Campbell .884 save % GAA of 3.93 9 games 6 wins
Samsonov .921 save % GAA of 2.23 8 games 6 wins
Kraken now 2nd in their Division and winners of their last 5 games
Vegas made the Stanley Cup Finals in their first year of existence.
Don't see why it would be a shocker to see Kraken make the playoffs in their second season.
With Blues losing their last 8 games only Jets, Stars, and Avalanche are likely to make the playoffs from the Central Division.
In the Pacific Canucks, Ducks, Sharks are likely to not make the playoffs so ...
Interesting stats on the goalie comparison. The Leafs seem to be a better team defensively as their goals against are much lower after the same amount of games. Edmonton though is obviously a stronger offensive machine. Defense usually wins out in the long run.
Seattle is surprising, similar to Vegas in their first couple of years. When teams came into the league back in the day, they usually played poorly for a number of years. However in today's world there are many skilled players and much better coaching programs.
What is odd is that established teams take much longer to build a contender than teams new to the league.
New teams generally get the "cast aways" from the other teams as well as the odd gem that teams are dumping due to the salary cap issues, however the established teams probably could have negotiated deals for those same players relatively easy.
My theory for the success of Vegas and Seattle (still early as they were not that great last year) is they get to start anew where there was no established hockey culture and dressing room politics at play. This makes it easier for players to buy into the coaching program and work better as a team. Also, established teams are saddled with bad contracts and sticking too long with what was once promising talent and the pool of hockey players in general is much more skilled and deeper than ever.
Curious to hear your thoughts on this as your knowledge of the game is evident.