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jingleheimerthethaumaturgic · 5 years

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Hm, yes, definitely DnD stuff because man. I like my group~ In fact.. I'm just gonna talk about my group!

I... Don't know how to read more on mobile so sorry, I'll see if I can edit it later?

3 of us DM, so we alternate. Well, it started off with just 1, then I wanted to start a story and like... Make a comic or something with the characters and ideas I have (which... Hasn't really gone anywhere) and was gonna DM to pick up while our usual DM, Jon, was real busy with schoolwork while also getting material for fleshing out my world and whatnot. Also to get better at talking and decision making hopefully. And our 3rd DM, Billy, recently started because he too had a story he wanted to tell~ And to try out ideas for like.. Rules he think would be cool.

So Jon DMs a group on Fridays mainly, so his gf can play too, but it's a bit on and off because he graduated and has work now alongside still making projects with his team, so less time for brainstorming and the like. His story has stuff to do with a cult and dreamscapes and whatnot. Deep dungeon crawling in the dream, while having more RP focus in the waking world. I play as the current party's bard, a College of the Maestro (homebrew subclass made by Matt Mercer) human named Leiris! I usually play tanky charactera or some kind of magic melee, so doing a pure support kind of playstyle to try new things. She's.. Kind of a merchant? Because she's paying off her college debt and being from the big trade city, it was the best route in her mind? Even if her 7 Wisdom has caused troubles for the Lifguards... Which is our group name we decided on 2 sessions ago that also consists of: Cade a Divination Wizard halfling, Nimbus the Dragonborn Tempest Cleric, a very... Assassins Creedy rogue named Brock, and a couple of temp? Members of some other friends that may or may not be able to join with us long term, so we'll see how that goes. As it is apparent, we are very magically inclined and also squishy! The frontline is the healer! Legitimate fun times! This is a sorta AU to when we played this campaign like.. Last year with mostly different people. Same world, different characters, different part of the continent.

Billy's campaign, is pretty fresh and interesting in a different way so far! We started off already as apprentices to the elite royal task force (at level 4 already!) of the dragonborn kingdom, and had to fight each other to determine our rankings. I play as a Half-Orc Half-Tiefling Ancestral Guardian Barbarian, Rux! Who is... Uhh. Well not to get flagged but he picked up a side job as a certain kind of entertainer. A good lovable idiot strongboy. I have 2 main spirits that I converse and battle with, 1 from each parent's ancestry. I have yet to go further in detail in game, but I really like what I came up with. Recently, Rux has gotten a cursed axe (that I as a DM already knew what it was, but y'know. Gotta play off character knowledge. And he's an idiot) soo, this'll turn out interesting. I ended up in last place on the rankings, since only 3 of us could make it to the first session and I had to fight the Shadow Sorcerer the first round and missed every attack the second round... But have now risen to rank #2! My boss (well, King Sebastian is my boss per say but I call #1 boss) is Gladiolus, a devoted Paladin and a Blue dragonborn. Our 3rd in command and mage of the group is Durza, the Shadow Sorcerer. He... Is quiet and... Doesn't do well with people but takes orders. So once he ended up melting a door to get into one of our houses to start training off early. But we also have Veraladaine, the elven Ranger~ Sounds majestic, but is a klutz. She's had some irl stuff recently, so Vera had been sick for a while. And finishing up or ranks is Ooguay, a tortle Tranquility Monk. Who is the old man. But man. What a guy. We're currently doing a trial, so we're in seperate gauntlets of monster filled rooms, and Rux is very.. Draw aggro from allies focused, so I can't do much fancy stuff class stuff for now. But ah well.

