Each week, theScore looks at the teams, players, and other hockey figures trending upward and taking a step back.

▲ The Oilers

We knew they'd be better this season, but few saw it happening this quickly.

More than 90 percent of the schedule has yet to be played, but through seven games, the Edmonton Oilers sit atop the Western Conference at 6-1-0.

They're riding a four-game win streak after spoiling Winnipeg's Heritage Classic party over the weekend and stunning last season's Presidents' Trophy winners, the Washington Capitals, on Wednesday night. It's amazing what a healthy Connor McDavid and a locked-in goaltender can do.

Regression is inevitable, but Edmonton fans can't be blamed for having fun with the club's hot start.

Whether they're for real or simply an early-season mirage, there's reason for optimism in Oil Country.

▼ Frederik Andersen

This isn't what the Toronto Maple Leafs had in mind when they acquired their No. 1 goaltender from the Anaheim Ducks.

Andersen has allowed 22 goals in five games, surrendering four or more in four of the five contests and coughing up seven in an embarrassing loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

He was due for an adjustment period after moving from a low-key hockey market to a pressure-cooker and becoming the unquestioned starter for the first time in his career, but his early returns with the Leafs have been concerning.

Andersen hasn't had much help in front of him, and that was to be expected from one of the youngest teams in the NHL, but he's better than this.

▲ Shea Weber

Now this is how you silence the critics.

The supposedly inferior piece in the controversial P.K. Subban trade is doing everything he can to quiet the doubters, and he's making a significant statement in the early going.

Weber scored a late game-winner doing what he does best - blasting the living daylights out of the puck - on Wednesday night, leading the Montreal Canadiens to a victory over the New York Islanders.

His six assists and nine points have him tied for third among all NHL skaters, and he's logging just under 26 minutes per game - a workload only seven players have exceeded so far.

▼ The Blackhawks' paltry penalty kill

The Chicago Blackhawks are allowing power-play goals at an astounding rate.

Sure, it's only been seven games, but the Blackhawks have somehow conceded twice the amount of power-play goals as the next-closest teams, the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche.

Chicago's 46.1 percent kill rate is ugly, especially considering the majority of the damage has come on home ice.

The Blackhawks have killed only nine of 18 opposing power plays at the United Center, and they've given up five goals on eight man-advantage opportunities on the road.

It's still too soon to make drastic changes, but the NHL's modern dynasty is in trouble.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Washington Capitals are in unfamiliar territory.

Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the first-place Edmonton Oilers marked the first time in 19 months the Capitals have lost back-to-back games in regulation, and the club is aiming to quickly rebound.

"Hockey is testing us right now a bit, which is good," netminder Braden Holtby told Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post. "I think a little bit of adversity never hurts to build a team."

Washington hardly struggled last season, coasting to the Presidents' Trophy before a second-round elimination at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Capitals didn't play particularly badly versus the Oilers, outshooting Edmonton 35-29, but the loss created a peculiar feeling among the team nonetheless as Washington sits 3-2-1 on the season.

"Guys need to do their jobs," defenseman Matt Niskanen said. "It was a little uncomfortable in here tonight after the game. So, we'll regroup."

Washington continues its western road trip Saturday against Vancouver.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Follow theScore's fantasy feed on Twitter (@theScoreFantasy) for the latest news, features and more. And download Squad Up, theScore's free-to-win-money sports game.

Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Thursday, October 27:

Triple Threat

• C Tyler Seguin (70K), LW Jamie Benn (54K) & RW Patrick Eaves (25K), Stars (at Jets): These three come together on the team's top power play unit. While the Stars have struggled with the man advantage so far, converting only four times on 25 chances, the goal-scoring upside is still huge. Eaves offers inexpensive opportunity to hit the scoresheet by virtue of playing with Benn.

• C Aleksander Barkov (52K), RW Jaromir Jagr (40K) & D Aaron Ekblad, Panthers (at Maple Leafs): The bargain line stack of the day features the visiting Panthers in Toronto. Neither Barkov nor Jagr have looked as dynamic as a year ago, though Barkov has five points in six games. Only the Calgary Flames have allowed more goals than Toronto.

• C Claude Giroux (62K), RW Wayne Simmons (60K) & D Shayne Gostisbehere (48K), Flyers (vs. Coyotes): Philadelphia's top line may sway toward contrarian because of the capital invested, but the traveling Coyotes relying on backup netminder Louis Domingue are not in a good position. Arizona is a NHL-worst minus-9 in goal differential.

Goalie Breakdown

• TARGET/BARGAIN - Devan Dubnyk (75K), Wild (at Sabres): Despite starting on the road, Dubnyk's low salary and overall excellent play to start the season (2.01 GAA, .929 SV%) are enough to warrant confidence against a Sabres team that has managed to score only 14 goals though five games.

• FADE - Marc-Andre Fleury (110K), Penguins (vs. Islanders): The Islanders suffered a hard-luck home loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, unable to convert on their opportunities. Expect a different showing Thursday night. Fleury is the most expensive goalie on the slate against a team featuring some solid firepower.

• CONTRARIAN - Steve Mason (100K), Flyers (vs. Coyotes): Somehow, Mason is the next most expensive option. The Flyers have not exactly shone in net, but Mason did relieve Michal Neuvirth on Tuesday, stopping all eight shots he faced to pick up the win against Buffalo. Favored to win, even if he isn't sharp, Mason should do enough against the Coyotes.

