One of the most successful and dominant hockey teams of the past few years is offering support to its baseball counterparts.
The Chicago Blackhawks were seen wearing Cubs jerseys before embarking on a flight to New Jersey for Thursday's game against the Devils.
Blackhawks' players have been at the forefront of the Cubs' World Series run, with Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook attending Game 2 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."
The Cubs are looking to break a championship drought of over 100 years, but the same can't be said about the Blackhawks, as the team has won three Stanley Cups in eight years.
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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Friday, October 28:
Triple Threat
LW Gabriel Landeskog (53K), C Matt Duchene (70K), RW Jarome Iginla (46K), Avalanche (vs. Jets): The Avalanche are still struggling with possession numbers, even with Patrick Roy no longer directing the offense. The top trio owns a 5v5 Corsi For percentage of 51.55. They hold a narrow advantage over the Jets' top threesome centered by Mark Scheifele.
LW Andrew Cogliano (37K), C Ryan Kesler (55K), RW Jakob Silfverberg (51K), Ducks (vs. Blue Jackets): The Blue Jackets have one top-tier possession line, with it being the first trio of C Alexander Wennberg and Ws Brandon Saad and Nick Foligno. The Ducks are without C Ryan Getzlaf, handicapping their top line. Focus on L2.
LW Benoit Pouliot (36K), C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (44K), RW Zack Kassian (27K), Oilers (at Canucks): The depth of the Oilers and Canucks will be tested Friday night, with relatively evenly matched top lines potentially coming to a draw. The Oilers' third line contains more raw skill, and their poor 42.31 CF% is actually better than that of their opponent's.
Goalie Breakdown
TARGET - Cam Talbot (102K), Oilers (at Canucks): After a poor start to the season in which he allowed 13 goals over the first three games, Talbot has held his past four opponents to just four goals. The Canucks have been held to two or fewer goals in four of six games and are coming off a shutout loss to the Ottawa Senators.
BARGAIN - Michael Hutchinson (75K), Jets (at Avalanche): Hutchinson has made three starts this season, allowing a total of 11 goals and no less than three in any one. Only eight teams are allowing more shots against per game than the Jets, leading to a likely boost in Colorado's rate of 25.2 SOG/G.
FADE - Henrik Lundqvist (97K), Rangers (at Hurricanes): Carolina is the third-ranked Corsi For team in the NHL, owning 53.55 percent of 5v5 possession. Lundqvist has won each of his past three starts, but he has allowed no less than two goals in any of his six starts. Carolina will play their home opener after six road games to open the season.
CONTRARIAN - Corey Crawford (75K), Blackhawks (at Devils): Crawford has opened the season 1-3-1, allowing three or more goals in four of the five games. New Jersey ranks 29th in goals per game, but they rank 11th in shots per game. They've done the majority of their scoring at home, totaling nine goals in three contests.
Bargain Plays
C Zack Smith (27K), Senators (at Flames): Smith has registered at least three shots on goal in three of his six games, including a season-high four his last time out. The Senators as a team rank third in the league with 33.0 shots for per game. Smith features on an Ottawa power play which hasn't yet scored, but they'll have chances against a Flames team leading the league in minor penalties.
LW Joakim Nordstrom (25K), Hurricanes (vs. Rangers): Nordstrom is a major beneficiary of a recent line juggling for the Hurricanes, as he has moved up to the second line at 5v5 with C Jordan Staal and RW Sebastian Aho. He doesn't yet feature on a power-play unit, but he still averages 14:47 in ice time.
RW Jesse Puljujarvi (25K), Oilers (at Canucks): Playing mostly on the second line at 5v5 and on the second power-play unit, Puljujarvi has yet to top 13 minutes in ice time in a single game. He has still managed to tally seven shots on goal over his past two games, with one assist.