And lastly, my campaign! Which at this point is the longest running one, but it's been on and off for a month at a time once before? But it's consistant now that I have 2 weeks to prep instead of 1! The gang is on a mission to stop the personified seven deadly sins (devil based... Demigods basically?). At the moment, they've killed Gluttony and have arrived at the capital, where they hear another has surfaced. We have, Leroy J Kins a Lizardfolk Barbarian who is the most fleshed out joke character, I love him. Plus he gave juicy backstory that fit with what I had planned, so that's real nice~. He started out unable to rage (by his player's choice) since he had a second personality, Roy, who is basically his Fight of fight or flight instinct. They've meshed together well by now. Mercy, an elven Rogue who has 2 crossbows and loudly asked the group if they knew the assassin's guild in the middle of a tavern! A badass otherwise, who loves her eversmoking bottle and 40 lbs of soap in her bag of holding. Kiri, who got... Most of them to join the adventering guild they're a part of. Kiri is a Kitsune Storm Sorcerer who is a bit like... Steve Irwin?, but with strange creatures. Sorta? Also a mischevious prankster and problem instigator. Raised an awakened plant from a magic pot (after it grew for a month) and called Leroy the father when it asked last game. Naomi is the.... Either mom, secretary, or logical backbone of the group. An Aasimar Scout (rogue subclass), she wears a mask, is very sciency and experiments (mostly harmlessly) on Leroy whenever she finds weird fruit or plants. Vinnie Vin, their somewhat recently picked up Tabaxi swordbard, who sleeps on Leeroy's head/shoulders half the time because Vinnie small, Leroy tall and big. Goes nya, has a thirst for blood, and whaps foes with a shillelaghed bandora before stabbing them. One player has switched characters a lot, but because he is infrequent and keeps wanting to play different things (also kind of annoys the other players, but I try to keep group discourse low)... But the last member is a... Companion that they run into often. It is her! Domino! A Paladin! (Players found out later that her last name is Ap'al'yden, and lost their shit) a drow Paladin of Edesia's Banquet, who is on pilgramage and helps out whenever they need it (when her player can make it). The church she was a part of got taken over by Gluttony from the inside, and she's the last member to her knowledge... Has a thing for the queen of the kingdom (...Queendom? Since theres no king, the Queen leads alone with chairmen and advisors of course), since she served as a palace guard for a while before setting out. The group has also been traveling with a Silver dragon Leroy named Argent that they saved from a Necromancer (trying to turn it into a dracolich to control), an armoured slime they refer to as Blue Squishy, who communicated via gestures and charades before Leroy found a ring that let them communicate telepathically, their cart driver (who is also a guild member) Dave, and now an awakened shrub.

.....I'm real attached to my session for obvious reasons... I'm running it, we've been playing it the longest, and good party interactions~ I mean to make them kinda OP, as a sort of.. Laid back romp through things kind of session. And they enjoy it! Feels great~

....this got real long whops.

#jingle text #dnd talks #yeahhh there we go #Leroy is so prevalent because his player is fantastic and most of us are either indecisive #Or in Lea's case would careen the story into shenanigan after shenanigan #and leroy just. does things. Could speak draconic and managed to befriend the hurt dragon. Saw the slimy ring and just put it on.

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thrashermaxey · 5 years

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Ramblings: Tavares Revenge For Isles, Kuemper Keeps It Up (Mar 1)

The Islanders experienced the ultimate revenge game on Thursday, spanking the Leafs by a score of 6-1. Unlike many nights when John Tavares was a member of the Islanders, it was a total team effort, as every Isles’ forward recorded at least one point. The ex-Islanders’ forward? Zero points on five shots on goal.

As you probably already know, perceptions of Tavares to Islanders’ fans completely changed when he decided to fulfill his childhood dream and play for the Maple Leafs. Even though the jersey that Tavares wears has changed, his fantasy value hasn’t changed much.

For example, if you adjust the scoring inflation that many skaters are experiencing, Tavares’ place in the scoring race (in the top 25) is comparable to his place last season (in the top 20). JT is on pace for more goals and shots and better plus/minus, so the gains to his fantasy value are there. However, his power-play point total is down, which may be the result of a power-play unit that has struggled at times. Tavares has been a PPTOI leader for both the Islanders and Leafs, but he has averaged about 30 fewer seconds of power-play time this season.

The Dear John video was kind of cringe-worthy, but this is top-drawer chanting from Islanders’ fans.

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Here’s the long-awaited Tavares video tribute.

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The Islanders now have 81 points, just one fewer than the Leafs with a game in hand. Immediately after the Tavares signing, how many would have predicted these two teams would be practically neck and neck in the standings? No one, that’s who!

