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Surprising Starts in the NHL That Will and Won’t Last

By Matt McGinnis

Tyler Toffoli #73 of the Montreal Canadiens. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Tyler Toffoli #73 of the Montreal Canadiens. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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Connor McDavid (97)
Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Edmonton Oilers: Surprise Will Last

It appears that, once again, it’s the same story for the Oilers. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continue to prove that they are among the NHL’s elite, but the team around them can’t hold up its end of the bargain.

2017 was the last time that this club won a Playoff series, and its only postseason appearance since then was last season when Edmonton lost to the twelfth-seeded Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.

I want to believe that after a 3-6-0 start the Oilers have enough talent to bounce back, but recent history suggests that that will not happen. I fully expect McDavid and company to come up short yet again.

Mika Zibanejad (93)
Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers. (Photo by Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images) /

New York Rangers: Surprise Won’t Last

It’s no secret that the New York Rangers are an up-and-coming team that is loaded with young talent. There may be mixed opinions on whether or not 2021 is the year that New York returns to the postseason, but I would imagine that either way, most people did not have them in the basement of the MassMutual East division.

I certainly did not, nor do I expect this to be something that lasts throughout the season. The 2-4-1 Rangers picked up a win on Thursday night thanks to Alexis Lafreniere‘s first NHL goal. As he finds his way, Mika Zibanejad picks up his scoring, and Artemi Panarin continues to lead the club, New York will climb out of eighth place in the division and into Playoff contention.

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