NHL Early Season Surprises

After Sunday, every team in the league except the Flames will have played at least seven games. In the shortened 48 game season, that’s almost fifteen percent of the schedule. Now that the 2013 campaign is two weeks old, it is time to take a look at the early surprises of the year

By Andrew Miller

Biggest Surprise: Tampa Bay Lightning

(Kim Klement/USA Today Sports)

Everyone knew Steven Stamkos would light it up as usual, following his 60 goal year by putting up 14 points in just seven games. However, Marty St Louis seems ageless by still getting the job done at 37 and Vincent Lecavalier has managed to find a resurgence in his career after not averaging a point per game since the 07-08 season. But possibly the biggest bright spot on the team may be goalie Anders Lindback holding his own in the net. Although he doesn’t have Vezina caliber numbers, for his first year as a full time starter he has been more than reliable for the Lightning. The teams six wins through seven games makes them the biggest surprise of the year so far after not making the playoffs last year.

Honorable Mention: Patrick Marleau (San Jose Sharks)

San Jose’s star left wing has quietly always been a reliable scorer, but in seven games, he has scored nine goals. In comparison, the Sharks have let up 12 on the season. A recipe for success starts with the Canadian scoring two goals a game for the first four games of the season. I would not expect Marleau to keep up his crazy pace, but the start lands him an honorable mention.

Biggest Disappointment: Philadelphia Flyers

My pick to win the East this year has let me down so far to this point. The Flyers have question marks everywhere. Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell combined for two points this season while Ilya Bryzgalov is still struggling to find his rhythm. It will be hard to turn it around with the Atlantic Division looking stronger than ever. Peter Laviolette has to turn this team around quickly or else the Broad Street Bullies will fade out of the playoff picture.

Honorable Mention: Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)

Alex Ovechkin burst onto the NHL scene, already winning a rookie of the year and an MVP award by the age of 25. He has yet to find his groove this season, however, only scoring two goals to go along with a lone assist. The Caps need him to wake up, as they only won twice in their first eight games. The Great Eight can heat up in a hurry and score in bunches, and I would bet that he turns it around and cracks the 20 goal mark on the year. 

Top Five: Goal Scorers in the NHL

Although there is still no season, we discuss who the top five pure goal scorers in the league are, assuming there once was a season and will eventually be a season in the future, kicking off Andrew Miller's Top 5s series

By Andrew Miller

(AP Images)

As for a quick recap on the latest for the NHL lockout.

Recently, the owners offered the players a new CBA that would be a six-year deal and calls for a 50-50 split of the revenue. Although it was a considerable step forward in the negotiation process, the players felt that they were still losing too much money and talks on Thursday broke up after only one hour. Hockey seems so close yet so far. Now we move on to the fun part.

5. Marian Gaborik (New York Rangers)

Known for his lightning quick release, this sniper finds himself starting off the list at number five. Sneaking his way onto the goal chart last year, he finished third with 41 goals a year while only taking 276 shots, by far the least amount out of the five featured players. Although Gaborik did not register a hat trick last year, he still was a much needed offensive weapon for the Rangers who ended the season averaging a mediocre 2.71 goals per game and therefore earned his spot at number five.

4. Alex Ovechkin (Washington Caps)

Some may be surprised to find him this low on the list, but I’m sure more would argue he shouldn’t even be on the list. Coming in at number four is ‘The Great Eight’, Alex Ovechkin. Although he hasn’t hit the 40 goal mark in last two seasons, the 27 year old has already had netted 50 goals four times and 40 goals five times in his career. Easily one of the most electric players in the game today, Ovechkin finished the 2011-2012 campaign with 38 goals, good for fifth in the game. Even with the recent dip in production, no goalie would want to go toe to toe with this Cap.

3. Corey Perry (Anaheim Ducks)

On some nights he may not even be the star, sharing the spotlight with line mates Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan, but Corey Perry made his way to number three on the top NHL goal scorers list by filling the net. He trails only Steven Stamkos in goals over the past two years with 87. He may have only finished ninth in scoring last year, but he cracked the top five in all important power play goals. Look for the former first round pick to continue to blossom as he hits his prime in his NHL career.

2. Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburg Penguins)

The last two on the last are very predictable, however their numbers prove their dominance. The second Russian in the top five, Evgeni Malkin, put the Penguins on his back last year as the best player in the world, Sidney Crosby, was sidelined for most of the year. However, dropping his favorite assist man onto the IR didn’t hold back Malkin. The scoring machine put up 50 goals in only 75 games. Giving him an average of .66 goals per game, Malkin stood alone as the only player on the list to also crack the 100 point barrier. There was only one man on the planet that was more prolific when it came to hitting the twine and Malkin will have his work cut off for him to slide up from number two on the list.

1. Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning)

No surprises at number one with the Canadian, Steven Stamkos. This beast of a center has made a living ripping one timers on the power play and terrorizing defensive schemes from any where in the zone. Read some of his astronomical numbers during the last year. He totaled 60 goals, 12 game winning goals tying him for the league lead, had five overtime goals (number one in the NHL), scored on 19.8 percent of his shots (also number one), and found the goal column in 73 percent of his games (of course, best in the league). That’s not even his most impressive stat. He has scored an absurd 156 over the past three years. The craziest part: he is only 22. Stamkos has plenty time of add to his already high career total of 179 goals over four years and that’s why he earned the title of number one goal scorer in the NHL.