Fantasy owners who bailed on Jake DeBrusk a few weeks ago are probably regretting it now, as he is now handling a very hot stick. With another goal on Thursday, he now has seven goals over his past eight games. Prior to this run, DeBrusk had gone 13 games without a goal. DeBrusk hasn’t even found his way onto the top line as an injury replacement to David Pastrnak, but instead he has been on what would appear to be the second line with David Krejci and new Bruin Marcus Johansson. Krejci himself has been on a roll recently with 14 points over his last 11 games.

With two goals on Thursday, Travis Sanheim now has eight points over his last eight games. He also logged 24:16 of icetime (in an OT game, mind you) on the top pair with Ivan Provorov. Scott Gordon is clearly showing confidence in the second-year d-man. Under Dave Hakstol, Sanheim averaged just over 16 minutes per game, but he is up to an average of 21:25 per game since Gordon took over as head coach. Sanheim is owned in just 8 percent of Yahoo leagues, in case you’re wondering. Don’t assume that Sanheim will supplant Shayne Gostisbehere on the first-unit power play, yet Sanheim seems to be arriving as a bona fide NHL defenseman.

Since arriving for his second tour of duty in Edmonton, Sam Gagner has scored three goals in seven games, with these three goals all within his last five games. Before you go running to your waiver wire, Gagner played just 8:52 and was on a line with Brad Malone and Ty Rattie along with second-unit power-play duties on Thursday. Nevertheless, if you’re Edmonton, what have you got to lose by sticking him on the first-unit power play, similar to the way he was used in Columbus two seasons ago?

I’m not a huge fan of the Coyotes’ offense. I mean, with four goals on Thursday, veteran penalty killer and faceoff specialist Brad Richardson is now the team’s goal-scoring leader (16). That’s in spite of Richardson averaging SIX SECONDS of power-play time per game. So it’s no wonder the the Coyotes are a bottom-5 team in offense. In fairness, the Coyotes have battled their share of injuries, and they may have another one on their hands as Derek Stepan left the game with what looked like a knee injury.

What I do like about the Coyotes, though, is their defensive play. I don’t think we spend enough time talking about defensive systems in terms of goalies to target. With goal scoring on the rise, a few teams have emerged from the abyss as possessing strong goaltending tandems. The Islanders have been the surprise poster child with Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss. The “bunch of jerks” Hurricanes have also risen with the tandem of Curtis McElhinney and Petr Mrazek (at least his more recent play). The Coyotes’ strong goaltending system dates back to last season, though, with Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper both posting strong numbers. All three of these teams are in the top 10 in goals against.

I’ve mentioned in the past that Raanta didn’t receive enough credit for his ratios (2.24 GAA, .930 SV%) last season. This season has been a writeoff for Raanta because of injury, but Darcy Kuemper has been quietly getting the job done. Kuemper earned another win on Thursday, stopping 37 of 39 shots he faced in a 5-2 win over the Canucks. Kuemper has now won six games in a row, allowing just ten goals over that span.

Kuemper’s solid play goes back even further than that. Since January 1, only the white-hot Jordan Binnington has posted more wins (15) than Kuemper (14). Kuemper also has a 2.31 GAA and .925 SV% over that span, numbers that are a sight for sore eyes if you have been struggling with your goaltending. No, you’re not delusional if you think you can enter your fantasy playoffs with Kuemper as your second goalie. In fact, I think I might do it.

Back to the Coyotes’ offense for a minute. Richardson’s linemates Vinnie Hinostroza and Richard Panik each recorded three assists on Richardson’s goals. Hinostroza now has six points over his last five games. Good on Richardson for what he accomplished on Thursday and this season, as he scored just three goals all of last season (76 GP).

Is Elias Pettersson hitting a rookie wall? He hasn’t scored a goal in his last six games. The Canucks have been ravaged by injuries during the second half, which eventually puts more pressure on the healthy players to score. Petey has frequently been skating over 20 minutes a night, so I’m wondering if the grind of playing a long NHL season for the first time is starting to take its toll.

