|
|
||||||
|
NHL AT THE QUARTER POLE:
POWER RANKINGS
THE ELITE: EAST
Who the heck is Sergei Bobrovsky, or “Bob” as he’s called by teammates? Just another no-name goaltender to backstop the Flyers, the Eastern conference champions who rewrote the job specification for the type of goaltending a Cup finalist needs. When Michael Leighton took over for Brian Boucher, who took over for Ray Emery all in one season en route to a Cup final, eyebrows were raised. Now, a youngster from the KHL is doing just fine as the Flyers (15-6-2) pump in more goals than any other NHL club. Doubters abound, but could Bobrovsky pull a 2006 Cam Ward trip? With Chris Pronger in midseason form and (surprise!) Sean O’Donnell one of the League’s top plus/minus, can you doubt that they may be the Beast of the East again?
League disciplinarian Colin Campbell’s emails, calling Bruin Marc Savard a “little fake artist” a while back sure are letting off a stink in the upper reaches of the League. Savard, dealing with troubling post-concussion symptoms, is on IR now but will sure have a lot of motivation when he finally returns. When he does, he’ll find that his Bruins are again the best team in the Northeast division. In net, Tim Thomas (right) is one of the year’s great stories. His resurgence (11-1-1; 1.46GAA, .955SV%, 4 SO’s) has placed the B’s atop the defensive rankings, the club enjoying the lowest goals-against average in the League. Tuukka Rask, no slouch (2.36GAA; .935SV%), is just 1-5 but most clubs would take him. Offensively, the goals are spread throughout the lineup nicely, but Michael Ryder (6 goals) has been a nice bounce-back story, while Nathan Horton (8) has enjoyed the change of scenery since leaving Florida. Milan Lucic (10) is becoming a leader in Boston. Penalty kill: tops (90.5%).
The Caps edge the 'Bolts until the 'Bolts prove themselves a bit more, but Tampa can do damage within the conference to keep pace with the Caps (TBL: 11-3-1 vs East; WSH very good, too: 13-5-2). That said, Alex Ovechkin is a s good as ever (10G; 26PTS) while Alex Semin (14 goals) and Nick Backstrom (9) power the League’s second-most potent offense, second only to Philly. No teams have the depth on offense that the Caps feature, with Brooks Laich (6), Jason Chimera, Tom Fleischmann and Eric Fehr potting four apiece. Mike Green is back in form with five markers, and the Caps defense has contributed 12. Goaltending still an issue, but Michal Neuvirth could be an Antti Niemi for all we know come playoff time(?). WEST
13-3-2 against the Western Conference and 3-0 against Central division (Nov. 25). Jimmy Howard’s been a rock, and Nick Lidstrom is looking like a Norris Trophy nominee again. Brian Rafalski has 10 assists, Nik Kronwall (left) has four goals; all told, the defense has 10. Up front, Johan Franzen and Dan Cleary both have nine markers while Pavel Datsyuk (22 points), Henrik Zetterberg (20) and Todd Bertuzzi (16) have been very consistent.
Having banked a substantial number of standings points early, the Kings can afford a downturn, losing 2 of 3 on an East trip after dropping 2 vs. the West (SJS & CBJ) before departing. Return to Staples Saturday vs. CHI and Monday vs. ANA. Jon Quick still looking very solid; Jon Bernier is just 2-5-0; club will need confidence in the nets, Bernier must win a few.
