Were just over a week into the NHL season and while many of the stories sweeping the league have been the strong starts from teams we didn't expect, we have also seen the complete opposite.

Related: 3 teams off to surprisingly good starts

Clubs such as the Vegas Golden Knights and New Jersey Devils are off to perfect 3-0-0 starts, while reigning Atlantic Division champs, the Montreal Canadiens, are struggling just to score a couple goals a game.

It's too early to say any team's poor start will result in missing the playoffs, but still, these five teams are struggling out of the gate and very few expected it.

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens can't score, it's as simple as that.

Through four games the club has gone 1-3-0, while managing a league-low five goals, despite averaging 38.8 shots per game. Brendan Gallagher is the lone Canadien to manage more than a single point on the season (one goal and one assist).

It doesn't help that Carey Price hasn't been his usual self, either. Through the first four games he's rocking a 3.30 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage.

The Canadiens have a minus-8 goals differential, the second-worst in the league. The team needs more goals and to allow fewer, which is easier said than done with its current roster.

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins might only be 1-2-0 on the season, but it's troubling that both their losses have come at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.

Sure the Avalanche are off to a strong start, but after they put up the worst record in the salary cap era last season, Bruins fans likely expected at least a split in their home-and-home series.

The Bruins have just seven goals through three games, while Tuukka Rask has been underwhelming, posting a 3.75 GAA and a .870 save percentage.

Having Patrice Bergeron sidelined by an injury doesn't help, but the Bruins should still be able to put up a better effort than they have early on.

Dallas Stars

After adding Ben Bishop and Alexander Radulov in the offseason, many penciled the Dallas Stars into a playoff position. However, through four games the Stars haven't gotten off on the right foot.

The club has gone 1-3-0 and are averaging two goals per game while allowing an average of three - not a winning formula.

Luckily for the Stars, they play the Avalanche twice, the Arizona Coyotes twice, and the Vancouver Canucks once before the end of the month. Of course nothing is certain - as the Bruins have learned - but these games should provide an opportunity for the Stars to get back on track.

New York Rangers

Through four games the New York Rangers are also off to a 1-3-0 start. They have shown that their potential to be great is there, but the goaltending remains a question mark.

The Rangers have scored 10 goals in four games and showed resiliency against the Toronto Maple Leafs after falling behind 5-1 and rallying to tie the game before ultimately conceding to an 8-5 loss.

Related: Why the Rangers' goaltending woes are destined to continue

The club has also lost to the Avalanche and its lone win came against the struggling Canadiens. The Rangers can certainly get things back on track, but they will need to figure out their issues in net first.

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are among the oddsmakers' favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season, but the club has had a bit of a hiccup to start the year.

The Oilers are 1-2-0, having dropped their last two games against the Canucks and the Winnipeg Jets after shutting out the Calgary Flames 3-0 in their season-opener.

They've given up just eight goals, but have failed to do much offensively, tallying just seven of their own - of course, Connor McDavid has three of those.

The Oilers are averaging just under 40 shots per game, so some better puck-luck and secondary scoring should correct things.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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Ken Hitchcock is in uncomfortable territory.

The Dallas Stars bench boss tied Al Arbour for third in all-time wins with a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. But the mention of his name alongside the Hall of Fame coach doesn't sit well with Hitchcock.

"I don't really know why, but I don't feel good," Hitchcock told Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. "I felt he was a special human being and a special coach. He was a guy that I could relate to, so it doesn't feel great, to be honest with you.

"We all got our lunch handed to us by Scotty (Bowman), but Al was more of a measuring stick for us. Scotty was rarified air at the time, but Al was a guy we got to talk to and meet."

The victory gave Hitchcock 782 wins, and while a loss followed in the next game, he has another opportunity to take sole possession of third place on Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche.

After six years behind the bench of the St. Louis Blues, Hitchcock returned to Dallas this season, his former stomping grounds, and a franchise which he led to a Stanley Cup championship in 1999. He is out to turn the trick again this season, and while that can't happen until June, Hitchcock will continue to climb the coaching ranks in the meantime.

Next up? Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville, who has 854 career wins to his name.

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The new rule governing lost offside challenges cost the Chicago Blackhawks in a loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night, and coach Joel Quenneville was not happy about it.

"It's gotten to a different level," Quenneville told reporters postgame, via the Chicago Sun-Times' Mark Lazerus.

"I don't know the rules anymore or something's changed, because my understanding, (having) played a lot of hockey, (was) that … I don't know. I think everybody has an interpretation (of) what's a good goal and what's a bad goal, but I can't believe it," he added before throwing up his hands and walking out of the room.

Here's the video evidence of the end of Quenneville's presser:

So what was Quenneville so upset about?

Chris Stewart scored to give the Wild a 2-1 lead midway through the third period, and the Blackhawks bench boss challenged the play hoping Minnesota forward Jason Zucker would be deemed offside carrying the puck in before setting up Stewart for the go-ahead marker.