Bargain Plays

• LW Jaden Schwartz (25K), Blues (vs. Red Wings): Schwartz has been doomed with injuries on a seemingly rotating basis and has only managed a solo assist through three games. This will not last. He's paired on a line with star scorer Vladimir Tarasenko and sees a bulk of the team's power play minutes. This savings allows spending big elsewhere.

• RW Cal Clutterbuck (26K) Islanders (at Penguins): Producing above his head with four points in seven games, Clutterbuck could easily come up empty. He's fourth among Islanders forwards in ice time, and he doesn't skate on the power play. He's a 5v5 machine and opportunity increases his chances at converting against a shaky Fleury.

• D Mattias Ekholm (25K), Predators (at Kings): Ekholm tallied 35 points in 82 games in 2015-16. While he isn't going to light the lamp with regularity, Ekholm is P.K. Subban's primary partner, offering greater scoring exposure, while also seeing plenty of time anchoring the power play.

Top Fades

• C Auston Matthews (88K), Maple Leafs (vs. Panthers): There will be growing pains for Matthews, and despite the home game, his price tag is too high against G Roberto Luongo. He has been held without a point only once, but there are too many options with better matchups on Thursday night to sink this much budget into the rookie.

• LW Tanner Pearson (55K), Kings (vs. Predators): Pearson's scoring comes with suspicion. He has scored on 36.4 percent of the shots he's taken, which is well above league average. With four goals, he is set to shatter his previous season-high of 15 set last season. He shot only 10.9 percent last season. Expect a correction.

• D Brent Burns (97K), Sharks (vs. Blue Jackets): The most offensively-viable defenseman this side of Erik Karlsson is absurdly expensive. He needs a multi-point effort to truly be worth rostering, and though the Blue Jackets seem like the obvious streaming opponent, G Sergei Bobrovsky has a .929 save percentage through five starts.

Contrarian Options

• C Steven Stamkos (78K), Lightning (at Canadiens): Canadiens G Carey Price got the night off on Wednesday and will be back between the pipes on Thursday. That should be enough to ease the Stamkos hype machine. Take him in tournaments as it's one of the few times he'll be largely faded.

• LW Max Pacioretty (54K), Canadiens (vs. Lightning): With everyone from Paul Byron to Phillip Danault getting goals for the Canadiens, Pacioretty has somewhat underperformed having scored only once through seven games. His five assists are second on the team, but that's hardly enough. He's a perennial 30-goal scorer currently lost in his team's shuffle. A multi-point showing is coming.

• RW Nikolaj Ehlers (44K), Jets (vs. Stars): Ehlers, and every line but the Jets' top trio, has stumbled out of the gate. The risk that Ehlers will come up empty once again creates reasonable doubt, but he's typically paired with Mathieu Perreault and Drew Stafford, who are superior to their paltry totals thus far. They need to take more shots to generate more scoring chances.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak will have a hearing Friday for a headshot on New York Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced.

Here's the hit, which took place Wednesday night:

Girardi went through concussion protocol after the incident but returned to action.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Hampus Lindholm's holdout is over.

The Anaheim Ducks have agreed to a six-year contract extension with the defenseman worth $5.25 million per season, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

Lindholm reportedly needs to obtain a work visa, which could take as long as two weeks. He's now signed through 2021-22, but the Ducks need to make a move to get under the salary cap.

The 22-year-old became a restricted free agent this summer and hasn't played a game this season.

McKenzie reported earlier in October that the club wanted to sign Lindholm to a six-year deal at less than $5.4 million per season (Rasmus Ristolainen's deal with the Buffalo Sabres) and the blue-liner wanted more.

In his third season with Anaheim, Lindholm ranked second behind Cam Fowler among Ducks skaters in average time on ice, collecting 28 points in 80 games.

The Ducks selected Lindholm sixth overall in 2012.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators' dream of hosting an outdoor game on Parliament Hill in 2017 has some opposition.

While the imagery of the country's national sport being showcased at the iconic setting, with snowflakes gently falling as a multitude of joyous fans brave the cold winter elements to watch a good ol' hockey game paints a pretty picture, NDP MP Peter Julian has concerns over the logistics of it all.

"The idea, on the surface, is interesting, but there are some real broad concerns and those concerns need to be addressed, I think, before the idea could move forward," Julian said, according to Joanne Chianello of CBC News.

"The public may have some concerns about the possibility of taxpayers' money going to subsidize an event, where ticket prices are $300 or $400 a pop, which is certainly not accessible to most Canadian families," Julian added.

The Senators are pushing hard for the event, stating it would be a perfect celebration of the club's 25th anniversary, as well as the 150th anniversary of Canada itself.

However, Julian believes, one way or another, the spectacle would eventually cost the taxpayers.

"An event of this nature involves so many moving pieces, that it's quite likely that there will be some money coming from the taxpayer. So it would be helpful to know what exactly that amount is," Julian said.

"How much will taxpayers be paying for this symbolism?"

As it turns out, the Senators may face an uphill battle turning this concept into a reality.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Alex Ovechkin made a young fan's night in Edmonton on Tuesday.

Prior to an eventual 4-1 loss to the Oilers - in which he scored the lone goal for the Washington Capitals - the great goal scorer offered one of his sticks after it came to his attention that a kid in the stands was wearing his jersey.

A friendly exchange that won't soon be forgotten by the new stick bearer.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.