It’s Halloween, and we are almost a month into the 2025-26 NHL season.
Early in the season, there is still plenty of horror to be found. Some numbers reflecting how teams are performing across the league are making us scared about what they could mean for the future.
What’s one scary stat for each team? The Athletic posed that question this week to its NHL staff. Here’s what they said.
All stats are from before Thursday’s NHL game action.
Anaheim Ducks
Frank Vatrano’s one point in nine games
Ducks coach Joel Quenneville (and new assistant Jay Woodcroft) have juiced up a dormant offense, but Vatrano hasn’t been part of it. It has been a difficult early transition back to a more secondary role for the 31-year-old volume shooter as youngsters Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and Mason McTavish continue to feature. Maybe Vatrano can find a way to contribute to this season’s playoff push, but the left wing’s ice time (12:55 per game) is down sharply and he’s without a goal on only 32 shot attempts. — Eric Stephens
Boston Bruins
13.22 five-on-five high-danger scoring chances against per 60
This is the fourth-highest mark in the league. The Bruins are allowing opponents too many good looks from dangerous areas of the ice, as is also reflected by their 44 goals allowed — tied for second-most in the league. — Fluto Shinzawa
Buffalo Sabres
41.9 faceoff percentage
The Sabres have struggled in the faceoff circle all season with a league-worst 41.9 faceoff percentage. And given the number of close games the Sabres have had, it’s easy to see where losing possession on the faceoff can hurt a team. This is also a symptom of the Sabres’ lack of center depth. With Josh Norris and Tyson Kozak injured, Buffalo’s center depth chart is scary thin less than a month into the season. — Matthew Fairburn
Calgary Flames
2.09 goals per game
The Flames didn’t really address their goal-scoring needs this offseason, so it isn’t a total surprise. But that doesn’t make their lack of offense any less gruesome. Dustin Wolf can only do so much in goal, as he told the media recently. Counterpoint: A section of fans clamoring for a chance to draft Gavin McKenna next year won’t complain too much about this statistic being this ghastly and the league’s worst to start the season. — Julian McKenzie
Carolina Hurricanes
10 percent power play
The Hurricanes have had more than their share of injuries to start the season, but that doesn’t excuse the team’s performance on the power play. Carolina is last in the league with the man advantage at 10 percent. The team has consistently had a top penalty kill during coach Rod Brind’Amour’s tenure, but it’s been offset by struggles on the PP — it ranked 25th last season and is off to a slow start again this year. — Cory Lavalette
Chicago Blackhawks
105.0 PDO
The Blackhawks have a league-high 105.0 PDO, according to Natural Stat Trick. As a quick explainer, PDO is calculated by adding a team’s five-on-five shooting percentage to their save percentage. A PDO higher than 100.0 equates to a team likely getting lucky and is expected to regress to the mean. It’s not absolute, and teams do exceed the mean every season, though usually not as high as the Blackhawks are now. Connor Bedard and Spencer Knight may continue to keep that number high, but it is something to keep an eye on as the season progresses. — Scott Powers
Colorado Avalanche
58.26 percent expected goal share
No team has controlled possession, shots and chances better than Colorado over the first 10 games of the season. The Avalanche lead in every underlying metric, but the most terrifying — for the rest of the NHL — is their 58.26 percent expected goal share. Not only is it the best in the league, it’s more than two percentage points ahead of anyone else. Put another way: The gap between Colorado and the second-best team (Dallas) is wider than the gap between Dallas and the eighth-place New York Rangers. — Jesse Granger
Columbus Blue Jackets
Penalty kill has allowed 11 goals
Granted, four of those power-play goals were allowed in the second game of the season to the Minnesota Wild, in a game the Blue Jackets won 7-4. But the numbers are the numbers, and the Jackets’ penalty kill has been a self-inflicted nightmare so far this season. The Blue Jackets have changed personnel and tweaked their approach, coach Dean Evason said, but it hasn’t caught on right away. — Aaron Portzline
Dallas Stars
1.89 goals per 60 at five-on-five
