First Quarter Report Card for Every NHL Team

As the NHL is approximately a quarter of the way through the 2025-2026 season, teams have now played enough games where we can accurately gauge how they have been playing and how they are trending. With all games since the start of the season considered, let’s take every NHL team to school and grade them using letter grades. The grades will be based on how well each team has been playing relative to their expectations. I’ll use the following grading scheme from best to worst: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, and F. Teams will not be ranked within each grade bracket; their summaries will be written in alphabetical order.

A+ : Exceeding Expectations & Top of the League

Anaheim Ducks - Regardless of their recent three game losing streak last week, the Anaheim Ducks have performed well above what almost anyone predicted. With a 13-6-1 record, the greatest strength of the Ducks is their attack. Being one of the fastest teams in the league according to NHL edge, the Ducks have thrived in this modern era that continues to revolve around speed and skill. Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and Chris Kreider are just a few forwards who have been amongst the most productive in the league. Add young goaltender Lukas Dostal to the mix, and the Ducks may defy the odds and make it back into the playoffs.

Carolina Hurricanes - Although the Hurricanes’ 12-5-2 record is one that would not surprise too many people, they have maintained this level of dominance despite being severely injured on the blue line. Jaccob Slavin, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Jalen Chatfield have all missed, or are currently missing, significant time so far this season. While these injuries have seemingly thrown off the Hurricanes’ strong play on the penalty kill, they have been able to maintain their league-leading shot differential per game and their second place expected goals percentage, and as a result sit second in the standings.

Colorado Avalanche - While there were high expectations on the Colorado Avalanche to begin with, a record of 12-1-5 is one far above what anyone could have expected. They have not lost a single game this season by more than one goal, and despite technically losing a third of their games with their noticeable amount of extra time losses, the Avalanche have dominated the possession stats, as they are second in shot differential per game, and are first in expected goals percentage. The Avalanche are both first in goals for and first in goals against, with their goal differential per game being +1.74. Nathan MacKinnon has been the best forward in the league, Cale Makar has a hefty first place lead in the Norris Trophy race, and Scott Wedgewood is having a career year in net.

A : Exceeding Expectations

Chicago Blackhawks - The Chicago Blackhawks are similar to the Ducks in the sense that both teams were amongst the best in the Western Conference for the same overlapping years in the 2010s, both teams went through a full rebuild around the same time, and now both teams are looking like potential playoff teams once again at the same time. Although the Ducks have the better record, the Blackhawks look vastly improved despite minimal changes on their roster. The improvement of Connor Bedard is one of two significant factors in the Hawks’ rise up the standings, as Bedard finds himself in the top five in points, and has just come off of a recent nine-game point streak and his second hat-trick of the season. Bedard has also improved on faceoffs and is a faster version of his previous self. The other cornerstone of the Blackhawks’ improvement is goaltender Spencer Knight. Knight has been arguably the best goaltender in the league with a .924 save percentage and league leading 14.7 goals saved above expected. Knight has stolen multiple games from other teams to help the unexpected rise of the Blackhawks who have a 10-5-4 record.

New Jersey Devils - Despite also having high expectations with players returning from injury, a record of 13-5-1 deserves an A no matter what the expectations were. However, preventing the Devils from being in the A+ category is that their +5 goal differential is pretty mediocre, and they rely heavily on 3-on-3 overtime and shootout wins, with five of their 13 wins coming this way. They are simultaneously still getting the wins despite dealing with significant injuries, such as Jacob Markstrom for a stretch, Dougie Hamilton, and Brett Pesce. Jack Hughes recently got injured at a team dinner, so the Devils’ dominance will be put up to the test while he is out for the expected eight weeks.

Pittsburgh Penguins - The Pittsburgh Penguins were expected to be one of the frontrunners for the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes, but over six weeks into the season, they find themselves at fifth place in the league. Sidney Crosby continues to defy the aging process, Evgeni Malkin has completely turned back the clock, Justin Brazeau was having a breakout year until he got injured, and the Penguins have had numerous quality goaltending performances. As a unit they are also dominant on the power play operating at 34.1%, good enough for first place. A record of 10-5-4 shows that even when the Penguins lose, they don’t make it easy for their opponent. But what might be most impressive about that record is that in a season where the prominence of extra time games has skyrocketed, as discussed in this article, all 10 of the Penguins’ wins have come in regulation.