Darlings of the critic started strong, now trying to claw back into contention. Goalie Roberto Luongo being pushed by Cory Schneider (3-0-1), in what is a blessing in disguise. It’s best that “Louie” gets his wakeup call now, rather than in the postseason, as nemesis Chicago already spanked the Canucks at home, 7-1 earlier this month. Mikael Samuelsson still shooting, but having no luck to speak of: Only 4 goals thus far. KNOCKING ON THE DOOR:
EAST
Steve Stamkos is making the kind of noise that’s in rare supply: A scoring pace that has sparked talk of 50 goals in 50 games, one of the game’s most vaunted personal achievements. With 21 on 87 shots in 22 games, he’ll need to play in all situations, get some empty-netters, and keep shootin’. It’ll make for a helluva media story if he continues his current pace through 35 or so games. He’s the on-ice story of the season in the NHL, atop the scoring list with Sid the Kid, and as we watched the induction of Jim Devellano into hockey’s hallowed Hall, HT wonders whether we’ll see the same type of managerial success story for Steve Yzerman. Yzerman was Devellano’s first draftee (1983) and Stamkos is the young star who Yzerman inherits, who goes on to, like Stevie Y in Detroit years ago, form the team’s identity and scores superstar points. Imagine: At 20, he’s eclipsed both Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis as the most untouchable Lightning player. Stamkos came into the League and scored 46, then 95 points. He’s on pace for 141 this year and a whopping 78 goals. If you don’t believe in predictions, would you take an even 100? Anyone in the NHL would from the current odds-on Hart Trophy favorite.
Carey Price, author of four shutouts thus far, has silenced critics who thought the club would cave after the departure of Jaro Halak (STL). Price has appeared in 21 of 22 games and leads the League in wins (13), is fourth in save percentage (.933). He’s an odds-on Vezina favorite, having single-handedly backstopped Les Canadiens to the division’s top spot. Only Boston’s penalty kill is better, the Habs ranking second. Thomas Plekanec signed for big bucks, and made it his business to lead the team in scoring (8-13-21). Five different Habs have scored two game-winners. One has to worry about the second injury of the season to Andrei Markov, but P.K. Subban, Roman Hamrlik, Jaro Spaced and Alex Picard have been solid.
Sidney Crosby is on pace for 127 points, if attained, it would be his best season yet (Nov. 25: 15-21-36 in 23GP). Rookie Mark Letestu has filled in with four goals in the absence of third-line center Jordan Staal, and while Evgeni Malkin is a bit short of his usual pace (7-14-21), he’s still got 100 shots on net and is on pace for a point-per-game season. Defensively, the Penguins make a lot of hay by employing one of the highest-scoring defensive corps: 11 goals thus far, with Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski potting four apiece.
Considering the amount of money left on the shelf with Chris Drury ($7M) out for six weeks and Marian Gaborik ($7.5M) having missed 12 of 23 games, it’s good to see the Rangers in the thick of the East race. Brandon Dubinsky (12-7-19) is tied for fifth on the goal scorer’s list and LA castoff Brian Boyle has quietly scored 10 goals with little fanfare and minimal ice time (13:53TOI). Artem Anisimov (7 goals) and Ryan Callahan (5) offer hope that the Rangers may have more depth than previously thought. Martin Biron (5-2-0; 2.15GAA/.917SV%) is proving to be one of the League’s better backups in Manhattan after bouncing from Buffalo to Philly then Long Island in recent years. WEST
A trip to California is one that this club will look back on for inspiration when the going gets tough this season. Wins in Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Jose to a 14-6-0 record and a 5-game win streak (active, Nov. 25). Rick Nash was the week’s first star mid-November, and powered to 13 goals. Meanwhile, R.J. Umberger and Jakub Voracek went on long point streaks. Chris Clark and Antoine Vermette showed signs of life against the Islanders, and the club looks as deep as it ever has. Oddly, the Jackets’ power play is anemic once more this season (10.7%) while the penalty kill is in the League’s top third. 3-1 vs. Cental division.
Well-coached club moves as a
unit, rattling off a franchise-best 7-game win streak after a 4-5-5
start (11-5-5 as of Nov. 24). Once again this season, no star scoring,
but an evenly-balanced attack emerges as while Lee
T.J. Oshie and David Perron are on the injured list, so Andy McDonald, David Backes and Brad Boyes (left) came together as a new first line. Club now on a 3-game win streak (after beating NSH 11/24) came on the heels of a 5-game losing streak. Jaro Halak (10-4-2) is back in early-season form. Defenseman Eric Brewer playing as well as ever, very physical, with two goals to boot. Only Erik Johnson logs more minutes.
