Around the NHL: Injuries playing spoiler to some teams early on

The NHL season is well underway and fans are already getting an early picture of how the Stanley Cup Playoffs could shape out. The Boston Bruins and Vegas Golden Knights are once again showcasing their dominance in the league while the Kraken have seen some regression.

Additionally, many teams are already dealing with injuries that are putting a damper on their season. Here’s your update on the early stages of the NHL season.

The Winnipeg Jets will be without Gabriel Vilardi for at least four to six weeks as he tends to an MCL injury. The forward was on the number one line for the Jets and will be a big hole for them to fill offensively.

Predators defenseman Luke Schenn will also be out for four to six weeks with a lower-body injury. This comes after he signed a three-year, $8.25 million contract back in July.

Questions are currently surrounding the Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho as he did not play on Wednesday. Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour said that Aho “did something at the end of the last game”. The Canes had just re-signed Aho to an eight-year, $78 million extension.

Finally on the injury report is Canadiens’ forward Kirby Dach. Dach will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL and MCL suffered when he was checked into the benches during a game against the Blackhawks.

While those teams will be without some star players both on offense and defense for a few weeks, other teams are rising in the NHL rankings.

Currently, the Vegas Golden Knights are in sole possession of the points lead in the NHL. This comes as they are the only four-win team in the league and are still undefeated. Additionally, they have a league-best +10 scoring margin in their games.

Defensively, the New York Islanders are having a stellar start to the year. The Islanders have only let in two goals against them so far which is the lowest in the league. Goaltender Ilya Sorokin has saved 40 of 42 shots that have come his way with a shot percentage of .952.

While the Islanders have had a somewhat easy schedule so far, they have some important games coming up. They play both the Avalanche and Senators in back-to-back games in the coming weeks which will give a better picture of how good the team is.

This coming weekend has some high-level matchups on the docket. My pick for the game of the weekend is the Chicago Blackhawks trying to play spoiler against the undefeated Vegas Golden Knights.

The Blackhawks are currently struggling to stay above .500 at 2-2 on the season right now. The key to this game for the Blackhawks will be getting a second reliable shooter. Tyler Johnson is currently the only player on the team with multiple goals this season. If the Blackhawks can find a second or third skater to rely on for goals, preferably from a different line than Johnson’s, then they could build a dangerous offense.

For the Golden Knights, they just need to keep doing what they have been all season. Chandler Stephenson has played lights out all season as he leads the Golden Knights in goals, assists and points. If the Golden Knights can give Stephenson chances at the net while limiting mistakes, then this game could very easily be over before the third period.

While the season is still young, the intensity is already high. With the number of games left in the season, it’s still too early to tell just how high or low many teams can go.

Ethan Ellis is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ece5133@psu.edu.