While it’s always dangerous to make conclusions on any NHL team this early in the season, we do know some teams have not started their seasons as well as expected. Three teams in particular have had bad starts but can turn things around in short order: COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS Record: 1-3-0 Why They Can Turn Things Around: The Blue Jackets dropped their first game of the season to the Nashville Predators [http://thn.com/nashville] 2-1 before beating the Minnesota Wild [http://thn.com/minnesota] 7-4. But Columbus lost 3-2 to the New Jersey Devils and 4-1 to the Colorado Avanalche. Having two of their three losses decided by one goal is a sign that the Jackets [http://thn.com/columbus] aren’t that far off from reeling off a string of victories. Columbus’ next stretch of games is highly challenging, facing the Tampa Bay Lightning [http://thn.com/tampabay], Dallas Stars [http://thn.com/dallas] and Washington Capitals [http://thn.com/washington] – but after that, in their next six games, they have ‘gimme’ games against the Pittsburgh Penguins [http://thn.com/pittsburgh], Buffalo Sabres [http://thn.com/buffalo], New York Islanders [http://thn.com/nyislanders] and Calgary Flames [http://thn.com/calgary]. So long as the Blue Jackets put up a strong fight against the Stars, Bolts and Caps, they’ve got the potential to surge up the Metropolitan Division standings. Columbus’ explosion of seven goals in the Minnesota game is an indication of how powerful the Jackets’ offense can be. But scoring only four goals in the other three games indicates that consistency with the puck has been a problem for this team. They’ll need to be better from game to game to get into a playoff position in the Metro, but we gave the Blue Jackets a vote of confidence as a playoff team this summer [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/after-years-in-the-expansion-wilderness-columbus-eyes-a-return-to-the-playoffs], and we’re sticking by that prediction. LOS ANGELES KINGS Record: 1-3-1 Why They Can Turn Things Around: The Kings [http://thn.com/la] haven’t performed well in their challenging schedule, losing to the Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets [http://thn.com/winnipeg], Wild and Penguins so far. In their 6-5 shootout win over Vegas, they blew a lead and then had to come back to tie it. While the Kings did have moments where they looked like a guaranteed Stanley Cup playoff team – narrowly losing to the Jets and Wild in one-goal contests – Los Angeles has struggled to close things out and rise in the ranks of the relatively soft Pacific Division. But there’s good news on the horizon, and that’s coming in the form of the soft-touches they’re going to get in their next seven games. While there are strong teams in the Kings’ way in their next seven games – the Carolina Hurricanes [http://thn.com/carolina], St. Louis Blues [http://thn.com/stlouis] and Stars – there are more teams that L.A. absolutely should be beating, including the Predators, Chicago Blackhawks [http://thn.com/chicago] and San Jose Sharks [http://thn.com/sanjose]. If the Kings can win a couple of games against the Canes, Blues and Stars, they’ll be in a great position to go on a winning tear and knock off the others. The Kings have had problems on defense, with 3.80 goals against per game. But their 2.60 goals-for per game aren't enough, either. Thus, there’s lots of room for improvement for this L.A. team, and we see the Kings getting back on track with a strong stretch of hockey from now until the end of this month. The Hockey News Big Show: Is Something Big Wrong With The New York Rangers? [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/cf96e1c7-ae7c-47a9-b913-7c9e31cfbdb0.jpeg] The Hockey News Big Show: Is Something Big Wrong With The New York Rangers? Katie Gaus, Michael Traikos and Ryan Kennedy discuss Easton Cowan’s start, surprises, turnarounds, the struggling Sabres and Rangers and more [https://thehockeynews.com/news/podcast/the-hockey-news-big-show-is-something-big-wrong-with-the-new-york-rangers] TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING Record: 1-2-1 Why They Can Turn Things Around: It’s been mostly misery for the Lightning this season, with Tampa Bay getting outscored by a combined score of 13-9 in season-opening losses to the Ottawa Senators [http://thn.com/ottawa], New Jersey Devils [http://thn.com/newjersey] and Capitals. Tampa Bay did beat the Boston Bruins [http://thn.com/boston] for its only win thus far, and the team didn't lose by more than two goals to the others. The loss to the Capitals came in overtime as well. That said, Tampa’s upcoming schedule is going to get challenging very soon. In five of their next six games, the Lightning could well turn things around with winnable games against the Detroit Red Wings [http://thn.com/detroit], Blue Jackets, Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks [http://thn.com/anaheim] and Predators. After that, the road ahead gets considerably more difficult for the Bolts, as they’ll be taking on the Stars, Utah Mammoth [http://thn.com/utah], Avalanche, Golden Knights, Capitals, New York Rangers [http://thn.com/nyrangers], Florida Panthers [http://thn.com/florida] and Vancouver Canucks [http://thn.com/vancouver]. Only three teams have a worse goals-against average than Tampa Bay’s 4.00, so the key area of improvement is clear for this Bolts team. Andrei Vasilevskiy must play like an elite netminder again, and his teammates have got to stop allowing 31.5 shots per game. By mid-November, the Lightning could either be at or near the top of the highly competitive Atlantic Division – or they could be mired in the mushy middle of the Eastern Conference. But if they put their foot on the gas and make the most of their opportunities against the league’s lesser lights, the harder part of the schedule will be easier for Lightning fans and players to handle. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