Canucks’ fans were happy to get something back – anything at all, even a bag of pucks – for Erik Gudbranson. So maybe it was a bonus that Tanner Pearson scored his first goal as a Canuck on Thursday, or at least it was one of the few bright spots for the Canucks. Pearson is getting his chance to play on the top line with Pettersson, so you could add him in a deeper league in the hopes that a new team will provide a short-term spark. I have to at least say that he’s looked okay so far. You can also check out the Pearson trade fantasy impact.

Well, I was wrong about Reilly Smith losing his spot on the Golden Knights’ top line because of the Mark Stone acquisition. Not only is Smith still skating with William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault, but he scored a pair of goals in the Knights’ shootout win over the Panthers. He probably doesn’t deserve to lose that spot right now anyway, as he has now posted 11 points in his last 10 games.

That means Stone will have to make it work on the Paul Stastny – Max Pacioretty unit (and Alex Tuch gets demoted). Stone has yet to record a point in his two games with his new team, but let’s give him a little time to get acclimatized. After all, the long-term contract suggests that he will be there for a while.

In a losing cause, Jonathan Huberdeau scored a goal and added three assists. Huby is on fire, piling up 13 points in his last seven games. That’ll help if you are in a battle to make your fantasy playoffs.

Also in this game, Mike Hoffman scored goals number 29 and 30 on the season. As consistent a goal scorer as Hoffman has been, this is the first time he has reached 30 goals in spite of scoring at least 20 in his previous four seasons. I’m sure glad I didn’t trade him in my keeper league when the you-know-what hit the fan in Ottawa last season. I don’t make a habit out of trading players for pennies on the dollar, though. Even when my fellow owners like to tease me with those kinds of offers.

Anze Kopitar hasn’t had the greatest season, as he is on pace for around 60 points after reaching 92 last season. After a four-game point drought, at least he gave his owners sometime to be satisfied with on Thursday, scoring two goals and adding an assist while logging his usual 20-plus minutes. Don’t get too optimistic about Kopitar (or any of the Kings) in the short-term, though, as Adam Daly-Frey will describe in his Looking Ahead piece.

For more fantasy hockey information, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-tavares-revenge-for-isles-kuemper-keeps-it-up-mar-1/

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thegloober · 6 years

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Who has been the most surprising player for each team to start the season?

Jaden Schwartz’s start to the 2017-18 season came out of virtually nowhere. True, he had kept in line with his career averages the season prior when he went out and potted 19 goals and 55 points in 2016-17, but his start last season was something else. Through the first nine games, he had scored six goals and 13 points and formed one formidable offensive unit with Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko.

Schwartz’s fast start was indicative of the kind of season he would go on to have himself, too. Though injuries hampered his final totals — he missed 20 games, which has unfortunately been the story of his young career — Schwartz saw career-bests for production. His 24 goals and 59 points in 62 games made for the highest goals, assists and points per game rates since he broke into the league in 2012-13 as a full-timer with the Blues.

This season, though, Schwartz’s start is surprising for another reason. In six games for St. Louis, he has just two points, both assists, while the injury bug has reared its ugly head again with Schwartz missing two games due to a foot injury. Luckily, Schwartz’s early struggles has been overshadowed by a more positive start to the season by one of his Blues teammates, who you’ll find noted below in this rundown of the most surprising starter for each team this season:

Anaheim Ducks We’ve said it already, but Max Comtois has benefitted more than anyone from the injury woes in Anaheim. The rookie has had a few games with top-six minutes and he’s consistently finding the scoresheet through the first 10 games of the season. His seven points are tied for the Ducks’ team lead, and he’s going to make it awfully difficult for Anaheim to demote him if he keeps this up.

Arizona Coyotes Vinnie Hinostroza was one of the key pieces in the deal that sent the remaining seasons of Marian Hossa’s dead-money contract from the Blackhawks to the Coyotes, and he’s made the most of his opportunity in Arizona. He made Chicago regret their decision to move him with two goals in his return to the Windy City, but it’s his shot generation that has us taking note. His 21 shots are third behind only Derek Stepan and Christian Fischer among all skaters in Arizona. He’s producing and could be a minor breakout candidate if he keeps this up.

