Friday Four: McDavid, Matthews off to high-scoring starts

Each Friday throughout the season Kevin Weekes will bring you his Friday Four. He will be blogging about four players, teams, plays or trends that have caught his eye.

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McDavid, Matthews

Two weeks into the season, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews are at it again.
McDavid had a point on each of the Oilers' first nine goals of the season to set an NHL record. In their first home game this season, McDavid had two assists, including one on Leon Draisaitl's overtime goal in a 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday. McDavid has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in five games and the Oilers have won three straight after starting the season 0-2-0.

Matthews and the Maple Leafs are off to a hot start. Toronto is 6-2-0 and Matthews, who leads the NHL in goals (10) and points (16), began the season with seven straight multipoint games prior to the Maple Leafs' 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. He's on an incredible pace and the sky is the limit for him in this offense.

Injured players return

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford and Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick each returned from injury Thursday.
Byfuglien, who missed two games with an upper-body injury, had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks. He's a big (6-foot-5, 260 pounds), physical presence who also can score, making the Jets tough to play for any opponent when he is in the lineup.
Crawford, who hadn't played since Dec. 23, 2017, because of a concussion, made 27 saves on 30 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes.

Quick, who missed five games with an upper-body injury, allowed six goals on 29 shots and was pulled during the third period of a 7-2 loss to the New York Islanders.
These are three stars in our League, so it was nice to see them return. Hopefully each can remain healthy.

Colorado Avalanche

I've really been impressed with the Avalanche so far. They're 4-1-2 and coach Jared Bednar and his staff have done a nice job. The top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen is lethal. They combined for 10 points (four goals, six assists) in a 5-3 win at the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.

Goalie Semyon Varlamov is off to an excellent start. He's 3-0-2 with a 1.77 goals-against average and .948 save percentage in five games. And keep an eye on Samuel Girard, who I think will be a stud offensive defenseman. The 20-year-old is a lot of fun to watch and has tons of composure. He was acquired as part of last season's three-team trade with the Ottawa Senators and Nashville Predators that sent forward Matt Duchene to Ottawa.
I don't think the Avalanche are going to be a one-and-done team. I think general manager Joe Sakic has proven a lot of people wrong and they are starting to build something nice in Colorado right now.

Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators

I think this is one reason why our sport is so unique. You can't always look at rosters to determine what teams will be successful. You want to have the best roster because it gives you the best chance to win, but when looking at the rosters of the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens coming into the season, I don't think anyone thought they'd be where they are.
The Canadiens are 4-1-1 and have won three straight games, something they did twice all last season. Forward Tomas Tatar, acquired in the trade that sent captain Max Pacioretty to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sept. 9, leads them with eight points (three goals, five assists), and forward Max Domi, acquired in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on June 15, has five points (one goal, four assists) in six games. Goalie Carey Price seems to be elite again. Keep in mind, the Canadiens are doing this without injured defenseman Shea Weber.

The Senators traded captain Erik Karlsson to the San Jose Sharks on Sept. 13, but without him Ottawa's defensemen have scored the most goals in the League (nine). Ottawa is 3-2-1 with two straight wins, by a combined 9-2 score, against the Kings on Saturday (5-1) and the Dallas Stars on Monday (4-1). They're getting contributions from a lot of different players, including rookie forward Brady Tkachuk, who had six points (three goals, three assists) in four games prior to sustaining a leg injury against the Stars which will keep him out for one month.

HONORABLE MENTION

The Devils started the season 4-0-0 and outscored their opponents 17-4 prior to their loss to the Avalanche. Reigning Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall had a goal and two assists in that game and has seven points (one goal, six assists) in five games. The fact that the Devils won four games before Hall scored a goal is a great sign for them.