Nathan MacKinnon shoots Jonathan Quick. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports’s photo.
Hockey is a numbers game, right? So with that in mind, consider the following: As of tonight, the NHL will have at least one game a day for the next 116 consecutive days. Twenty-seven of those days and nights will feature double-digit game numbers. Twice each will be 15 games and 13 games, three times there will be 14, five times there will be 12, eight times there will be 11 and seven times there will be 10. Of those 116 days, 100 of them will have a summary of five games or more.
Just over three months after the NHL ended a season like no other, it began another season like no other. It will be chaotic. It will be unpredictable. But above all, it will be wonderful. Highly paid athletes who play a game don’t even come close to eradicating everything that was lost by the COVID-19 epidemic, but for at least a few hours for each night of the next year 116 and beyond, it can provide those who love this game with a deviation from real world events and a reason to cheer. We haven’t had many of these in the past 10 months, so we’ll get them when we can.
Will there be positive tests? Sure. Will the NHL’s most elaborate plans have any obstacles along the way? No doubt. Is there a good chance that there will be outbreaks of the virus among NHL teams? Absolutely. But Major League Baseball and the National Football League have managed to play their seasons to the end, so there is no reason to believe that the NHL will not do the same.
So, what are we going to see on the ice? Well, we’ll see a lot less goals called back for offside offenses with the rule change that allows a player’s skate to stay along the blue line plane, so that’s a really good thing. We will see an absolutely mind-boggling pace for each team and we will probably see a bit of malice, considering that teams will face each of their opponents at least eight times during the regular season. And besides putting the Ottawa Senators in seventh place – and that’s not even true – good luck in resolving the Northern Division. In the East, at least one of the Capitals, Flyers, Bruins, Penguins and Islanders will miss the playoffs. Central has the current Stanley Cup champion and legitimate candidates in the Hurricanes and the Blue Jackets, and West has the champion on hold Avalanche, with the most deadly and impressive group of young talent in the league, the Former Misfits in Vegas and the Blues, with a year left to win the Cup.
Increasing rivalries, reduced travel and intradivisional play to the semifinals will make a series of seven games between opponents look like a walk in the park. When the 16 teams that survived this obstacle course reach the postseason in mid-May, they will have played 56 playoff games to reach that point. Think about the importance of each regular season game in the NHL in a normal 82 game season. You just can’t take a night off against anyone. Ever. Well, with the schedule reduced to 56 games, you basically increased the importance of each of those games by 30 percent. A GM said he would not be surprised if there was only a 10 point difference between the first and sixth place in his division.
And talent. Oh, the talent. The skill level and speed of the game is the highest ever. Of the 10 NHL scorers last season, six of them were under 25. Connor McDavid is at the height of his powers, as is Auston Matthews, who will face each other eight times this season. Jack Eichel of Buffalo Sabers and Brayden Point of Tampa Bay Lightning, two of the emerging stars in the league, will also be seeing each other very often. Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, two of the most dynamic young defenders the league has seen in years, will no doubt enjoy their debut seasons and get even better. And speaking of newbies, from Alexis Lafreniere to Kirill Kaprizov to K’Andre Miller to Tim Stutzle, they will have another exciting race for the Calder Trophy.
So if players can’t take a night off, we can’t either. It is generally good advice to control, but not this season. Don’t look away for a second, because you are bound to miss something very, very good. It’s going to be a wild ride, so buckle up.
– Ken Campbell
Ryan Kennedy Power Rankings
1. Colorado Avalanche: Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar lead a supercharged squad with a Stanley Cup in their sights. The heavy division will allow them to party with smaller enemies as well.
2. Vegas Golden Knights: joining the Avs at the top of the West, Vegas added a blueliner star to Alex Pietrangelo, while already boasting one of the league’s best lineups. Watch out for Shea Theodore too.
3. Tampa Bay Lightning: What will champions do without injured Nikita Kucherov? A return from Steven Stamkos could be the keynote. The screws are loaded in all positions.
4. Carolina Hurricanes: Goaltending can be irregular, but the Canes have a powerful attack led by Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, in addition to an enviable blueline body that rolls deep.
5. Philadelphia Flyers: Carter Hart is the real deal of the chain, while Flyers bring exciting players in every position in front of them. Look for continued growth of Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny.