Top Fades
C Connor McDavid (81K), Oilers (at Canucks): The Canucks allow just 25.2 shots per game while at home, making this one of few times to consider leaving the NHL's scoring leader alone. His salary is relatively modest, but he'll still need multiple points or a nearly 10 SOG in order to return adequate value. The Oilers have enough offensive depth to allow for salary savings.
LW Brandon Saad (58K), Blue Jackets (at Ducks): Saad has points in back-to-back games for the first time this season, but he has a total of just two shots. Ducks G John Gibson will be the best the Blue Jackets have faced so far this season, and the top line will go head-to-head with the Ducks' line of RW Corey Perry.
RW Blake Wheeler (66K), Jets (at Avalanche): Wheeler's line will match up directly with the top line from Colorado, the only one worth avoiding. Wheeler has just one assist in his past four games, while his ice time has been dwindling each time out.
Contrarian Options
C Jonathan Toews (51K), Blackhawks (at Devils): Toews has zero goals and two assists through his first seven games, as he gets off to yet another slow offensive start. His time hasn't varied, as he has topped 23 minutes in each of his past three games. The Devils are starting backup G Keith Kinkaid Friday, offering a much easier matchup than Cory Schneider.
LW Mike Hoffman (50K), Senators (at Flames): Hoffman has fallen into a tie for 20th in shots on goal for the season, and he still remains without a goal. Calgary allows over 29 SOG per game, and they rank 26th in the league with a 3.63 goals allowed per game.
RW Nikolaj Ehlers (44K), Jets (at Avalanche): Ehlers' ice time dropped to a season-low 13:52 in Winnipeg's most recent game, but he still managed to tally his second assist of the season, despite not registering a shot on goal for the second time this year. He should be more involved in the offense in a high-pace game in Colorado.
Forget about the puck. Who needs the puck? It's overrated.
As October reaches its conclusion, it's always fun - depending on what your definition of "fun" is, of course - to look at some early season puck-possession numbers. And through almost 10 percent of the schedule, some first-place clubs are winning despite playing without the rubber.
Shall we?
Team
Corsi For
League Rank
Position
Canadiens
49.39%
16th
1st (Atlantic)
Oilers
47.51%
22nd
1st (Pacific)
Senators
47.35%
24th
3rd (Atlantic)
Canucks
47.03%
25th
3rd (Pacific)
Wild
46.55%
26th
1st (Central)
Red Wings
44.71%
29th
2nd (Atlantic)
(All statistics are at five-on-five and courtesy of Corsica Hockey)
Goaltending matters
To no surprise, goaltending is playing a huge part in the early success of a number of teams. The dudes in the crease can and are stealing games.
Team
Save%
Rank
Canadiens
.951
1st
Red Wings
.932
3rd
Oilers
.927
4th
Wild
.921
5th
Canucks
.918
6th
The Ottawa Senators are the outliers. They're a poor possession team and are getting zero from their goalies (.888 save percentage as a team, 24th in the NHL).
Waves
As in any sport, luck is involved, and teams atop the standings at the moment are riding the PDO wave. For the innocent, PDO is the sum total of a team's five-on-five shooting and save percentages, and most teams ultimately regress to 100.
Team
PDO
Rank
Canadiens
105.76
2nd
Wild
105.68
3rd
Red Wings
105.26
4th
Oilers
103.48
5th
Enjoy the calm waters. They don't always last.
Puck me
The top possession teams, meanwhile, are the usual suspects, and some of the NHL's best.
Rank
Team
Corsi For
1
Kings
58.14%
2
Sharks
55.08%
3
Hurricanes
56.36%
4
Capitals
53.40%
5
Bruins
53.24%
6
Panthers
52.95%
7
Blues
52.90%
8
Maple Leafs
52.62%
9
Blackhawks
52.22%
10
Penguins
52.09%
11
Lightning
52.01%
Some takeaways:
Though both missed the playoffs, the Maple Leafs and Hurricanes were positive possession teams last season.
L.A. was the league's best possession team last season - that's Darryl Sutter hockey. When you have the puck as much as the Kings do, you can get by with average goaltending.
