PLUS/MINUS
Things are looking up for Saku Koivu and the Canadiens early in the season
1) Montreal Canadiens – After a season opening road SO loss to the Sabres, the Canadiens have been beating teams ever since. Montreal looks just as good as advertised, and if they add Gaborik, their centennial season could be one to remember. They are tied with the Rangers for most goals scored with 23.
2) San Jose Sharks – The Sharks won 4 in a row to open the season (including 3 in the division) and look like a team that’s been rejuvenated. They were outplayed badly by Anaheim in their lone loss, but the new additions to the Sharks seem to be gelling very quickly.
3) New York Rangers – Despite leading the league in points, the Rangers have had 3 tough losses recently (they have gone 1-2-1 after a 5-0 start). The Rangers PK has been excellent but their PP needs to improve quickly (sound familiar Rangers fans?). Their sloppy play could be partially responsible to fatigue, as they recently played 7 games in an 11 day stretch after opening the season overseas.
4) Edmonton Oilers – Some may think this is a little high for Edmonton considering the opponents they’ve beaten (Colorado, Anaheim and Calgary twice). The Oilers are tied with the Devils for fewest GAA so far and are getting the big plays when they need them. That’s the definition of a good hockey team. Their PP is a solid 29.4% and they can easily dominate this division.
5) St. Louis Blues – St. Louis has come out early and shown that they won’t be the basement dwellers that they were expected to be coming in to the season. While they are playing a bit over their heads right now, you can’t argue with 40.9% on the PP and a 90% PK.
6) Buffalo Sabres – The Sabres have impressed early in this short season. They opened up the year by beating the Northeast Division favorite Montreal Canadiens and have had impressive wins against both NY teams and Vancouver. They didn’t surrender a PP goal until Phil Kessel notched one last night. Thomas Vanek will continue to be the catalyst in their offense all year long.
7) Minnesota Wild - They may be undefeated, but have feasted on weaker teams from the Southeast Division (their only quality win was their home-opener against Boston). G Nicklas Backstrom has looked very impressive between the pipes so far. They are only one of two teams who have yet to yield a goal on the PP.
8) Detroit Red Wings – The defending champs have looked good, but not great so far. With the exception of the Carolina game, all of their games have been 1-goal games. It’s early in the year and the Red Wings will be firing on all cylinders soon. Look for them to rise here quickly.
9) New Jersey Devils – Other than a bad 4-1 loss to the Rangers, New Jersey is playing effective Devils hockey. With Brodeur continuing to play well between the pipes, the Devils can continue to wear teams down and wait for a mistake to capitalize. Along with Edmonton, they have allowed the fewest goals in the league at 9, but have only scored 10.
10) Washington Capitals – The Caps need to figure out their goaltending situation quickly. Alternating goalies doesn’t work in this league. They have an offense that can dominate, but they need to establish Jose Theodore between the pipes. Brent Johnson is a good backup, but they will sink or swim this season with the former Hart and Vezina winner in the crease. Beating the Penguins in Pittsburgh was a big statement for the Caps.
11) Pittsburgh Penguins – The Pens have had an interesting start to the season. Other than the Toronto victory, they have struggled to really beat teams the way they were last year. Credit this to early season rust and they should rise in the rankings quickly in the coming weeks.
12) Boston Bruins – While Boston has lost 4 games this season already (3 in OT), they have looked very good in each game. Once they get a stretch of home games they will break through and get on a roll (only 1 home game so far this year). Phil Kessel is playing the best we’ve seen him play in his short career so far and this is the Kessel we should all get used to.
13) Carolina Hurricanes – The Hurricanes have won the games they should have won this year. While LA is a weaker opponent, the Kings played great hockey in the Hurricanes OT loss at the Staples Center. They are in the midst of a tough six game road trip. If they come away with at least 7 points, that will have been a solid trip.
14) Colorado Avalanche – After losing 3 in a row to open the season, the Avs got just what the doctor ordered in a struggling Philadelphia team. They then won two impressive road games in Dallas and LA. It took G Andrew Raycroft in net to right the ship and with neither he nor Budaj being consistent options, this might be one of the rare cases where alternating hot goalies is the best approach.
