Carson Babbini | October 9th, 2019
Welcome to the second edition of Five For Thought! With an exciting first week of the season now in the books, we look ahead to the second week of the season and what to look forward to!
1. Zibanejad’s Hot Start
For the New York Rangers, the story so far this year has not been their big free-agent signing, Artemi Panarin, but it has been their top center Mika Zibanejad. He once again had four points in the Rangers second game of the year against the Ottawa Senators, after having his first four-point game against the Winnipeg Jets. With these outstanding performances, Zibanejad became the second player in franchise history to have eight points in his first two games of the season with the first being Rod Gilbert. With the Rangers off to an undefeated start, can Zibanejad keep his hot start going in their next game against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday?
2. Matthews’ Goal Streak
Zibanejad was not the only player who has had a hot start this season, as the Toronto Maple Leafs and their star center Auston Matthews have had a great start to this year. With his goal against the Montreal Canadiens, Matthews extended his scoring streak to three games. Now the Maple Leafs have looked unstoppable so far this season, but can they keep it going tonight against the St. Louis Blues?
3. Undefeated Team Watch
As of tonight, we have seven teams remaining that are undefeated. Those teams are the Anaheim Ducks, the Edmonton Oilers, the Boston Bruins, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Colorado Avalanche, and the New York Rangers. Over the course of the week, we will see which teams fall victim to their first loss and who remains undefeated heading into the third week of the season.
4. Byfuglien Watch Continues
The Winnipeg Jets are struggling, and they will most likely be without their best defenseman, Dustin Byfuglien, for a long time. The latest on the situation, according to Sportsnet Insider Elliott Friedman on a Headlines segment, is that the Jets are now at the point where they are trying to convince Byfuglien out of retirement. However, Friedman also says that a decision on his future will not be coming anytime soon and that will be a long process. In the meantime, do the Jets try and look for some options on the trade market? Or maybe potentially a free agent option? We will have to watch and wait to see what the Jets could do.
5. Teams Seeking their First Win
Going into tonight, there are also still eight teams that are seeking their first win of the season. Those teams are the San Jose Sharks, the Vancouver Canucks, the Arizona Coyotes, the Minnesota Wild, the Chicago Blackhawks, the New Jersey Devils, and the Ottawa Senators. The Sharks may be the biggest surprise on this list starting the season by losing their first four games. Meanwhile, the Devils, while they do not yet have a win, lost in a shootout to the Winnipeg Jets in their first game of the year. Will these teams break this streak today? We’ll find out this week.
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