Another Monday morning, another PHT Face-Off setting up the week to come in the NHL. Now that we’re officially in the month of November, we have to start taking some of these on-ice trends a little more seriously. Let’s take a look at what stand outs and what may continue to stand out over the next seven days.
• Two points per game for Pastrnak:
Many players in the NHL are off to incredible starts, but Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak is the only player in the league that’s averaging more than two points per game this season. Pastrnak has 13 goals and 27 points in 13 games (2.08 PPG). As you’d imagine, he’s been out of this world this year. When he’s on the ice, the Bruins control more than 58 percent of the shot attempts, 68 percent of the goals scored, almost 59 percent of the scoring changes and 58.49 percent of the high-danger chances. (all stats via Natural Stat Trick)
Through 13 games, the Bruins’ top line of Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand have combined to score 58.7 percent of Boston’s goals (27 of 46). Sure, they’re top heavy, but who cares? That’s flat-out dominance. No matter the match up, the Bruins have have been the better side. They’ve dropped just three games all season (one in regulation) and although they’ll have a busy week, they should continue to find success.
Their hot start is even more impressive when you consider that they went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last season. The teams around them in division (Toronto, Tampa Bay) have struggled out of the gate. The Bruins have been all business and they owe a lot of that to their top forward, Pastrnak.
• Ryan Poehling gets his shot:
On Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens recalled Ryan Poehling from the AHL’s Laval Rocket. Poehling was Montreal’s first-round pick, 25th overall, in the 2017 NHL Draft. He had three strong years at St. Cloud State, he was also named the M.V.P. at the World Junior Hockey Championship for Team USA last year and he made quite an impression in his NHL debut at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
After signing his entry-level contract late in the season, the 20-year-old got to play in his first NHL game on the last day of the regular season. Not only did Poehling suit up against the Toronto Maple Leafs last April, he scored a hat trick in his debut and he added the game-winner in the shootout.
Well, now that Jesperi Kotkaniemi is on injured reserve, Poehling will get a chance to take on another big rival, as the Bruins will pull up to the Bell Center on Tuesday night (you can watch that game on NBCSN, by the way).
We’ll find out if he’s here to stay or if he still needs time to marinate in the minors.
• Panthers coming on strong:
Panthers center Aleksander Barkov picked up three assists in his first five games of the season. What has he done since then? It took him some time to score his first goal of the season (he did that on Oct. 30), but he’s now scored in back-to-back games and he’s picked up an incredible 14 points in his last nine games.
Teammate Jonathan Huberdeau, who might be the most underrated star in the NHL (he had the quietest 92-point season ever in 2018-19), is also off to a blazing start. He’s scored an impressive nine goals and nine assists in 14 games already this year. Understandably, everyone is talking about the duos of Marchand and Pastrnak in Boston and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton, but the Panthers’ top duo is currently 10th and 11th in NHL scoring right now.
The Panthers have suffered just one regulation loss in their last 11 games and they’re not occupying one of the top three spots in the Atlantic Division. Impressive.
• How about those Vancouver Canucks:
Raise your hand if you thought the Canucks were going to be one of the best teams in the NHL through the first month of the season. What? Nobody?
Well, the Canucks have been getting the job done. They were consistent in October and they’re off to a 1-0-1 start in November. Elias Pettersson is definitely leading the charge for the Canucks, as he’s accumulated 20 points in 14 games in his second season, but his supporting cast has been strong too.
Brock Boeser (16 points in 14 games) and J.T. Miller (15 points in 14 games) have also carried their weight. Bo Horvat is right below that point-per-game clip, while Alex Edler has managed to stay healthy so far (he’s averaging over 25 minutes of ice time per game). And rookie Quinn Hughes is sidelined with an injury now, but he’s also up to 10 points in just 13 games. Even goaltender Jacob Markstrom has done a nice job between the pipes.
Let’s see if they can keep this going.
• Sharks can’t keep puck out of net:
The San Jose Sharks probably aren’t happy with the amount of goals they’ve scored this season, but keeping the puck out of the net is a major issue for them, too.
The Sharks, who are 4-10-1, have surrendered 56 goals in 15 games. The only teams that have given up more goals than them are Los Angeles and Detroit, who have both given up 57. Yeah, that’s bad. Everyone expected the Kings and Wings to be bad, but no one thought the Sharks would be this brutal.
As you’d imagine, they’re bleeding high-danger chances so far. According to Natural Stat Trick, their 138 high-danger chances against is tied for second with Washington. Only the Winnipeg Jets have surrendered more of those. Also, no team has given up more goals from high-danger chances than San Jose (25).
Erik Karlsson doesn’t look right, Marc-Edouard Vlasic hasn’t been very good and a lot of the older players look, well, old.
Couture: "No one in this league feels sorry for the San Jose Sharks. No one. We've made the playoffs so many times. No one out there is saying, Oh my goodness, I feel so bad for them." (HT @INDTVUSA)
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 3, 2019
There’s still time for them to get this turned around, but at a certain point you are what your record says you are.
What’s coming up this week
• Islanders look to push their winning streak to 10 games vs. Ottawa, Tue. Nov. 5, 7 p.m. ET.
• The defending Stanley Cup champion champion St. Louis Blues go head-to-head against Connor McDavid, and Leon Draisaitl, Wed. Nov. 6, 8:30 p.m. ET.
• NHL Global Series continues with Tampa Bay and Buffalo on Friday (2 p.m. ET) and Saturday (1 p.m. ET) in Stockholm, Sweden.
• 2018 Stanley Cup Final rematch: Golden Knights at Capitals, Sat. Nov. 9, 7 p.m. ET.
NHL on NBCSN
• Bruins vs. Canadiens, Tue. Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Blackhawks vs. Sharks, Tue. Nov. 5, 10 p.m. ET
• Lightning vs. Sabres from Stockholm, Sweden, Fri. Nov. 8, 2 p.m. ET
Wednesday Night Hockey
• Red Wings vs. Rangers, Wed. Nov. 6, 8 p.m. ET
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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.