Halloween isn’t all about fun and games. There’s haunted houses, scary costumes and sometimes people give out apples instead of candy.
Like the popular holiday, the NHL has its share of scary moments too.
Here’s 10 of the scariest starts after one month of the 2015-16 season:
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins: Crosby recorded two assists on Thursday night, but that doesn’t make up for the rest of October. The Penguins captain has only registered points in two games (five points in total) this season and he was held pointless in eight of his first nine games. His luck is due to get better but Crosby would be the first to tell you that he’s had a horrific month of production by his standards.
Jordan Staal, Carolina Hurricanes: The 27-year-old has yet to find his groove this season. Staal has just two points, both coming on Thursday night, and he has not registered a goal in any of his 10 games. Staal is coming off a disappointing year so expectations weren’t huge for the Hurricanes centre, but there’s no doubt that the club expects more production.
Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche: Varlamov was critical in Colorado’s breakout season two years ago and was fairly solid last year, but he’s had a month to forget in October of 2015. The Avalanche netminder went 2-3-1 with an ugly .890 save percentage along with a 3.40 goals-against average. The 27-year-old was impressive, stopping 34 of 35 shots, during Colorado’s victory on Thursday, so maybe things are about to get better?
Anaheim Ducks: Yikes. The Ducks are not only last place in the Western Conference with just one win in their first 10 games, but their usually-reliable offence has been abysmal. Anaheim has recorded an average of just one goal per game — 10 goals in 10 games — and are the fourth team in NHL history to score one or fewer goals in eight of their first 10 games (the first since the 1936-37 Blackhawks).
Buffalo’s goaltending: The Sabres paid a steep price to acquire Robin Lehner from the Ottawa Senators last June, but they haven’t gotten an initial return on investment because of an early-season injury. Instead, the Sabres have faltered in net without a quality backup. Chad Johnson has handled most of the work, allowing 27 goals in nine games with a .881 save percentage.
Calgary Flames: A lot of people (stats people mostly) could see this coming from a mile away, but the Flames’ first month of the season is still disappointing. They have the worst goal differential in the entire league (-20) and have only won two of their first 10 games. They aren’t possessing the puck frequently enough and their goaltending has struggled on the most part. Getting defenceman T.J. Brodie back in the lineup should help.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Columbus had one of the worst starts to a season in NHL history. They lost each of their first eight games, the first team to do so since the New York Rangers in the mid-1940s, and caused the organization to replace head coach Todd Richards with John Tortorella. Does it get scarier than that!?
Detroit Red Wings’ possession: It’s hard to criticize the Detroit Red Wings too much. They’re adjusting to a new coach after a decade with Mike Babcock and have gotten great production out of rookie Dylan Larkin, but there are some red flags with this team. The biggest? Their declining possession numbers. Entering Friday’s action, the Red Wings rank second-last in the NHL in Corsi For and second-last in Corsi For per 60 minutes. That’s not a sustainable way to play and Jeff Blashill needs to make an adjustment with his team.
Ottawa’s 3-on-3 play: It’s difficult to make 3-on-3 hockey boring, but the Ottawa Senators made a good case for it earlier in the week against the Calgary Flames.
It wasn’t the first time Ottawa appeared in 3-on-3 overtime this season and their risk-averse approach has not been a good fit for the new format. The Senators have been too conservative, are playing not to lose, and need to have some more fun with it.
As captain Erik Karlsson put it, it has been uneventful.
“It’s not really hockey,” Karlsson told reporters. “It’s about who holds on to the puck the longest. Who cheats the most. Small stuff like that. It’s kind of boring.”
Toronto’s special teams: No one in their right mind was expecting much of the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, given the talent level on their roster, but it’s safe to say head coach Mike Babcock was hoping for a better performance from the special teams unit. Toronto ranks in the bottom-three in both penalty kill (71.9 per cent) and power play (8.7 per cent). We knew the Leafs would have trouble scoring without Phil Kessel, but the penalty kill should reasonably be better. It’s a small sample, but those are poor numbers in both categories.
