Last season Calgary Flames Hats Authentic , the Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils were two of the biggest surprises in the National Hockey League, each ending droughts by reaching the Stanley Cup playoffs.Neither team is going to sneak up on anyone this season, yet both are off to strong starts heading into their first meeting of 2018-19 on Thursday night at Prudential Center.The Devils (4-0-0) are the only NHL team not to have lost a game so far. The Avalanche (3-1-2) are playing well despite losing two straight.Article continues below ...“It’s a challenge playing these guys,” Devils center Brian Boyle said. “They’re a lot like us — young, fast, hungry. It should be a good game.”New Jersey is outscoring the opposition by a dominating 17-4 through four games. Goalie Keith Kinkaid already has two shutouts, including Tuesday’s 3-0 win over the Dallas Stars, and he owns a sparkling .961 save percentage to go along with a 1.00 goals-against average.“He’s just taken that net and owned every part of it,” Devils defenseman Will Butcher told the team’s website. “He’s taken a huge step in his game.”Kinkaid is not alone, though, in the Devils’ early-season success. Kyle Palmieri scored the opening goal in all four games this season, and has seven through four games. Jean-Sebastien Dea has three goals in four games.Eight players have three points or more, including four defensemen. The team has killed off 13 of 14 penalties and is perfect the last 13 times short-handed.“It’s fun to come to the rink right now Custom Calgary Flames Jerseys ,” Palmieri said. “The team’s in a good mood, and we’re happy with the way we’re playing. We’re beating some really good teams, so, hopefully, we just keep that going.”New Jersey is rolling even though reigning Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall is without a goal through four games — though he does have four assists. Certainly, the Avalanche and their top player, Nathan MacKinnon, will be aware of Hall on the ice.Last year, MacKinnon was runner-up to Hall for the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player. Both players scored 39 goals, and MacKinnon had 97 points to Hall’s 93.MacKinnon picked up this year where he left off. He has seven goals already and established a franchise record with goals in each of the first six games of the season after scoring in the second period of Tuesday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Rangers.“I’d like to get a few more assists actually, but it’s been nice, the puck is going in for me,” MacKinnon told the Avalanche website.Mackinnon’s linemate www.officialhurricanes.com , Mikko Rantanen, also has at least one point in each game so far. Rantanen’s eight assists and nine points both are team highs.“You need to have chemistry to be successful, and Mikko and I have lots of chemistry,” MacKinnon said. “He’s a big guy, slows the game down, and I like to speed it up. We complement each other really well.”The Avalanche might receive a boost Thursday as it appears Sven Andrighetto will play in his first game of the season. He suffered a leg injury during the preseason but practiced fully on Wednesday.“He is going to be available for us (Thursday),” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I think he looks quick, he is in really good shape. He has done a lot of hard work since he’s been out and I’m excited to have a guy like him available again, adds some skill and some speed to our lineup.”Semyon Varlamov, who was sensational in making 41 saves against the Rangers, will get the night off Thursday and Philipp Grubauer makes his second start of the season in goal.Last season, the Devils won both games with the Avalanche, outscoring them by a combined 6-2. Butcher had three assists in the season series against the team that originally drafted him. DALLAS (AP) The Dallas Stars are celebrating 25 years in Texas by hosting the NHL draft for the first time.The headliner for the home team had a little anniversary of his own: retired franchise icon Mike Modano marking 30 years since he was the No. 1 overall pick by helping introduce the Stars’ first-round pick Carolina Hurricanes T-Shirts Authentic , Canadian forward Ty Dellandrea, on Friday night.Sharing the stage with high-scoring Dallas winger Jamie Benn, Modano only had to look up to see his No. 9 hanging from the rafters at the other end of American Airlines Center.The highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history was the first pick by the Minnesota North Stars in 1988, five years before the franchise moved to North Texas.”I’ve been thinking about it,” Modano said. ”Didn’t really ring a bell till about a month ago when they started saying some stuff, called me to do some intros. I was like, `Dang, yeah, ’88, 2018.’ I was like, `That was quick.”’Modano watched hockey grow from almost nothing in North Texas, but couldn’t say he was surprised his old franchise got the draft since a new arena that opened in 2001 brought the All-Star game six years later. The 48-year-old figured it was just a matter of time.”I think a lot of things happened along the way that we didn’t think,” Modano said. ”Just kind of gives people a little bit of knowledge of the town. There’s hockey down in Texas and it’s alive and kicking. Brings a lot of attention to this town for hockey for a good week.”Modano gigged the current captain of the Stars during their presentation Carolina Hurricanes Hoodies Authentic , saying he wasn’t on stage when Benn got drafted and Benn responding that they didn’t bring fifth-round picks to the stage.Benn, the 2015 Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL’s points leader, is up to fifth on the club’s career scoring list after getting taken 129th overall in 2007. Benn’s rookie season was Modano’s last in Dallas.”We worked on that for a little bit,” Modano said with a smile.Dellandrea, the 13th overall pick, was 10 when Modano retired in 2011 after one season with Detroit. Modano debuted as an 18-year-old with the North Stars and spent 20 seasons combined in Minnesota and Dallas. His American records are 557 goals and 1,359 points.”I might have been a little young,” said the 17-year-old Dellandrea, who spent the past two seasons with Flint of the Ontario Hockey League. ”But both of them have been tremendous role models to look up to as a young hockey player.”Now one of them is a teammate.—