The only reason the Stars are even in a wild-card position right now is their scorching power play, which is just a tick below the league-leading Wild (another team, interestingly enough, that can’t score at five-on-five). For a deep and talented team with a frustrating tendency to dry up offensively as the playoffs wear on, it’s alarming that they can’t find the back of the net without an extra man on the ice in the regular season, too. Only two teams — the Wild and Rangers — are scoring at a lower rate at even strength. — Mark Lazerus
Detroit Red Wings
.882 team save percentage
This is technically a goalie stat, but in this case, I’m using it as more than that. Detroit has put its netminders in some tough spots early this season with missed assignments, particularly when tracking back against the rush. They’ve survived it in the win column, and their game Tuesday (after two defense-focused practices this week) was a reason for encouragement. But the .882 number — which is among the league’s lowest — speaks to the danger John Gibson and Cam Talbot have faced so far, and while both have had big games and moments, there’s only so much they can do if it becomes a common theme. — Max Bultman
Edmonton Oilers
28 different line combinations to start games
The Oilers have had a couple of big offensive outbursts lately, but have otherwise struggled to score this season. Kris Knoblauch experimenting like a mad scientist hasn’t panned out. Without top natural winger Zach Hyman, the Oilers have used 28 different line combinations to start games. That’s not even taking into account in-game adjustments. It’s hard to find continuity that way. — Daniel Nugent-Bowman
Florida Panthers
1.89 goals per 60 at five-on-five
Incredibly, the Panthers are scoring more goals than just two teams at even strength right now, a huge reason they’ve started the season 5-5-1. Some of that is bad luck — their shooting percentage is unsustainably low — but they also clearly miss Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk. Brad Marchand and A.J. Greer are the only Panthers with more than two even-strength goals, and 12 players have yet to score at five-on-five. — James Mirtle
Los Angeles Kings
49 minor penalties
The Kings’ penchant for stick penalties and plentiful visits to the sin bin is out of character for a team that’s usually been more disciplined. Couple that with only 34 minors drawn and that’s a bitter recipe to follow. So far, they’ve been able to survive it with Darcy Kuemper’s quality goaltending after coming back from a short-term injury. It’s been a roller-coaster start for the Kings, and the penalty issue is one reason for that. — Eric Stephens
Minnesota Wild
The team has trailed for 309:32
Remember last season when the Wild didn’t trail for a single second in their first 391:31? Well, through their first 11 games this season, they had trailed for 309:32 — second-most in the NHL behind Boston’s 316:13 — and 46.1 percent of games — second-most in front of St. Louis’ 47.5, per Natural Stat Trick. The Wild were allowing 3.91 goals per game through 11 games, fourth-most in the NHL, and goalies Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt had combined for an .883 save percentage. Wallstedt ranked 55th in the NHL in goals saved above expected and Gustavsson 43rd. — Michael Russo
Montreal Canadiens
14-18 third-period goals for/goals against
The Canadiens have been getting out to leads, but protecting them has proven to be a challenge. Entering play Wednesday, only the Minnesota Wild (20) had allowed more third-period goals than the Canadiens. For a young team, game management can be a struggle at times. The Canadiens are going through those growing pains. — Arpon Basu
Nashville Predators
The team has scored two goals or fewer in eight of its first 11 games
This is a dreadful offensive team with the worst situation at center in the league, as feared. The Preds have stayed competitive most nights because of a shored-up defense and Juuse Saros, but those elements already are being strained by feeble forward play. If the power play doesn’t rise dramatically from one of the worst in the league, it’s going to get ugly. — Joe Rexrode
Jacob Markstrom has yet to post a save percentage higher than .900 this season. (Isaiah J. Downing / Imagn Images)
New Jersey Devils
Jacob Markström’s .830 save percentage
