Whilst there were plenty of teams and individuals who excelled on the ice over the first weekend of the 2015-16 season, there were just as many who went in the opposite direction, opening the year with something less than a bang. Here, then, are my Face-Off Weekend villains:
Boston: with coach Claude Julien under pressure, and working for a new GM this year, and therefore not exactly coming in with a huge amount of job security, the Bruins needed a good start to take some of the heat out of Julien’s seat. Unfortunately, they didn’t get it – not even close. They were humbled 6-2 by Winnipeg in their season debut, and followed that up with a 4-2 loss to bitter rivals Montreal. Goalie Tuukka Rask hasn’t looked great in either start.
As if that wasn’t enough misery, Zdeno Chara and Brad Marchand are both sidelined. Chara, who hasn’t played in either of the team’s two games, is a massive cog in the Bruin engine, and with the defence letting in ten goals in two games, Boston fans will be hoping he isn’t out for much longer.
Jonathan Quick: the Kings have started out terribly, with star net-minder Quick surrendering nine goals in two games. You might think that such a start is unheard of for Quick, but it really isn’t. He lost his first two starts last year, and dropped three two years ago on opening weekend. So they aren’t panicking in Los Angeles – yet. Regardless, if you give up nine goals in two games, you deserve to be on this list.
Columbus: the highly-touted Bluejackets squad are yet to win a game, dropping very quickly to second-last place in the Eastern Conference. Allowing thirteen goals in three games isn’t the way to impress. Whilst it’s still obviously early days, the Jackets, who welcomed Chicago star Brandon Saad to Columbus over the summer to join in the youth revolution spearheaded by Ryan Johansen, need to start winning games. If you get in a hole early, it’s a long road back to playoff contention, and the young squad that’s been assembled in Ohio might not have the ability to battle back like a veteran squad might.
Pittsburgh: the Penguins are in an offensive slump, and that’s definitely not the way you want to come out of the gate. Especially not after they struggled in the same vein for the last month of the regular season and through the Eastern Conference quarter-finals loss to the Rangers in five games. They lost twice in their first two games over the weekend, failing to blot new Dallas goalie Antti Niemi’s copybook, despite firing 37 shots on him. They had a similar problem in Phoenix, shut down by Mike Smith. The Pens have to go to Montreal next, to face Carey Price – another ominous task.
Overall, the Penguins have allowed five goals past Marc-Andre Fleury, who has shown flashes of brilliance, but more than a few glimpses of the maddening inconsistency that seems to have dogged him all his career. It’s not pleasant reading for the Pens. I mean, an offensive corps that features Crosby, Malkin and Kessel should be markedly better. They need to find scoring touch, and quickly.
Daryl Sydor: the Wild assistant coach pled guilty to drink driving and was sentenced to sixty days in jail, to be served in instalments over four years. The Wild say they will determine his return to the organisation later. Not a good look for the game.
Edmonton: the Oilers lost both games over the weekend, and, like Pittsburgh, have given up five goals, and only scored one. Connor McDavid, the first overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft has barely been sighted. Oilers fans hope that this young team will click into gear soon, or it’ll be another long season.
Toronto: obviously Mike Babcock isn’t a miracle worker, and anyone who thought that he would come in and make an immediate on-ice impact – in terms of wins and losses – is crazy. Everyone knows it’s a long rebuild process, but the Maple Leafs looked overmatched in a tough road loss to Babcock’s old squad, Detroit, and weren’t much better than that on opening night. Still, there’s lots of time and you know Babcock will get them there eventually.
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