Sabres among early surprises

But the need for cap relief related to COVID-19 cases shouldn’t be

Every NHL season brings early surprises that invite questions as to whether they’re real or not. Yes, it’s only a couple of weeks in, but in a league where a lot of player change has occurred, it’s fun to review them and try to determine whether they’ll hold up.

» The first surprise, though it shouldn’t be, is the pandemic and its ongoing impact on the game. Through Friday, 19 players had been in COVID-19 protocol since Oct. 1, including Jeff Carter and Tristan Jarry in Pittsburgh and Brandon Saad in St. Louis. Avalanche star Nathan McKinnon missed two games, Jets captain Blake Wheeler is listed as day-to-day, the Rangers’ Ryan Strome is on injured reserve with COVID. Some form of league-initiated salary-cap relief will have to be revisited if lineups continue to be affected.

» The Buffalo Sabres, who started 3-0-0 before losing to Boston on Friday, have been the most pleasant on-ice surprise. Coach Don Granato has his squad playing with pace and focus, which has at least quieted the distraction of Jack Eichel’s status. Other nonplayoff teams from last season that are off to good starts include: San Jose, where a healthy Erik Karlsson and fellow defenceman Brent Burns are mixing nicely with a youthful group of forwards; Detroit, where 20-year-old Moritz Seider and 19-year-old Lucas Raymond are regularly gracing the nightly highlight packages; and Anaheim, where 19-year-old defenceman Jamie Drysdale complements a host of young talent up front, led by point-per-game producer Isac Lundeström.

» In that uncertain middle ground of squads that prognosticators were just not sure about, the St. Louis Blues have shed the off-season Vlad Tarasenko issues and have enjoyed Jordan Binnington’s stellar netminding in their first three wins. Undermanned Pittsburgh has also started well, with six points through four games while awaiting the returns of Sidney Crosby and Geno Malkin. Both are skating, but Malkin could be out until mid-December. Minnesota, led by Kirill Kaprizov, could take a big leap forward and was 3-0-0 heading into Saturday’s date with Anaheim.

» Perhaps a little less surprising are Florida (4-0-0 through Friday), with Joel Quenneville in his third season behind the bench and with the best team he has coached since his Cup years in Chicago, and Edmonton (a league-best 5-0-0).

Oilers coach Dave Tippett paired Connor McDavid (13 points) and Leon Draisaitl (11) to start the season and they’re convincing him to keep it that way with their early play.

» Things are not rosy in some of the 32 NHL towns. Cup finalist Montreal is feeling the effects of a deep playoff run and a lineup without as many as eight different regulars. Superstar goalie Carey Price’s absence has been made more challenging without Shea Weber and Joel Edmundson on defence, and key cogs up front — including Phillip Danault, Tomas Tatar and Corey Perry — are sorely missed.

» Of less concern is a group of teams with high expectations, including Winnipeg, Colorado, Vegas and the New York Islanders. Things have been less than ideal in each of their starts but, once again, it’s early. Time should resolve things for these four contenders.

» There are a number of players who had perhaps slipped off the radar, but have stood out early: Anze Kopitar, one of the league’s leading scorers with nine points in his first four games, is reminding the hockey world that he’s still in Los Angeles, as is teammate Drew Doughty (seven points); Tyler Bertuzzi had five goals after four games for Detroit; 40-year-old Craig Anderson has turned back the clock with the Sabres; Binnington has people remembering how good he was for the Blues in their 2019 Cup run; and Steven Stamkos, perhaps overshadowed by his fellow stars in Tampa during their successive Cup runs, has stormed onto the early scoring charts.

Everything is magnified early, both the good and the bad. The last two seasons have been different in so many ways, and we all embrace the word normal in a whole new manner of respect.

Through it all we realize one thing hasn’t changed: The early-season surprise factor is still a part of the game.