It’s Halloween, and while most people will be handing out candy tonight for trick-or-treaters, Frank Seravalli and Mike McKenna decided to take a look at some NHL teams' starts to see if they’re tricking us or treating us to a good season.
Frank Seravalli: “Philadelphia Flyers: trick or treat?”
Mike McKenna: “Well this is a trick, because right now Carter Hart is absolutely carrying the Philadelphia Flyers. He’s 5-0-1 on the season, he’s averaging 38 shots against per game and his goals saved above expected is at nine right now in those six games. So, Hart is making at least 1-1.5 more saves than he should a game for this club.
They haven’t been great defensively, but they still have found a way to grind out wins. I think it’s a trick where the Philadelphia Flyers are in the standings, but I do think that the culture change there’s a little bit better.
I got one for you. Winnipeg Jets, they may have lost in overtime to the Vegas Golden Knights yesterday, but they’re second in the Central Division, so are they a trick or a treat for you?”
Frank Seravalli: “I think they’re a treat. I think when you look at the job that Connor Hellebuyck has done in net, I don’t think he’s necessarily going to be a .931 save percentage goalie all season long, but as a perennial Vezina candidate, I think someone that can clearly carry this team into the playoffs.
I think there have been some better signs in terms of their overall team game play. I think they could use a bit more of a scoring punch, which I’d imagine at some point they’ll get. Pretty surprised to see Josh Morrissey leading that team in points at this juncture of the season.
So, I pick the Jets to be a playoff team. Not everyone was as confident. Maybe I was a year ahead on the Jets, but I think the Jets are a team that can certainly sustain their start to the season.”
Mike McKenna: “Hellebuyck’s been sick. Against Vegas was unbelievable.”
Frank Seravalli: “I was going to say, what about Vegas: trick or treat?”
Mike McKenna: “I think right now it’s a treat. I’m not sure what anybody expected, but with [Bruce] Cassidy leading that club, they’ve been really good. They’ve played really strong defensively, and their goaltending has lived to the task with [Adin] Hill and [Logan] Thompson. I think they’re going to be able to sustain it this year.”
Frank Seravalli: “Yeah, I’m not quite as sold. Like, 8-2, I think Vegas has certainly been way better than I thought they would, and I think overall, outside of their goaltending, you were on the Thompson train from the beginning of the season saying that you thought he could be really good, so I think that’s definitely a positive for them the way that he started, but I didn’t expect the rest of their team to necessarily be as good as it’s been.
Their goal scoring has been on point, and I think more to the point, their defense has been way better than I thought. That +15 goal differential looms pretty large, second in the NHL, second best at this point, so the Vegas Golden Knights, I think they’ve been intriguing to this point. Certainly believe that they’re among the teams Pacific that can contend to win that division.”
Mike McKenna: “Yeah, and it’s not a great division, so they’re going to be able to rack up wins. We’ll see how it plays out when you get towards playoff time, but they’ve been better under Cassidy. [Jack] Eichel looked like a beast last night. I just question if that power play can get going; that’s the one question mark for that club.”
You can watch the full episode here…
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