While some may say the start of the season does not mean anything, a win in October still means as much as a win in February.

A team that finds itself behind early usually ends up playing catch up for the rest of the year. There is more than one team so far this year that have playoff ambitions, but are low in the standings and might not get the result from this season that they had expected.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Many thought of Columbus as playoff contenders, blaming their failure to make the playoffs last year on injuries. They may still be right, but losing your first seven games is a hard hole to climb out of. That is a losing streak that is almost one tenth of your season, and for a team considered a bubble team to make the playoffs you cannot afford to rack up so many loses so soon.

They are giving up 4.9 GPG, which is just unacceptable. Their top line of Ryan Johansen, Brandon Saad and Nick Foligno aren’t producing like they’re supposed to. None of them are producing at a PPG level, and they are expected to carry the offense.

Prediction: Miss the Playoffs

They just are not a physical enough team to be a playoff team. Their defense leaves their goalie out to dry too often, and nearly all of their blue liners are more offense oriented. Their top line, while good, isn’t as good as people thought they would be, and they will all likely finish with around 50 to 60 points, which is very good but not good enough for them to carry the team.

Boston Bruins

The veteran Bruins came into the season looking to bounce back after an odd year where they actually missed the playoffs. They started out the season with a surprising three losses where franchise goaltender Tuukka Rask looked down right awful. The team’s offense would carry the team in the next two games, scoring 11 goals. David Krejci had four goals and nine points so far this season, and has already shown why the team missed him last year when he fell to injury.

Prediction: Make the Playoffs

Right now the Bruins are the second worst team in GAA. There is no way that will continue to be the case by the end of this year. Their defensive corps are young, but players like Torey Krug have already made a name for themselves and solidified their spot on the team.

Dennis Seidenberg should make his return in the coming weeks, and the top line of Zdeno Chara and Seidenberg will return to lead the defense again. Jimmy Hayes was a good addition for an offense that relies on depth, not their top line, for production.

Chicago Blackhawks

Duncan Keith’s injury is only part of a disapointing start for the reigning Stanley Cup champions. They are currently in the second to last place in the Central Division, and it will be hard for them to get back to the top of the strongest division in the NHL. The offense so far has relied on the Patrick Kane line for production. With four goals and seven points, the sniper has been the leader of the charge offensively.  Still, the team sits at 20th offensively and are losing Duncan Keith for what could be two months. 

Prediction: Make the Playoffs … but not as easily as you think

The Blackhawks last year squeaked into the playoffs with a pretty low seed for the team that would win the cup. They know how to exert the least amount of effort possible to make the playoffs, and will do that again this year. The only obstacle in their way is the fact that their division is stacked.

All of the teams in the Central division could fight with Chicago to earn a playoff spot. They are going to need to have a really good regular season in order to make the playoffs, something they really did not have last year when taking into account how high their expectations are.

Los Angeles Kings

After an offseason of turmoil, a quick start was needed for the Kings. So far this season, the only time the word quick has been used is to describe another goal goaltender Jonathan Quick has let in. His .898 SV% has let down his team, especially since he is an elite goaltender and his expectations are higher.

Captain Anze Kopitar has one point so far this season and the offense itself is averaging just over one PPG. They have lost big time to San Jose, Arizona and Vancouver, teams that are borderline playoff contenders.

Prediction: Miss the Playoffs

Right now, half of the Kings goals this season have come from Tyler Toffoli. While Toffoli is a good player, you cannot expect him to carry such a big part of the load. The fact is that this team is over the hill and has lost too many key players. Too much is being asked of superstar defender Drew Doughty because the team has no depth on the blue line. Jonathan Quick will return to his usual self, but he cannot score goals for a team that struggled mightily in that category last year.

Calgary Flames

Last year, Calgary may have been the most surprising team to make the playoffs. They were definitely the most surprising team to make it out of the first round, and they looked like a future Stanley Cup contender in the making.

However, in order to become a Stanley Cup contender, you must have good goaltending, and so far this year the Flames goaltending has been anything but good. Jonas Hiller and Karri Ramo both have sub .900 SV% and have looked downright awful in the first seven games of the season. Johnny Gaudreau has continued his success from last year, putting up seven points in only six games.

Prediction: Make the Playoffs

All this team needs is a decent goaltender. If neither Hiller or Ramo fit the description, they could easily bring in an average to below average starting goaltender. Sam Bennett and Dougie Hamilton are going to get better as the season goes on, considering this is their first season with the Calgary Flames. A healthy Mark Giordano is another plus, as he is a top line defender. The team has way too much talent to miss the playoffs.

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks came close to a Stanley Cup appearance last year, losing to the Blackhawks in a fiercely contested Western Conference Final. Many think that last season’s success is going to lead to a Stanley Cup victory this year. However, so far this year, the Ducks have struggled to take advantage of a weak division.

They sit in sixth place right now in the Pacific Division, behind Arizona, Los Angeles and Edmonton. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry both have one point in five games. Ryan Kesler has been shutout and has not gelled with his line mates well in the early going. The loss of Francois Beauchemin can be felt on a defense that gave up four goals to Arizona.

Prediction: Win an Easy Pacific Division

Despite how bad they have played, they are only five points behind San Jose and Vancouver and have one more game to play. Their stars Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler will produce, as they are a few of the most established veterans in the NHL. The fact that only one team ahead of them in the division made the playoffs last year gives the Ducks a reason to believe that they could be sitting atop the division soon.