Friday Four: Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and other early-season oddities

It’s officially small-sample-size season. 

We’re still less than three weeks into the 2026-27 campaign and it’s easy to jump to conclusions about things that may turn out to be silly a month from now. Still, it’s fun to look around the league at some anomalies and ponder if they could become trends. 

Maybe a team that was destined to be a basement dweller catches fire in the first half-dozen games and is sitting near the top of its division. Or there might be a player that never really had a nose for the net who is suddenly shooting the lights out. What about the goalie that struggled mightily last year who is all of a sudden unbeatable? History tells many of these things won’t hold up for 80-plus games, but it doesn’t make them any less eye-popping for now. 

There’s also the odd early-season trend that turns out to have legs and be sustainable. The Pittsburgh Penguins from a year ago are a good example: after missing the playoffs for three straight seasons, the Pens won six of their first eight games and no one thought it would last. However, five months later, Pittsburgh claimed a playoff spot and never really slowed down. 

There’s no guarantee any of the interesting trends we’re seeing now will continue, but here’s four that especially don’t seem to make any sense. 

Sidney Crosby only has four points

Most 39-year-olds would be quite happy to pick up four points in their first seven games, but Sidney Crosby has set a different standard. Crosby actually only had two points through his first six games before a two-goal effort Tuesday bumped up his numbers. He also endured a four-game stretch without a point, which was the first time that’s happened to Crosby since January 2023.

This pace would end up seeing Crosby finish with 48 points, his lowest total ever over a full season. Is Father Time finally catching up with Crosby? It's doubtful. Crosby is coming off three straight 90-plus point seasons and then last year’s campaign, where he missed 14 games but still scored at an 89-point pace. It’s reasonable to expect a little regression from someone who just turned 39, but not that much. Crosby’s hockey IQ is off the charts and if his skills do eventually start to diminish, it’s likely going to be a much slower decline. 

This is more than likely an anomaly that will end with Crosby going on a hot streak soon, as his shooting percentage is down a bit from his career average and the Pens are a top-10 team in scoring this season. It won’t be long before Crosby is filling the scoresheet again. 

Nathan MacKinnon has as many penalty minutes as points

Nathan MacKinnon, the enforcer? You might think so if this is the first season you’ve ever seen him play. Whether it was a bitter playoff exit last spring or losing to the U.S. in the gold-medal game, MacKinnon seems to be playing with a little more frustration. 

The Colorado Avalanche superstar had only 10 career fights coming into this season and none since 2022, but has already dropped the gloves twice this year. MacKinnon has 12 points and 12 penalty minutes this season, something we aren’t used to seeing from the former Hart Trophy winner. He’s on pace for a whopping 144 PIMs, a number he’s never come remotely close to before in his career. 

There’s no chance MacKinnon gets anywhere near that total, though. He’s too valuable to the Avalanche and something tells me head coach Jared Bednar is going to tell MacKinnon to keep his gloves on after his latest bout with Roope Hintz. MacKinnon’s nose was a mess after the tilt and the Avs can’t afford to have him sidelined with an injury from a fight. 

Linus Ullmark leads the league in goals saved above expected and wins

You wouldn’t think it would be that shocking to see a former Vezina winner sitting atop the league in goals saved above expected, but Ullmark’s numbers were so bad last year (for the most part) that I’m not sure anyone expected this hot start. 

The Ottawa Senators netminder did finish strong in in his final handful of games ast season and had an impressive showing in the team’s opening-round exit against the Carolina Hurricanes, though overall it was a pretty dismal campaign. Ullmark has gone from 91st in goals saved above expected a year ago to the league leader heading into Friday night, with a sparkling 6-0-0 record. That’s about as impressive of a turnaround as it gets. He’s also allowed just seven goals in six starts and boasts a .949 save percentage. 

I’m not sure if Ullmark will finish first after Game 84, but there is reason to believe he can keep a high level of play going all season. He’s managed to do all this with both Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub sidelined for nearly the whole season. When they are both back in the lineup and up to speed, it should only make Ullmark’s job easier. 

Ottawa had very strong underlying numbers last season and only had to scratch and claw to get into the playoffs because it wasn't getting saves. If this version of Ullmark is here to stay, there’s no reason the Sens can’t contend for a division title this time around. 

Vasily Podkolzin has seven goals in seven games

One of these things is not like the others. Take a quick glance at the league’s leading goal scorers and you’d notice Vasily Podkolzin sitting near the top of the list with seven goals in seven games. Podkolzin only has 52 career goals, so this year’s output already accounts for more than 13 per cent of his total. 

On the one hand, it shouldn’t be that surprising that Podkolzin is lighting the lamp so frequently. He did have a bit of a breakout last year with 19 and he’s playing with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. There may not be a better position across the NHL. That said, many have been stapled to McDavid’s wing and struggled before eventually being shuffled back down the lineup. Podkolzin is a smart player, though, who works hard and he may have staying power on that line. 

Even still, Podkolzin is shooting 32 per cent and it’s hard to imagine him scoring something like 40 goals or finishing in the top five in goal scoring. If he sticks on that line all year he should easily set a career high, though Podkolzin will come back down to earth eventually. 

Bonus

Flyers, Kings remain winless

If you were picking a team to go winless through the first few weeks of this new season, two squads that appeared in the post-season last spring probably wouldn’t have been near the top of your list. The Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers have still yet to find the win column and there hasn’t been much reason for optimism in either spot. 

New Kings head coach Peter Laviolette has a history of getting results quickly when joining a new team, but so far Los Angeles has a minus-10 goal differential and has only scored 11 times. That works out to be 2.2 goals per game, ranking 29th leaguewide. The Kings haven’t had the easiest schedule, though they’ve been well rested with multiple days off between every game. You’d think they would’ve recorded at least one win at this point with a consistently fresh lineup. Now, Los Angeles has reportedly inquired about Connor Hellebuyck, perhaps pondering about whether it wants to make a bold move to try and turn things around. 

The Flyers are in an even worse position. Philly ranks last with 1.25 goals per game, scoring just 11 times in nine outings. They’ve been badly outshot, too. Rick Tocchet’s group is allowing almost 35 shots a night, which puts them in a battle with the Vancouver Canucks for worst in the NHL. It’s translated to the Flyers being outscored 33-11 as they continue to desperately search for answers. Philadelphia has been so futile that despite a .916 save percentage on the year for Joseph Woll, it still hasn’t helped them net a win. If not for Woll’s strong play through five starts, things could look even worse for the Flyers. 

At some point, both the Kings and Flyers will got on a hot streak and turn things around, but they are in danger of digging themselves a hole they won’t be able to get out of.