Any kid can tell you October, with pumpkin pie and Halloween candy, is a month of treats. And with the annual arrival of a new NHL season each fall, any goal-scorer can tell you they sometimes have the patience of a toddler when it comes to getting that first cookie of the year.
Whether you’re a Rocket Richard contender, a middle-sixer hoping to pop 20 or a D-man expected to deliver from the back end, Step 1 in the process is always netting that first goal. A couple games without a goal? Sure. But once it’s nearly a handful, the pressure to get on the board mounts.
Heck, 385 NHL skaters are being outscored by Minnesota Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson right now.
So with grips getting a little tighter on the stick, we’re using this week’s power rankings as a way to identify one offence-oriented player on each squad who is still looking to bury his first biscuit of the season.
1. Dallas Stars (4-0-0) Logan Stankoven is off and running in his pursuit of the Calder Trophy with five assists through four games. The 21-year-old, though, has yet to thwack the twine.
2. Toronto Maple Leafs (3-1-0) It’s been the second and third lines in Toronto doing the damage, with Auston Matthews scoring his first goal on Wednesday night and Mitch Marner also on one tally. Max Domi has five apples, but is still looking for his first goal.
3. New York Rangers (2-0-1) Eleven Rangers have already found the net, contributing to the Blueshirts’ league-best 5.0 goals-per-game. Offensive force Adam Fox, however, is not one of them.
4. Winnipeg Jets (3-0-0) Gabe Vilardi scored at a 38-goal pace (22 in 47 games) in an injury-shortened season last year, so there was some hope he might hit the 30-goal barrier this time out. So far, he’s 0-for-3. Nik Ehlers is also sitting on a goose egg for the perfect Jets.
5. Vegas Golden Knights (3-1-0) Only 10 defencemen had more goals than Noah Hanifin’s 13 last season. The blue-liner is still in search of his first one this year.
6. New Jersey Devils (4-2-0) Some surprising names — Paul Cotter, rookie defenceman Seamus Casey — are at the top of the Devils goal-scoring charts. Dougie Hamilton has not converted in half a dozen games, though, and you know he’d love to get going after last season’s injury-ravaged showing.
7. Tampa Bay Lightning (2-0-0) Tampa is one of three teams to have played only two games, so there hasn’t been that much opportunity to get on the board. However, you know big UFA fish Jake Guentzel won’t wait much longer for his first as a Bolt.
8. Florida Panthers (3-2-0) Carter Verhaeghe has a brand new $56-million contract extension; what he doesn’t have just yet is his first goal of the year.
9. Boston Bruins (3-2-0) The Bruins and Penguins are the only teams with an even dozen guys who’ve found the net. Believe it or not, though, captain Brad Marchand is not one of them in Boston.
10. Edmonton Oilers (1-3-0) Connor McDavid failing to find the net is part and parcel with Edmonton’s sluggish start. Two years ago, he won the Rocket Richard with 64 goals. Last season, he had exactly half that many, with 32. Where will he land once he gets rolling this year?
11. Carolina Hurricanes (1-1-0) Through a couple games, Andrei Svechnikov has yet to bury.
12. Calgary Flames (4-0-0) Blake Coleman set a career high with 30 goals last year. He’s still after No. 1 this season.
13. Minnesota Wild (2-0-2) Filip Gustavsson’s one goal has him just one back of the team lead! So even though sophomore Brock Faber doesn’t have one yet, he’s still just two off the pace.
14. Utah Hockey Club (3-1-1) Nick Schmaltz and Logan Cooley have combined for 11 points in five games, but neither has scored a goal yet.
15. Pittsburgh Penguins (3-2-0) After getting blanked by the Rangers on opening night, the Penguins have been finding the net as a team, with 20 goals in four games. Michael Bunting — in his first full year with the squad — has yet to get in on the party, though.
16. St. Louis Blues (2-2-0) Jake Neighbours had a 27-goal breakout last season, so he’d surely like to get off the schneid this October.
17. Vancouver Canucks (0-1-2) Quinn Hughes and newcomer Jake DeBrusk are in search of their first goals, but — with just one assist through three games — being goalless is likely weighing heaviest on Elias Pettersson right now.
18. Philadelphia Flyers (1-1-1) After back-to-back seasons of 27 and 28 goals, it sure feels like 30 is in reach for Owen Tippett. But he’s got to find that first one.
19. Seattle Kraken (2-2-0) Big UFA signing Chandler Stephenson does more than provide offence, but won’t want to wait much longer for his first Kraken goal.
20. Ottawa Senators (2-1-0) If this is the year Brady Tkachuk scores 40, he better get going.
21. Los Angeles Kings (1-1-2) We all see big things for Quinton Byfield, but it hasn’t come together quite yet through four games.
22. Colorado Avalanche (0-4-0) Depth is a huge problem in Colorado, so it would be great to see somebody such as Logan O’Connor start kicking in a goal here and there.
23. New York Islanders (1-1-1) The Isles offence has been all or nothing through three games; they were blanked in Dallas, but put up four against Utah and hung six on Colorado. Noah Dobson, following a huge 70-point year, has yet to find the range.
24. Montreal Canadiens (2-2-0) Nick Suzuki set a new career high with 33 goals last season. The Habs would love to see him getting rolling this fall.
25. Anaheim Ducks (2-1-0) Remember Frank Vatrano’s scorching start last season? He had a hat trick in his second game and nine goals by his ninth. He’s still looking for that first tally this year.
26. Washington Capitals (1-1-0) It’s been only two goalless games, so let’s not write off the idea of Alex Ovechkin taking aim at Wayne Gretzky’s all-time mark this season.
27. Detroit Red Wings (1-2-0) After inking his huge contract before the season, Lucas Raymond would surely like to find the net and get on with it.
28. Chicago Blackhawks (1-2-1) Tyler Bertuzzi is still in search of his first Chicago celie.
29. Nashville Predators (0-3-0) Oh, boy. It’s not fair to pin this bad start on the new guys, but let’s just say it will help things if Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault can start scoring.
30. Columbus Blue Jackets (1-2-0) Damon Severson is off to a nice start in Year 2 with Columbus, recording one assist in all three games. The only thing that would make it better is his first goal.
31. Buffalo Sabres (1-3-1) New captain Rasmus Dahlin has just a single assist — and no goals — through this rocky start.
32. San Jose Sharks (0-1-2) Rookie centre Will Smith is seeing fewer than 13 minutes a night and still awaiting his first big-league goal.