San Jose Sharks - The San Jose Sharks have been a rebuilding team for multiple years now, and after finishing dead last in the standings two seasons in a row, the only expectation the Sharks had coming into this season was to see improvement, even if it meant not moving up much in the standings. Instead, the Sharks hold a 9-8-3 record at the quarter point in the season, and have defeated teams like the Avalanche, Jets, Devils, and Panthers along the way. The highlight of the Sharks’ season has been in the recent weeks, where they went on a 8-2-1 run, and within that a 7-0-1 run, with Macklin Celebrini emerging as one of the best players in the league. The offense and goaltending have been a roller coaster this season, and their inconsistency may be a slight concern as the season progresses. To start the season the Sharks were firing on all cylinders and scoring at a high rate, yet goaltenders Alex Nedeljkovic and especially Yaraslov Askarov struggled tremendously. Then in their 7-0-1 run, these two suddenly became the best tandem in the league, putting up the best team save percentage despite allowing the most shots per game. However, in this same span, the Sharks’ offense dried up and relied heavily on these goaltending performances to win games. Now having looked a bit more mediocre recently and scoring only two 5-on-5 goals in four games, the Sharks may be “coming back down to Earth”. But nonetheless, their start is well above expectations, especially after starting the season 0-4-2.

A- : Almost Exceeding Expectations

Boston Bruins - It’s hard to believe that a team that went on a six game losing streak at some point in the season managed to make it to an A- grade, but the Boston Bruins have generally been great to start the season despite being projected as a basement team, with a 12-10-0 record to reflect their play. Right after their six game losing streak, the Bruins went on a seven game winning streak, and unlike last season, the Bruins have gotten quality goaltending and depth scoring. Morgan Geekie currently edges out David Pastrnak for the goal scoring lead with 14 goals, which is also tied for the league lead, and the Bruins have been playing well in a system that scrapes together wins through tight defensive play, with over half of their wins being one-goal games.

Dallas Stars - The Dallas Stars have been cup contenders for a few years in a row now, which means expectations for them are high. After a shaky start to the season with inconsistent play, the Stars went on a recent five game winning streak and have looked dominant in some of these games, currently standing with a 12-5-3 record. The forward depth of the Stars has been one of their strong points for many years now, and despite missing Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn for most or all of the season due to injury, Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, and Roope Hintz have all stepped up and put up more than a point per game. Robertson in particular has been excellent recently, scoring eight goals and 11 points in his last four games. The Stars have also been dominant with the second best power play at 31.9%.

New York Islanders - After the New York Islanders snagged Matthew Schaefer in the 2025 draft, he immediately became the focal point of the team. The primary goal was to ensure positive development for the star defenceman, whether the Islanders return to the playoffs or not. Twenty games into the season, the Islanders have passed this goal with flying colours. Schaefer is not only looking better than advertised, but he is setting new NHL records for 18-year old rookie defencemen seemingly every game. On top of this, both Bo Horvat and Matthew Barzal have looked improved from last season. Ironically, one of the few consistent strong points of the Islanders in recent seasons has been their goaltending, yet Ilya Sorokin has been performing well below expectations. As a net result, the Islanders are 11-7-2, and this is after an 0-3-0 start to the season.

B+ : Significantly Above Expectations

Detroit Red Wings - The Red Wings had consistently improved for four consecutive seasons from 2019-2020 to 2023-2024, until taking a step back last season. With fans now skeptical of the “Yzerplan”, expectations seemingly lowered slightly on the Red Wings, but they have gotten off to a solid 12-7-1 start. Although this is a good record, fans are cautiously excited, as the Red Wings have gotten off to hot starts in the past before going on extensive losing streaks, and this season the Red Wings have shown glimpses of this, with some weeks looking much different than others.

