WINTER CLASSIC PREVIEW BEGINS TONIGHT

My Checklist of Storylines for HBO's 24/7 Winter Classic to be a success in no particular order:

 (Over the course of the 4 episodes)

-How much goes in to getting the stadium ready for the Winter Classic

-The rivalry between the Capitals and Penguins

-Profiles of Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Bruce Boudreau, Dan Bylsma, Mario Lemiuex, Ted Leonsis, Ray Shero, Semin or Backstrom -all varying in length

-Evgeni Malkin's escape from the KHL

-Obligatory Jordan Staal from a hockey family piece

-George McPhee's hunt for a goalie

-Quick review of the Penguins being in the first Winter Classic

-Recap of the Penguins-Capitals game right before the Winter Classic

-Recap of the Winter Classic

-Pittsburgh being a football town but loves its hockey

-Crosby living at Lemiuex's property

-A brief history of the Winter Classic/Herritage Classic

-Penguins winning streak (if it continues in to the airing of the series)

-The Capitals losing streak

-Penguins-Capitals Conference Semifinals series from 2 seasons ago

A review of each episode will be posted every Thursday

Plight of the Pacific

 Jaime Benn and Mike Ribiero celebrate a goal in last night's 3-2 road win for the Stars in San Jose last night (Ben Margot - AP)

We're about 30 games in to the NHL Season and the Dallas Stars are in 1st place in the Pacific Division while the San Jose Sharks are in last place. Granted, 1st place and last place are separated by 4 points, but the order is practically upside down. A brief recap of each team's season in the NHL's tightest division:


Dallas - Goalie Kari Lehtonen has benefited from a change in scenery (13 wins 2.59 GAA before his back injury) and head coach Marc Crawford is executing his style of play well. The blueline could use one another Top 3 guy, but the top 2 lines are producing and the bottom two lines are grinding it out and wearing down the other team. As great as the Stars are at home (11-3-1), they need to improve on the road (6-7-1) and on special teams (22nd ranked PP, 27th ranked PK)


Anaheim - When you're getting production from where you're supposed to (their top 5 scorers are Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne, Bobby Ryan, Lubomir Visnovsky), solid production on the blueline (Tony Lydman 's +18 is good enough to hover around the league lead, rookie Cam Fowler has chipped in with 15 points), solid goaltending (Jonas Hiller's 14 wins are 3rd best in the league); and have leadership (Saku Koivu, Todd Marchant, Jason Blake), that all adds up to being a tough out each game.


Los Angeles - The team went in to a really bad funk for most of November, but was one of the hottest teams out of the gate and it looks like they are finding their form again. Goalie Jonathan Quick has stepped up this season and played very well. Getting D Willie Mitchell back from injury provides the blueline with experience and leadership. It will be interesting to see what type of role newly acquired winger Marco Sturm takes on this team. Getting that 27th ranked PP going would help the Kings get back on track.

San Jose - The optimistic Sharks fan can say that the Sharks are pacing themselves this year instead of dominating the regular season to fall short in the playoffs. That could be the case, but this team is struggling no matter how you slice it. Ryan Clowe and Logan Coture are the only two guys on the roster to have scored multiple goals this month. Clowe is the team leader in assists and Coture is the leading goal scorer...this is a problem when you have guys like Thornton, Heatley (the team leader in points, at least) and Marleau (an ugly -17 on the season) on your roster. G Antti Niemi has hardly looked like the most recent Stanley Cup winning goalie but Antero Niittymaki has been serviceable. The 6th ranked PP is one of the bright spots this season.

Phoenix - The surprise team of the West last season is hanging tough this season. They've lost 4 of 7 after winning 7 in a row and rank in the middle of the pack of goals scored (13th), goals against (13th), power play (12th) , and penalty kill (18th). Off-season acquisition winger Ray Whitney has panned out nicely and leads the team in assists (16) and points (20). Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is shouldering the load between the pipes and is as reliable as usual (12-5-6, 2,54 GAA, .922 Save%). I'd like to see someone distinguish himself as a top goal scorer on this team as the season hits the midway point (Lee Stempniak, Lauri Korpikoski, and Scottie Upshall each lead the team with 8 goals - none of which are household names).

NHL Weekly TV Viewer Guide

Sidney Crosby travels across the Keystone State for the NHL's Game of the Week on Tuesday

NHL Viewers Guide for the week of 12/13/10

MONDAY - Kings @ Red Wings - 7:30PM - Versus

Why you should watch: The best in the West are hosting a Kings team that is turning it around as of late. After spending much of the season near the top of the Western Conference, LA went through a stretch where they lost 8 of 9 and dropped to the bottom of the Pacific Division. However, they've won 3 of 4 and this team is much better than their record. The Red Wings have won 2 in a row after dropping 3. This is their 2nd meeting of the season (Kings won at the Staples Center last Saturday 3-2 in OT)

TUESDAY - Penguins @ Flyers - 7PM - Versus

Why you should watch: This is the game of the week in the NHL. These are the top 2 teams in the league points-wise. The Penguins are looking for their 13th win in a row while the Flyers have earned points in 5 straight games since a 3 game losing streak to end November. This is their 4th meeting of the season with Philly winning 2 of the 3 games so far.

WEDNESDAY - No nationally televised game

THURSDAY - Bruins @ Canadiens - 7:30PM - NHL Network

Why you should watch: This classic Original 6 rivalry always provides for entertaining hockey. The Canadiens lead the Northeast Division but the Bruins only trail them by 2 points. Montreal won the only prior meeting of the season back on Veterans Day. The Canadiens set off on a 7 game road trip to close the calendar year after this game.

FRIDAY - Red Wings @ Blackhawks - 8:30PM - NHL Network

Why you should watch: Another classic Original 6 rivalry that always provides entertaining hockey. The Hawks trail Detroit by 6 points in the Central Division and this is only their 2nd meeting of the season (Detroit spoiled the Blackhawk's banner-raising party on Chicago's opening night). Keep an eye on Blackhawks rookie goaltender Corey Crawford, who is starting to heat up.

SATURDAY - Maple Leafs @ Canucks - 10PM - NHL Network

Why you should watch: This cross-Canadian match-up features the 2nd best team going against the worst in the Northeast. While this seems like a mismatch on paper, both teams can score goals quickly and have strong bluelines. Vancouver has earned at least a point in 7 of their last 8 games. The Canucks beat the Leafs 5-3 in their previous match-up and this will be the last time these two play each other this season.

SUNDAY - Kings @ Blackhawks - 7PM - NHL Network

Why you should watch: Both of these teams play a fast-paced game and like to get the puck up the ice quickly. Common sense says this would be a high scoring match-up, but Chicago has won the prior 2 match-ups this year 3-2 and 2-1 respectively. These teams have one more meeting in LA after Sunday's game.