As the 2026-27 NHL regular season enters its second week, hockey analysts and fans alike are already attempting to make sense of the early data. With most franchises having skated in just two or three games, the initial wave of results demands a high degree of caution. The exact same clubs that currently appear to be trending in an upward trajectory could easily be on the precipice of a sharp downturn, while early struggles do not necessarily spell doom for long-term contenders. Nevertheless, the opening stretch of the campaign always provides fascinating storylines and offers a glimpse into what might lie ahead.
Adam Proteau breaks down the early landscape of the league to determine which developments are genuine indicators of future success and which are merely fleeting anomalies born from a small sample size.
What’s Real: The San Jose Sharks’ Strong Start
One of the most compelling narratives of the early 2026-27 season is the encouraging start put together by the San Jose Sharks. While it is true that the Sharks required the extra frame to secure victories in both of their opening two games, the context of those wins matters immensely. San Jose managed to defeat a pair of notoriously veteran-heavy, highly competitive opponents in the Los Angeles Kings and the Florida Panthers. Crucially, the team’s early success is being spearheaded by its exciting wave of young talent.
Superstar center Macklin Celebrini has immediately picked up where he left off, leading the team with five assists despite a lower-body injury keeping him out of their third game. Meanwhile, fellow youngsters Will Smith and Igor Chernyshov have each chipped in with a pair of goals and three points apiece, showcasing the dynamic offensive potential bubbling in Northern California.
The immediate tests did not stop there. The Sharks recently ran into a buzzsaw against the Dallas Stars, dropping a 5-0 decision to a squad that came out desperate following two frustrating losses to start their own campaign. That shutout loss served as a reminder that San Jose will likely go as far as Celebrini can carry them this season.
The schedule remains relentless, with upcoming matchups against the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, and Boston Bruins offering an immediate measuring stick for the rebuilding franchise. Regardless of how those specific contests play out over this short stretch, no team boasts a brighter future on paper, and this competitive early-season burst serves as a legitimate harbinger of the great things to come for the San Jose organization.
What’s Not Real: The New York Rangers And Seattle Kraken’s Competitive Starts
While the San Jose youth movement has earned its early praise, other early-season positioning must be viewed with a heavy dose of skepticism. The Seattle Kraken, for instance, managed to find themselves sitting comfortably inside a playoff position early on, largely due to the fortunate scheduling of playing the struggling Calgary Flames twice in their first three games. Seattle capitalized on those opportunities by soundly defeating the Flames by identical 6-1 scores, though they did stumble against the Edmonton Oilers in their third outing.
The illusion of easy dominance quickly began to fade when the Kraken ran into the Vegas Golden Knights, suffering a decisive 6-2 defeat. The reality of the Pacific Division and the broader Western Conference is about to set in forcefully for Seattle. Their upcoming schedule features daunting games against the Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers across a five-game span. The underlying flaws within the Kraken roster remain present, and those structural weaknesses are expected to become glaringly apparent as the competition stiffens.
What’s Real: The Utah Mammoth Are A Force
Moving into the Central Division, the Utah Mammoth have established themselves as a legitimate force out of the gate. Holding down first place in the division with an impressive 3-1-0 record, the Mammoth have thoroughly outscored their opponents by a commanding 17-8 margin. This strong start is a direct continuation of their productive offseason, which saw the front office successfully acquire seasoned veteran stars Vincent Trocheck and Anders Lee to complement their existing core.
Utah’s offensive engine has been humming right along. Leading scorers Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther, and Mikhail Sergachev have combined for a staggering 26 points in the opening week. This kind of top-end production suggests that the Mammoth are built to be a consistently competitive outfit rather than a flash in the pan.
The question of whether Utah possesses enough depth and firepower to overtake established powerhouses like the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, or Minnesota Wild for an automatic top-three spot in the Central Division remains open. Most observers agree it is too early to crown them division champions. However, the roster clearly possesses the veteran experience, leadership, and skill necessary to secure a postseason berth comfortably.
What’s Not Real: The Flyers’ Defensive Woes
At the other end of the spectrum, the Philadelphia Flyers have endured a nightmarish start to their campaign, dropping their first three games of the season to the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, and Carolina Hurricanes. During this winless slide, the Flyers have been outscored by a lopsided 17-5 margin, translating to a goal differential of more than three-to-one against them.
While these statistics are undeniably alarming, they do not accurately reflect the true ceiling of this roster. Philadelphia possesses too much raw talent to be permanently defined by such drastic early-season struggles. There are positive elements to build upon, such as first-year goaltender Joseph Woll putting up a respectable .929 save percentage across his first two appearances. At the same time, the team will need a bounce-back performance from Dan Vladar, who struggled heavily in a 7-0 blowout loss to Pittsburgh.
Offensively, the production has been nearly nonexistent. Only two players on the entire roster—Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny—have managed to record more than one point, with both sitting at just two points apiece. This lack of secondary scoring is unsustainable for a modern NHL club.
Head coach Rick Tocchet is tasked with tightening the massive gap currently existing between the team’s offensive execution and defensive structure. Once those adjustments take hold, the Flyers are fully expected to correct course, balance out their gameplay, and emerge as a much more formidable opponent in the Eastern Conference race.