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1. BOSTON BRUINS Timmy Thomas is well, Timmy Thomas! Tuukka Rask is awesome in his role and has a great attitude. What more can you ask? He'll be a stud whenever he gets his chance to be Numero Uno. |
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2. MINNESOTA WILD Niklas Backstrom's been excellent. What an AMAZING comeback from total reconstructive knee surgery. Josh Harding has a GAA of 2.10 and save percentage of .933 per cent. Only one thing to say. WOW! |
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3. ST. LOUIS BLUES Brian Elliott: Oh My Gosh, what an amazing bounce back! After last season I thought he may have played his way out of the NHL. This year he may earn a trip back to where his career started - Ottawa, but only in the NHL all-star game! Jaroslav Halak has finally rediscovered his game, which is great news for the Blues. Add Ken Hitchcock's emphasis on strong team play without the puck, and you get some amazing help for these two tenders. |
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4. NEW YORK RANGERS King Henrik is King Henrik. Marty Biron is excellent in his role and gives them a chance to win every game he plays too. That is a nice combination. |
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5. SAN JOSE SHARKS Antti Niemi is back in a big way. I loved his dominant game against his former Stanley Cup champion team Chicago Blackhawks last week. Thomas Greiss has been nice when called on. He looks very smooth with his movement in the net and reminds me of Johan Hedberg. |
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6. LOS ANGELES KINGS Jonathan Quick's rise to be a top-10 NHL goalie has been amazing. Very fun to watch his flexibility! I really like Jonathan Bernier as well. If I was Steve Yzerman or Scott Howson...never mind ;) |
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7. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS Lots of love for Sid but, don't sleep on Fleury. He's an excellent goalie and can win many different ways. Brent Johnson's an excellent partner with one of the best glove hands in the NHL and is a great puck handler. |
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8. EDMONTON OILERS RELAX Edmonton fans, Nikolai Khabibulin is back and I told you he would be! He's off to the best start of his amazing career. I'm impressed by the major strides Devan Dubnyk has made..,good footwork for such a tall goalie. |
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9. PHOENIX COYOTES Awesome start by Mike Smith! Goalie Coach Sean Burke has done wonders with his game. Jason LaBarbera has been very good. They have a nice 1-2 combo. |
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10. FLORIDA PANTHERS Major props to new head coach Kevin Dineen! Hello hockey world! Jose Theodore is doing it again. Real NHL goalies don't grow on trees, there are very few in a global population of more than seven billion. Scott Clemmensen earned a shutout in his first start after arthroscopic knee surgery and Jacob Markstrom looks like he could be the real deal. |
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11. DALLAS STARS I didn't forget about you guys in the Lone Star State, okay? Kari Lehtonen has been money this season; so sorry he hurt his groin. Looks like he'll be out for a while. Said it before and I'll say it again - Andrew Raycroft can play! I liked him behind Roberto in Vancouver, he played very well is his first start after Lehtonen's injury. If he keeps this up the Stars good start won't be for naught. |
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12. VANCOUVER CANUCKS Remember when I said Rollie Melanson was one of the best off-season signings that nobody talked about? Well, Roberto Luongo started slow (nothing new there) and is coming off an injury, but had a major season last year with Melanson's help. Oh, did I say Melanson? Take a look at what he's been able to do with Cory Schneider. His footwork, his butterfly base, the way he reads the play, and the more upright torso just to name few. The Canucks have done an amazing job with drafting, developing and managing this kid. When Roberto rounds into form this is the second best 1-2 punch in the NHL. |
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13. BUFFALO SABRES Ryan Miller's shaking off the cobwebs, but his partner Jhonas Enroth does it, I don't know how, but he proves that small goalies still can play in the show. Manny Legace must be smiling with pride. |
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14. NASHVILLE PREDATORS Pekka Rinne is one of the best in the biz and Anders Lindback has the tools and skill-set to be a really good one. The Preds are truly blessed in goal. Uncharacteristically at times the Preds haven't been at their defensive best this year. |
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15. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS Corey Crawford paid his dues in the AHL. He's a good goalie but has a tendency to get stuck a bit behind the play. Ray Emery has embraced his role and given the Hawks seven out of 10 points in games he's started. I still have to give the Oilers props for beating them 9-2 on Hockey Night In Canada. |
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16. MONTREAL CANADIENS Carey Price is the new prototype, but the poor guy has little margin for error. The Habs still have too many of the same type of players. Peter Budaj can play and is an excellent teammate as well. |
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17. DETROIT RED WINGS Howard has turned his game up nicely and gives his max effort on every play, very underrated goalie. Ty Conklin can play when called upon. |
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18. NEW JERSEY DEVILS Martin Brodeur is back and settling into his game, Lou made a great decision to bring back Moose Hedberg, he's been flat out awesome! |
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19. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS Ilya Bryzgalov is still trying to find his comfort zone with his new team. Also keep in mind this is his first time that he's played in the Eastern Conference so he still needs to get adjusted to all the arenas. I like Seigei Bobrovsky. He's very mature, very good for a young goalie. |
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20. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS What an amazing start for this club! James Reimer is closer to returning. Jonas Gustavsson is making some strides and Ben Scrivens has been a good story and proved he can have a future in the NHL. |
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21. CALGARY FLAMES You never know what you're gonna get from this team, but you do know that Kipper's going to give them a chance to win almost every game he plays! Henrik Karlsson has some potential as well, but he needs experience. |
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22. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING Did I mention earlier that Steve Yzerman, Bernier, Schneider, ah never mind;). Dwayne Roloson hasn't nailed his consistency yet and I gotta say I NEVER count him out. Maehieu Garon has played fairly well when he's been between the pipes. |
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23. NEW YORK ISLANDERS Stop messing around; Al Montoya is your #1! But they do need to get Rick DiPietro & Evgeni Nabokov some games too. |
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24. COLORADO AVALANCHE Semyon Varlamov is talented, but still young and learning the NHL. I'm impressed by the new mobility and reaction saves in Jean-Sebastien Giguere's game this year. He told me good health is a big part of that. |
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25. CAROLINA HURRICANES Coaching change. Cam Ward is a very good goalie, but at times this season he hasn't played up to his level. He can and needs to steal some wins for the Canes. Brian Boucher can and needs to get some points for this team if they are going to make a push for the playoffs. |
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26. WASHINGTON CAPITALS Coaching change. No identity for this team. At times Tomas Vokoun has looked like a top-flight tender, other times? Michal Neuvirth is a very good young goalie but hasn't hit his groove this season. The Caps need to define how they need to play in order to win and stick to it and they need to do it soon. |
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27. OTTAWA SENATORS Craig Anderson has played fairly well, especially on their Western Canada trip. He has another gear or two and that's good news. Alex Auld is definitely a serviceable backup. |
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28. ANAHEIM DUCKS Jonas Hiller can be Top 10 in the NHL, right now he's far from it. He's usually a rock of consistency but hasn't been able to maintain that this year. Ellis is capable and was amazing in a stolen win at San Jose, but he's out with an injury now. |
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29. WINNIPEG JETS Ondrej Pavelec is a maximum effort goalie who plays his heart out for this team. Chris Mason has played well, but the Jets need to commit to defending as hard as they attack - look out if they do! |
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30. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS Steve Mason needs to dig down, he has the tools and ability to be great, But he needs to get stronger mentally and physically to take his game to the next level. Curtis Sanford (from Owen Sound) has been lights out and has been a great story in his return to the NHL from riding buses in the AHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs. |
Boston goaltender Tim Thomas (right) has been outstanding during the Bruins’ impressive winning streaks. (Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
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.
