San Jose). Not that it’s been a problem for the 7-0-1 Sharks. But Clowe might want to start padding his stats with more than penalty minutes, given he’s in a contract year.
5. Mike Richards (Los Angeles). The Kings have really been struggling to put the puck in the net. Sort of like they did last season. And then they won the Stanley Cup.
4. Drew Stafford (Buffalo). Remember when he scored 31 goals? Yeah, that was only two seasons ago.
3. Jordan Staal (Carolina). Many thought the four-time 20-goal-scorer would flourish once he got out from the under the shadows of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. To be fair, Staal does have six assists, and he has important defensive responsibilities.
2. Jarome Iginla (Calgary). The captain has scored at least 32 goals in 11 straight seasons. If he’s not scoring, it’s hard for the Flames to win. And they’re not. (Honorable Calgary mention: Mike Cammalleri, also with no goals.)
1. Phil Kessel (Toronto). It’s gotten to the point of ridiculous in Toronto. Kessel has the third most shots in the NHL (36), and not one of them has gone in. There’s even a “Kessel countdown clock” now, right down to the millisecond.
Other notables: Alex Steen (St. Louis), Frans Nielsen (NY Islanders), RJ Umberger (Columbus).