The Red Wings regressed last season after improving for four consecutive seasons

Seattle Kraken - The Seattle Kraken have been joked about in recent season as “a team with four lines of middle six forwards”, pointing out the fact that the Kraken don’t really have any bonafide star forwards, but also have very strong depth. The Kraken have leveraged this by playing a defensive, usually low event style of play, scoring the fifth fewest goals per game, but also allowing the eighth fewest goals per game.

B : Above Expectations

Montreal Canadiens - Whether the Montreal Canadiens could return to the post-season was a question mark, especially given how great the Atlantic Division looked coming into the season. However, thanks to their exciting young talent, mainly Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Ivan Demidov, and Lane Hutson, the Montreal Canadiens have been a tough team to play against, and have put together a 10-6-3 record. Jakub Dobes was also stealing the show early on with a 6-0-0 record and a .930 save %, however, both the goaltending and the teams’ play has slipped in recent weeks. The Canadiens are currently on a 1-3-3 run and now have a -3 goal differential. Additionally, half of their wins have come in 3 on 3 overtime. While the Canadiens are still above expectations with all things considered, they are currently trending downwards and will need to find a way to bounce back, something that young teams struggle with more than experienced teams.

Philadelphia Flyers - New head coach Rick Tocchet understood that the talent on the Flyers is limited, and that just like two season ago, the Flyers will need to play “low event hockey” in order to win as many games as possible. While the Flyers may be one of the most uneventful teams in the league, with the fewest total shots per game when adding shots for per game and shots against per game together, their system has been working and has given the Flyers a 9-6-3 record. While Matvei Michkov is having a sophomore slump perhaps due to this defensively oriented system, Trevor Zegras is having a breakout season, and is the Flyers most productive forward with 19 points in 18 games.

Philadelphia Flyers’ games have the lowest shot totals on average

B- : Slightly Above Expectations

Los Angeles Kings - After losing to the Edmonton Oilers for the fourth post-season in a row, many have lost faith in the Kings to get it done with their current core. Although the regular season has never been an issue for the Kings in these past years, their defensive unit did take a noticeable hit in the off-season, losing Vladislav Gavrikov and Jordan Spence, and replacing them with Cody Ceci and Brian Dumolin. The Kings’ disastrous 1-3-2 start was neutralized by some tight extra time wins, as the Kings have managed to go on a 9-3-2 run since then. However, four of the Kings’ 10 wins have come in extra time, and they have been involved in a whopping eight extra time games. While their 10-6-4 record puts them in a playoff spot, they will likely be more playoff ready if they can manage to win more games in regulation. Also, the Kings are only 1-4-2 at home but 9-1-2 on the road, which essentially splits the team into two different versions of itself.

Winnipeg Jets - After a Presidents’ Trophy winning 2024-2025 season, expectations remained high for the Winnipeg Jets coming into this season. While an 12-7-0 record isn’t anything we didn’t expect from the Jets, they have remained defensively structured with the fourth fewest goals allowed per game. Additionally, the Jets’ record took a hit from a three game losing streak in a recent week, but aside from that skid, the Jets have looked like the dominant team we know they can be.

C+ : Meeting Expectations

Columbus Blue Jackets - After an unexpectedly fantastic 2024-2025 season for the Blue Jackets, their expectations for this season rose tremendously. While the Blue Jackets currently sit with a respectable 10-8-2 record, consistency has been an issue for the Blue Jackets on a week-to-week basis. Kirill Marchenko has been their best forward with 22 points in 19 games, and the goaltending has been steady, as Jet Greaves has done a good job in taking on the starter role.

Florida Panthers - In most cases, a back-to-back Stanley cup champion and back-to-back-to-back Prince of Whales Trophy winner having a 10-8-1 record would be below expectations. However, with both Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov out with long-term injuries, and with other injuries piling up such as Dimitry Kulikov, the expectations for the Panthers dropped tremendously. Ironically, it was deemed that the Panthers would need to scrape by with their strong defence and goaltending, but Sergei Bobrovsky has had a tough start, sporting an .883 save percentage. While they are middling in both goals for and goals against, Brad Marchand has completely turned back the clock, putting up 23 points in 18 games, leading the team by a long shot. As long as the Panthers can stay close to the playoff line before Tkachuk comes back, as they are currently only one point back of the second wild card team, they should be in good shape to make it back to the playoffs and defend both of their recent Stanley Cups.

