Sunday Standings: Penguins in first place* (with a bullet)

It’s Sunday and the NHL regular season is here! Let’s take a look at the opening standings for the first time this year.

We are delighted to report that the Pittsburgh Penguins are leading the division with the most points, tied with Carolina. (Let’s ignore the fact that they’ve played more games than Carolina and every other team, and that the season is only about 1% complete).

In our minds, we can just call it – the season is over and Evgeni Malkin has already won the Hart trophy.

Alright, that fun delusion is just a happy fantasy. After giving up three goals in the third period to Chicago on opening night, the Pens have bounced back by shutting out Washington and giving up two to Calgary (one in garbage time), while scoring nine goals of their own.

It remains to be seen if this formula will work in the long term, as the Pens’ third and fourth lines and third defensive pair have contributed nothing to the scoreboard with 0 goals and one assist in 24 combined man-games. The only contribution came from Lars Eller, who got a secondary assist after leaving the penalty box and making a simple pass to a skilled player.

Pittsburgh is counting on their stars to carry the day. So far, it’s working. The top six forwards alone have combined for 11 goals and 12 assists in the first three games, with Kris Letang contributing three more assists. They have all been magnificent so far – Jake Guentzel was expected to miss all of October but has scored six points in three games. Malkin has proclaimed himself the first week MVP. While Geno hasn’t seen what Auston Matthews has done to start the year, let’s not hold that against Malkin considering his impressive performance. Sidney Crosby continues to be Sidney Crosby. Reilly Smith has seamlessly fit in, looking like he’s been a part of the team for years and not just a few weeks.

And they will surely get more out of Erik Karlsson, who only has a single assist through three games but looks like he will break through for much more in the near future.

Essentially, as was admitted by the front office, the Pens are going to try and play to a draw when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin aren’t on the ice. They will rely on their penalty kill and goalies to hold up their end of the bargain.

Then, the big boys need to deliver enough offense to win games. Aside from some unfortunate goals in the opener, the plan has gotten off to the exact start that was envisioned.

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What did we see around the league, aside from the home squad?

—It’s still early, but our initial impressions that Washington, Columbus, and Philadelphia would be at the bottom of the division were reinforced by their opening statements this week. That sentiment may be a little unfair to the Blue Jackets, who beat the Rangers last night, but CBJ was also outshot 42-21 along the way, relying on luck instead of skill.

—For the other teams, things went pretty much as expected. Carolina took care of business with two wins – although they got lucky on the road last night in LA with a 5-2 lead that required a shootout to secure the victory. The other division front-runner, New Jersey, wasn’t as lucky when they blew a third-period lead against Arizona and ended up losing in a shootout. There’s not much to worry about in NJ, though, as Jack Hughes (2G+3A in two games) looks like he could have an MVP-worthy season.

—The two NYC teams are always important to keep an eye on from the Penguins’ perspective to gauge playoff positioning, even though it’s still too early for that. The Islanders had a strong start to the season with a close win over Buffalo. The Rangers also beat the Sabres earlier in the week before stumbling against Columbus.

—Hockey is back, fall is in the air, and here’s to another great season!

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