Boston Bruins Upon his signing in Boston, we noted that Jaroslav Halak could help push Tuukka Rask this season. Instead, the 33-year-old keeper looks like he’s could be a candidate to split starts with the Bruins’ long-time No. 1 netminder. He’s deserving of the time he’s getting, too, posting a .933 save percentage in five appearances thus far, which is significantly better than Rask’s .901 SP performance in five outings.

Buffalo Sabres Maybe surprise is the wrong word to use given he has a history of 30-goal seasons, but Jeff Skinner is certainly grabbing the bull by the horns in Buffalo. Brought in to fill the net, he’s done just that with five goals and seven points through nine games. He’s second only to Jack Eichel in scoring for the Sabres, and Skinner is either playing his way towards a healthy extension in Buffalo or a big-money pact come next summer.

Calgary Flames Elias Lindholm wasn’t the more notable of the two players acquired in the summer blockbuster between the Flames and Hurricanes, but he’s been a revelation in Calgary. Not only is Lindholm second in average ice time among all forwards, he’s leads the Flames with six goals and his nine points put him in third place behind Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau. Calgary certainly isn’t complaining.

Carolina Hurricanes Speaking of the swap between the Hurricanes and Flames, it doesn’t appear Micheal Ferland plans on slowing down any time soon. Though his ice time is lagging behind that of primary linemates Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen due to the difference in power play minutes, Ferland is filling the net unlike any other skater in Carolina. His six goals are tops on the team and his nine points put him second in team scoring. A consistent half-point per game scorer in Calgary, he looks like he could be the league’s best third wheel this season.

Chicago Blackhawks Alex DeBrincat appears to be every bit the offensive dynamo he was drafted to be, and his performance as part of Chicago’s top line has been outstanding. But that’s a matter of meeting potential for DeBrincat. The real surprise for the Blackhawks has been Henri Jokiharju. Though not fair to say he was shoehorned into the lineup, it’s safe to suggest few saw him fitting in as a top pairing defenseman quite this quickly. His five assists aside, Jokiharju has performed well alongside Duncan Keith and seems to have the confidence of the coaching staff.

Colorado Avalanche Last season, Alex Kerfoot got off to a red-hot start only to fall apart during the back half of the season. To wit, he scored eight goals and 13 points in his final 39 games after putting up 11 goals and 30 points in his first 40 outings. Kerfoot looks to have rediscovered that early-season scoring touch, though, with one goal and six points in nine games to start the campaign. The Avalanche need consistency in the middle of the lineup, and Kerfoot providing that would be a boon to the top-heavy attack.

Columbus Blue Jackets Seth Jones’ injury forced blueliners into bigger roles in Columbus, and none more so than Markus Nutivaara. His average ice time in the Blue Jackets’ first eight games is two and a half minutes higher than it was last season, and he’s met the challenge with some impressive offensive output. He has five assists through eight games, all at even strength, and he’s fired 17 shots on goal. A deep blueline looks like it has another piece with which to work.

Dallas Stars So, Miro Heiskanen was supposed to be NHL ready this season. That much we knew. No one knew exactly how NHL ready he was, though. At this point, it appears Heiskanen might be a candidate to fall into the Charlie McAvoy category by season’s end, which is to say the Stars defender will be one of the best rookies in the league but won’t get the credit he deserves given his offensive totals won’t match up against those of the freshman forwards. His 20:40 ice time average is third among defensemen in Dallas.

Detroit Red Wings The absence of Mike Green, whose return date remains up in the air, opened up opportunity in Detroit. No one has seized that opportunity quite like Dennis Cholowksi. The rookie rearguard has consistently skated the biggest minutes on the Red Wings blueline, with his 22:14 average leading the team and two games in which he’s skated nearly 25 minutes. Better yet, though, he’s contributing with two goals and five points in seven games. The 2016 first-round pick looks ready for the big stage.

Edmonton Oilers No one should be even the slightest bit surprised by Connor McDavid anymore. Darnell Nurse, though, has really risen to the occasion with Andrej Sekera sidelined. His average ice time is two minutes clear of last season’s career high and he’s been far and away the best thing going on the Oilers’ blueline. Of course, no Oiler has offensive numbers that are all that impressive given McDavid has accounted for most of the offense in Edmonton, but Nurse’s goal and three points are tops among Oilers blueliners.