Pittsburgh ranked second in 2015-16. The Penguins remain a formidable squad.
They're not in any of the tables, but the Nashville Predators finished fourth in the NHL at 52.47 percent last season, but are fourth-worst so far in 2016-17 at 46.41 percent. P.K. Subban's fault, obviously.
Nineteen- and 20-year-old Auston Matthews and William Nylander are leading the Maple Leafs in scoring, with 10 and nine points respectively. They've only been held off the scoresheet twice - the only games Toronto's won through seven.
The dynamic pair were held pointless Thursday against the Florida Panthers in a 3-2 win, but Mitch Marner, also a rookie, picked up the slack. Another 19-year-old, Marner had the first multi-point game of his career, recording three assists.
Marner has points in both Maple Leafs wins, a goal along with the three helpers he picked up Thursday. He's the engine.
Matthews had four shots against Florida, while Nylander had two. When they're on the ice, they're making things happen. Along with Marner.
Matthews, Nylander, and Marner are one-two-three in team scoring, while yet another rookie is tied for fourth.
Player
Points
Matthews
10
Nylander
9
Marner
6
Nikita Zaitsev
5
Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev has quickly earned the trust of Mike Babcock. He's playing 22:25 a night, second-most on the club, trailing only Morgan Rielly, and two minutes more per game than Jake Gardiner.
Zaitsev is tied with Zach Werenski and Ivan Provorov for the most points by a rookie d-man in the league.
The kids are leading the way, and Toronto's got points in five of seven games. The rebuild's going great, thanks for asking.
When Jonathan Quick suffered a significant injury in the season opener and Jeff Zatkoff went down 10 days later, the Los Angeles Kings' goaltending situation appeared dire, but it's been stabilized by an unlikely force.
On Thursday night, Jeff Carter's overtime winner gave the Kings their fourth straight victory, and Budaj earned his fourth consecutive win since taking over as the starter, after the Kings dropped their first three games to start the season.
Budaj hasn't needed to make more than 24 saves in any of the wins, and none of the victories have come in regulation, but he hasn't surrendered more than three goals in a game this season.
His .901 save percentage isn't impressive - and it's just below his career mark of .903 - but Budaj has done exactly what the team has asked him to do.
"He's played really well for us," Kings head coach Darryl Sutter told reporters postgame, according to Fox Sports West's Jon Rosen. "We don't give up much and (we) expect (him to) make - you've got to make some big saves, obviously, in the National Hockey League, but we don't give up a lot of shots."
Budaj started the season with the Kings' AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, before the injuries thrust him into the NHL spotlight again.
The 34-year-old played 60 games for the Reign last season, appearing in only one NHL game. He spent four years in the Montreal Canadiens' organization and six seasons with the Colorado Avalanche before signing with the Kings two years ago.
Los Angeles general manager Dean Lombardi expects Quick to miss about three months, and Zatkoff was placed on injured reserve after hurting his groin in practice last weekend, so the crease is likely Budaj's for the foreseeable future.
He's bound to lose eventually, and would be more convincing with at least one regulation win, but for now the veteran netminder is a welcome savior for a club that wasn't planning to depend on him to this degree.
On the Fly, theScore's NHL roundtable series, will be published every Friday throughout the season. This week, we take a look at a few teams and players that are bound to regress after starting the season red-hot.
Trouble Looming in Vancouver
Hagerman: The Vancouver Canucks shouldn't get too acquainted with their current playoff spot because they likely won't remain in it for long.
The team got off to a questionable start to say the least, jumping out to a formidable 4-0-0 record, despite never holding a lead in regulation through the first three games. However, the team has begun to show their true colors as of late.
The Canucks have lost three straight, including a 3-0 shutout loss to the Ottawa Senators. And while they still sit second in the Pacific Division with nine points, a quick look at a few stats proves just how lucky the team has been.
