Poor beginnings: Which teams have been the most disappointing so far this season?

As always, preseason predictions about which team will be the best or which team will improve the most were wrong. It goes to show the wild nature of sports and how anything can happen. But, that doesn't mean teams are excused from poor starts to the season. Here are three teams that I think have underperformed to begin the year.

Nashville Predators

This one is pretty obvious. The Preds were the "winners of the offseason" after singing several big free agents such as Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. Those signings, along with players they already had, such as Roman Josi and Juuse Saros, many expected the Predators to leap to the top of the Western Conference. Instead, the Predators have one of the worst records in the West, sitting at 5-9-2 after starting 1-5 to begin the season. Even the Blackhawks have a better record than them. The free agents that were supposed to make a big impact haven't done so. Stamkos has eight points in 16 games, while Marchessault has nine in the same amount of games. Marchessault and Stamkos are -10 and -11, respectively, showcasing how bad their start has been.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins didn't have sky-high expectations coming into this season, but many still believed they had a shot to squeeze into the playoffs. Now, I'm not so sure. The skaters have been good. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have enjoyed great starts to their seasons, and I think this is some of the best hockey they've played in a long time. But, the goaltending is a different story. The Penguins have put in three different goaltenders so far this season; Tristan Jarry, Joel Blomqvist and Alex Nedelijkovic. All three have struggled mightily to begin the season, and that is the primary reason why Pittsburgh sits at 6-9-2, and almost last place in the Metropolitan Division. All three goalies have a goals against average higher than 3.0, with Jarry being the worst with a putrid 5.47 in three starts. The Dallas Stars embarrassed the Penguins last night, scoring six goals in the first period. Blomqvist was pulled for Nedelijkovic, who didn't do much better. The Penguins need to find a reliable goaltender before their playoff chances go out the window.

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers haven't been themselves to start the season. For a team that made the Stanley Cup Finals last year and almost won after falling to a 3-0 series deficit, the Oilers haven't met expectations with a 7-7-1 start. The Oilers lost Connor McDavid to an ankle injury early in the season, but have rebounded since his return. I believe the Oilers will turn things around, but there's no doubt that fans and players were looking for a better start than this. The Oilers have had some good games, but there's been others that have been complete stinkers. Edmonton can't really look at any one thing to blame, but the team has been streaky to start the year. They have games where they look like the Western Conference Champions, and then they have games where it looks like an AHL team could beat them. The schedule gets a little easier, with their next game against the Islanders tonight, followed by games against the Predators, Maple Leafs, Canadians and Senators. The Oilers should win at least three of those games, and I think they will.

All three of these teams haven't had the start that they wanted, but I think that the Oilers are the most likely to turn it around. On the other hand, I think the Penguins are in trouble if they don't figure out their goaltending situation, which could spell doom for their playoff chances.