The 2026-27 NHL season, which started on Sept. 29, is officially entering its second month.
Though Thanksgiving is considered a better bellwether of whether a team can make the playoffs, the end of the first month is a good time to assess how teams and players are faring.
The New Jersey Devils were already playing well before adding the best goalie in the league, the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes are on a roll and Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid is on fire. Meanwhile, a couple of goalies have outperformed the No. 1 netminders on their teams.
Here's a look at strong starts that we're starting to believe:
New Jersey Devils can return to playoffs
USA TODAY had the Devils returning to the playoffs after an off year, with concerns expressed about whether their goaltending would
be strong enough.
General manager Sunny Mehta changed that by winning the Connor Hellebuyck sweepstakes after the goalie requested a trade and was suspended by the Winnipeg Jets for not reporting to training camp. The three-time Vezina Trophy winner, 2024-25 MVP and U.S. Olympic gold medalist, stopped 17 of 18 shots to win his Devils debut.
His arrival allows Jake Allen to return to backup status and Hellebuyck is active with the puck, helping the Devils' high-flying attack.
Mehta also beefed up the forward group and Luke Evangelista has been productive. Arseny Gritsyuk is thriving on the top line. And more important, Jack Hughes (outside some more lost teeth) has been healthy this season.
Carolina Hurricanes can repeat
The true answer will be told in April and beyond, but the Hurricanes are off to a strong start. Jackson Blake is continuing the run he had in the playoffs, they're getting scoring up and down the lineup and they survived injuries to Seth Jarvis (since returned) and Jordan Staal.
The only drawback is a slow start by Stanley Cup-clinching goalie Brandon Bussi but Pyotr Kochetkov (8-0, 1.62 goals-against average) is playing well.
Connor McDavid's record pace
He has 36 points in his first 13 games, which puts him on pace for the league's first 200-point season since Wayne Gretzky in the 1980s. Even if he doesn't do that, he has a solid chance to break his career best of 153 points in 2022-23.
What's contributing to his torrid pace? Previous Oilers coaches usually played him with Leon Draisaitl as a nuclear option if the team was trailing and needed a boost. First-year Oilers coach Mike Babcock has kept the two together and used Vasily Podkolzin as the third forward on the line. That trio, along with defenseman Evan Bouchard, has made the Edmonton power play lethal.
McDavid has set an NHL record with his season-opening 13-game assist streak. He and Draisaitl reportedly pushed for Babcock and it's paying off.
Jacob Fowler is rookie of the year material, maybe more
The Montreal Canadiens goalie started the season in the American Hockey League but was called up when Sam Montembeault was injured. His arrival coincided with a slow start by 2026 playoff hero Jakub Dobes. Coach Martin St. Louis is riding the hot hand. Fowler started and won the Heritage Classic and had a 46-save shutout of the St. Louis Blues. Fowler was a standout at Boston College and in the AHL, so his early NHL success is a follow to that. He leads the league in Moneypuck's goals saved above expected and will be in the mix for the Vezina Trophy if this continues.
Fowler joins Kochetkov and the Calgary Flames' Devin Cooley in pushing themselves into stints as No. 1 goalies, though Cooley left Wednesday's game with a lower-body injury.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The NHL season is one month old. Here are strong starts we believe.