Florida Panthers He’s by no means a rookie and he’s actually coming off of quite the campaign, but it’s hard not to take note of Evgenii Dadonov’s continued success. With three goals and eight points in seven games, Dadonov is tied for the Panthers’ team scoring lead and he’s been every bit the top-line player he was last season. In fact, the only forwards with more ice time than Dadonov are Vincent Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov, which indicates just how hard coach Bob Boughner is willing to lean on Dadonov.

Los Angeles Kings There’s not a lot to write home about when a team has dropped five in a row by a combined score of 25-7. Alex Iafallo has been one of the lone bright spots in Los Angeles, though. With two goals and seven points in nine games, Iafallo is already well on his way to smashing his rookie season production of eight goals and 25 points, and he is getting to see more ice time for the Kings. His average is up nearly a minute per outing, which includes additional power play time.

Minnesota Wild Frankly, there were times during the final three months of the 2017-18 campaign where Devan Dubnyk looked pedestrian. Blame that on what you will, but he was nowhere near the Vezina Trophy candidate he had been twice in the three seasons prior. Dubnyk looks like he’s back in form this season, though, with an absolutely dazzling performance to start the season. His .944 SP through six games is proof that he can still be a game stealer for Minnesota, and he might be the best thing going for the Wild through the early season.

Montreal Canadiens Montreal’s early-season surprise honor can go to no one but Tomas Tatar. Traded twice in the past several months, first at the deadline to the Golden Knights and later to the Canadiens in the Max Pacioretty deal, Tatar has been excellent for the Habs and has seemingly bounced back from his disastrous time in Vegas. His three goals and eight points in eight games put him first in Canadiens’ scoring and he’s formed a nice trio with Philip Danault and Brendan Gallagher.

Nashville Predators An injury to Pekka Rinne has thrust Juuse Saros, the heir apparent to the Predators’ crease, into the spotlight. And boy, has he delivered. Heading into Tuesday night, Saros had won all four games he in which he had appeared, posted one shutout and had an outstanding .945 SP. He was beaten five times on 32 shots by the Sharks on Tuesday, but Saros’ early performance has only furthered his standing as the heir apparent in Nashville.

New Jersey Devils How can we not take a second to talk about Kyle Palmieri? The Devils winger has been a consistent goal scoring threat since his arrival in New Jersey, but he’s taken it up a notch through the early going this season. His seven goals in six games has set an unrealistic pace — he’s shooting 32 percent on 22 shots on goal and that won’t hold — but barring an extended slump or a spell on the injured list, Palmieri seems a lock to snap his career high of 30 goals.

New York Islanders Veteran Valtteri Filppula took a significant pay cut to head to the Islanders this summer, his cap hit dipping from $5 million last season to $2.75 million for the current campaign. He’s sure not performing like a player making half of what he did last season, though. Filppula’s four goals and six points put him first and second, respectively, in scoring for the Islanders despite the fact he’s played primarily bottom-six minutes.

New York Rangers Not all surprises are good surprises, which brings us to Vladislav Namestnikov. Remember last season, when Namestnikov had 35 points through his first 42 games in Tampa Bay? Well, after being shipped to the Rangers late last season and then getting a two-year, $8-million extension, he has paid New York back with one assist in eight games and he’s found himself in coach David Quinn’s doghouse. Namestnikov’s ice time average is less than 11 minutes, down about more than six minutes from his average over the course of the 2017-18 season.

Ottawa Senators The performance of the Senators as a whole has been remarkable, but Maxime Lajoie has been especially impressive. Given the influx of young talent and fresh faces, Lajoie was a relative unknown outside Ottawa to begin the season, but he’s maintained an average ice time up above 20 minutes per game and his seven points in eight games has put him on the radar. It should be said, too, that Lajoie is consistently finding his opportunities. His 23 shots are the most of any Senator.

Philadelphia Flyers We’ve long known what Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux can do. Same goes for Wayne Simmonds. And while the performances of Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton and Shayne Gostisbehere have been likewise impressive, the only thing anyone can talk about lately when it comes to the Flyers is Gritty. Sure, technically he’s not a player, but when is the last time a mascot has captured the imagination of the sporting world quite like this? The average North American is probably more likely to recognize Gritty than they are Giroux.