Minnesota Wild - After signing Kirill Kaprizov to the largest contract extension in NHL history, an eight year deal worth $136 million that will pay the Russian superstar $17 million per season starting next year, the Wild had high hopes. After all, when the Wild were healthy last season, their record was outstanding. Kirill Kaprizov has been great and has so far justified his future extension. The issues with the Wild this season have fluctuated depending on the week. In the second week they went three games without scoring a 5-on-5 goal. In other weeks they were a scoring machine, but their goaltending was not up to par. As a result of the overall inconsistency, the Wild are left with a 10-7-4 record and sit as the second wild card team. A few weeks ago the Wild would have found themselves down in the C- range, but they have been playing much better in recent weeks, so it certainly won’t be surprising if they salvage their slow start to the season.

Utah Mammoth - Heading into the 2025-2026 NHL season, the Utah Mammoth were one of the popular picks to rise and make the playoffs out of the teams that missed the playoffs last season. After an excellent 8-2-0 start which included a seven game winning streak, the Mammoth have gone on a 2-5-3 run and have fallen out of a playoff spot. The highs and lows are expected of young and skilled teams, but the Mammoth will need to turn it around soon, as the Western Conference is as competitive as it’s been in a long time. Their goaltending has been extremely medicore, and their depth scoring is on the weaker side, two issues that put doubt on if the Mammoth can become a consistent team this season.

C : Below Expectations

Ottawa Senators - After finally returning to the post-season in 2024-2025, the expectations for the Ottawa Senators are now at a new standard that they haven’t been held to since the Erik Karlsson era. While a 2-4-1 start was not ideal, the Senators have slowly been able to crawl out of this hole, where they now sit with a 9-6-4 record. Of their 19 games so far, seven have been decided in extra time, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but shows that the Senators often find themselves in tight games, which can be tiring over an 82 game schedule. While the Brady Tkachuk injury has hurt their ability to win games, the most surprising aspect of the Senators has been their goaltending. The 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark currently has a .874 save percentage and a -8.0 Goals Saved Above Expected according to money puck. Backup goaltender Leevi Merilinen is not much better, putting up an .868 save percentage and a -2.6 GSAA. Goaltending is typically the anchor of every team, and without even adequate goaltending, a team will never be able to thrive.

Nashville Predators - While the Nashville Predators had extremely low expectations to begin with, it’s difficult not to put a team with a 6-10-4 record any higher than a “C” grade. Filip Forsberg is their leading scorer with eight goals and 15 points in 20 games, and rookie Matthew Wood has been their most productive forward on a per game basis, with six goals and 10 points in 13 games. Steven Stamkos is having an all-time worst season of his career, with just four goals and five points through the first 20 games. The goaltending hasn’t been great either, with Juuse Saros currently holding a .892 save percentage, and backup goaltender Justus Annunen with an .849 save percentage. Nothing is going right in Nashville, but with one of the oldest cores in the league, and with some trade pieces that some playoff teams may still find useful for a post-season run, the Nashville Predators can finally start the rebuild, especially if their second-last position snags them Gavin McKenna in the upcoming draft.

New York Rangers - After winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2023-2024, the league was shocked to see the downfall of the New York Rangers the following year, dropping all the way out of the playoffs. This season has been mixed for the Rangers, and they are a tale of two teams; the home Rangers and the Road Rangers. The home Rangers are the worst home team in the league, with a 1-7-1 record and being shutout five times in these nine games. The road Rangers on the other hand are 9-2-1, the best road record in the league in terms of points percentage, where the Rangers have looked like the Presidents’ Trophy team from two seasons ago. There is no specific strong point or weak spot of this team. Their entire forward group and defensive unit are two different teams depending on which building they are playing in, while to their credit, the goaltending has been relatively consistent all season. Fans were expecting a bounce-back from the Rangers, and it certainly may still happen, but this was not the start they envisioned.

