3 teams that should be worried early on
The 2015-16 season is in full force and while fans are excited to have hockey back after nearly fourth months, some might be losing sleep over the way their teams have stumbled out of the gate.
A number of clubs that were expected to contend have been left behind and will need to turn it around if they want to battle in the postseason.
Here are three teams that should be worried early on:
Los Angeles Kings
Last season, NHL on-lookers waited for the reigning champion Los Angeles Kings to make a late-season push that would get them back into the playoffs - but it never happened.
The club instead finished two points behind the Calgary Flames for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, missing the postseason for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign.
This was supposed to be the year the Kings bounce back and prove they're among the elite in the West. However, they're three games in and still searching for their first win.
What's unnerving for the Kings is the fact they've only found the back of the net twice while conceding 12 goals against, giving them the worst goal differential in the league.
Former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Quick has a measly 3.71 goals-against average and porous .861 save percentage.
The Kings haven't capitalized so far on opening the season with five home games and will need to find a way to harness home-ice advantage if they plan to climb up the standings.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets were given the benefit of the doubt last season when they were decimated with injuries and missed the playoffs.
While the club entered the 2015-16 campaign healthy, it hasn't won a game in four tries, and its early struggles have come between the pipes. Columbus has nine goals in four games, but has allowed a league-worst 20.
What was arguably the club's saving grace last season has been its demise through the first two weeks. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is 0-4-0 with a ghastly 5.05 GAA and a .830 save percentage after posting a 30-17-3 record with a 2.69 GAA and a .918 save percentage in 2014-15.
Columbus' offense looks like it can help the team overcome some defensive blunders, but without improvement on the opposite side of the puck and a goaltender who can be relied upon in key moments, the Blue Jackets' third postseason appearance may have to wait.
Boston Bruins
Once perceived as the bullies of the Eastern Conference, physically manhandling clubs en route to numerous postseason trips, the Boston Bruins aren't so big and bad anymore.
The team gave up 16 goals through its first three games, giving goaltender Tuukka Rask a stat line unseen since he joined the league full time during the 2009-10 season.
The 28-year-old netminder currently has a 4.72 GAA and a .846 save percentage.
The three-game slide marks the club's worst start to a regular season in 16 years.
The Bruins welcomed back Zdeno Chara after he missed the first two games with an upper-body injury suffered during the preseason. His presence should help stabilize the young defensive core.
That said, the team is quietly assessing the trade value of Chara and forward Brad Marchand, according to Comcast Sportsnet's Joe Haggerty.
This may indicate that management no longer sees those players as the threats they once were in the East, which could trigger a team rebuild. If that's the case, more pain could be coming to the Bruins.
The club managed its first win of the season with a 6-2 shelling of the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, notably without the help of Rask. While the win is a positive for the ailing Bruins, the 1-3 start is still concerning for a team seemingly in a downward spiral.