One week down in the NHL schedule and already every team in the league has at least one overtime loss on their card with no 100% record showing just how wide open things could be in the race for the Stanley Cup this season.
Only Buffalo, Dallas and the Islanders have yet to taste a defeat in 60 minutes, the latter two of those teams both going down to three overtime/shootout losses in what should really be seen as positive starts to the season for franchises that endured tough times in 2008-9.
The Islanders have been one of the surprise packages of the opening seven days despite failing three times to convert excellent normal time performances into victories against tough foes in Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh, Ottawa and Boston.
Ahead of their Columbus Day showdown with free-scoring Los Angeles, though, it was the star play of rookie John Tavares that had Islanders fans licking their lips in anticipation of just what they had drafted earlier in the year.
The 19-year-old sniper, the first overall pick in the draft, took 27 minutes to register his first NHL goal against the Penguins and by the end of the week had five points to lead the team.
He, Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo are already showing excellent chemistry on the top line but while a playoff place is still a long way off as far as basketball betting goes, at least the signs of recovery are there for a club which had a dreadful time last season in winning only 26 games.
But it was not just the top line getting the plaudits at the Nassau Coliseum, as the Islanders ended the first three games with a league-leading penalty killing group, not giving up a goal on the powerplay in the first three games of the season.
Dallas are in a similar boat after going on the road for three games in Canada, but at least they managed their first win in Calgary where Brad Richards, Mike Ribeiro and Stephane Robidas all contributed a couple of points.
Hopes will be a lot higher in Texas for a long run in the playoffs if they can get improved goaltending from Marty Turco and Alex Auld, who provides the Stars with a much more reliaible backup option after last year’s struggles with Tobias Stephan and Matt Climie among others.
They have two really solid top lines where the veterans are joined by Loui Eriksson and James Neal, two of the more promising youngsters in the Western Conference and the returning Brenden Morrow.
Both teams just go to show that one bad season does not mean years and years of struggle, and both could just continue to surprise as the weeks and months roll on.