6. St. Louis Blues: Yes, they took some blows to the body outside of the season, but Ryan O’Reilly, Torey Krug and the newly added Mike Hoffman make this team a legitimate threat.
7. Toronto Maple Leafs: The roof for Auston Matthews continues to expand and Toronto will have no problem scoring goals. But can goalkeeper Frederik Andersen start well?
8. Washington Capitals: Ilya Samsonov is ready to be the guy on the net and he will have some fantastic skills ahead of him. The fun storyline: What did Zdeno Chara leave in the tank?
9. Vancouver Canucks: If Thatcher Demko is the real Internet business (and it probably is), then Canucks will be a force. Look for great news in Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes.
10. Boston Bruins: Absence of early injury from David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand will hurt the B’s, but he expects a significant charge after his return. Great year for Charlie McAvoy.
11. Columbus Blue Jackets: Pierre-Luc Dubois is on the team – for now – and the Jackets are a well-oiled machine right now. Liam Foudy will be a fun newbie to watch.
12. Nashville Predators: Led by Roman Josi, Nashville’s defense will be as good as ever. But can they keep the goal and attack at Central?
13. Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are two of the most explosive offensive weapons in the world, but can this team also keep the record out of their own network?
14. Calgary Flames: years of recovery for Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan are crucial, but at least Matthew Tkachuk continues his rise. Jacob Markstrom solidifies the goalkeeper position.
15. New York Islanders: Arresting Matt Barzal was obviously crucial as he fiddled with the drink on Long Island. They are more frightening in the playoffs than in the regular season – but they will have to get there first.
16. Dallas Stars: Last year’s runner-up in the bubble has some tough injuries to overcome, especially Tyler Seguin and Ben Bishop. They will need Miro Heiskanen to be of the Norris caliber from the start.
17. Montreal Canadiens: Possibly the biggest X-factor team in the league; if the Habs’ children are really ready for prime time, they will be difficult to defeat. If not, it’s the Carey Price Show again.
18. Pittsburgh Penguins: The Pens are trending in the wrong direction, although you are never out of the hunt when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are around. Is Tristan Jarry ready for his close-up?
19. Buffalo Sabers: Hope is plentiful here and the Sabers finally have a crew to raise Jack Eichel. Taylor Hall has a lot of motivation, while Eric Staal can be a playoff charmer.
20. New York Rangers: They will be fun and will be involved in many goals – on both networks. Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, Alexis Lafreniere? Yes, it is approved by Broadway.
21. Winnipeg Jets: Connor Hellebuyck is the backbone and I hope he gets more help this year. Josh Morrissey needs a year of recovery and the pressure is on Patrik Laine.
22. Minnesota Wild: The time has finally come for Kirill Kaprizov! But Wild now needs some of the top six centers. At the very least, the defense will be solid thanks to Matt Dumba, Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter.
23. Florida Panthers: There’s a lot to like about Cats, starting with Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau. But can Sergei Bobrovsky recover on the net? It’s a long contract.
24. Arizona Coyotes: At the very least, the Yotes will have a good goalkeeper and some interesting offensive weapons. But the new GM Bill Armstrong has a difficult job for him.
25. Ottawa Senators: Much like the Rangers (but without a Panarin), the Sens will be a lot of fun to watch thanks to a lot of talented kids. Matt Murray tries to restart his career as well.
26. Los Angeles Kings: Winning the Battle of California is not what it used to be, but the Kings have great kids coming and Anze Kopitar provides stability at the start.
27. New Jersey Devils: They won’t be great, but at least they’ll be better. A recovery from the PK Subban is crucial and perhaps newcomer Ryan Murray will help in that effort.
28. Detroit Red Wings: Like the Devils, the Wings will be less tragic than before, but they almost have to be. Dylan Larkin leads the attack, while Thomas Greiss will help with the network.
29. San Jose Sharks: The defense is aging, the goal is difficult and the next wave hasn’t made a difference yet. Hell, the sharks aren’t even playing in their own state right now.
30. Anaheim Ducks: Although the future looks promising (hello, Trevor Zegras), it hasn’t arrived yet – which means another long season for goalkeeper John Gibson and veteran Ryan Getzlaf.
31. Chicago Blackhawks: No Jonathan Toews, no Kirby Dach and no real newcomers to the network. This can be a very long season for Chicago fans; sort of back in time.