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Why Shea Weber's blistering start is impossible to ignore

Brad Penner / USA TODAY Sports

With this thundering (and for Travis Hamonic, potentially life-changing) blast, Shea Weber propelled the Montreal Canadiens to another win Wednesday night versus the New York Islanders.

For his preferred style and capabilities, Weber will continue to represent the divide between many progressive thinkers and old-school hockey minds, but there's really no denying just how incredible his first seven games have been with the Habs.

First and foremost, Montreal has six regulation wins in seven outings with Weber logging 26 minutes a night. And in their only defeat, the Canadiens picked up a point in the shootout.

Montreal is outscoring the opponent 26-12 overall, and 18-7 at even strength, to average two goals more than the opposition each night. And with Weber on the ice, having a direct impact, Montreal has 15 goals to three against in all situations and conceded one at even strength.

Beyond that seal-tight defense is what's come largely unexpected - a prolific scoring pace.

He has three goals (two of which count as game winners) and six assists in seven games. His nine points are two more than Erik Karlsson (who does have a game in hand) and one behind Auston Matthews for the league lead.

Many predicted it would be P.K. Subban carrying the chip on his shoulder, and to his credit, he's producing at a very strong clip with five points in his first five games while having the time of his life with the Nashville Predators.

Maybe it's just their personalities (or so they've said), but Weber certainly has the look of the one out for revenge.

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