The Pittsburgh Penguins weren't supposed to be this good.

The Penguins were supposed to be a team in upheaval, experiencing some growing pains as they started the 2014-15 campaign with a new coach, new GM, and several new faces on the player roster.  They were expected to falter a bit from their stellar 2013-14 season. They were expected to suffer in offense with the loss of James Neal and Jussi Jokinen. They were expected to...well, you get the point.

Penguin Domination

The Penguins have completed their first eleven games with an 8-2-1 record, and sit atop the Metropolitan Division with 17 points, three points ahead of the New Jersey Devils. Sidney Crosby leads the league in scoring with 19 points. There are four Penguins in the top ten of the scoring race...Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist, and Chris Kunitz. Marc-Andre Fleury sits tied for first in the league with shutouts with three. The Penguins have the league's deadliest power play, striking at a 41.3% efficiency ranking, far and away the best percentage in the league. They have won their last five games.

Pittsburgh On A Roll

After losing two in a row early in the season--a 5-3 decision to Philadelphia on October 22 and giving up a two goal lead late to Detroit to lose 4-3 in overtime on October 23--the Penguins haven't looked back. Their roll began with a 3-0 win over the Nashville Predators two days after the Detroit loss. They followed that up with an 8-3 drubbing of their division rivals from New Jersey, a shutout of the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings, a 5-0 shutout of the Buffalo Sabres, and a convincing 4-1 win over the  Minnesota Wild. If there was any doubt about this year's roster, they should be erased.

Penguin Firepower

Hornqvist (picked up from Nashville in the Neal trade) has more than filled Neal's shoes. He has added a gritty element to the Penguins, in addition to scoring on a regular basis. New head coach Mike Johnston did the unthinkable...he split up the Kunitz-Crosby-Pascal Dupuis line and inserted Hornqvist in Dupuis' spot. The results have been nothing short of magnificent. Crosby, Kunitz, and Hornqvist have amassed 48 points in 11 games.

Fleury seems to have regained his form early on. He sits with a 7-2-0 record, a 1.89 Goals-Against-Average, three shutouts, and .931 save percentage..all elite numbers.

Keeping It Going

Of course, it is early in the season, but the first eleven games have been a fun ride for the Penguins and their fans. Barring any major disasters, there is little reason to believe the Penguins cannot keep this up. They are playing like a team on a mission...a stark contrast to the pre-season predictions of doom and gloom. All the new additions are proving their worth, and there is a renewed sense of fun around the Penguins' game. The game is fun again.

The Penguins' next challenger comes on November 6, when they travel to the MTS Center in Winnipeg to take on the Jets.

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About the author
Justin Halbersma
With over 15 years' experience in sports writing, Justin loves to write, chat, and debate anything hockey. An avid fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Justin lives in Nova Scotia with his wife Emily and two cats.