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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterOct 21, 2024, 07:00 AM ET
CloseKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.
The 2024-25 NHL season is just two weeks old and already chock full of surprises.
Did we expect the Winnipeg Jets to be the last undefeated team? Or for the Calgary Flames to be steamrolling the competition? And what of the Utah Hockey Club, making expansion life look good?
It’s been an exciting run — for some. For others, not so much. There are backs against the wall, so to speak.
But it’s still early … right?
These five teams better hope so.
We’re breaking down the clubs who came into the 2024-25 campaign rife with expectations that haven’t quite lived up to the hype. What’s holding them back? And how worried should fans be about their trajectory from here?
It’s our (probably) too-early Panic Meter readings! Let’s dissect the candidates:
Stanley Cup odds: +1400
Record: 2-2-0, sixth in Metro
The problems: Granted, the Hurricanes are only four games into their season. It’s still strange to see them at only the .500 mark and ahead of just the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets in the Metro Division.
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So, yes. It’s a small sample size. But Carolina has had some glaring inconsistencies, too. The Hurricanes are hurting themselves as the fourth-most penalized team in the league (averaging over five minutes per game) and that’s been a costly, momentum-crushing trend, taxing their 13th-ranked penalty kill (83.3%) while keeping top-end skaters like Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov from doing what they do best on the offensive end. Carolina’s 19th overall offensively (3.00 goals per game), and averaging the sixth-most shots (32.8), so the opportunities to challenge opponents are clearly there. It’s a matter of the Hurricanes not being their own worst enemy.
Carolina knew going into the season that a) goalie health and b) goalie performance would be a significant factor for them, and while Frederik Andersen has been good so far,…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/41907534/nhl-2024-25-standings-playoffs-contenders-stanley-cup-avalanche-oilers
Author : Kristen Shilton
Publish date : 2024-10-21 11:45:33
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