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1. EDMONTON OILERS He may need a babysitter when he's home alone, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is certainly fine on his own when he's on the ice. The first overall draft pick from 2011 has four goals, including a hat trick vs. Vancouver over the weekend. Can Edmonton send him down? Or will the kid line of Hall-Nugent-Hopkins-Eberle get a chance to build some chemistry this season? Apparently, some teammates think Nugent-Hopkins looks like Ellen Page from Juno. You be the judge. |
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2. MINNESOTA WILD Big night for Wild Coach Mike Yeo as his former team Pittsburgh is due in town (Yeo was an assistant coach from 2005-10). Yeo said he's not trying to build the Pen's winning culture in Minny;, he wants the Wild to build their own winning mentality. Really? Rip-off what you did in Pittsburgh, it kind of seemed to work. |
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3. NEW YORK RANGERS Henrik Lundqvist has been, is and will always be King Henrik. Marty Biron has been excellent and coming off a shutout against the Jets. Glad to see Tortorella playing him more. Experience tells me this will help the Rangers get into the playoffs. (Check the 05-06 Ranger team for proof) |
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4. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS So no Sid, some Malkin. some Staal and all the Pens have done without is to be icing the top centre corps in the league? Marc-Andre Fleury has been excellent, one of the top technical and athletic hybrid goalies in the world. Brent Johnson steps in and always give the Pens a chance to win. He has an awesome glove hand and is one of the best puck-handling goalies in the game. |
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5. DALLAS STARS Joe Nieuwendyk looks like a genius for getting Kari Lehtonen. He's bought into conditioning, diet, and prehab routines to compliment his Carley Price-esque unique blend of size and ability. A 10-1 record for him so far this season. Hello! Andrew Raycroft will play well when he gets chances and has become a good backup that can contribute. |
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6. BUFFALO SABRES They say Miller is "struggling." But he has a .922 save percentage. The difference is now for the first time since Marty Biron he has a partner who can also go in, play well and steal some wins for the Sabres. Jhonas Enroth was awesome last year and just as good so far. I love the fact that Lindy Ruff is playing him a lot. |
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7. BOSTON BRUINS Cup Hangover seems to be fading, as the B's have scored 18 goals in the last three games. Tim Thomas has been his splendid self with .931 save percentage. Tuukka Rask, who had been victimized by a lack of goals in his first few starts, picked up his first win the other night. This kid can be a stud. |
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8. DETROIT RED WINGS Can't believe they lost six straight at one point. Crazy! Jimmy Howard is heating up just when the Wings needed him to. Ty Conklin can and needs to play well when called upon. |
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9. LOS ANGELES KINGS Jonathan Quick reminds me of Kiprusoff: Crazy Bruce Lee-like flexibility, amazing reflexes, very competitive and active hands. All he does is make saves and smile. Jonathan Bernier has the package to be an excellent goalie, but it's tough to come into the NHL and play spot duty and learn the league. If I was a GM in need or want of a good young goalie, I'd be trying to pry this guy, Schneider or Lindback. Just sayin'. |
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10. CALGARY FLAMES The fact that Kipper has his GAA at 2.19 is impressive. Henrik Karlsson has played fairly well. He needs to keep his head balanced - at times he has a short fuse. |
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11. FLORIDA PANTHERS Jose Theodore has been really good in Florida, and by the way, he was as good as $6 million US Backstrom in Minny last year. Jakob Marstrom was amazing in his five games this year, but was sent back to the AHL due tothe return of Scott Clemmensen. |
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12. NASHVILLE PREDATORS Pekka Rinne had a birthday for the ages with a juicy new deal (congrats!) and a shutout to boot/ He's found his game and the Preds have found theirs, too. I dare any of you to see if you can see the difference in termsof looks and performance between Anders Lindback and Rinne. Trust me, that's a good thing. |
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13. PHOENIX COYOTES Mike Smith has been excellent so far. Sean Burke lobbied for him and he's really helped Smith. Jason Labarbera gives the team a chance at two points when he gets his games. |
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14. MONTREAL CANADIENS Carey Price has played fairly well, but he has another few gears. He's the 'Total Package' goalie. Peter Budaj hasn't gotten much ice, but is awesome in his role on a daily basis. |