Last season was no fluke. Avs win 4 straight heading into action the night before Thanksgiving. Chris Stewart responds to his big new contract by scoring 11 goals and 24 points in first 20 games. John-Michael Liles (left) leading the League in scoring by a defenseman (4-18-22 as of Nov. 25), won a three-star League nod in mid-November. Offensively, some nice support is emerging as Brandon Yip, Dan Winnik and Kevin Porter have each potted five goals, while David Jones has popped nine, a Cinderella-boy-coming-outta-nowhere. Drafted 288th overall in 2003, the 26-year-old Jones is just one goal from matching his career-high 10. Milan Hejduk (23pts.) is back in top form. Peter Budaj (8-4-1) has done a steady job filling in for the injured Craig Anderson. THE MIDDLE-OF-THE-PACK EAST
Much was made of Dustin Byfuglien’s shift to defense. Much more will be made of the fact that he responded by becoming the top-shooting defenseman in the League, ranking second only to John-Michael Liles with eight goals and 20 points in 22 games, including four game-winners. When the Norris Trophy nominations come out at season’s end, don’t be surprised if one of the most important forwards on a Cup-winning Chicago team is nominated for the best defenseman trophy just one season later. When’s the last time you saw this kind of transformation. The Thrashers are tied for fifth in team goals-for with 70, and Byfuglien’s fellow transplanted ‘Hawk, Andrew Ladd (right), is leading the team with 23 points. Evander Kane is proving worthy of his 2009 first-round status, Anthony Stewart’s six goals put him on pace for his best season yet, Nic Bergfors—who came over in the Kovalchuk trade to New Jersey—has five of his own. At 3-4-1 in their division, however, they must do better to gain traction on the ‘Bolts and Caps.
Jeff Skinner sits atop the rookie scoring list (6-11-17, 53 SOG, 21GP) and Eric Staal (10 goals) is as good as ever, but there are curiosities amidst the lineup. GM Jim Rutherford brought in forwards Troy Bodie and Ryan Carter from Anaheim in separate moves, purportedly to improve the team’s depth and penalty killing, the latter ranking dead last. Neither, however, did much offensively in SoCal, and both look to improve. Brandon Sutter, fresh off an incident at a bar that got him booted from his Dad’s own organization, the Calgary Flames, comes aboard with defenseman Ian White. Offensively, the ‘Canes are doing pretty well, but Cam Ward can’t do it all, he needs some defense. He and Justin Peters have been shelled pretty good: 700 shots against in 21 games.
Decent, but not great. That’s where the Senators find themselves annually. A true great, Daniel Alfredsson, puts his desire on display every night, but Jason Spezza has declined from a career-high 92 points in 2007-08 to 73, then 57. This season, Spezza’s on pace for 63 points. Decent, but not great. Milan Michalek (18GP: 5-8-13) has been good, but again, not great, and one gets the lingering feeling that the Dany Heatley trade has been one of diminished returns for the team. Defensively, the club ranks 27th overall with neither Brian Elliott nor Pascal Leclaire setting the League ablaze. A good, but again, not great, distribution of offense is at hand, to the club’s credit: Six goals from Alex Kovalev, five from Mike Fisher plus four apiece from defensemen Sergei Gonchar and Erik Karlsson. On the downside, minuses abound, notably Gonchar (-12), Fisher (-8) and Chris Phillips (-12). What happened to Nick Foligno (0-5-5)?
With Dion Phaneuf, J-S Giguere and Colby Armstrong injured, a tenuous rebuild in Toronto is on hold as the club struggles to stay afloat in the East after a fast start. Phil Kessel’s nine goals lead; 3-3-1 against own division. Nik Kulemin (7 goals), Clarke MacArthur (7) and Phil Kessel (9) have been decent, but the club barely has a second line to go with them. Wishful thinking indeed to hope for youngsters Nazim Kadri, Luca Caputi and Tyler Bozak to do much at this point. GM Brian Burke is on the spot now; his development projects have to start scoring or he’s going to have to trade some parts to get things going again. Wonder how long Leafs brass is willing to wait, but there’s no reason to suspect that Burke is going anywhere soon. In goal, Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson has played well (2.30GAA, .922SV%), but has a losing record, which goes to show that when the GAA is good and the losses mount, look to the team’s goals-for: The Leafs are tied for 27th with the anemic Wild with 47 goals after 20 games. WEST
James Neal and Loui Eriksson have settled in nicely with Brad Richards, the club’s top scorer. Brendan Morrow has 9 goals (Nov. 25) and Mike Ribeiro, his partner on the second line, has 16 assists. 29th-ranked penalty kill must improve. Goaltending pedestrian at best but defense, many of whose players have been together for a long time, has good chemistry.
