The third full week of the 2021-2022 NHL season is nearing completion. Much to the dismay of hockey fans everywhere, Covid-19 has continued to loom large over the league. This past week, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was placed on the reserve list. In addition to this, St. Louis Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly also remains out with the virus, while Chicago Blackhawks teammates Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have also missed time.
Back with our weekly stock up, stock down article, this past week featured action every single night. Bouncing back after a slow start to the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs have won four straight. Furthermore, the Carolina Hurricanes remain unbeaten behind a stellar effort from their prized offseason acquisition in goaltender Frederik Andersen.
Stock Up: Winnipeg Jets
The Jets rattled off victories in two of their three games over this past week. Led up front by Kyle Connor, the 24-year-old winger remains in the middle of a breakout season. Currently tied for the team lead in goals, he has recorded 14 points in nine games played. In addition to this, Pierre-Luc Dubois has bounced back after a slow start to his Jets career a year ago.
The Quebec native is second on the team with 11 points while playing over 19 minutes per night. Needing their star netminder in Connor Hellebuyck to catch fire after a slow start to the year, the former Vezina Trophy winner has amassed just a 3.42 goals-against average, and a .899 save percentage. This is a team looking to bounce back after being swept by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the playoffs last season. Keep an eye on Winnipeg in the loaded Central Division.
Stock Down: Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks were losers of three straight games before they were able to pick up a victory on Tuesday night. Much improved in their own zone after being one of the worst defensive clubs across the league a year ago; the team ranks ninth in goals allowed and 13th in shots allowed. However, the franchise is once again struggling to create on the offensive end, forcing them to grind it out for every scoring opportunity.
Winger Brock Boeser has just three points in seven games, while Elias Pettersson has five points in 10 games. Making matters worse for Travis Green‘s club is that their once elite power play has limped out of the gate to a 24th overall ranking. Currently, Vancouver is sitting in a tie for sixth place in the Pacific Division. They need to get going with three home games in a row after a slow start.
Stock Up: Tampa Bay Lightning
Much to the surprise of no one, the defending Stanley Cup champions are picking up steam. They have earned points in their last four contests. After defeating the Penguins and the Arizona Coyotes by a combined margin of 10-2, they narrowly lost to the Maple Leafs on Thursday night in overtime. Once again, led by the best netminder in the league in Andrei Vasilevskiy, the reigning Conn Smythe winner has racked up five victories in his first nine starts while amassing a .919 save percentage and a 2.4 goals-against average.
This is all while facing the third most shots against. While they will be unable to replace star winger Nikita Kucherov after he was placed on LTIR after undergoing lower body surgery, this Tampa Bay team is still loaded with talent and remains extremely dangerous. They are looking to join the New York Islanders by achieving the rare feat of winning three consecutive cups in a row.
Stock Down: Seattle Kraken
In their inaugural season, after being announced as the 32nd expansion franchise in the summer, the Seattle Kraken have been unable to gather any momentum. They had lost three straight games before picking up a victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday. In that stretch, Seattle has been hard-pressed to score goals. They sit 19th in the league with 2.73 goals averaged per game. While additionally ranking in the bottom five in the NHL in both shots on goal and power-play percentage.
Choosing to preserve cap space in the expansion draft rather than pursuing star forwards like Vladimir Tarasenko and James van Riemsdyk, the group has relied heavily on their back end to help provide a scoring punch. After inking him to a six-year deal in the offseason, Philipp Grubauer also needs to pick up his play in between the pipes. A few years away from being a true contender, this could be a long season for Dave Hakstol’s team.
Stock Up: Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers are playing arguably the best hockey out of any team in the league right now. They sit all alone in first place in the Pacific Division after losing just one game this season. Handling the Nashville Predators, Canucks, and Kraken over their last three contests. Edmonton is also currently home to the leading two-point getters. Off to a ridiculous start after capturing the Hart Trophy for the second time last year, Connor McDavid is on pace to record 110 points.
However, no performance remains more impressive than that of his running mate Leon Draisaitl. Making his case for the best player on the planet, the German forward has racked up seven points over his last two games. Including a two-goal effort against Seattle. Holding up in goal after question marks coming into the year, Mikko Koskinen has been rock solid in place of the injured Mike Smith. This is an excellent hockey club and the unequivocally best team in Canada right now.
Stock Down: Vegas Golden Knights
No team has run into more brutal luck than the Golden Knights through the early parts of the year. The team has lost Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, Mattias Janmark, Nolan Patrick, Zach Whitecloud, and now William Karlsson to injury. Unable to overcome all their missing personnel, the group has limped to a 5-5 start. They sit in the bottom five in nearly every major offensive category. Beginning to receive heat after shipping out star goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in the offseason, Robin Lehner has yet to look like the true number one option that many Golden Knights fans thought he could be.
While they did shock the landscape of the league after acquiring Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel on Thursday Morning, the star center will not be available for at least four months after undergoing neck surgery. Peter DeBoer’s team may not be talented enough to stay afloat for very long as constructed. A team with Stanley Cup aspirations to begin the year may be in some rough water.
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