The 2024-2025 NHL season has officially been a month old. After four weeks of the regular season, the Winnipeg Jets remain atop the league standings while Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild leads the scoring charts. Let’s dive into some of the lessons learned from the fourth week of NHL action.

The NHL season kicked off with the annual Global Series games in Czechia between the New Jersey Devils and the Buffalo Sabres. These two games were a great way to start the year, but it was the Global Series games in Tampere, Finland that showed just how valuable these games are to the league and the sport.

The Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars faced off in back-to-back contests, and it simultaneously felt like a series of celebrations and playoffs rolled into one. The Finnish players were rockstars in their home country, as the Panthers captain points out. Alexander Barkov recording five points in front of his hometown crowd.

There have been some incredible goalkeepers so far this season, but it seems like some teams are forgetting that it is highly recommended to play defense in front of your goalkeeper to prevent goals. There are currently 10 teams allowing an average of 3.33 goals or more per game. Four teams – the Colorado Avalanche, The Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks average 3.77 goals allowed or more per game. The Avalanche and Canadiens are the two most porous defenses in the league at the end of week four of the regular season, with the Habs allowing 4.08 and the Avalanche allowing 4.25 goals against per game.

THE Carolina Hurricanes had an impressive week, extending their winning streak to six games. They defeated another red-hot team, the Washington Capitals, the Vancouver Canucks, and completely destroyed the struggling Boston Bruins. They are 8-2 and trail the New York Rangers by a single point for the lead in the Metropolitan Division.

Be sure to bookmark Breakaway OnSI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!