Started slowly (1-2-1). Goaltending savior Finn turned out to be Antero Niittymaki (7-2-3; 2.07GAA/.919SV%), while Antti Niemi has struggled. Usually one of the Sharks’ top forwards cracks the top-20 in scoring, but appearances on that list have been rare, although Heatley/Thornton/Marleau still carrying load for Sharks. Rookie Logan Couture (8 goals) has been a nice addition. Up note: Sharks undefeated vs. Pacific division (2-0-2).
Hungover. No surprise in a party town like Chicago, which just got done partying like it was 1961. A well-fed and well-paid nucleus of young players struggles to hover around .500 (11-11-2). It was expected that the club, who made a deal with the salary cap devil en route to a Stanley Cup title last Spring, would take a step back. Some nights, when they can make it with their first two lines clicking, they’re fine. Newcomer Viktor Stalberg has chipped in six goals while nucleus players Patrick Sharp (12), Jon Toews (9) and Pat Kane (8) have powered the offense.
Lost in a shootout to the Blues at home (Nov. 24). The penalty kill is decent but the power play is atrocious (10%), which is the Preds’ modus operandi it seems. Lost a shootout to St. Louis (Nov. 24) and were shut out 2-0 at Columbus (Nov. 22), costly losses in a tight Western conference. Low-scoring club must regret paying the concussed Matt Lombardi, who may be on the shelf longer than expected (out since Oct. 14, 2010). THE ALSO-RANS EAST
Dennis Wideman for Nathan Horton is looking like a win-win trade because Wideman is pulling big minutes for the Panthers (24:13) and has chipped in two goals and nine assists. Underachieving club must at some point ask whether it’s really going to work out with Stephen Weiss (5-5-10) or Radek Dvorak (4-5-9), whose mediocre numbers could be parlayed into picks or veterans in trade. Mike Santorelli (6 goals) represents a bright spot and Dave Booth has been active with 83 shots on net despite scoring only five goals. Tomas Vokoun has been stellar, 2.42GAA; .924SV%, but the team’s low goal totals (53 in 20 games, 12th in the East) have been no help. The story goes on for the Panthers, who continue to court mediocrity, then slip back year after year. Expect Dale Tallon to move quickly; the club draws poorly and his job has just begun.
Rumors abound that Derek Roy punched Tim Connolly at an event this week. Denials abound, but somehow this story dovetails with the Sabres collapse this season. The top guys aside from Roy have done little, and Thomas Vanek only recently got off the schneid. Connolly has been subpar. Maybe the (rumored) punch from Roy will wake him up. The team can’t lean any harder on its all-world goalie, Ryan Miller, but he’s mortal, and has dealt with groin trouble. The team has used prospect Jhonas Enroth and backup Patrick Lalime more this season, but the club can’t give any goaltender the goal support it needs and languishes near the bottom of the East. Coming off a concussion at the hands of Chicago’s Nik Hjalmarsson, Jason Pominville has but one goal, while depth guys Paul Gaustad (2 goals), Rob Niedermayer (0) have not helped; Drew Stafford (4) has not become what the club needed him to be, and Jochen Hecht has no luck, with just two goals on 66 shots.
Oh, how they laugh. And why not? Class resentment is at an all-time high, what with the American economy in the proverbial toilet. While Ilya Kovalchuk (4-6-10) is a generous, family-orientented dude, his salary demands, acceded to by the Devils’ ownership, have made the club a laughingstock. Backed up to the salary cap limit, the club has fielded short rosters to huge chuckles. Making matters worse, the Devils find themselves 30th in goals-for. Brian Rolston ($5M) has had injury trouble again and has but one goal in eight games; Zach Parise ($5M) managed six points before arthroscopic right knee surgery shelved him for three months.