Tampa Bay Lightning - After a 102 point 2024-2025 regular season, there was no clear reason to expect a fall in the 2025-2026 season. However, the Lightning got off to an abysmal 1-4-2 start to the season, and the offense looked dried up. While the Lightning have been playing much better since then and are now 10-7-2, a 95 point pace 19 games into the season is slightly below expectations. But what is more of an immediate concern is the production of their star forwards. Brayden Point has only three goals and 11 points in 19 games, and while Kucherov is above a point per game with 18 points in 17 games, it’s still below his typical Art Ross pace over the past two seasons. Andrei Vasilevskiy has currently put up a .906 save percentage, which is less than expected from one of last year’s Vezina finalists. However, it would not be too surprising to see the Lightning and their star players turn it around as the season progresses.

Vancouver Canucks - Expectations around the Vancouver Canucks were mixed coming into the 2025-2026 season. While some thought they could re-create the magic from the 2023-2024 season, others were skeptical they would make it back to the playoffs, with the main concerns being the health of goaltender Thatcher Demko and their center depth. The Canucks are now 21 games into the season, and neither of these concerns have faded, but on top of Demko being injured again, the Canucks have had to deal with numerous other injuries. While Elias Pettersson still doesn’t quite look like his pre-contract extension self, he is almost at a point per game and has done a fantastic job defensively. Quinn Hughes remains as the MVP of the team, and Kiefer Sherwood has really stepped up in terms of both leading the team in goals and providing significant energy to the team. While the Canucks’ 9-10-2 record puts them in fifth-last, I am cutting them some slack due to all of the injuries they have faced.

Vegas Golden Knights - The Vegas Golden Knights currently hold a wonky looking 9-4-6 record, which perfectly encapsulates the rise in overtime games. While this record is unsatisfactory for a cup contender, in fairness to the Golden Knights, they have been one of the most injured teams in the first quarter of the season; by far the most significant one being Mark Stone. At the time of Stone’s injury, Stone himself had 13 points in six games, Eichel had 15 points in six games, and the team was 4-0-2. Since Stone’s injury, the team has gone on a 5-4-4 run, and Eichel’s production has dropped to nine points in 13 games, while no players are above a point per game. Injuries to William Karlsson and goaltender Adin Hill have also hurt the team, so take this rating with a grain of salt, as the true test for the team will be how they overcome this slow start once their injured players come back. Although surprisingly, the Golden Knights still hold the second spot in the Pacific Division thanks to all of their extra time loss points.

Washington Capitals - After seemingly coming out of nowhere in 2024-2025 to finish first in the Eastern Conference, the Washington Capitals have started the season being one of the more inconsistent teams in the league. While a 10-8-2 record certainly isn’t bad, it’s not giving any signs that the Capitals will repeat with the same dominance that they had last season. Their power play is the third worst in the league, and Tom Wilson has been their most productive forward with 20 points in 20 games. However, two things the Capitals have maintained is their scoring depth, with eight players having 10 or more points, and their goaltending, where Logan Thompson’s .920 save percentage is second among all goaltenders who have played at least 10 games.

C- : Unsatisfactory

Buffalo Sabres - While almost no one is surprised that the Sabres got off to yet another disappointing start to the season, it doesn’t excuse the unsatisfactory play of the Sabres. A 7-9-4 record is a concern not only for the purposes of finally making it to the playoffs and putting an end to the longest playoff drought in NHL history, but also to ensure that players believe in the team and aren’t going to want out, similar to some of the past stars that the Sabres lost. As seen by the below graph, we may be in the midst of witnessing history repeat itself again, where the Sabres get off to yet another slow start before having a better second half.

The only thing going right in Buffalo is their penalty kill, which is 89.7% and puts them firmly at number one in the league when down a man. What prevents the Sabres from a failing grade is the fact that they have dealt with with some key players missing games. Josh Norris got injured during the first game of the season, and Rasmus Dahlin missed a few games on personal leave.

