Why Central Division is shaping up to be Group of Death

Everybody knew entering the season the top end of the Central Division was loaded. A few games into the schedule, though, it’s hard to spot a soft touch anywhere in the group.

Alternatively, it also feels like you can’t swing a Sherwood without whacking one of the numerous superstars or burgeoning superstars in the division.

The Colorado Avalanche won 3-1 in Buffalo on a holiday Monday and don’t have a 60-minute loss in four outings this season. The Winnipeg Jets do have one 'L,’ but are also now 2-1-0 after a Monday victory on Long Island. The Dallas Stars, meanwhile, account for the only blemishes on both Winnipeg’s and Colorado’s records, as the Stars are 2-0-0 with road wins over their chief division rivals.

Minnesota and St. Louis — the fourth and fifth teams the Central sent to the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring — both also got victories on Monday and have decent 2-1-0 starts going.

Those squads being good is nothing new. It’s at the bottom of the division, though, where things might be tightening up. The Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators not only finished in the Central’s basement last season, they had the second- and third-worst goal differentials in the entire league (Chicago was No. 31 at minus-70 and Nashville was only slightly better, at minus-60).

Nashville spoiled Ottawa’s home opener on Monday with a 4-1 win and the Preds, who certainly had some bounce-back potential after last season’s miserable showing, are off to a 2-0-1 start. Meanwhile, in Monday’s only all-Central affair, the young Blackhawks topped Utah 3-1. The victory marked Chicago’s first ‘W’ of the season, but all three losses were by just a single goal. As for Utah, the Mammoth have played only Central rivals this year — all as the visitor — and have a respectable 1-2-0 mark with a tight 2-1 loss in Colorado and a 3-2 OTW in Nashville in the mix.

Now glance at the top of the NHL scoring charts and ask yourself if anything but the Central could be called the league’s "Group of Death." Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas lead the way with eight points, followed closely by the seven both Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy of the Wild have in one fewer contest. Right behind Minny’s guys sits Mark Scheifele, who’s just over here putting up 3-3-6 in three outings on his way to another boring point-per-game year as a six-foot-three centre. Scheifele’s runningmate in Winnipeg, of course, is Kyle Connor, who has five points in three outings.

Truly, MacKinnon-Necas, Kaprizov-Boldy and Scheifele-Connor probably represent three of the best, what, half-dozen duos in the NHL? And we haven’t even mentioned the reigning league MVP and back-to-back Vezina winner, Connor Hellebuyck, or last year’s top defenceman, superfreak Cale Makar.

Last season, the best team after February’s 4 Nations Face-Off was the Blues and their top centre, Robert Thomas, was the most productive player in the league to close out the year. On Monday, St. Louis freshman Jimmy Snuggerud popped his first two goals of the year to give himself three points on the season.

One of the biggest off-season trades involved Utah acquiring young sniper JJ Peterka from Buffalo and he’s already on the board with a goal against the Blackhawks, the first of many he’s going to net for the Mammoth. In Minnesota, Zeev Buium (more on him in a minute) is showing why he was such a heralded prospect, just as his fellow Wild defenceman Brock Faber was a very short time ago.

There may still be a long road back to contention in Chicago, but we’re seeing early good signs from Connor Bedard, who has two goals, and a fantastic start for sophomore Frank Nazar, who has five points in as many outings with the Hawks.

With young studs and established megastars alike, the Central could be at the centre of NHL conversations for a long time to come. 

Long weekend takeaways

• It’s impossible not to be struck by the start Matthew Schaefer has had to his NHL career. The 2025 first-overall pick has picked up a point in each of his first three games, giving him a 1-2-3 line in his earliest days as an Islander. Perhaps more impressively, the defenceman who turned 18 barely a month ago is leading the team in ice time per game with an average of 23:18. In fact, Schaefer played over 26 minutes both on Saturday versus the Caps and Monday versus the Jets, and that’s despite neither game going past three periods.

As it happens, Schaefer isn’t the only rookie teenager looking like he belongs in the world’s best league right now. Beckett Senneke, the third-overall selection in 2024, scored for the second time in as many games on Saturday during Anaheim’s wild 7-6 overtime win in San Jose. The 19-year-old has been skating as a winger on the top line with Mason McTavish and Cutter Gauthier. A late bloomer in major junior, the six-foot-three Sennecke has good size and loads of skill.

Meanwhile, Zeev Buium has been living up to the hype early on in Minnesota. The 19-year-old defenceman who dazzled in the NCAA the past couple years had three points in two weekend games, netting his first NHL goal and assist in a 7-4 loss to Columbus on Saturday, before tacking on another helper in Monday’s 4-3 shootout victory over the Kings.

• Though he had a career-best 31-goal season last season, Blue Jackets winger Kirill Marchenko closed the schedule by going nine games without a goal as Columbus made a push for the playoffs that ultimately came up short. Well, Marchenko isn’t fooling around to start this season, netting a hat trick on Saturday in Minnesota, before chipping in another tally during Monday’s 3-2 loss versus the Devils. 

With four goals in the bank already, it’s easy to wonder if this talented 25-year-old can push up toward 40 this year in Ohio.

Red and white power rankings

1. Edmonton Oilers (1-0-1) The Oilers get a tough test right out of the gate with seven of their next eight games on the road, beginning Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden versus the Rangers. 

2. Winnipeg Jets (2-1-0) It was nice to see Jonathan Toews pick up his first point as a Jet — and first in the NHL since April 13, 2023 — with an assist on Nino Niederreiter’s PPG on Long Island during a 5-2 triumph over the Isles.

3. Montreal Canadiens (2-1-0) The season began with an extension for Lane Hutson looking light a real long shot. Now, the Canadiens will play their home-opener Tuesday night knowing the dynamic, second-year defenceman will be in their midst — at a friendly $8.85-million cap hit — for the next decade after he inked an eight-year contract on Monday. 

4. Toronto Maple Leafs (1-2-0) Now that Easton Cowan has debuted in the NHL, it looks like the young man might get a good run beside Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies on the top line. 

5. Ottawa Senators (1-2-0) There’s obvious concern over the health of Brady Tkachuk after the Ottawa captain left Monday’s home opener following a cross-check from behind at the hands of Preds captain Roman Josi. 

6. Vancouver Canucks (1-2-0) Things only get tougher for the Canucks from here, with a five-game roadie beginning Thursday in Dallas. 

7. Calgary Flames (1-2-0) It came in a loss, but Matt Coronato’s two-goal game in Calgary’s home opener on Saturday was a good sign the third-year NHLer is ready to build on last year’s 24-goal showing. 

The week ahead

• The NHL’s Board of Governors meet Tuesday in New York. 

On the ice, Nikita Kucherov could hit a lofty benchmark with a big night in D.C. The Bolts scoring whiz needs four points to hit 1,000 for his spectacular career. After that, he’ll be only 137 behind Steven Stamkos for the all-time franchise lead. 

Could you imagine if Alex Ovechkin potted goal No. 900 — he’s three shy — on the same night his countryman hit 1,000 points?

• Two teams — the Sabres and Islanders — have played three games this season without earning a single point. Buffalo will try to change that on Wednesday when it hosts old friend Dylan Cozens and the Senators, while New York will try to get the better of the Oilers the next night on Long Island.