Pittsburgh Penguins Is it fair to call Evgeni Malkin’s start surprising? It’s not as though Malkin scoring like one of the best players in the world is anything new, but it feels like his early season dominance has been lost in the shuffle. He has the best points per game rate of any player in the league and his three goals and 13 points have him three points off the league’s current scoring lead with two games in hand. This could be a big, big year for ‘Geno.’

San Jose Sharks Timo Meier was long considered one of the top prospects in the Sharks’ system and he had himself a fairly impressive campaign in 2017-18, scoring 21 goals and 36 points in a middle of the lineup role in San Jose. Meier looks primed to develop into a top-six contributor for the Sharks, though, and he’s turning heads in the early season with a five-goal, eight-point start through nine games this season. He’s tied for the team goal-scoring lead with Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski.

St. Louis Blues The Blues’ signing of David Perron to a four-year, $16-million pact seemed like an overreaction to his 66-point season in Vegas. Prior to the 2017-18 campaign, Perron had never cracked 60 points and had gone four seasons without hitting the 20-goal plateau. The veteran winger has fit in perfectly back in St. Louis, however, and his five goals and nine points already give him a healthy start on eclipsing 60 points for the second time in his career. Maybe he’ll even score 30 goals for the first time.

Tampa Bay Lightning If there was a Johnny Bower Award for long-tenured minor leaguers who break out in the NHL, it would have gone to Yanni Gourde last season. At 26, he was playing his first full campaign in the big league and blew everyone away with 25 goals and 64 points. He’s proving he was no flash in the pan, too, with four goals and eight points in seven games so far this season. He’s going to get paid, and paid well, on his next deal if he keeps this up.

Toronto Maple Leafs Morgan Rielly has proven throughout his young career that he’s no slouch offensively, but no one would have seen his outburst to start this season coming. After scoring a career high 52 points last season, Rielly is already more than one quarter of the way to a new career-best mark with four goals and 14 points in nine games. Offense is no concern for the Maple Leafs, and Rielly could put himself in the Norris Trophy conversation on his scoring alone if he continues to score as he has through the early season.

Vancouver Canucks Expectations were high for Elias Pettersson given his performance in the Swedish League last season, but no one would have guessed he would be miss-four-games-and-still-have-the-team-points-lead good. Before he was sidelined with a concussion, Pettersson had scored five goals and eight points in five games. He’s set to make his return soon, too, which makes every Canucks game worth watching. He could be on his way to setting Vancouver’s rookie scoring record.

Vegas Golden Knights The Golden Knights’ first line has been as good as ever, with Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith combining for 23 points in eight games, but there hasn’t been much else for offense in Vegas. In fact, the real surprise has been how ineffective Max Pacioretty has been. Expected by many to bounce back from a down year in Montreal last season, Pacioretty has one goal in eight games. He’s not even on pace to best last season’s disappointing 17-goal output.

Washington Capitals The Capitals committed big to John Carlson in the off-season, inking him to a monster eight-year, $64-million pact, and he’s repaying them early with gaudy numbers in the early season. In eight games, Carlson has ripped home five goals and 13 points. There’s no chance he maintains this pace, of course, but he looks like he could be on his way to matching and bettering last season’s career highs of 15 goals and 68 points.

Winnipeg Jets Through two seasons, Josh Morrissey has registered 46 points in 163 games. His career best was last season’s seven-goal, 26-point effort, which came when he averaged slightly more than 20 minutes per game. But an injury to Dustin Byfuglien vaulted Morrissey onto the top power play unit, where he’s produced some magic. His seven points in nine games put him on pace to smash last season’s offensive numbers, and Winnipeg might want to start thinking about what retaining Morrissey is going to cost when the two-year bridge deal he signed this summer comes up.

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About the Author

Jared Clinton

Jared Clinton is a writer and web editor with The Hockey News. He’s been with the team since 2014. He was born, raised and resides in Winnipeg, where he can be found missing the net on outdoor rinks all over town.

Source: https://bloghyped.com/who-has-been-the-most-surprising-player-for-each-team-to-start-the-season/

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