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15. SAN JOSE SHARKS Antti Niemi's just getting back into the flow after missing the start of the season due to minor surgery. His glove hand is a big part of his game. When it's hot he usually is too! Thomas Greiss has been excellent so far, very smooth in the net now. |
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16. WASHINGTON CAPITALS Tomas Vokoun has been good for the most part and had one really hot stretch. Michal Neuvirth missed some time due to injury but is very good and plays a patient style beyond his years. |
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17. ANAHEIM DUCKS Jonas Hiller has been brilliant at times, not so much at others. He's a very good modern butterfly goalie but with a quick glove hand. Dan Ellis worked hard at some tweaks in his game this offseason, and guess what? It's definitely paid off for him. |
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18. NEW JERSEY DEVILSMartin Brodeur's two games back from a shoulder injury and will need time to find a groove. Johan Hedberg's been amazing in every way for the Devils! |
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19. NEW YORK ISLANDERS With three, yes three, goalies, it's a unique scenario but all three have played well. I believe Al Montoya is the numero uno here though. |
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20. COLORADO AVALANCHE Semyon Varlamov was on fire out of the gate, but has cooled a bit of late. Jean-Sebastien Gigeure looks more athletic than ever to me so far this year, and that's a good thing. |
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21. VANCOUVER CANUCKS Roberto Luongo is starting to put it together and made 38 saves at Chicago. Cory Schneider is a terrific young goalie, and the organization does a good job of keeping him fresh as well. |
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22. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS Corey Crawford is solid to very good on most nights. Ray Emery is a luxury to have as a backup. He has matured nicely these last few years. |
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23. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS Neither Ilya Bryzgalov or Sergei Bobrovsky have hit their stride, but when they do this will be a Top 10 tandem in the NHL. |
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24. WINNIPEG JETS Ondrej Pavelec has been amazing his last four games. He is one of the most competitive goalies in the NHL and will do any and everything to make a save. Chris Mason, good at times, is battling an injury right now |
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25. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING Our modern day Johnny Bower, or Dwayne Roloson as his documents say, has been better, especially coming off the bench against the Panthers and leading them to a shootout win. Matheiu Garon was hot for a stretch, but was pulled against Florida. Still, he's a good backup. |
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26. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS James Reimer is still out with that injury but he's apparently made excellent strides in a short amount of time. Jonas Gustavsson had been fairly good until Tuesday against Florida, but his save percentage should and needs to be better. Ben Scrivens was amazing in his debut, but took a tough one against the Bruins on Saturday, Welcome to the NHL young fella. Spoke with him this week, and I'm very impressed by his perspective for a young goaltender. |
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27. ST. LOUIS BLUES Brian Elliott has played himself all the way back form the brink of being extinct; he's been AWESOME for the Blues so far. Jaroslav Halak: I know this guys can steal games by himself, but he's not playing with the consistency so far as a Bluenote. He's letting in goals through his body and from acute angles, two things I rarely saw from him at any point in Montreal (Editor's note: Halak posted a shutout Tuesday soon after this was written) |
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28. CAROLINA HURRICANES I believe Cam Ward is a top-flight goalie, but he needs some more help in front of him as several Hurricanes skaters are underperforming. Brian Boucher is an upgrade over Justin Peters, but needs to string some wins together for the Canes to get into the playoffs this year |
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29. OTTAWA SENATORS Craig Anderson needs to be at .915 save percentage or better for them to keep taking flight. Alex Auld is definitely a serviceable backup. |
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30. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS This is not an indictment of Steve Mason. Organizationally, they need to reshape the entire culture there. Mason however has the tools and needs to bring it every night, some of his challenges are technical and some mental but hey need the right backup to help that team. Johan Hedberg would've been perfect. |
Josh Harding, seen deflecting a shot against Detroit earlier this season, has bounced back from major surgery in fine style for Minnesota, a tandem Kevin Weekes believes is one of the best. (Carlos Osorio/Associated Press)
Kevin Weekes
Veteran goaltender Kevin Weekes brings a wealth of NHL experience to his role as an analyst on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.
