In retrospect, maybe they were all just being nice.

Much was made in the first few weeks of the season about the slow starts for teams projected to be among the best in the league. The Maple Leafs' record through the first seven games was 2-4-1, the Golden Knights started 1-4-0, and the Avalanche began 2-4-0 with only one regulation win. Even the Islanders started with a few losses.

In the last 10 days or so, though, things have turned around notably: Toronto is on a five-game winning streak with consecutive wins over Vegas, Tampa, and Boston. Vegas has five wins from the last seven games (admittedly, they lost to Detroit last night).

Colorado is 2-1-1 in the last four, though yes, the last two games were losses in a home-and-home with Columbus of all the teams in the league. The Islanders ju