The Devils are off to a great start, so finding a concerning stat is hard without turning to a number impacted by a small sample size. That’s the case with Markström, who has played only four games and gave up eight goals to the Avalanche on Tuesday. He’s yet to have a game with a save percentage better than .900. New Jersey needs more from him, and he also has a lot riding on this year as a pending unrestricted free agent. — Peter Baugh
New York Islanders
4.11 expected goals against per 60
It’s not entirely surprising to see a retooling team struggle below the hood. But the Islanders’ defense has been eye-catchingly bad to open the season. The Predators are the only team to allow a higher rate of xG against in all situations. That 4.11 xGA against per 60 is a combination of poor penalty killing and sloppy defending at five-on-five. No matter how the coaches shake up the pairs, the results are still dismal. And unlike last year, Ilya Sorokin hasn’t been as sharp in containing the damage so far. — Shayna Goldman
New York Rangers
2.18 goals-per-game
The Rangers have probably deserved a better fate given the number of chances they have created, but even so, their lack of scoring is concerning early in the season. Even if some of the goal scoring picks up — as it should, as the team’s shooting percentage levels out — New York will have to be a strong defensive team to have success. This roster just does not have the high-end skill and finish ability to regularly compete in high-scoring affairs. — Peter Baugh
Ottawa Senators
Linus Ullmark’s .858 save percentage
Through the first eighth of the Senators’ season, Ullmark hasn’t played up to par. He’s only had three games this season where he’s allowed two goals or fewer in each of his starts. It’s less than ideal for a goaltender playing out the first season of a four-year, $33 million extension. — Julian McKenzie
Philadelphia Flyers
Matvei Michkov’s one goal
Michkov has only managed one goal in his first nine games, a concerning lack of production for the Flyers’ young winger, who they are counting on to develop into a future star. Michkov arrived at camp in suboptimal shape, at least partially due to an offseason ankle injury, but he’s been surprisingly ineffective. He does seem to be working his way out of it lately, and has a pair of important conversions in two Flyers shootout wins, but the club will need more from him if they are to compete for a playoff spot. — Kevin Kurz
Pittsburgh Penguins
Ville Koivunen’s zero points
It’s been a wonderful start for the Penguins, but one concern is the play of Koivunen, one of their top prospects. He was already sent to the Penguins’ AHL team for a stint and has zero points — and only two shots on goal — in four games at the NHL level. It’s early, but he hasn’t been good. — Josh Yohe
San Jose Sharks
Yaroslav Askarov’s .844 save percentage
The 23-year-old is going through a full NHL schedule for the first time and there’s no denying he has had a rough start. It’s not easy goaltending behind San Jose’s defense, but you can’t be excused for nights when the Sharks dominate play and he lets in four goals on 14 shots. He’s ultra-talented and can make the ridiculous save, but more common stops will help him find consistency. More wins will come then. — Eric Stephens
Seattle Kraken
64 percent penalty kill
The Kraken are the NHL’s most permissive team when one of their player takes a trip to the penalty box (by goals-against rate), and it’s holding back an otherwise impressive first few weeks of their season. Seattle’s penalty-killing woes are punctuated by a sub .700 save percentage when they’re on the kill. How scary is that? At some point the Kraken need to get on a run and begin to kill penalties at a rate that, even if it’s below average, at least falls within the bounds of historical normalcy. Otherwise their sputtering penalty killing could put their entire season at risk. — Thomas Drance
St. Louis Blues
.840 team save percentage
The Blues believe they have one of the best one-two punches in the NHL when it comes to goalies Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. But the position has been downright scary this season, with a team save percentage of .840 heading into play Thursday. Binnington was carrying an .863 save percentage, while Hofer has been working through the worst slump of his young career with a .793. The defense in front of them hasn’t been good, with too many odd-man rushes and open shots in front of the net. Still, the Blues had given up the second-fewest shots against in the league (254) through Wednesday and had the second-highest goals-against average (.4.40). — Jeremy Rutherford
