Pluses, minuses for Maple Leafs-Jets, Lightning-Avalanche

Each Wednesday throughout the regular season, Kevin Weekes will be offering his pluses and minuses for the teams competing in the NBCSN "Wednesday Night Hockey" game in his Weekes on the Web blog.
We have another doubleheader this week on "Wednesday Night Hockey." The Toronto Maple Leafs (6-3-0) play the Winnipeg Jets (6-2-1) at Bell MTS Place (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS, SN360, SN1). After that, the Tampa Bay Lightning (5-1-1) play the Colorado Avalanche (6-1-2) at Pepsi Center (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN).
Here's my breakdown of the games:

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Maple Leafs at Jets

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Toronto

Pluses:The Maple Leafs can score with any team in the League, as evidenced by their 34 goals (3.78 per game), which is tied with the Washington Capitals for most in the NHL. They have five players with at least four goals, led by forward Auston Matthews with 10, and four with at least 10 points, led by Matthews with 16.
Their depth up front has been better. Kasperi Kapanen has eight points (four goals, four assists), and eight forwards have at least one goal. They've also been better on defense, and it's not just Morgan Reilly, who has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists). Prior to allowing seven goals in the past two games, the Maple Leafs allowed six goals in three previous games.
Minuses:The high-powered offense has disappeared the past two games. Toronto was shut out by the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 on Thursday and lost 4-1 to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. They haven't been able to use the entire ice as much as much as they had to start the season.
Restricted free agent forward William Nylander remains unsigned. The deadline for him to be signed and be eligible to play this season is Dec. 1. He's had 61 points in each of the past two seasons and I think he is too good of a player to trade. He's a guy they'd like to have in the lineup sooner than later.

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Jets

Pluses: Each of their goalies has been good. We know about Connor Hellebuyck, who finished second in the Vezina Trophy voting to Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators last season. In seven games this season he's 4-2-1 start with a 2.84 goals-against average. Backup Laurent Brossoit has been a surprise, going 2-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .955 save percentage.
Winnipeg's top players have been off to good starts but it hasn't been just production from the big guys. Kyle Connor is second on the Jets with eight points (four goals, four assists), one behind Mark Scheifele's nine. Defensemen Josh Morrissey (seven points) and Jacob Trouba (six points), and forward Adam Lowry (five points) also have contributed.
Minuses: Winnipeg no longer is a surprise team; it's now a top contender. With that comes the expectation that the Jets will go far. They're arguably the deepest team in the League. We know how good they are at home (5-0-1 this season, NHL-best 32-7-2 last season), but they're 1-2-0 on the road and have been outscored 8-1 in their past two away from home.
Forward Patrik Laine is off to a slow start with three goals and five points in nine games. He scored 44 goals last season and 36 as a rookie in 2016-17. The good news is the Jets are having success early in the season despite him not contributing like he has in the past.

Lightning at Avalanche

Tampa Bay

Pluses: It's a good sign when your team is having success and one of the best players in the League, forward Steven Stamkos, is tied for ninth on the team in scoring. Stamkos has three points (one goal, two assists) in seven games. Remember, this is a guy who had 106 points (36 goals, 70 assists) in 95 games in the past two seasons.
The Lightning have excelled on special teams. They have the No. 1 penalty-killing unit in the League at 96.5 percent (28-for-29) and have scored two shorthanded goals. They are clicking at 25.0 percent on the power play (7-for-28).
Minuses:The record is good, but sometimes the Lightning get a little sloppy defensively. It's overlooked because their offense can score (at least four goals in four of their past five games), but they've allowed eight in the past two.
Nikita Kucherov has two goals in seven games; that's the same amount as forwards Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli and
J.T Miller
. Kucherov scored 39 goals last season, his third straight with at least 30, so he's off to a slow start.

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Colorado

Pluses: We must start with the top line: Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen have combined for 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists). MacKinnon and Rantanen each has at least one point in all nine Colorado games this season; Landeskog has seven goals in his past four games.
Another reason Colorado is off to a hot start is the play of its goaltenders. It starts with Semyon Varlamov, who is 4-0-2 with a 1.64 GAA and .953 save percentage. After a rough first start (four goals allowed on 34 shots), backup Philipp Grubauer has two straight wins, including 42 saves in a 3-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
Minuses: The Avalanche needs more production from other sources. Colorado has 13 goals from players not on their top line, and none by a defenseman. You can only ride your top horses for so long. When they stumble, others will need to pick up the slack.
Coach Jared Bednar told me that their team defending could be better. They have points in eight of nine games and have allowed 2.11 goals-against per game, fewest in the NHL, but have allowed at least 30 shots on goal in eight of the nine games, including 40 or more in three games.