NHL teams
Scott Burnside, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Highs and lows of NHL's first quarter

NHL

My friend Pierre LeBrun will take care of the first-quarter major award winners, so let's take a look at some other things that have made us arch our collective eyebrows or grimace as though with stomach cramps as the NHL barrels headlong into the second quarter of the 2014-15 campaign:

Biggest surprise (Team): Canada

Can an entire country rank as a surprise? The first quarter might be best summed up by "oh, Canada." OK, minus the Edmonton Oilers (see below). But it's hard to narrow down which of the Canadian upstarts ranks as the biggest first-quarter surprise. The Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames are making a race out of the Pacific Division, and what makes both so impressive is they have been lights out on the road (a combined 15-8). The Winnipeg Jets are in the thick of things in the Central, playing uncharacteristically sound defense. And the Montreal Canadiens are tops in the Eastern Conference, with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators in the wild-card discussion. Can the Canadian gang hang on to their current spots and keep things interesting north of the 49th parallel? Tough call, but history shows us that if a team is in it at Thanksgiving (U.S. style, that is), its chances of being there in early April are excellent.

Biggest surprise (Player): Vladimir Tarasenko

TarasenkoLots to choose from here. There's the NHL's top point producer in Jakub Voracek of the Philadelphia Flyers. Or Rick Nash on pace for 50 goals for the New York Rangers. But the player who has made us sit up and take note is St. Louis Blues sniper Vladimir Tarasenko. Playing with newcomer Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz, Tarasenko has been key to a solid first quarter for a Blues team that has had to overcome injury and illness to key personnel right from the get-go. Tarasenko has bulked up and is using his lethal shot from everywhere on the ice. The Blues have faltered in recent years come playoff time because they lacked the offensive depth of other Western Conference powers. Tarasenko gives reason for optimism.

Biggest disappointment (Team): Edmonton Oilers

Not sure what's more disappointing, that the Edmonton Oilers are once again contending for the label of league's worst or that ownership and management have continued to sit idly by while their ship sinks once again. Either way, the Oilers rank as the league's biggest embarrassment. They are winless in seven and, in spite of three recent first overall draft picks, are woefully thin down the middle. Plus the goaltending and team defense are still porous. But the Oilers decided to fire goaltending coach Frederic Chabot, so everything should be good moving forward. Did we mention embarrassing? Hope Connor McDavid has a good pair of winter boots.

Biggest disappointment (Player): Thomas Vanek

VanekWonder if Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher was banking on single-digit goal production from free-agent signee Thomas Vanek when he bestowed a three-year deal worth $19.5 million on the former University of Minnesota star? Guessing the answer would be, "uh, no." But through the first quarter of the NHL season, Vanek is on pace for ... wait for it ... four goals. Now, he has had 10 assists in addition to his one goal in the Wild's first 20 games, but for a team that was expecting a game-breaker in Vanek, a guy with 40-goal potential, he is part of the Wild's problem, not the solution. Minnesota was a team many (us included) expected much from this season and through the first quarter they are dynamite at home and below average on the road, which has them scrambling to stay in a playoff spot in the Central. Which brings us back to the need for Vanek to score meaningful goals -- a need thus far unmet.

Best offseason addition: James Neal and Mike Ribeiro

Hard to argue with the work done by Ryan Miller in Vancouver, where the former Vezina Trophy winner has emerged as a renaissance man, turning in a sterling 14-3 record through the first quarter of the season. But we're going to go in a different direction and shine a light on new linemates Mike Ribeiro and James Neal of the Nashville Predators. Sorry, should have said Central Division-leading Nashville Predators. GM David Poile shook things up in the offseason, bringing in a new head coach for the first time in franchise history in Peter Laviolette and adding a slew of new forwards. Both Ribeiro and Neal had much to prove after Ribeiro was bought out of his contract by Arizona and Neal was dealt by Pittsburgh as part of the Pens' offseason shake-up. So far mission accomplished: The two have combined for 14 goals and 31 points, and the Preds continue to both surprise and impress.

Offseason addition not quite getting there: Ales Hemsky

HemskyWe mentioned Vanek's tepid goal production in Minnesota, Brad Stuart really hasn't been a good fit in Denver with the Avalanche and Sam Gagner hasn't delivered the expected offense for the Arizona Coyotes. But the player who is most confounding in his new environs is Ales Hemsky. Like most, we envisioned a continuation of the chemistry Hemsky found in Ottawa late last season with Jason Spezza, who was also acquired by the Dallas Stars in the offseason. It hasn't happened as Spezza is enjoying statistical success playing with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. But Hemsky hasn't found a fit anywhere in the Stars lineup -- and head coach Lindy Ruff has sent Hemsky to the press box to try to shake things up -- and Dallas has lurched through a difficult first quarter. Through the team's first 21 games, Hemsky has zero goals and five assists.

Weirdest injury issues: Ducks with mumps

Credit the Anaheim Ducks for reacting quickly and decisively to contain what could have been a much more serious outbreak of the mumps. Both Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin were sidelined by the disease, which is more common among children than adults. And within the past couple of days, Clayton Stoner exhibited similar symptoms. The team consulted with physicians and disease experts and isolated the infected players, in addition to doing daily disinfecting of the locker room and equipment, and they managed to get beyond the outbreak none the worse for wear. St. Louis earlier had a run of sick players whose symptoms were similar to those suffering from mumps, as did the Minnesota Wild.

Best performance from a guy no one knows: Brock Nelson

NelsonWe're pretty sure Brock Nelson's family knew who he was, but outside of that, well, the New York Islanders center has been a terrific discovery for the surprising Isles. We spoke to Nelson and head coach Jack Capuano early in the season about Capuano's decision to use Nelson as the team's second-line center, and Nelson has kept up his impressive performance, hitting the quarter mark with 10 goals and 19 points. The Islanders? All they've done is climb to the top of the Eastern Conference standings, thanks in large part to unexpected production from guys like Nelson.

Best performance from a rookie head coach: Mike Johnston

We mentioned how well Vancouver is doing, and that's under first-year coach Willie Desjardins, but for us we'll tab the Pittsburgh Penguins' Mike Johnston. When the longtime junior head coach (and NHL assistant) was named to the job, there was more than a little skepticism. He wasn't the team's first choice and might not even have been their second choice to replace Dan Bylsma. But Johnston has seamlessly introduced a different style of play that has the Penguins near the top of the conference standings and leading the NHL in goals per game and power-play efficiency, all while maintaining a top-10 defense.

Coach who may not make it through second quarter: Todd McLellan

We've mentioned the mess in Edmonton, where you can argue personnel or systems, but Dallas Eakins must bear much of the blame for the Oilers' stubborn refusal to improve. And there's always Toronto, where if Randy Carlyle's troops go off the rails, they tend to go off in a big, loud way. But the coach that we wonder about most is the San Jose Sharks' Todd McLellan. The Sharks went 4-0-1 to start the season and, given their offseason of turmoil, it looked as if maybe they were using all of the negative buzz as a kind of motivation. But the team has settled into a kind of gray funk, going 6-9-3 heading into Thanksgiving. GM Doug Wilson is still looking to remake his team on the fly, so it's hard to imagine that he'll put up with much more plodding, especially with a top-flight coach in Bylsma waiting in the wings.

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