The Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and the Toronto Maple Leafs were projected to be the top three contenders in the NHL\u2019s Atlantic Division this season.<\/p>\n
Two weeks in, none of those teams are above .500.<\/p>\n
Instead, the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings are the only Atlantic Division teams with winning records.<\/p>\n
Sure, it\u2019s still early, but after watching the teams from the Sunshine State dominate the Eastern Conference over the past few seasons, it\u2019s interesting to see both teams struggle out of the gate. <\/p>\n
Last night, Brad Marchand led the Panthers with two assists in a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins in his highly anticipated return to TD Garden.<\/p>\n
Florida snapped a four-game slide to get back to .500.<\/p>\n
With Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Dmitry Kulikov and Tomas Nosek all sidelined, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions can\u2019t afford any more significant injuries.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs fell back to .500 with a 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils last night.<\/p>\n
Fortunately for Leafs Nation, the Toronto Blue Jays are headed back to the World Series for the first time since 1993, buying some time for Toronto\u2019s hockey team to get on track before they retake the spotlight in November.<\/p>\n
The Devils have won five in a row to climb into a tie with the Red Wings and Carolina Hurricanes for the best record in the Eastern Conference at 5-1-0.<\/p>\n
At the other end of the spectrum, Tampa Bay is stuck at the bottom of the standings with a 1-3-2 record.<\/p>\n
Despite the slow start, the Lightning remain the favourite to win the Atlantic Division at FanDuel this morning.<\/p>\n
In fact, Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Florida are still the top three choices to win that division at FanDuel right now.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Detroit to make the playoffs is +130 \u2013 longer odds than the Senators.<\/p>\n
Speaking of the Sens, it took a little longer than expected but Connor McDavid picked up his first goal of the season in a 3-2 overtime win in Ottawa last night.<\/p>\n
McDavid\u2019s six-game goal drought to start the season is the longest of his career.<\/p>\n
No. 97 is still the second choice to win the Hart Trophy behind the early favourite Nathan MacKinnon.<\/p>\n
In case you\u2019re wondering, Jack Eichel is the third choice to win the Hart Trophy at +700 this morning.<\/p>\n
Eichel\u2019s NHL-best 16 points are tied for the fourth-most by any player through their first seven games of a season this century.<\/p>\n
The Vegas Golden Knights have cruised to a 5-0-2 start.<\/p>\n
Next up, the Knights will head to the Sunshine State, where they will visit the Panthers and Lightning on back-to-back nights this weekend.<\/p>\n
It will be interesting to see how Florida and Tampa Bay respond against a legitimate contender in Vegas.<\/p>\n
While we haven\u2019t seen many drastic shake ups in FanDuel\u2019s NHL futures markets, there is one notable move that caught my attention.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take a closer look at one of the best stories from the first two weeks of the NHL season in this Morning Coffee for Wednesday October 22nd, 2025.<\/p>\n
Schaefer\u2019s Blazing Start Generates Early Calder Trophy Buzz<\/p>\n
Matthew Schaefer to win the Calder Trophy was 22-to-1 at FanDuel on NHL Opening Night.<\/p>\n
Two weeks later, the 18-year-old defenceman is down to +145 as the favourite to win that award following a remarkable start to his NHL career.<\/p>\n
Schaefer has registered at least one point in each of the first six games for the New York Islanders \u2013 tied for the longest point streak by a defenceman to begin their NHL career all-time.<\/p>\n
He can break the record with a point when the Islanders host the Red Wings on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
Keep in mind, Schaefer just turned 18 on September 5th.<\/p>\n
Drafted first overall by New York as a 17-year-old in the summer, Schaefer has already matched Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky for the second-longest point streak to begin an NHL season by a player 18 or younger ever.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also the second-youngest defenceman to register a multi-point game in NHL history.<\/p>\n
As somebody who just missed out on drafting Schaefer in my dynasty fantasy hockey league, it\u2019s a tough watch.<\/p>\n
The fact that I didn\u2019t get a piece of Schaefer to win the Calder Trophy at +2200 makes it even tougher.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve already seen Schaefer skate against stars like Crosby and Connor McDavid.<\/p>\n
The rookie defenceman has not looked out of place.<\/p>\n
In fact, Schaefer has led the Islanders with 23:06 of ice time per night through six games.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s skated with veteran Scott Mayfield at even strength, while anchoring the top power play unit for New York.<\/p>\n
It would be one thing if Schaefer stepped into the Oilers lineup and got off to a hot start anchoring a power play unit that features McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.<\/p>\n