“The Silver Shield” is a column by Kasey Kazliner about the National Hockey League.
Release the Orcas: Vancouver’s got a winner
Greatness has been brewing in British Columbia for quite some time now. While the Canucks haven’t seen the postseason since 2020, they look like a serious Stanley Cup contender through 12 games, with a 9-2-1 record.
Center Elias Pettersson leads the team and is second in the NHL in points with 21, and has been a great fit with right wing Andrei Kuzmenko on the second line. Pettersson is coming off a spectacular 102-point season in 2022-23, with career highs in both goals and assists. The 24-year old is clicking with the rest of the roster and I wouldn’t count him out as a Hart Trophy contender, despite it being this early in the season.
Right wing Brock Boeser has 10 goals and is on pace to have the best season of his career. Boeser is coming off a solid 55-point campaign, when he stayed healthy throughout most of the season, something he hasn’t always been able to do. Despite trade talks last season, the right wing is surging and finding his place in the Canucks’ system as a catalyst in their early success.
Defenseman Quinn Hughes has the third most points in the NHL and has been a force for Vancouver. In the Canucks’ recent win over the Edmonton Oilers, he recorded a goal and three assists, and was dangerous on the power play unit. Hughes was the NHL’s first star of the week and is making a legitimate case for the Norris Trophy. His league-leading plus-minus of 16 shows his consistency and ability to connect with his teammates.
Thatcher Demko is an elite goaltender and is showing his talent on a nightly basis. Demko’s .948 save percentage has helped him achieve seven wins for Vancouver thus far, with two of them being shutouts.
The Canucks haven’t just been winning games; they’ve been victorious in dominant fashion. Vancouver leads the NHL in goal differential at +30. The Canucks have a solid roster all-around and have been blessed with a weak Pacific Division to play in. I’d expect the Canucks to make a deep playoff run if they can stay healthy. They have the combination of talent and experience and are a force to be reckoned with.
The Canucks have lost all three of their Stanley Cup Final appearances (1982, 1994, 2011) and are determined to end the 50+ year drought this season.
Connor Bedard, one month in
No. 1 pick Connor Bedard has already lived up to expectations a month through the season. At just 18 years old, the rookie center leads Chicago in points, goals and shots. Despite being at the bottom of the Central Division, the Blackhawks already look better than their dismal performance last season. Although it’s early, Bedard has been consistent for a Chicago team that’s shifting toward a new identity on the ice.
Now for my observations on Bedard.
The centerman’s productivity on offense is immense. In addition to his rookie-leading stats, Bedard looks comfortable at the NHL level and has been stable despite his inexperience. His wrist shot has been his main strength and he’s also shared the puck well. He’s been able to evade defenders nicely thanks to his shiftiness. The Blackhawks have utilized him a lot more than I would’ve expected for such a young player, as he’s averaging almost a full period of ice time per game. But, Bedard is embracing his role on a rebuilding team.
Even though much has gone well for him, Bedard still has room to improve. His main concern has been his inability to win faceoffs. He’s only won 39.7% of them, but this is not an uncommon struggle for young players. Aside from that, however, Bedard looks like the real deal. He appears to be adapting to the pro level with ease despite being so young.
It’s difficult to make any long-term predictions for Bedard since it’s only been one month, but if the rookie can keep up this level of play, we should anticipate the Blackhawks’ rebuild to attract high-level players wanting to play with him, as well as a culture shift in the city of Chicago. The city hasn’t seen the thrills of Stanley Cup-caliber hockey since the Blackhawks last won it back in 2015, but with a generational player like Bedard, another banner could be in the rafters within the next few years.
With immense amounts of pressure on the young player, the main test for him will be playing a full season of elite hockey while also staying healthy. I’ll be curious to see if his minutes become more limited over the course of the season so that he can be developed further. Bedard is ineligible to play in the AHL until he’s 20 years old because of an obscure rule, so he’ll be hanging at the main stage for at least until then.
20 goals, two games: a Sharks story
I already talked about how miserable the Sharks were last week, but their two-game stretch against the Canucks and Penguins must be talked about. San Jose managed to allow 10 goals in not one, but two consecutive games, becoming just the fourth NHL team to ever reach this low.
Vancouver was the first team to put up double-digits on the Sharks. San Jose fell victim to a lethal Canucks team whose power play unit scored four times on five attempts. Vancouver’s 10 goals in the game matched the Sharks’ total amount on the season at the time. Eight different Canucks scored and 13 recorded points. This game was a total rout.
Kaapo Kähkönen had an abysmal time between the pipes, allowing six goals on just 19 shots. He was later avenged by Mackenzie Blackwood who allowed the Canucks’ next four goals on 14 shots. This loss was the biggest home defeat in franchise history for the Sharks, who are by far the worst team in every single aspect imaginable.
Against Pittsburgh the Sharks faced a familiar friend, Erik Karlsson, for the first time since trading the Norris Trophy winner this past offseason. San Jose received a very similar beatdown to that of the game before, with a 10-2 final score. The Sharks’ 11th straight loss to start the season tied the NHL record. The Penguins were struggling coming into this game with five losses in their last six games, but definitely got an ego boost after manhandling the lifeless Sharks.
Seven Penguins recorded goals, including former Shark, left winger Matt Nieto. Karlsson was one of 13 Penguins that had at least one point, with two assists against his old team, whose not-so-happy crowd let him know how they felt about his expensive, lengthy contract that really wasn’t worth it.
The goaltending duo of Magnus Chrona and Blackwood couldn’t handle Pittsburgh’s offense, and wasn’t supported by the Sharks defense at all. In a sport that relies heavily on defense, the Sharks have let theirs wither away. San Jose leads the NHL in goals allowed with 56, and their -42 goal differential makes Edmonton’s -18 look decent.
The NHL’s goal leader is Auston Matthews with 13 thus far, while the entire Sharks team barely edges him with 14 collectively.
The tank is real; the only win that really matters for San Jose is the draft lottery.
The Sharks got their first victory against the Flyers and will take on the struggling Oilers (2-8-1) next.
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