Pluses, minuses for Blues-Blackhawks, Ducks-Golden Knights

Each Wednesday throughout the regular season, Kevin Weekes will be offering his pluses and minuses for the teams competing in the NBCSN Wednesday Night Hockey game in his Weekes on the Web blog.

Division rivals will meet in each game this week on Wednesday Night Hockey. It's interesting to note each of the four teams was expected to compete for the Stanley Cup and as of now, none would be in the Stanley Cup Playoffs if they began today.
First, the St. Louis Blues (6-6-3) visit the Chicago Blackhawks (6-8-4) at United Center (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN). Then the Anaheim Ducks (8-8-3) visit the Vegas Golden Knights (7-10-1) at T-Mobile Arena (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN).
Here's my breakdown of the games:

Blues

Pluses: Offseason acquisition Ryan O'Reilly has been great. We all know about his face-off prowess, but his offense has been good; the center leads St. Louis with 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) and has been key on the power play. He's playing like the type of player the Blues were hoping he would when they acquired him in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on July 1. Center Tyler Bozak, signed as a free agent on July 1, also has fit in nicely with 10 points (three goals, seven assists).
Though starting goalie Jake Allen has struggled, backup Chad Johnson has done his job and played well when called upon; he's 2-3-0 with a 2.08 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. We know what Allen is capable of but he just doesn't have it right now, so it's nice that Johnson has picked up the slack.

Minuses: The Blues had an awful start to the season, winning two of their first nine games (2-4-3). The goalies were getting no support and the defense was not good at all. They have won four of six since, but have a tough schedule coming up, with four of their next seven games against the Golden Knights, Nashville Predators (twice) and Winnipeg Jets. This will be a big test for them.
Their defense has not only been lacking defensively but hasn't added much to the offense. Alex Pietrangelo has always been an offensive defenseman (NHL career-high 54 points last season) but has seven points this season. St. Louis has 29 points from defensemen (12 goals, 17 assists), none with more points than Pietrangelo.

Blackhawks

Pluses: There's no doubt times are tough in Chicago right now, but forwards Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane have been constants. Kane has 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) and DeBrincat has 16 (nine goals, seven assists). Jonathan Toews (14 points) is the only other Blackhawks player with more than 10 points this season. Younger players, including forward Alexandre Fortin, 21, and defenseman Henri Jokiharju, 19, are getting an opportunity to play.

The numbers may not reflect it, but their goalies have given them a chance every night. Corey Crawford and Cam Ward haven't gotten the support in front of them; during its eight-game losing streak, Chicago has been outscored 33-14.
Minuses: Any time you lose a coach like Joel Quenneville, it's never easy. We know he's a future Hall of Famer, but now it's an opportunity for Jeremy Colliton to step in and put his mark on the team. He's still seeking his first NHL win (0-2-1).
Chicago is giving up way too many scoring opportunities; they're allowing 3.72 goals a game and have a power play and penalty kill each ranked in the lower third of the League.

Ducks

Pluses: The Ducks' seven-game losing streak (0-5-2) from Oct. 20-Nov. 1 couldn't be blamed on the goalies. John Gibson and Ryan Miller have been amazing. Each has a save percentage higher than .930 and a goals-against average lower than 2.50. In Anaheim's 2-1 shootout win against Nashville on Monday, Gibson made 10 saves in overtime. That's the kind of pressure these guys have been under all season.

The Ducks should be able to establish the kind of identity they want to, but haven't yet. Are they a speedy, finesse team? Are they a defensive team that relies on the occasional goal and clamps down? I'm not sure and neither are they.
Minuses: Their team defense hasn't been good, and adjustments need to be made. They don't get out-goaltended very often but they can't rely on the goalies to save them every game.
Forwards Jakob Silfverberg and Pontus Aberg lead Anaheim with five goals each. Silfverberg has never had more than 23 goals in an NHL season and the five goals for Aberg already are his NHL high. Centers Ryan Getzlaf, Adam Henrique and Rickard Rakell are among those who need to step up offensively.

Golden Knights

Pluses: Forward Alex Tuch, who didn't make his season debut until Oct. 24, has played extremely well. He has nine points (four goals, five assists) in 10 games. He signed a seven-year, $33.25 million contract (average annual value $4.75 million) with the Golden Knights before even playing a game this season and has reward Vegas' faith in him. Center William Karlsson, who had 43 goals last season, has turned it on recently and has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 18 games.

Their fourth line has been great. Center Ryan Carpenter and forwards William Carrier and Ryan Reaves have added energy as well as goal scoring. That line arguably has been Vegas' best this season, which is why the Golden Knights have struggled.
Minuses: Defenseman Nate Schmidt, who was suspended 20 games for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program, will be out for the next two games. You can see how his absence has affected the Golden Knights; he's an elite defenseman who led them in ice time last season and was their second-highest scoring defenseman. Those are things you can't replace.
I think Vegas misses James Neal, who signed as a free agent with the Calgary Flames. This guy has scored at least 20 goals in each of his 10 seasons in the NHL (he has three in 18 games this season). Neal was the perfect fit for Vegas and has an edge to him. Vegas acquired center Paul Stastny, who is injured and has played in three games this season, and forward Max Pacioretty, who has two goals in 14 games. Those guys were expected to bolster the offense, and so far it hasn't happened.