After starting hot, with four wins out of the gate, the Islanders have gone winless in regulation in 14 consecutive contests. It cost Coach Scott Gordon his job, and HT wishes former Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL affiliate) Coach Jack Capuano all the best. Capuano has continued what Gordon started, adding four straight losses to Gordon’s ten straight. Somehow, GM Garth Snow remains. A truly hard-luck bunch. WEST
The Ducks finally gave up on forwards Troy Bodie and Ryan Carter. The reason being, it’s been eight games since a non-top-6 player scored, and 11 since a third- or fourth-line forward put the puck in the net. Top-6 of Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Jason Blake, Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne are doing all the scoring. Literally.
This team is a mystery to HT. The club hires a new GM last season in Chuck Fletcher, who hires a new coach, Todd Richards. While the stifling defense of coach Jacques Lemaire is gone, the club seems to have sold a bill of goods to its fans as its exhortations about playing a more offensive game have proven unfulfilled. In a game typifying the Wild’s continued style, which is driving hockey-mad fans away after years of filling every seat at Xcel Energy Center, the Wild tied a game 1-1 at home vs. Anaheim then proceeded to sit on the tie, only springing to life for a 2-1 OT win in the game’s dying moments. Lowest-scoring club in the West: 47 goals as of Nov. 25. (only NJD and NYI have lower goals-for totals, both East conf. teams).
Why GM Steve Tambellini doesn’t bring in a veteran or three is a mystery. Extremely young roster features some of the brighter young prospects in the game, but club loses often with so little experience to lead the way. Dustin Penner (7 goals), Ales Hemsky (6) and Shawn Horcoff (6) lead an anemic offense. Rookies Jordan Eberle (12pts.), Taylor Hall (4 goals, 9 points) and Magnus Paajarvi (6pts.) offer real hope and blazing speed that makes the Oilers dangerous, even against quality opposition. Rank 25th on the power play and dead last killing penalties. The Oilers have $14+M in cap space according to NHLNumbers.com, but are they too far gone (14 points in 20 games, on pace for a dreadful 56) to help themselves?
Brent Sutter always looks upset and tee’d off. GM Daryl, brother of Brent, dealt own son Brandon Sutter to Carolina after an embarrassing incident at a bar during which it is alleged that the young prospect fought with a patron (Ian White also made the trek to Carolina in the deal for F Tom Kostopoulos and D Anton Babchuk). Jarome Iginla has been hearing the trade rumors of late, but the Sutters have pressed their luck as employees of the Flames far enough. Not likely Iginla goes anywhere. Can’t say the same for the Sutters, who by now must be on their ninth lives. STATS, ETC. AS OF NOVEMBER 25, 2010
|
Home | Contact | Archive | AHL | ECHL | About Us | Duck Calls | Search | Classic Audio | Europe | Join Mailing List
|
|||||
|
2012 Western Hockey Network |
||||||
PHILADELPHIA
WASHINGTON
DETROIT 
LOS ANGELES
VANCOUVER
TAMPA
BAY
MONTREAL
PITTSBURGH
NEW YORK RANGERS
COLUMBUS
PHOENIX
Stempniak leads with
7 goals, Martin Hanzal and Radim Vrbata have 6 apiece. Two others have
5, three more players have scored 4, and five have scored 3 times. Ilya
Bryzgalov will carry a heavy load as not unlike the Pacific
division-rival Kings, the backup goalie inspires little confidence
(Jason LaBarbera: 1-3-0; 3.45GAA; .904SV%). Keith Yandle has three
goals from defense and is pulling team-high 23+ minutes TOI.
ST. LOUIS
COLORADO
ATLANTA 
CAROLINA
OTTAWA
TORONTO
DALLAS
SAN JOSE
CHICAGO
NASHVILLE
FLORIDA
BUFFALO
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
ANAHEIM
MINNESOTA
EDMONTON
CALGARY
