Off the Post: Four teams Start 2021-2022 season undefeated

For the first time in NHL history, four teams have kicked off their seasons with winning streaks of five or more games — and they may not be the groups you expected. The Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues and Carolina Hurricanes have come into the 2021-22 campaign with a mission and, three weeks in, sit at the top of the league standings. 

The Panthers have garnered 12 points in six games and have not let a single team stain their 6-0-0 record — they’ve faced challenging opponents too, so their wins have some substance. 

Beating the defending Stanley Cup champions in Tampa Bay by a dominating score of 4-1, grabbing an overtime win in their home opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins and holding their own at the Wells Fargo Center to top the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2, the Panthers have not only built character but a winning culture that has been perpetuated throughout the lineup. 

Left wing Jonathan Huberdeau leads his squad in points with three goals and five assists, but they’re getting contributions from everyone. Twelve out of 21 players on the Panthers’ roster have gotten on the scoreboard thus far, speaking to the depth of their bench. 

Sitting behind the Panthers in the standings is the St. Louis Blues. They got to raise the Cup in 2019, so the guys in that locker room know what it takes to win in this league. Nonetheless, the Blues had a swift exit from the 2020-21 postseason, getting swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round. Perhaps they’re out for redemption. 

Tied with five other players for second-most goals in the league, left wing David Perron has netted six, just one behind the great Alexander Ovechkin, who is looking to beat Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894. Goaltender Jordan Binnington has also come up big for his team, earning a 2.75 goals-against-average and .919 save percentage in the four games he has played. 

The Edmonton Oilers were also swept in the first round of last year’s playoffs. Dropping four straight to the Winnipeg Jets, the Oilers’ strict dependence on their top players was widely discussed in the hockey community — you can’t win with an incomplete team. 

Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are all headliner names for the group and have continued to lead by example. It seems this season, though, the rest of the team is on board too. 

The Oilers also have done a hefty amount of shopping, adding strength to both the front and back sides of their roster. Notably, signing Zach Hyman last summer and Jesse Puljujarvi in 2020 has proven to be a big positive. Both at the top of the points standings for Edmonton, they’ve made contributions early.

And now, my favorite of the bunch, the Carolina Hurricanes — this team is just fun to watch. Led by head coach and certified league beauty Rod Brind’Amour, the Canes have some real potential and big personalities. 

It’s hard to highlight just a few players because what Carolina does so well is working as a unit. They’ve got a mix of great young talent like Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov and wise veterans like Jesper Fast and Jordan Staal. 

The squad has won four out of their first five games by three or more goals, awarding them the ‘W’ in the record book, but also a sense of offensive confidence and dominance they display night in and night out. The Canes are a team I think can go far this season — granted, October is not even over yet — but I’m excited to see what they do with a full 82-game season.

Early-season standings rarely project what things will look like come April and May, but it’s good for the sport to have teams other than the Capitals, Penguins, Bruins and Lightning ruling the NHL. We’ll see how long this undefeated group of four can keep it up.