Slow starts can devour teams with true playoff hopes

	For Brian Rolston (center) and his Wild teammates, each point harvested in October will likely bear playoff fruit next April. Jim Mone/AP
	MAILBAG Submit a comment or question for Allan. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Minutes after Minnesota defeated Columbus on Saturday to run its season-opening streak to 5-0, Wild forward Brian Rolston spoke to the assembled media. "You don't win the Stanley Cup in October, or even make the playoffs," he said. "But it's a good start."

Rolston was half right.

It used to be that pronouncements of doom and gloom  -- or impending playoff glory  -- two weeks into the season were written off as knee-jerk reactions to blips that would even out over the course of 82 games.

That was then. This is parity.

In today's NHL, the four or five games a team coughs up while trying to "find itself" in October could be the eight or 10 points that separates it from a berth in a tightly-contested playoff race in April. Similarly, the extra points pocketed now in a fast start could pay huge dividends when home ice advantage or a division title is on the line.

No one will clinch a spot this month, but teams have to drop the "it's early" crutch. What can't be overlooked is that these games are worth the same two points now as they are in the season's final month. They only seem more important later on because of the early opportunities that were squandered.

Take the Thrashers. Atlanta started off ice cold in 2005-06, winning just three of its first 11, then raced to the finish line, losing just two of its final 10. Which stretch had a greater bearing on Atlanta missing the franchise's first playoff berth by just two points?

Ottawa, on the other hand, captured 13 of its first 15 games, racking up the points that allowed it enough breathing room to hold on for the Eastern Conference crown despite winning just three of its final 13.

Atlanta has reversed its early fortunes this season, storming out of the gate at 4-1-1. The Thrashers are still scoring plenty of goals -- 20 so far -- but they have allowed just 11, thanks in particular to a penalty-kill that's humming along at 92.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the Senators are 2-3, including 0-3 at the Corel Centre. Despite the loss of Zdeno Chara and Dominik Hasek, Ottawa's defense has been reasonably sound, allowing 14 goals. But after lighting the lamp 21 times in the first five games of last season, the high-powered Sens offense has accounted for just 10 this season, tied for worst in the conference. And the power play, one of the league's most lethal last season, is 1 for 30 in 2006-07 as coach Bryan Murray struggles to find a formula for success before the team adds to its total of one-goal losses.

No one's suggesting the Sens will struggle to earn a postseason bid, but their quest to repeat as Northeast Division champs isn't off to a strong start, especially when you look at the 5-0 start by the Sabres, a team that is going about its business as efficiently as it did towards the end of last season.

Buffalo hasn't been the best team on the ice each night -- it was outshot 43-17 by Detroit on Friday night, for example -- and has earned three W's thanks to the shootout. That may raise questions for some, but what the Sabres are showing is the makings of a great team. They simply find a way to win.

Compare Buffalo's early results to those of the Bruins, a team that has playoff aspirations after cleaning house both on and off the ice, but found a variety of ways to lose four of its first five, including coughing up a two-goal lead to the Blues with three minutes left. The Bruins meet the Flames in Boston's home opener on Thursday, a game that now has significance for both teams. Calgary's won just two of its first five, but more important, has scored a league-low nine goals in the process, this after adding proven scorer Alex Tanguay to bolster the offense. Both teams have something to prove to themselves.

Meanwhile, the Stars, like the Wild, are making hay with a 5-0 start in the West. In the tightly packed Pacific Division, the Stars have picked up six early points against divisional opponents. The Sharks have been nearly as impressive at 4-1 to keep pace. It might not seem like much now, but check back in April and see if these points amounted to anything.

The calendar says October, so clearly it's not time for panic or elation, just yet. But the clock is ticking...louder for some teams than others.