Early NHL stunners, both good and bad

Who doesn't love a good surprise?

It's always fun to shock our loved ones by throwing a big bash for a special birthday, an anniversary or another special occasion.

Well, a month into the NHL season there are plenty of squads shocking their fans and probably already have them looking forward to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Of course, there are others that are demoralizing their cities and making them wonder who is masquerading around the ice in place of their team's stars.

So let's take a look at what I consider to be the seven biggest shockers thus far, from top to bottom.

1. San Jose 5-10-1

The Sharks, who went to the conference finals last season, are near the bottom of the Western Conference.

"We're 12 games in and there's a handful of key guys for us that haven't played well yet," Sharks coach Pete DeBoer told reporters after an ugly loss to Ottawa. "That's on me to get them back to the level they need to be at."

Much like the Blackhawks, a few of San Jose's stars just aren't producing enough. Logan Couture, for instance, has 1 goal. He has averaged 28.7 over the past three seasons. Joe Thornton, who has averaged 15 goals per 82 games over the last six seasons, has yet to score. Timo Meier (30 goals last season) has scored just three times.

And the goalies? Oy vey.

Both Martin Jones and Aaron Dell have save percentages below .900 and goals-against averages above 3.35.

"Everybody's got to look in the mirror. There's no cavalry coming," DeBoer said Saturday. "This is our group. … It's our record and you take it for what it is."

2. Buffalo 9-4-2

Sabres fans know better than to get too excited over a hot start. After all, this is a team that rattled off 10 straight victories last November to get to 17-6-2, then crashed back to earth and eventually finished sixth in the Atlantic Division.

Buffalo went 11-for-31 (35.5 percent) on the power play in the first eight games.

After 3 straight losses, though, it will be interesting to see if Buffalo can right the ship when it faces Tampa Bay twice and Carolina in the next three games.

3. Edmonton 10-4-2

It's amazing what can happen to an organization when a new GM comes in and cleans house. Because that's exactly what Ken Holland did after he took over for Peter Chiarelli in January.

Not only did Holland acquire James Neal from Calgary, he also inked a truckload of seasoned veterans, mostly to one-year deals. That list includes 26-year-old Markus Granlund, 27-year-old Tomas Jurco, 28-year-old Riley Sheahan and 37-year-old goalie Mike Smith. He also signed 29-year-old restricted free agent Alex Chiasson for two years.

None of those players are lighting it up, but they all understand what it takes to win - and that's exactly what they're helping Edmonton do thus far.

4. Tampa Bay 6-5-2

I read an interesting article on ESPN.com that said the Lightning is focused on not taking so many penalties and is trying to play smarter in the defensive zone. Coach Jon Cooper is hoping this leads to a squad that is better prepared for the rigors of playoff hockey after he watched his 62-16-4 squad get swept by Columbus last April.

That's all well and good, but it won't do much good if they don't qualify in the first place.

5. Vancouver 9-3-3

The Canucks' record is even more impressive when you consider they lost the first two games. Vancouver has racked up 13 power-play goals on 50 opportunities over the last 11 contests.

Seven of Elias Pettersson's 14 assists and 5 of Bo Horvat's 6 goals have come on the man advantage. Pettersson, the fifth overall pick of 2017, looks like he's about to follow up his 66-point rookie season with a truly special campaign.

"People don't understand the second year is a lot tougher than the first year," said Brock Boeser, who leads Vancouver with 7 goals. "He's having to fight for every inch of ice, so he's learning and he's still producing for our team."

Goalies Jacob Markstrom and Thatcher Demo had combined to post a .924 save percentage and 2.25 goals against average through Monday.

Hawks fans can look forward to seeing Vancouver on Thursday at the United Center.

6. Florida 7-3-4

The Panthers' record may not look over-the-top impressive, but when you consider they've lost three games in shootouts and that they are 6-1-4 over the last 11 contests, it's clear that Joel Quenneville is having a positive impact on his new team.

Imagine what will happen if and when goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (882, 3.36) starts to pick it up. Florida, which is off to its best start since 1996-97, might go an awfully long way.

7. Blackhawks 4-7-3

Many pundits probably aren't shocked by the Hawks' record. It's the lack of production from the team's top names that makes one do a double take.

Jonathan Toews (6 points), Patrick Kane (1 goal, 4 assists last eight), Alex DeBrincat (1 goal at even strength), Dylan Strome (only four games with points), Andrew Shaw (2 assists last 12), Brent Seabrook (1 goal, no assists) and Erik Gustafsson (no goals) are all big reasons why the Hawks are averaging just 2.36 goals per game.

• Nice surprise honorable mentions: New York Islanders (11-3-0), Arizona (9-4-2), Anaheim (9-7-1).