10 things we learned from the first 10 games of the NHL season

The NHL soft-launched its season over the weekend with two Czechia-based games between the Sabres and Devils. Slates of three and five games across North America followed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Here are 10 things we learned from those first 10 games - a whirlwind start to 2024-25.

Montembeault plants flag early

Sam Montembeault was dynamite Wednesday, turning aside 48 shots in a 1-0 Canadiens victory at a packed Bell Centre in Montreal. He's the first goalie since Nov. 20, 2021 to shut out the Maple Leafs, breaking a 227-game streak.

That's all well and good for a Habs franchise anxious to play meaningful games in the final weeks of the regular season. Montembeault's season-opening work, which featured stopping a point-blank shot from goal-scoring machine Auston Matthews in the dying seconds, also signaled something to the greater hockey community. The Quebec native is ready to contend for Canada's starting goalie job at the 4 Nations Faceoff tournament in February.

The star performance wasn't overly surprising. Montembeault, who's racked up 145 career appearances, was quietly effective in 40 games last season. His save percentage was exactly league average (.903) and his underlying numbers were strong. According to Sportlogiq, he boasted a positive goals saved above expected rate (0.22 per 60 minutes); earned a "quality start" in 60% of games; and co-led all goalies with a 20% "steal" rate (eight total).

Put another way, Montembeault's on an upward trajectory to start a huge year. The 27-year-old's competition for Canada's top-goalie job includes Jordan Binnington, Stuart Skinner, Adin Hill, Connor Ingram, and Tristan Jarry.

Same old story for Penguins PP

Last year's Penguins didn't have the depth to overcome mediocre power-play results, let alone something resembling atrocious. They went on to score in only 15.3% of opportunities for the league's third-worst power-play rate.

This year's roster isn't any less flawed overall, which means there's no room for another power play letdown. Pittsburgh's playoff chances are shaky even if a top unit led by Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Erik Karlsson dominates.

The Penguins were dismantled by the Rangers on Wednesday. There's virtually nothing positive to take away from the 6-0 defeat, whereas the power play's 0-for-3 showing counts as one of several negatives. In five-on-four action, Pittsburgh recorded a measly three shots on goal off minimal offensive-zone time. New York even scored shorthanded in the third period.

Former Sharks head coach David Quinn was hired as an assistant to Mike Sullivan to fix what's clearly broken. And, hey, maybe he'll work his magic on the Pens' PP over the next 81 games. But the first impression wasn't sunny.

Flames won't be total pushovers

Give them a map 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/56kEAecdJ0

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) October 10, 2024

The Flames are going to lose a ton of games this season.

But that doesn't mean Calgary will be an easy out every night. In fact, they seem primed for constant in-game chaos, as this rebuilding team with low expectations still employs 10 or so solid NHLers. Their season won't be nearly as depressing as San Jose's was last year, for instance. The tanking Sharks became unwatchable because every opponent could trample them.

On Wednesday, the Flames stormed back from a 3-0 deficit to beat a stunned Canucks club 6-5 in overtime. Will Calgary take down Vancouver in any of the remaining three meetings between the Pacific Division rivals? It's possible, of course, but probably not, given the sizeable talent gap. Yet it's safe to assume the Flames will keep Vancouver honest each time. The roster is filled with hustlers - Nazem Kadri, Martin Pospisil, and Ryan Lomberg, to name a few.

Centers searching for faceoff edge

Nerdy, multi-season trend alert: Select centers, including the Devils' Erik Haula and Rangers' Vincent Trocheck, sometimes take faceoffs with a flipped stick.

By my count, Haula deployed this technique three times during last Friday's season-kickoff game between New Jersey and Buffalo. With the draw to the right of Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom, Haula - who shoots left - switched his hands so that his right hand was at the bottom of the shaft and the open part of his blade was pointed toward the corner instead of Markstrom.

Holding your stick backward may look goofy, but it makes sense under the right circumstances.

"It helps to have more tricks up your sleeve," said Trocheck, a natural righty.

Trocheck's curiosity was piqued after watching former teammate Nick Bonino and rival Paul Gaustad flip their sticks. He then found himself struggling so badly in the circle one game that mixing things up felt necessary. "I just started messing around with it. Literally in-game was the first time I tried it," Trocheck recalled. "I was like, 'There's no way in hell my left hand is strong enough to win a faceoff.' But it actually was a lot more fluid than I expected it to be."

Benson continues to cause fits

With 11 players born in 2000 or later and an opening-day roster average age of 25.3, the Sabres once again are the NHL's youngest team. You wouldn't guess it based on his play, but feisty Zach Benson is the baby of the group.

