from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

We deconstruct first-half developments and search the crystal ball to predict what may lie ahead:

Three discouraging setbacks

1. After finishing first in the Atlantic Division last season with the best regular-season performance in franchise history, the Florida Panthers stumbled out of the gate amid injuries to some key players and made coach Gerard Gallant the fall guy. Officially, Gallant was fired in the hopes of changing the franchise’s “direction,” making Florida one of the first teams to plot a downward trajectory.

2. After finishing in the middle of the Pacific Division pack last season, the Arizona Coyotes – under the 27-year-old advanced stats guru, general manager John Chayka – plunged to the bottom of the standing. Unlike Florida, the Coyotes are still running the numbers, trying to figure out why.

3. After missing all but one playoff game last spring recovering from a blood clot near his right collarbone, the luckless Steven Stamkos – 17 games (and 20 points) into his eight-year contract extension – tore a ligament in his right knee and could miss most of the rest of the regular season. This latest run of misfortune came three years after a broken leg forced him to miss 45 games, plus the Olympics, in 2013-14.

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