Calgary Flames - While the Calgary Flames haven’t been the most disappointing team in the league, there is no question they have been the worst. After tying an NHL record for most points while missing the playoffs last season with 96, missing out by a mere tie breaker to the St. Louis Blues, things have turned completely upside down in Calgary. While Dustin Wolf’s .892 save percentage is partially responsible for this drop, compared to last season where he seemingly won the Flames a handful of games, the Flames’ largest issue is their inability to score. Their current 2.10 goals for per game is by far the worst in the league, and their 12.7% power play is also 32nd. However, after three consecutive seasons where the Flames missed the playoffs, and two where they were only two points or less from the playoff line, this may be exactly what they need; an extremely bad season where they can pickup a top tier prospect.

Edmonton Oilers - Unlike the Calgary Flames who were not expected to be a playoff team by most people, their Alberta rival Edmonton Oilers are the back-to-back Campbell Bowl winners and sit with a 9-9-4 record. Not only that, but only four of these nine wins have come in regulation; the Edmonton Oilers have been relying heavily on 3-on-3 overtime. Additionally, the Oilers currently hold a -15 goal differential, in part due to a 9-1 pummelling at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche. To no one’s surprise, both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have been great; the largest issue is undoubtedly their defence and goaltending. Stuart Skinner has put up an .881 save percentage, while backup goaltender Calvin Pickard has an .830 save percentage. The defence in front of these two have not helped, as they have given up the seventh most high danger opportunities, and as a result have given up the second most goals per game. Goaltending has been a question mark for years in Edmonton, and it may be too late to address it for this season with few goaltenders on the trade market.

Toronto Maple Leafs - The largest off-season acquisition was Mitch Marner leaving Toronto and going to Vegas. While Maple Leafs’ fans will be the first to tell you that this will have no impact on their playoff performance, some may forget you still need to make the playoffs for that to be a factor. With a 9-9-2 record, the Maple Leafs certainly have time to salvage their slow start, but with numerous injuries, this will not be an easy task. Both their power play and penalty kill have been mediocre, and Auston Matthews has not looked like his usual self, even before his injury. The same can be said about Anthony Stolarz who is also injured, but has put up an uncharacteristically bad .884 save percentage. The three bright spots of the team have been William Nylander, John Tavares, and Matthew Knies, all players who are well over a point per game. The Leafs have also gotten significant offense from their blue line, but keeping the puck out of the net has been a huge issue, as they have allowed the third most goals per game.

F : Fail

St. Louis Blues - After being the best regular season team in the league after the 4 Nations Tournament last season, and after coming seconds away from knocking off the Presidents’ Trophy winning Jets in the first round, expectations on the Blues were somewhat high coming into this season. With no significant roster changes, playoffs were a bare minimum expectation. However, that has been far from the reality to start the 2025-2026 season. The Blues currently sit third last in the league with a 6-9-5 record, and their -23 goal differential is the worst in the league. Going in order from the beginning of the season, some of their most lopsided losses include a 5-0 loss to the Wild, an 8-3 loss to the Blackhawks, a 7-4 loss to the Mammoth where it was 4-0 for Utah 10 minutes into the game, a 6-4 loss to the Red Wings where the Blues blew a 4-0 lead, and a 6-1 loss to the Capitals. None of their star players have been playing up to expectations. Robert Thomas has 13 points in 16 games, Jordan Kyrou has 11 points in 19 games and was a healthy scratch for one game, and probably most importantly is Jordan Binnington between the pipes, with an .872 save percentage and a league worst -9.2 goals saved above expected. Backup goaltender Joel Hofer is not far off, with an .867 save percentage and a -3.8 GSAA. The power play is about the only bright spot on the Blues, and yet it still only ranks ninth in the league. Head coach Jim Montgomery was hired with a five year contract almost exactly one year ago, and some have now questioned if his job is already in jeopardy. As a result of everything go wrong for the Blues, they are the only team that I believe deserves a failing grade at the Q1 mark of the 2025-2026 season.