As the season is about to be 1/4 over already, I thought it was time once again to take a look at how I think the NHL stands up throughout the league.
1. Montreal Canadians. The Habs are on top of the NHL right now 20 games into their season. Their record stands at 14-5-1 and look to be the team to beat in the East right now.
2. Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens have just three regulation losses in 17 games played this season and are looking like a cup contender once again this early season.
3. Nashville Predators. The surprise team in the west thus far has cruised into a tie for second in the conference and are all alone on top of the ever so tough Central. Lets see if the trend continues.
4. Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bolts are off to a strikingly good start and are just one win behind the league best 14 that the Habs have put up.
5. St. Louis Blues. Even with losing Oshie for a stint this season, the Blues find themselves near the top of the Central once again. Lets just hope that they don't have another epic collapse like the end of last season.
6.Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks are another team in the top 10 of the league I thought wouldn't be there. Ryan Miller is a big part of this getting back to the Ryan Miller of old.
7. Anaheim Ducks. 11-4-5 the Ducks are this season, but I thought they would be much better than that. Still on top of the Pacific, the Ducks need to be careful because three teams below them are all within three points.
8. LA Kings. The defending champs are just as good as the Ducks and are charging for the top spot in the Pacific.
9. NY Islanders. Who would have thought the boys of Long Island would be the better of the two NY teams? Not me. And who is this Brock Nelson guy playing with Tavares? I hear he went to a good college.
10. Calgary Flames. Probably the biggest surprise in the West thus far. They came out of nowhere and Jonas Hiller in net is a solid addition for the Flames.
11. Boston Bruins. The B's are not doing as well as some of their faithful rubes would like them to be right now, however they still have 24 points, so I think things in Btown are going ok.
12. Chicago Blackhawks. Ok, 10-7-1 isn't where I thought they'd be either, but you can never underestimate one of the deepest teams in the league.
13. San Jose Sharks. Just one game above 500, could their be some trouble brewing in the "Shark Tank?"
14. Minnesota Wild. The streakiest team in the league it seems and they find themselves on yet another mini winning streak of 3 games right now.
15. Detroit Red Wings. The Wings are a team I'm still not sure what to think about. Their record says they are able to compete, but I'd like to see a few less overtime decisions to convince me they are legit and worthy of a 24th straight playoff appearance.
16. Winnipeg Jets. I picked them last in the Central, but they are proving their strength in the leagues toughest division right now.
17. Ottawa Senators. As the Sens look to move on post Alfie and post Speeza, they look to rely on defenseman Erik Karlsson to lead the team to victory the remainder of the season.
18. NY Rangers. The East champs of last season are struggling early, but can they overcome their win one lose one mentality at just one game over 500 right now?
19. Washington Capitals. Another team with a lot of fire power, but not capitalizing on it. Could, and probably should be much higher in the standings.
20. Toronto Maple Leafs. They are coming off of the biggest, and most shameful loss in the entire NHL thus far, making fans once again throw jerseys on the ice. Kinda funny to think there was rumors for a second team here when their only one has struggled for so many years.
21. Florida Panthers. The youth movement is on in Florida and I see a lot of potential here. Maybe success wont come this or next year, but it will come for Florida. Their dozens and dozens of fans just need to keep calm and weather this storm.
22. New Jersey Devils. Jagr is still Jagr and the Devils are a team who could play spoiler with Corey Schneider as the backbone of this team.
23. Arizona Coyotes. Not much to say about this team. Very average in a place that hockey probably shouldn't be because the only ones who appreciate it there are mostly the ones who are there to get away from the winter.
24. Dallas Stars. Another team that I thought would start much better, but goes to show that you can have all the talent in the world, but you still need to work hard every shift to win.
25. Philadelphia Flyers. Can captain Claude Giroux rally the troops and get the Broad Street Bullies back in their old winning ways? I sure hope so for this team because Philly's fan base doesn't like to lose.
26. Colorado Avalanche. Sophomore slump for coach Patrick Roy. The Avs are showing their youth early on this season, even with the addition of Jerome Iginla.
27. Carolina Hurricanes. Still hard to believe this franchise has a Stanley Cup, but I can tell you one thing, it won't earn number two this season.
28. Columbus Blue Jackets. Todd Richards is showing the Blue Jackets exactly what he gave Minnesotans in his two years behind the bench there. Inconsistency. I want to say last season wasn't a fluke, but it's becoming harder and harder to say that.
29. Edmonton Oilers. The team who dominated the 80's, is having trouble finding success since their Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2006. I wonder if any moves will be made to try and fix this. Funny to think that if you have three straight first overall draft picks you'd be better right?
30. Buffalo Sabres. They probably should stay snowed in for the rest of the season. 20 games in and they finally have five victories. Sorry Buffalo, I'd start playing for that draft pick.