15) Nashville Predators – The short season has been an up and down one for the Preds. This team will go as well or as bad as Dan Ellis does in net. Their PK, PP, and road play needs to improve.
16) Columbus Blue Jackets – It has been a seesaw year for the Preds. They opened up the season with a rare road win against Dallas, lost two, and then finally beat the Preds for the first time in 16 games. They followed that up with a road loss to Nashville but then rebounded with a solid win against Vancouver. Head Coach Ken Hitchcock will get the most he can out of this team, but it might not be enough in a tough West.
17) Vancouver Canucks – Their wins have been impressive, but the losses have been ghastly. Their PP is abysmal and needs to improve quickly. The Brightside is that they have taken care of business in the division so far and a road win in Detroit is good for the confidence.
18) Chicago Blackhawks – This is an interesting team right now because they are still getting used to a new coach after only 4 games in to the season. Cristobal Huet getting his first win in a Blackhawks uniform against Vancouver on Sunday is a big step in the right direction for this team.
19) Ottawa Senators – Ottawa has had some tough opponents to open the year and I predict things will turn for them quickly. Their upcoming schedule provides them with some teams they can take advantage of and get in to form. Being without Daniel Alfredsson at the beginning of the season didn’t help things either.
20) Atlanta Thrashers – The Thrashers have been a mediocre team to start the year. They opened up with an impressive win over the Caps and handed Buffalo their first loss of the year. On the other side, they’ve lost two tough division games in OT and ran in to a typical Martin Brodeur shutout. Kari Lehtonen looks like he will be decent for the Thrashers in net this year.
21) Dallas Stars – This might be a little high for a team that has only won two games, but I really feel as if Monday night’s win against the Rangers righted the ship for Dallas. They finally were able to play Dallas Stars hockey against a good team and their PP is too good to stay at 12% for long.
22) Florida Panthers – Simply put, Florida has beaten the teams they should have beaten so far and have lost to the teams they should have. Other than the Minnesota loss, they played tough in the Carolina and Montreal losses. They need to get their Goals For and Goals Against closer to being even.
23) Los Angeles Kings – After opening up the season with being on the wrong end of a home and home sweep at the hands of San Jose, LA rebounded with 2 wins in a row. As bad as everyone expects the Kings to be this year, they have played well in each game so far this season. They are the other team (Minnesota) to have not let in a PP goal yet this season.
24) Phoenix Coyotes – After opening the season 2-0, the Coyotes have dropped 3 in a row. The Coyotes didn’t play well in any of the 3 losses, but have a 4 game home-stand starting on Thursday to get back on their feet.
25) New York Islanders – Other than the browbeating they took from Buffalo on Columbus Day, the Isles have looked solid, win or lose, for a team with their roster and a new head coach. Consistency on a hockey team starts with goaltending, and now that Rick DiPietro is back, if he can stay healthy, the Isles will have something to build off of.
26) Calgary Flames – If things don’t improve on the Red Mile soon, Mike Keenan could be on the hot seat. Other than the season opening loss to Vancouver, all of their games have been decided by one goal. The Northwest isn’t too tough of a division where the Flames can’t go on a good stretch of games and be right back in the thick of things.
27) Anaheim Ducks – It has been a rough start for the Ducks so far and it is only magnified by the fact that they are 1-3 in the Pacific already. They rebounded with a solid win in Toronto last night, but will need to get their league-worst PP going if they want to rise in the standings.
28) Toronto Maple Leafs – After an impressive season-opening win in Hockeytown, it’s been all downhill for the Leafs. Other than the losses to Montreal and Pittsburgh, the other 3 have come in the shootout. Ron Wilson is too good of a coach and will have the Leafs playing respectable hockey soon.
29) Tampa Bay Lightning – I originally had the Lightning ranked dead last, but moved them up a spot after winning last night against Atlanta. Head Coach Barry Melrose is doing a lot of lineup shuffling right now to get the right combos, and should find them soon. Keep in mind that all of their losses were by 1 goal and that 3 of them came in either OT or the SO
30) Philadelphia Flyers – Another coach that could soon be on the hot seat is John Stevens. While none of their losses have been really bad, a team that was in the Eastern Conference Finals last year shouldn't be 0-3-2. Their upcoming schedule provides them with some chances to get some notches in the win column.
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