Tampa Bay Lightning
5.28 power-play goals per 60
The Lightning’s power play is generally one of the more dynamic units in the league. The offensive generation is mostly solid, but the raw skill and shooting tend to kick their production up a notch. Last year, Tampa ranked fifth in scoring rate (9.34 per 60), and back in 2023-24 the team led the league (11.3). But so far this season, the power play hasn’t been an advantage, with the team ranking 26th in xG and scoring. With this team starting to show its age and looking slower defensively, taking advantage of power plays is going to be key moving forward to outpace any lapses. — Shayna Goldman
Toronto Maple Leafs
.874 team save percentage
The Leafs were top-five in the NHL in this department last season behind the very solid tandem of Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll. So far this season, without Woll and mostly backstopped by Stolarz, the Leafs are bottom-five in team save percentage with a current clip of .874. There was bound to be some regression in goal, but this is more extreme than the Leafs can afford — even if the burden of blame rests more on the team’s defensive play than the goalies. — Jonas Siegel
Utah Mammoth
One year left on Nick Schmaltz’s contract
Utah’s off to a dream start, so there isn’t much to be concerned about on the ice. However, contract-wise, Schmaltz is a pending unrestricted free agent currently making $5.85 million against the cap. He’s second in NHL scoring with 17 points in 11 games. The Mammoth have to be thrilled with his amazing start, but it is a double-edged sword because it means the price of his next contract is only increasing by the day. Utah has ample cap space to re-sign Schmaltz, but sometimes teams feel nervous about buying high on a career-best season. — Harman Dayal
Vancouver Canucks
103.1 PDO
PDO, a combination of a team’s shooting and save percentage, is a blunt-instrument stat used roughly as a shorthand measure of luck, or at least a gut check on our perception. The higher a team’s PDO, the luckier a team is. The current league leaders in team-level PDO at five-on-five are a who’s-who of fabulous early-season stories — the Blackhawks and Penguins — likely to prove to be mirages in the long run. And the Canucks, who are the only NHL team with a top-10 PDO and a sub-500 point percentage. If this is what Vancouver looks like when it’s getting the bounces, what might it look like down the line? — Thomas Drance
Pavel Dorofeyev leads the NHL with five goals on the man advantage. (Candice Ward / Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights
Pavel Dorofeyev’s five power-play goals
Dorofeyev’s power-play scoring is starting to have the inevitable feel of Michael Myers slowly stalking his victims. At this point, the entire NHL knows exactly what the Golden Knights are trying to do on the power play: get the puck to Dorofeyev for a one-timer from the right circle. It hasn’t mattered, as he just keeps pouring goals into mostly wide-open nets. Last season’s leader in power-play goals was Jake Guentzel with 17. It’s a small sample, so the rate will obviously slow, but Dorofeyev is currently on pace for 41. — Jesse Granger
Washington Capitals
Connor McMichael’s 5 percent shooting
Washington, no doubt, would’ve preferred that McMichael scored on more than one of his first 20 shots. He’s coming off a career-high 26-goal season in which he shot nearly 15 percent, adding another element of quality depth to Washington’s top nine. The process has been there — he’s second on the team in expected goals — but at some point, the puck will have to start finding the net for the Caps to get where they want to go. — Sean Gentille
Winnipeg Jets
42.7 percent of time spent in the D-zone at even strength
Winnipeg is spending the league’s third-highest amount of time in its own zone to start the season. It’s giving up entries because the forwards’ positioning and back-pressure aren’t dialed in, then its defense is getting beaten to loose pucks and rebounds, allowing opponents to spend long shifts wreaking havoc in the Jets’ zone. This extended even-strength pressure is meant to be the Jets’ calling card; instead, they’re fighting a bizarro-world version of themselves at five-on-five and surviving on deadly special teams and their goalies. — Murat Ates