And so November is here, bearing down on an unsuspecting league like a runaway freight train. In short, if you don't come ready to play in November, you're going to get flattened.
Here are five players who need to look up and see the headlights headed their way:
Henrik Zetterberg, LW, Detroit Red Wings
It has been a kind of a feast-or-famine start to the season for the Red Wings, as a six-game winning streak has been bookended by a pair of two-game slides. If Detroit is going to be more consistent, it stands to reason that its captain will lead the way.
So far it has been a difficult start for Zetterberg, though, as he has just four assists in 10 games.
Zetterberg, 36, missed the World Cup of Hockey because he was still recovering from injury and is coming off an NHL season that saw him register just 50 points, well off his career average, and finish with a minus-15. The classy Swede scored just once in a five-game, first-round loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last spring and is clearly struggling to find his game for a Red Wings team that many picked to miss the playoffs.
Patrice Bergeron, C, Boston Bruins
It's fair to suggest that the 5-4-0 Bruins are getting by early on thanks to the play of goalie Tuukka Rask. That was apparent when Rask missed time recovering from injury last week, and it's a red flag for a Bruins team desperate to get back to the playoffs after missing the postseason for two consecutive years.
Boston's power play ranks dead last in the league and it is 26th in goals scored per game. One of the key offensive issues early on has been the lack of production from glue guy Bergeron. It's clear the three-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner is not quite right, as he has just one goal in six games and bears little resemblance to the dynamo who lit it up in the World Cup while playing with tournament MVP Sidney Crosby and Bruins linemate Brad Marchand, and who led Boston a year ago with a career-best 32 goals and collected 68 points.
There's something amiss with one of the game's great two-way players, and Bergeron rounding back into form is crucial to the Bruins staying in the hunt.
Loui Eriksson, LW, Vancouver Canucks
Hey, we get that nobody expected much from the Canucks this season (except, of course the Canucks, presumably). But they bolted out of the gate with four consecutive wins to make us all take notice before coming back to earth with four straight losses through Nov. 1.
If Vancouver is going to stay relevant, it's going to need a lot more from Eriksson, its key offseason acquisition. Lots of folks were critical of the six-year, $36 million deal signed by the former Bruins winger, who is coming off a solid, 30-goal season in 2015-16. That criticism seems valid, as Eriksson has struggled in his new environs, scoring no goals with just four assists for the Canucks, who rank last in the NHL in goals scored per game.
Last season, Eriksson had 10 power-play goals and 17 power-play points for the Bruins. Not surprisingly given Eriksson's early struggles, the Canucks' power play is among the worst in the NHL, ranking 26th with just three power-play goals on 28 opportunities.
Andrew Ladd, LW, New York Islanders
When the Islanders gave up six goals to the Tampa Bay Lightning through the first 32 minutes on Tuesday night en route to a 6-1 drubbing at home, it marked a low-water mark for a team that entered the season looking to build on its first playoff series victory since 1993.
The Isles rank as one of the most disappointing -- and, indeed, one of the most dysfunctional -- teams in the league. And although the problems are many and varied for New York -- which is 4-6-0 and sits 15th in the Eastern Conference -- it's clear its big offseason acquisition, former Winnipeg Jets captain and two-time Stanley Cup winner Ladd, hasn't yet been close to what the Isles hoped he would be.
Ladd has struggled mightily to fit in with John Tavares or, frankly, anyone else with the Islanders, as he has just one assist in 10 games. Ladd's struggles in the wake of signing a seven-year, $38.5 million deal have become even more noticeable given the early-season successes of former Islanders Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen, who signed with the Buffalo Sabres and Red Wings, respectively.
Keith Yandle, D, Florida Panthers
It was a disappointing October for the defending Atlantic Division-champion Panthers, and they started November with another loss, this one a 2-1 decision to the Bruins. The loss highlighted Florida's ongoing issues with generating offense. The lack of jump has been especially noticeable from the back end, where the Panthers are expecting big things from young star Aaron Ekblad and Yandle, their big free-agent acquisition.
Ekblad has just one goal and zero assists while the smooth-skating Yandle, who was inked to a seven-year deal worth $44.5 million in the summer, has chipped in just four assists in 10 games for the 4-5-1 Panthers. Just one of Yandle's points has come on the power play and, perhaps not surprisingly, Florida ranks 24th in power-play efficiency. A year ago, the Panthers had the 23rd-ranked power play, and the addition of Yandle was expected to boost the unit's efficiency as well as help boost the team's overall offense. That hasn't happened.
Honorable mentions: Anze Kopitar, C, Los Angeles Kings; Mike Cammalleri, C, New Jersey Devils; Michal Neuvirth, G, Philadelphia Flyers.