by Max Goren
Do the Pittsburgh Penguins have one more playoff run left in them?
This season marks the 20th consecutive campaign for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang as teammates, a record in major professional sports that likely won’t be broken for decades- maybe ever. Despite the veteran presence of these three surefire Hall of Famers, Pittsburgh’s perceived lack of depth and questions at defenseman and goaltender meant the Pens were expected to be closer to the league’s basement than the playoff hunt; their preseason point total was set at just 76.5 according to hockey-reference.com, roughly 15-20 points short of the last wild card team in any given season. The Penguins have started off the season hot at 6-2-0, and are winners of four straight games. Is this just a flash in the pan, or does Crosby and Co. have their sights set on one more run?
What’s wrong with the Lightning?
Tampa Bay has been among the NHL’s elite for more than a decade under coach Jon Cooper, with eight straight playoff appearances since 2018 and back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in 2020 and 2021. However, it looks like things could be taking a turn for the worse for the Bolts; they’ve lost in the first round of the playoffs each of the last three seasons, and are off to a very slow start this year at 1-4-2, finding themselves in last place in the Atlantic Division. Time will tell if Cooper can right the ship, but with a very tough stretch of opponents over the next two weeks (Dallas, at Colorado, and Vegas twice to name a few), Tampa Bay may find itself in a hole too deep to climb out of.
The Rangers might be the worst home team ever
I discussed this in last week’s column, but things just continue to get worse for the Blueshirts at Madison Square Garden. They did finally score a goal at home on Monday against the Wild, but found themselves on the losing side of that tilt- yet again- by a score of 3-1. Then, on Thursday, they hosted the basement-dwelling Sharks. The same Sharks who were struggling so badly that their coach said he would trade one of his children for just one win. Surely, New York can beat this team on home ice, right? Wrong! The Sharks jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period, and held on to win 6-5 in overtime behind monster performances from Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. With the loss, the Rangers fell to 0-4-1 at home through five games- absolutely dreadful. On the flipside, at least they’re 3-0-1 on the road?
The Metro division may be the strongest in the league
The much-maligned Metropolitan division is making an early case as the best of the four in the NHL. The Metro is the only division where all eight teams have an even or positive goal differential. Seven out of eight have a points percentage of .500 or better. Analytics back up the division’s strong start as well: seven out of the eight Metro teams have a 5v5 Goal and xGoal share above 50% (Statistic via @JFreshHockey on X, give him a follow if you’re interested in the analytical side of hockey). Win streaks by the Devils, Penguins and Islanders have catapulted the Metro to the top of the hockey mountain early on in this season.
Puck Knowers’ Player to Watch of the Week: Logan Cooley, Utah Mammoth
Last week, I told you to keep an eye on the Blackhawks’ Frank Nazar. In three games since, he recorded two goals and one assist, maintaining his spot as the Hawks’ points leader as Chicago went 2-0-1 and continued a nice start to their season.
This week, keep an eye on another young centerman in the Central division: Logan Cooley of the Utah Mammoth. He bet on himself in the offseason (not literally, FBI), rejecting an 8-year, $77 million contract offer in hopes of earning a more lucrative extension with his play in the final year of his entry-level deal. Selected with the third overall pick in the 2022 draft, Cooley’s self-confidence appears as though it might pay off: he just recorded a natural hat trick on Thursday night in a win over St. Louis. Cooley could be the franchise centerman for the newly-minted Mammoth, who should be squarely in the playoff hunt all season long.