NHL scores 2016: Meet the new Ducks, same as the old Ducks

Hitting the panic button at this point, not even a week into the 2016-17 NHL season, is foolish. So many things can and will change.

Take the Anaheim Ducks, for example. Last season, if they fire Bruce Boudreau after three weeks of awful hockey, maybe they don’t make the playoffs. If they make wholesale changes even in December, maybe they don’t mount a late-season comeback and storm into the postseason.

Of course, it’s the changes they finally did make that they’ll be judged on for the rest of this season. And early returns are not promising.

Randy Carlyle’s return received plenty of derision here and elsewhere across hockey media and fandom. He burned out in Toronto after one fluky playoff appearance based on a lot of luck as the team regressed to the team and bottomed out. He made a name for himself as a coach who preaches blind zone exit passes and hard forechecking at the expense of possession.

So far, the Ducks are looking more like Carlyle’s Leafs than Carlyle’s Ducks that won a Stanley Cup in 2007. They lost their first two games by a goal apiece while getting heavily outshot and overwhelmed offensively. The only change in their one-goal defeat in New Jersey on Tuesday was how their discipline joined them in the crater, as well. Anaheim gave the Devils seven power plays, with veterans Corey Perry, Antoine Vermette, and Ryan Kesler combining for 11 minutes in the box.

Anaheim looks like a team frustrated by its execution not matching its potential. In other words, the Ducks look exactly the same as they did when they bowed out of the playoffs last year. That Carlyle is the man responsible for righting the boat does not instill confidence.

Capitals 3, Avalanche 0
Sharks 3, Islanders 2
Canadiens 4, Penguins 0
Wild 6, Kings 3
Blackhawks 7, Flyers 4
Flames 4, Sabres 3 (OT)
Devils 2, Ducks 1
Senators 7, Coyotes 4
Lightning 4, Panthers 3 (SO)
Stars 2, Predators 1
Oilers 3, Hurricanes 2
Canucks 2, Blues 1 (OT)

Mike Smith lasted all of two periods (and three goals against) before suffering another injury that forced backup Louis Domingue into the spotlight. And this one didn’t look good, either. Smith remained sprawled on the ice for a long time after twisting himself into a pretzel trying to make a save, and needed assistance leaving the game.

For what it’s worth, coach Dave Tippett isn’t sounding alarm bells just yet.

He’s right on one thing: for the level the Coyotes are at, Smith is and has always been their best option. But Domingue showed well last season in his stead, and I’m sure the team is eager to let the youngster at it again. But the Coyotes aren’t exactly world-beaters defensively, and if their seven goals against in Ottawa is any indication, they need Smith back sooner rather than later.

First, some credit to his defensive teammates. Defenseman Stephen Johns played a heck of a game through an injury, and Kari Lehtonen did outduel Pekka Rinne in a 2-1 game in Nashville. Good for them.

But Hamhuis stood out for his rock-solid play in his own end. Unlike Kris Russell, whom the Stars settled for at the trade deadline last season, Hamhuis is as calm and collected as anyone else on the Stars’ inexperienced blue line. On nights like Tuesday, the entire team feeds off of it. We now know what the Stars are capable of when they commit wholly to defensive responsibility.

Six different Wild players scored on Kings backup Jeff Zatkoff, who got pulled after stopping just 11 shots. Jonathan Quick could be gone for months, and the Kings are left staring at Zatkoff, Peter Budaj and Jack Campbell in his absence. So far, the results are not great. Pavelec seems like the logical next step before this gets too bad.

I’ll be totally honest. I didn’t think Stamkos would shoot from there. Neither did his teammates.

The trust you’d need to have in your shot to take that chance is hard to fathom. James Reimer is probably already poring over the film to figure out how he let that beat him. But that’s Stamkos doing Stamkos things.

This seems unproductive.