Benson, who turned 19 in May, made the 2023-24 Sabres just a few months after going 13th overall in the draft, then put up a respectable 11 goals and 19 assists in 72 games while skating 14:31 a night. In his first game as a sophomore, he failed to record a point but generally picked up where he left off as a highly entertaining two-way winger with touch around the net in 17:23 of ice time.

Benson was listed at 5-foot-9 and 163 pounds as a rookie but now stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 170 pounds. He's adept at leveraging his stocky frame in front of the net and along the walls. He'll engage physically by rising through a defender's midsection, then chirp the same guy between whistles.

Life without Swayman sucks

"We want Swayman" chant is CRAZY 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/gOzcdjML6m

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 9, 2024

Bruins coach Jim Montgomery refused to point the finger at his goalie after a loss to the Panthers that was more lopsided than the 6-4 final score suggests.

"(Joonas) Korpisalo was not the problem tonight. It was the people in front of him," Montgomery told reporters Tuesday, per NESN. "You can't give up four back-door tap-ins and expect your goalie to make save after save. He made a lot of saves on breakaways. He was good tonight. The players in front of him - the rest of the team - and the coaching staff, we weren't good enough."

No disagreement here on Montgomery's central point: Boston's skaters left Korpisalo out to dry on numerous occasions versus Florida. The team, as a full unit, was flat for the bulk of the season-opening game. Unacceptable.

From my vantage point, though, Korpisalo was fully or partially responsible for four of the Panthers' six goals. At best, he was alright - not "good" - and Montgomery probably felt he had to take the heat off the Finn in his postgame availability. In reality, Korpisalo's so-so performance underlined how invaluable star netminder Jeremy Swayman is to the Bruins now that former partner Linus Ullmark is a member of the Senators.

Boqvist breakout (finally) incoming?

Adam Boqvist has a golden opportunity in front of him in Florida.

The oft-injured 24-year-old defenseman is set to live a childhood dream by playing on the same NHL team as his brother Jesper, a Panthers forward. Boqvist's also starting the season on the defending Stanley Cup champion's No. 1 power-play unit, assuming the dual-threat point-man role previously filled by Brandon Montour, who left for Seattle in the offseason.

Let's hope it doesn't take long for Boqvist to bounce back after leaving Tuesday's opener. He took a puck to the face off a clearing attempt and, as of Wednesday, was still being evaluated. He really can't catch a break. Boqvist's been in the league since 2019 but has never played more than 52 games in a season.

Delta Center no ordinary barn

Young stud Dylan Guenther scored twice. Recently named captain Clayton Keller found the back of the net, too. The new top pairing of Mikhail Sergachev and Sean Durzi was superb. Goalie Connor Ingram was on his game. The Salt Lake City crowd recognized the moment with multiple standing ovations.

It was a storybook debut for Utah, which beat Chicago 5-2 on Tuesday.

What jumped off the screen beyond the obvious: It looked like fans in the first few rows of Delta Center - which is designed for NBA games - were right on top of the action. Ray Ferraro, who was between the benches for ESPN, riffed on the quirk during the broadcast, saying it creates an optical illusion at ice level that would benefit the home team over time. A forward steaming down the wing might think he's closer to the net than he actually is, while the unusual sightline might throw off a goalie.

NHL rinks have become standardized. Delta Center should offer a slight change of scenery, though planned upgrades may mute its unique vibe.

Blackhawks thinner than we thought

The Blackhawks signed a ton of NHL-caliber players over the summer, most notably adding veterans Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen to the wings.

In a vacuum, general manager Kyle Davidson did the right thing. You don't want to waste any of Connor Bedard's years. You want to at least inch forward.

Still, the season opener against Utah was a stark reminder of how many more quality players the organization needs to develop or acquire before Chicago can be considered even marginally competitive. This overarching lack of talent led to a second power-play unit of Pat Maroon, Ryan Donato, Philipp Kurashev, Alec Martinez, and Craig Smith. Yikes - none of those five players would be in the conversation for a PP2 spot on almost any other NHL team.

Offer-sheet guys fitting in

PHILIP BROBERG DIDN'T NEED MUCH TIME TO MAKE AN IMPACT. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/XUAew8HwTz

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) October 8, 2024

A Philip Broberg goal assisted by Dylan Holloway - for the Blues, not the Oilers. Yep, the extremely early returns are stellar for St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong for boldly offer-sheeting not one but two recent first-round picks.

The Blues beat the Kraken 3-2 Tuesday with Broberg logging 20:23 on the second pair opposite Justin Faulk, and Holloway slotting in as the top-line left-winger alongside Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours. The Broberg-Faulk duo kept Chandler Stephenson's line off the scoresheet, while the Thomas trio finished with a 57% expected goals rate in 11 five-on-five minutes together.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

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