Goals per game (League Rank)
Shots per game (LR)
PP% (LR)
Corsi-for (LR)
2 (30th)
24.9 (30th)
12.5% (23rd)
45.2 (27th)
Painful days are coming for the Canucks who are more likely to finish with a lottery position than a playoff spot.
Through eight games, he recorded three goals and six assists for nine points (tied for third in the NHL) with a league-high plus-12 rating, while averaging almost 26 minutes a night. The team as a whole, meanwhile, has yet to lose in regulation, posting a record of 7-0-1.
At some point, however, Weber's production is bound to level off.
At present, Weber is on pace for 35 goals and 105 points, which is clearly out of the realm of possibility considering the offensively gifted Erik Karlsson has never topped 82 points.
For his career, Weber is averaging 18 goals and 48 points per every 82 games, with a shooting percentage of 8.2.
Expect numbers closer to that range when all is said and done.
Wheelin' in Motor City
O'Leary: After beginning the season with two losses, the Detroit Red Wings have reeled off six consecutive wins, but all that glitters may not be gold in Mo Town.
In all but two of Detroit's eight games, they've been out-shot, and are toward the bottom of the league in several key possession stats. The Red Wings are 26th in the NHL in shots allowed per game (33.1), and are bottom-10 in even-strength Corsi-against (59.06), to go with a bottom-three rank in Corsi-for (47.76) per 60 minutes (corsica hockey).
Both Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard have been fantastic early on in goal, frequently bailing out a struggling defensive corps. Thomas Vanek's eight points have provided most of the offense, but Henrik Zetterberg has yet to score, and Dylan Larkin has only three points. A defensive overhaul and more offense balance are imperative if the Red Wings want to carry their postseason streak to 26 years.
Time to Panik?
Gold-Smith:Richard Panik has definitely fit in well on the Chicago Blackhawks' top line, benefiting as any player would from playing alongside Jonathan Toews, but there are several reasons to believe his early production is unsustainable.
He's in a four-way tie atop the NHL goal-scoring race with six goals in seven games, but they've come on only 11 shots. Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine have the same number of goals in 30 and 23 shots on goal, respectively. There's simply no way Panik keeps scoring at a 54.5 percent clip.
The other factor is precedent. The 25-year-old has already equaled his six-goal, eight-point output from a season ago, but he's never put up more than 11 goals and 17 points in any of his four previous NHL campaigns. Panik is bound to post career highs and respectable numbers if he sticks on the top unit all season, but regression is inevitable.
The steady stream of ultra-talented rookies has the game continuing to trend toward a more free-flowing, skilled NHL. But there's one member of the freshman class still doing things old school.
The NHL's leading goal scorer, Auston Matthews, and his winger William Nylander, were held off the scoreboard during another busy Thursday night - but hockey's rookie class still offered the fireworks we've enjoyed all season.
Instead, the spotlight shifted, and two other freshmen led teams to wins with their ridiculous offensive talents.
Laine
There's the violent torque of Alex Ovechkin, and there's the patience and precision of Patrik Laine.
Instantly becoming one of the game's most dominant stationary shooters, Laine scored nearly identical goals - his fifth and sixth of the season - in the Winnipeg Jets' win over the Dallas Stars.
Here's Laine's first, fired from a little farther out than his usual spot on the power play:
He crept in a bit with his second, but still kept his head up and used little to no wind up to locate the inside of the post.
We'll jump ahead to his second helper, when he displayed his entire attacking skill set. Marner pounced on a turnover in neutral ice and created a 2-on-1 opportunity after wheeling around the painted crest. After he kicked the puck back onto his stick, it immediately transferred to the blade of James van Riemsdyk, who converted in tight.
Marner's third really depends on how much credit you're willing to give him. But regardless, it's some highlight.
Turning back to collect the puck on a broken play, Marner swept it around his body and through the crease, somehow evading a maze of sticks and skates to land perfectly on Tyler Bozak's blade at the far post.