(Courtesy: NHL.com)

But the goal call was upheld, and because of the NHL's new policy of assessing a penalty against the team that loses an offside challenge, the Wild went on a power play as a result. Zucker scored on the man advantage to make it 3-1 for Minnesota. Stewart followed that with another goal, and the Wild cruised to a 5-2 victory.

The NHL offered an official explanation postgame, citing Rule 83.1, which states, in part:

"If a player legally carries or passes the puck back into his own defending zone while a player of the opposing team is in such defending zone, the off-side shall be ignored and play permitted to continue."

This is the first season the league is penalizing teams for failed offside challenges.

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With a 37-save effort Thursday versus the St. Louis Blues, Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo climbed into a tie with Curtis Joseph for fourth place on the all-time wins list at 454.

In his 18th season, Luongo, 38, accomplished the feat in his 967th game. The only goalies ahead of him on the all-time list are Hall of Famers Ed Belfour (484), Patrick Roy (551), while Martin Brodeur (691) will be a shoo-in for the Hall once he's eligible.

Luongo can gain sole possession of fourth place Saturday night versus Pittsburgh.

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Carolina Hurricanes president Don Waddell isn't pushing the panic button just yet despite a dwindling number of fans in attendance at games.

The Hurricanes played to a 2-1 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in front of a crowd of just 7,892 people Tuesday. It's a startling number and comes after the Hurricanes saw the league's worst attendance figures last season.

However, Waddell disputes the numbers, insisting it all comes down to money in the end.

"We're not last in the league in attendance," Waddell said, according to Chip Alexander of the News Observer. "You guys can publish (attendance) reports, but I go by dollars. So we're not last.

"Nobody is happy where we are, no doubt. We also have to continue to keep moving all the elements forward. If we can do that, I think attendance is going to pick up with that."

Waddell has focused his efforts on season tickets and after distributing a survey to season-ticket holders, decided to limit the number of discounted tickets to increase the value of season seats. The move has struck a blow to attendance figures.

If there is a bright side to the Hurricanes' attendance conundrum it's that the season opener against the Minnesota Wild last week did sell out, so fans aren't completely ignoring the club.

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The Calgary Flames were one of the most active clubs this offseason and after jumping out to a 3-1-0 record in the first week of the new season, their biggest risk - acquiring goaltender Mike Smith - looks to be paying off.

After a disappointing exit from the playoffs last season - a four-game sweep at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks - the Flames understood that once again they would need to address their biggest crutch, goaltending.

This was the same logic coming off the 2015 campaign after the goaltending carousel of Karri Ramo, Joni Ortio, and Jonas Hiller that led to the signings of Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson.

Elliott and Johnson ultimately failed to give the Flames the confidence they'd been searching for between the pipes since the departure of Miikka Kiprusoff. Despite each going through periods of consistent play, both would always regress back to their normal selves.

In the end, Elliott put up a 26-18-3 record with a 2.55 GAA (23rd among goalies) and a .910 save percentage (tied for 32nd). Meanwhile, Johnson went 18-15-1 with a 2.59 (24th) GAA and a .910 save percentage.

Elliott manned the net in the playoffs where he was even worse, posting a 3.89 GAA and a .880 save percentage.

So this offseason Brad Treliving and Co. made the decision to "upgrade" by acquiring Smith from the Arizona Coyotes for Johnson, prospect Brandon Hickey, and a conditional draft pick.

It seemed like an odd move given that Smith had posted a 2.92 GAA (43rd among goalies) and a save percentage of .914 - only slightly better than both Elliott and Johnson.

However, if you look at last season's stats you'll see Smith faced 1,819 shots, the sixth most in the league, and subsequently turned away the sixth-most shots, averaging 34 saves per 60 minutes. Furthermore, the Coyotes allowed the second-most shots against per game (34.1) and had the worst Corsi-against per 60 minutes with a 61.72 mark.

Fast forward to this season and through four games it would look as if the Flames' front office knew exactly what it was doing all along.

Smith has been the Flames' best player putting up a 2.00 GAA, a .950 save percentage, while adding a shutout. In those games, he has made over 40 saves three times and has already faced 160 shots - a league high.

Following Wednesday night's game against the Kings, head coach Glen Gulutzan noted that the Flames are relying too heavily on the play of Smith.

It means the team has more in the tank up front, but it's also an insinuation that the team has a newfound trust in a position that's long been an area of concern.

To the Flames' brass, this reward was certainly worth the risk

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

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Philadelphia Flyers founder Ed Snider will be immortalized in the form of a nine-foot bronze statue outside of the Wells Fargo Center, the team announced Thursday.

Snider founded the Flyers in 1967 and owned the franchise until his death in 2016. He witnessed Stanley Cup victories in 1974 and 1975.

The statue will be revealed Oct. 19 prior to a game against the Nashville Predators - on the 50th anniversary of the Flyers' first-ever game.

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