5 NHL storylines to watch this week

The Maple Leafs are middling, the Battle for Pennsylvania arrives and more to watch in the NHL this week.

The NHL’s first outdoor game of the season came and went without much of a buzz over the weekend. The Calgary Flames and the Winnipeg Jets faced off in the 2019 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic on Saturday, marking the first of three outdoor games the league will host this season.

The game had everything you’d want from an outdoor hockey match. Goaltenders wearing toques, a snow-globe type atmosphere, and compelling overtime hockey in a charged environment. Considering the sports world was stacked this weekend with things to watch, the Heritage Classic was probably the best game you didn’t watch, as the Jets scored two unanswered goals to win a thriller in overtime thanks to Bryan Little‘s first goal of the season.

The next time the NHL will go outdoors this season will be for the Winter Classic in Dallas, an experience that is not to be missed. Without further ado, here’s what to look out for this week in the NHL as November begins by week’s end.

1. Panthers, Islanders the NHL’s hottest teams

The Buffalo Sabres and the Washington Capitals may be leading the NHL in the standings, but they are not the league’s hottest teams at the moment. Coming into Monday, the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders have been the league’s best teams over the last week.

The Islanders, quite quietly, have been racking up the wins with a seven-game win streak so far this season, the NHL’s best through the first month. New York’s last loss was on Oct. 12 in a shootout against the Panthers, with the Islanders’ record stretching to 8-2-0 in their last 10 games and putting them sixth overall in the NHL as of Monday. Goaltending has been the team’s major strength, as Thomas Greiss and Semyon Varlamov have combined for a sixth-best .922 save percentage this season.

The Panthers, meanwhile, have not lost in regulation since Oct. 8, with their last four losses coming in overtime or the shootout. Florida sits at 11th overall in the NHL, but their 5-1-4 record has them obtaining at least one point in their last eight games.

This week, the Panthers face the Vancouver Canucks, the Colorado Avalanche and the Detroit Red Wings, a lineup to keep an eye on for sure as Florida’s point streak grows. The Islanders, meanwhile, face a murder’s row of the Tampa Bay Lightning and then the NHL-leading Buffalo Sabres, so their win streak may be in jeopardy by week’s end.

2. David Pastrnak back in control of the NHL leaderboards

John Carlson‘s hold on the NHL point leaderboards sadly did not last the weekend, as Boston Bruins forward Pastrnak is now on top. In 11 games this season, Pastrnak has 23 points with 11 total goals with the end of October in sight, and has propelled the Bruins to a 8-1-2 start to the season.

Pastrnak has been one of the NHL’s premier scorers over the last few seasons, thanks to his overall skill and the synergy with his line mates at the top of Boston’s lineup, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.

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The Bruins are riding high on Pastrnak’s successes, and for good reason. The 23-year-old forward is one of the most dynamic wingers in the league, and makes plays on nearly every shift he has in a game. Boston’s lineup outside of their top-six aren’t the league’s deepest, but with Pastrnak driving the bus, the team looks unstoppable.

3. First season meeting between Keystone State rivals

The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins will have their first of four meetings this season on Tuesday, a matchup that often doesn’t disappoint in terms of hockey excitement. The cross-state rivals and Metropolitan Division foes enter Tuesday’s game separated by three points in the standings, with the Penguins sitting above the Flyers on Monday.

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The Penguins will be without Evgeni Malkin due to a lower-body injury that has sidelined the forward for three weeks, though the veteran is targeting Saturday as a possible return date to Pittsburgh.

Even though the rivalry has been lacking in recent seasons in terms of explosive moments, the two teams seem to be closer to one another now in terms of talent after Pittsburgh ran away with the series during their Stanley Cup winning seasons. Flyers and Penguins games are always better when both teams are good, and so far this season with Pittsburgh being bolstered by Sidney Crosby‘s big-time play and the Flyers grading out solidly by the advanced metrics, Tuesday’s matchup is likely to bring fast-paced, intense action when the two teams face off in Pittsburgh.

4. Is the heat on in Toronto?

Taking a look across NHL coverage over the last week, one would think the apocalypse is happening in Toronto. The Maple Leafs are off to a middling 6-5-2 start with 14 points in 13 games played as they sit in the middle of the Atlantic Division.

Toronto was blown out 5-2 by the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, continuing their stretch of mediocrity that has lasted since the beginning of last calendar year. Head coach Mike Babcock isn’t on the hot seat for the team’s slow start, but fans are restless with the team’s talented, but flawed roster underperforming.

This week isn’t an easy one for Toronto, as they’ll have the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers to contend against. Plus, with only two games this week, the team will have few chances to make headway in a competitive Atlantic Division as the end of October looms. The Maple Leafs are a talented young team that is fun to watch, but should their struggles continue long into November, things may start to change there in order to right the ship.

5. The Kings are back in the league’s basement

For a moment early on in the 2019-20 season, the Los Angeles Kings looked like they could be a nice surprise thanks to the strong start they had by advanced statistics. However, the team has plummeted in the standings after starting the season 2-2-0, as the Kings now sit at 4-8-0 with just one game left to play in October.

Their record is the fifth-worst now in the NHL, putting them just above the New York Rangers on the year so far.

The Kings were not expected to make waves in the NHL this season, but the team is second in the NHL in five-on-five Corsi For, sitting at 53.58 through their first 12 games according to Natural Stat Trick. While their advanced numbers are solid, the team overall has no direction. Only one player, Anze Kopitar, has hit the double digit mark in points this season and his four goals on the year lead the team.

Los Angeles has also given up the most goals so far this season (49) despite keeping an overall territorial edge in their games. The Kings will play the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks this week as the team looks to right the ship after three straight losses.