On the Fly: 6 early-season reflections

On the Fly, theScore's NHL roundtable series, will be published every Friday throughout the season. We're kicking things off with a look at those teams and players that have surprised or disappointed us since hockey returned on Oct. 12.

Failing Freddie

Vaswani: You could make a "Groundhog Day"-style movie about the Toronto Maple Leafs' goaltending troubles. The latest to star in the leading role:Frederik Andersen.

It's early, yeah, but an .876 save percentage through three games is not what Lou Lamoriello and Co. had in mind when they traded for the Dane and signed him to a long-term, big-money extension. Among active Maple Leafs, Andersen is tied with Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, and Morgan Rielly as the club's highest-paid player at $5 million annually.

While Toronto is the furthest thing from a defensive juggernaut and still rebuilding, what's most troublesome about Andersen's play is the fact he hasn't come up with a save - any save - when his team needs it most. Toronto blew 1-0, 3-2, and 4-3 leads against Ottawa on opening night, wasting Auston Matthews' superhuman maiden effort. On Wednesday, Toronto was up 4-0 on Winnipeg with half the game over. The Leafs outshot the Jets 13-12 in the third period and 4-1 in overtime, but were outscored 4-0. Not good enough. (There's your title, by the way, for that movie about Toronto's woes in the crease.)

The easiest way for Andersen to un-endear himself to Maple Leafs fans was by blowing a 4-1 lead in the third period. It's too soon, Freddie. It will always be too bloody soon.

Guy Boucher Hockey

Cuthbert: So, about that structure.

Guy Boucher was hired to implement a scheme to control the randomness by which the Ottawa Senators score, and are scored against, yet the team that recklessly exchanged shots throughout all of last season is as unpredictable as ever.

There have been 32 goals scored in four games involving the Sens, an average of 2.5 more than the average throughout 2015-16. The leader in shots against last season is still conceding more than 30 per game, but has averaged five pucks on net more than the opposition so far. The result: Ottawa has six points through three games, including two secured in either overtime or the shootout.

The opposition, and certainly Boucher, will make adjustments that will be reflected on their shot charts. But at least for now the Senators are playing some thrilling hockey, and aiding that spike in overall scoring.

So the question begs: Why isn't anyone in the seats?

Low-Flying Ducks

O'Leary: Sticking with the "Groundhog Day" theme, the Anaheim Ducks are facing a familiar nightmare scenario.

After going 1-7-2 last October, the Ducks have started the new Randy Carlyle era with a whimper, going 1-3-1 through their opening five games.

Strangely, Anaheim hasn't played a home game yet, and arguably its best defender is awaiting a contract, circumstances that surely aren't helping the cause.

Yet the Ducks' start under Carlyle has clearly left something to be desired, as the outdated structure he implemented in Toronto is beginning to seep into Anaheim's style of play, evidenced by being outshot in three losses thus far.

Fizzling Flames

Hagerman: The Calgary Flames seem to have successfully addressed their needs this offseason, but a 1-3-1 record suggests the club is seeing little value for doing so.

The club acquired Brian Elliott from the Blues in the hopes he would duplicate his stellar 2015-16 season, but so far things have gotten off on the wrong foot. In his first two games with his new club, Elliott gave up 10 goals while posting a save percentage of just .818. Leaving him now with a 4.72 goals-against average and a .839 as of Friday.

The team's offense hasn't been horrid, but still has question marks. The Flames' power play is firing at just 4.5 percent efficiency through five games, the worst mark in the NHL, and star Johnny Gaudreau has just one goal through five games.

The team's poor play may have even trickled over to the practice rink.

Lucky Canucks

Gold-Smith: The Vancouver Canucks' historic start has certainly been surprising. They've reeled off a four-game win streak to begin the season, including two victories in overtime and one in a shootout, leading to a slew of 82-0-0 jokes and half-sincere playoff predictions.

The Canucks' streak is shocking in part because they didn't lead for a single second in their first three games. That doesn't bode well for the rest of the season, and it's a dangerous trend for a squad that will likely be playing from behind more often than not in 2016-17.

Then again, it's such a small sample size that judgments either way are premature. Let's see where they are at the end of November.

Whenever You're Ready, Nashville

Wilkins: Many expected the Nashville Predators to be among the West’s best this year, and while that’s still very much a possibility, the team has gotten off to a slow start, posting a 1-2-0 record through three games.

While the big-ticket offseason addition of P.K. Subban has delivered as promised - scoring in his Music City debut and grabbing a pair of points thus far - many of his new teammates have underwhelmed.

The Preds have been rebranded as a high-octane offensive team, but a number of their scoring threats have struggled early. Of particular note is Filip Forsberg, who scored 33 goals last year, but has failed to find the back of the net this season.

With just two points, Nashville currently sits last in the Central. The good news is that there is still plenty of time for coach Peter Laviolette and the Predators to turn this around.