Shorter NHL training camps don't change much about early-season hockey, it's still sloppy

The first three days of the earliest leaguewide start in NHL history delivered scores straight out of the 1980s.

Edmonton and Vancouver played 6-5 and 9-7 games. Pittsburgh routed Philadelphia 7-0. Colorado beat Los Angeles 8-4.

"There's a lot of goals being scored, which tells you that there's some loose hockey still being played," New York Islanders coach Peter DeBoer said Thursday.

The hockey has been sloppy, scoring is up slightly and goaltenders are stopping the puck less than last season. But with the first 100 or so games in the books following shorter training camps and less exhibition action, there's little evidence to suggest that it has drastically altered the play on the ice compared to previous starts that come with gaps in fundamentals and the occasional blowout.

“I think it’s been like that for the last 100 years, so I was not expecting this year to be any different,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said.

What the numbers say about the first week-plus

The first 110 games have featured 344 goals — led by Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard with six. Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin even has one from shooting and scoring into an empty net.

That's an average of 6.26, up a tick from the 6.1 over the first 112 games a year ago. Power plays are clicking at a 20.9% success rate, compared to 19.8%, led by Tourigny's Mammoth at 61.5%.

“Maybe less time to practice special teams,” said Utah's Dylan Guenther, who leads the league with six power play points. “We had a pretty big emphasis on that in camp because we did a lot of special teams, so it’s good that a little bit of that is paying off.”

The average save percentage so far is .890. Netminders combining for an .896 last season was the lowest in the NHL since 1994, and it's not getting any easier for hockey's masked men.

There are a similar amount of giveaways, more than 16 a game, and plenty of odd-man rushes to be found.

“Teams can score, like there’s so much skill,” New Jersey defenseman Brenden Dillon said. “Teams have so much skill, so on the defensive side, all it takes is one stick being in the wrong spot or one guy being out of position and teams are going to make you pay.”

What changes from a shorter camp

It is an annual debate every fall how to get the most out of camp, Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said, which leads to plenty of teaching early in the regular season.

"Do we roll out everything and then introduce it, but then you don’t get good at anything?" Keefe said. “Or do you just roll out a few things at a time and try to really grasp onto that and then you build out from there? You have to do that even more so in the shortened camp. You’ve got to kind of prioritize a few key areas you focus on, and then you just keep kind of building it out as you go.”

Player fitness is not a concern in this day and age when summer skates are commonplace. It may take several more weeks to determine if fewer preseason games contributed to any sort of increase in injuries.

More games are slipping away from teams with big deficits, though. There have been 22 decided by three or more goals, a little more than usual.

“Everybody’s pretty sharp pretty early,” Islanders captain Bo Horvat said. "You get the odd game here and there where it gets a little sloppy. But I think obviously play will pick up, and things will get a little bit crispier as the season goes on."

Teammate Kyle Palmieri said the Islanders discussed taking advantage of some of the sloppiness around the league, hoping that being more disciplined in the fall can pay dividends. Dillon understands coaches probably would have liked another week or two to iron some things out, but there isn't much clamoring to go back to the old ways.

“It’s nice having a shorter camp,” Guenther said. “I’m not going to complain about that.”

Good thing, then, because this is the NHL's new normal. As part of that, everyone seems to acknowledge this is how early-season fall hockey goes — a long way from playoff races in the spring and the lockdown, tight-checking intensity chasing the Stanley Cup.

“I think there’s a lot of clean up to do from everybody,” Tourigny said. “At this point, I don’t think there’s any team who’s perfectly perfect on anything.”

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