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Around the NHL: Oilers ‘lack desperation’, Celebrini, Barkov suffer injuries, Avs’ coach defends Georgiev
Edmonton Oilers goalies Stuart Skinner and Cal Pickard.
Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Shane Seney
Oct 14, 2024, 10:30 EDTUpdated: Oct 14, 2024, 10:15 EDT
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The 2024-25 NHL season is just over a week old, and there’s been a ton of entertaining storylines to follow around the league. From winless hockey clubs with high expectations, to unfortunate injury troubles, to some goaltending controversies early on, there’s been no shortage of  topics to discuss, both on and off the ice.
Here’s the very latest from around the NHL:

Oilers lose first three at home, coach wants more desperate team

It’s been a tough scene of late in Edmonton. The Oilers lost their third straight game on home ice to start the year, falling to the rival Calgary Flames on Saturday night. Their dismal start hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Edmonton gave up four straight goals to the Flames, losing 4-1, and Oilers’ head coach Kris Knoblauch didn’t mince words after the game, calling out his team’s lack of desperation.
“Obviously, we have to play with more desperation,” the Oilers bench boss told reporters postgame. “When (we) had a season like we did last year, and coming back and the expectations being really high, I don’t think there’s enough desperation.”
“I think we just show up, play hockey, (and think) that’s good enough,” Knoblauch continued. “But this game’s about playing with desperation, and right now, we’re lacking that.”
Edmonton has scored just three goals in three games, meanwhile have allowed 15. Connor McDavid has yet to score, Leon Draisaitl has one point in three games, and the Oilers’ goalies are both off to slow starts early on. Oilers Nation have seen this song and dance before, with the team climbing out of an early season funk last year. Let’s hope for everyone’s sake it doesn’t last near as long, and the Oilers can turn things around in week two of the new season.
The Oilers visit the Maple Leafs on Nov.16 for their first ’24-25 matchup.

Star power goes down early

2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini is out week-to-week, after being placed on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Celebrini was banged up throughout training camp and toughed out his first NHL appearance for the San Jose Sharks. Less than a week later, he’s been placed on the shelve.
The 18-year-0ld enjoyed a successful NHL debut, scoring his first goal, recording two points in a 5-4 overtime loss to the St Louis Blues.
“[He’s] week to week. That’s really all I’ve got,” Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky told reporters Saturday. “I can’t put a timeline on it, to be honest with you. I think week to week is right around where we’re thinking. We’ll just see how it progresses through his rehab here the next couple [of] days.”
Celebrini isn’t the only No. 1 center out early on, as Florida Panthers captian Aleksander Barkov is also expected to be out multiple weeks. Barkov slid into the boards last week against the Ottawa Senators, suffering a lower-body injury, and had to be helped off the ice.
Barkov suffered the injury with just over a minute left in the game, and is expected to miss two-to-three weeks. The timeline to watch here is the NHL’s Global Series from Finland in early November. Barkov is one of Finland’s greatest players and will be one of the main attractions when the Panthers head overseas.
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice believes Barkov will heal quickly, and is hopeful to see him on the ice in time for the team’s trip to Finland.
“We think 2-3 weeks,” Maurice said via NHL.com. “That’s probably the right window on him. He’s a strong healer. He’s just a big powerful man. Puts a lot of torque on his joints. … He may play prior to that (Global Series) as well, but it may also take us that amount of time.”
Toronto will face off against Florida for the first time on November 27.

Avalanche already having goaltending issues

Like the Oilers, the Colorado Avalanche are winless to start the season. Colorado isn’t having any troubles putting the puck in the net — it’s stopping the puck, where it’s become troublesome. Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev has been pulled in each of his first two starts, which is a worst-case scenario in Denver.
Colorado started the season with Georgiev as its number one, with Justus Annunen backing him up.  It’s frankly a less-than-ideal duo, for a team trying to win the Stanley Cup. And early on, it’s been rough, but head coach Jared Bednar isn’t giving up hope on Georgiev’s game. Bednar met with reporters after the Avs’ 6-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and acknowledged the frustration, with a positive spin.
“I get that there’s a level of frustration, but (Georgiev), he’s our guy, he’s our starter, right? And I have full faith that he has the ability, the talent, (and) the work ethic to bounce back and win us hockey games. It’s a mental game (for him) right now, right? So we’ll regroup and then we have other areas … that we have to get better at,” Bednar said.
Georgiev is a pending unrestricted free-agent, who was eligible to sign an extension back in July. The Russian netminder won 38 games last season, however, posted a 3.02 goals against average and a .897 save percentage.
The Avalanche are also dealing with some more injury concerns, as forward Jonathan Drouin is expected to be out multiple weeks with an upper-body injury.

Early Season Quick Hits:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has three points in his first three games, and his next point will be his 1,600th. Crosby and the Penguins visit the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night, which could be the perfect back drop for the historic moment. Crosby sits 10th all-time in points, 42 behind Joe Sakic.
  • Speaking of the Penguins, they dressed 22-year-old rookie Joel Blomqvist on Saturday in Toronto, which was Blomqvist’s second start in a row. It’s been quite the turn of events in Pittsburgh’s crease, as the team has Tristan Jarry backing him up, who is signed at $5.37 million AAV, through the 2027-28 season.
  • The Minnesota Wild were without both Jared Spurgeon and Joel Eriksson Ek over the weekend due to injury. Eriksson Ek could be back as early as Tuesday, while Spurgeon appears a little less likely, due to a lower-body injury. Spurgeon’s had injury troubles in the past, and only played in 16 games last season for the Wild.
  • There’s a new tradition in Columbus, as the Blue Jackets will have a ‘donkey of the game’, after each win. This new ritual is thanks to the late Johnny Gaudreau, who loved to call his teammates donkeys. The team has ran with it and very fittingly, the first ‘donkey of the game’, went to one of Gaudreau’s very best friends, Sean Monahan.
  • Along with the Oilers and Avalanche, the Canucks, Islanders, Capitals, Hurricanes, Sharks and Predators have yet to win a game. Meanwhile, Utah, Vegas Dallas, Winnipeg, and Calgary have started 3-0-0.
  • Golden Knights’ Jack Eichel leads the league with seven points in the first week.
  • Penguins legend Evgeni Malkin recorded his 800th assist and 1300th career point in the season’s opening week.
  • Former Maple Leafs winger Pierre Engvall was demoted by the Islanders. He has recorded one goal in two AHL games, and is signed with the Isles through the 2028-29 season, at $3 million AAV.
  • The New York Rangers and Alexis Lafreniere have reportedly started conversations on a long-term extension to keep the former top pick in New York. However, all appears quiet on the Igor Shesterkin extension front, as the Rangers starting netminder refused to comment about his contract talks, after posting a 29-save shutout to start the new season

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