| SI.com's Jon A. Dolezar |
| Rank |
LW |
|
Team |
| 1 |
1 |
 |
Ottawa Senators (5-1-0-1)
Jason Spezza was peeved when he didn't make the Sens out of training camp in 2001-02, but a final season in juniors and a half-year in the AHL in 2002-03 has left him with remarkable poise for a 20-year-old. With Doug Gilmour retired, Spezza appears ready to take over as Cherry's do-no-wrong favorite player who merits a weekly mention on Hockey Night in Canada regardless of how he's playing.
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| 2 |
3 |
 |
Tampa Bay Lightning (6-0-0-0)
Fans in Tampa-St. Pete are wishing the playoffs started next week. But it could get a whole lot better than 6-0, folks. The next eight games are against teams with a combined .347 winning percentage (13-32-17), meaning a 14-0 start -- while highly improbable -- isn't out of the question.
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| 3 |
2 |
 |
Philadelphia Flyers (3-1-3-1)
It's good to see John LeClair and that 9-iron he calls a hockey stick back for the Flyers. Philadelphia continues to prove that Ken Hitchcock's system works, much to Jeremy Roenick's chagrin. No, Hitch Hockey might not be as pretty as J.R.'s sexy hairdo, but following Captain Kangaroo's plan could help Roenick come one ring closer to the four that hard-of-hearing former nemesis Patrick Roy has.
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| 4 |
8 |
 |
Atlanta Thrashers (5-1-2-1)
Bob Hartley may have the Jack Adams Award wrapped up before Thanksgiving. The Thrashers are 24-16-7-1 since he took over last January. Was he this good at making windshields back in Hawkesbury, too?
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| 5 |
4 |
 |
Vancouver Canucks (4-2-2-0)
The Canucks are glad to have the Todd Bertuzzi contract situation behind them, especially with six games in the next 10 days, including four on the road. In fact, 11 of Vancouver's next 17 are away from GM Place, but it was largely their excellent play on the road in November a year ago that got the Canucks rolling to a 12-1 record for the month.
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| 6 |
10 |
 |
Detroit Red Wings (5-3-0-0)
Tomas Holmstrom has as many goals (three) as Brett Hull, Brendan Shanahan and Henrik Zetterberg combined. With three goals on four shots, Holmstrom may be the best garbageman in the game right now.
|
| 7 |
15 |
 |
St. Louis Blues (4-2-0-1)
Chris Osgood has been spectacular, with a 1.86 GAA and .928 save percentage. Maybe once the playoffs roll around, the Blues can hypnotize him into thinking it's October instead of April.
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| 8 |
6 |
 |
Boston Bruins (5-2-2-0)
Jeff Jillson is outscoring Joe Thornton. If you would've told me last year that I'd be typing that sentence nine games into the 2003-04 season, I'd have checked myself in to a mental hospital. But, hey, the Bruins are winning, so whatever works.
|
| 9 |
12 |
 |
New York Islanders (4-2-1-0)
I don't know which is more surprising: Mariusz Czerkawski's seven goals or Alexei Yashin's plus-3 rating. Yashin has been more assertive offensively with 3.71 shots per game, but his team play and willingness to let the red-hot Czerkawski get the glory are very impressive.
|
| 10 |
7 |
 |
Dallas Stars (5-4-0-0)
Jere Lehtinen's wonky back has plagued the Stars' play in their own zone, but it doesn't help that Marty Turco doesn't look fully recovered from his ankle injury and the time missed from his holdout. Add into the mix the trade rumors that have Bill Guerin and Richard Matvichuk potentially heading to Toronto, and it's an especially volatile time for Dave Tippett's team.
|
| 11 |
20 |
 |
Toronto Maple Leafs (4-2-2-1)
While many of the Leafs' high-priced stars are still trying to get on track, Tom Fitzgerald and Ken Klee have been pleasant surprises. Fitzgerald's backchecking has helped Toronto's defense get out of some jams, while Klee's minute munching (23:12 per game) and steady play in front of Ed Belfour make him the team's defensive MVP. The return of Bryan McCabe makes the Leafs a much more formidable opponent in all three facets of the game.
|
| 12 |
11 |
 |
Colorado Avalanche (4-4-0-0)
Do I really think the Avs are only the 12th-best team in the NHL? No, I'm not a complete fool. But Colorado's typical slow start has shook up those who thought the Avs would steamroll through the season on the basis of having two impressive scoring lines. The trade for Steve Konowalchuk will prove to be a steadying influence, especially in the locker room, where the former Capitals captain is a great leader.
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| 13 |
5 |
 |
Montreal Canadiens (5-4-0-0)
There is something intoxicating about watching an Original Six team play well, but the Habs' at No. 5 last week? OK, so I got caught up in th emotion of their fast start. Montreal will benefit once Saku Koivu returns, but the Habs must tighten things up in their own end after playing loosey-goosey on defense and allowing 11 goals in the past two games.
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| 14 |
9 |
 |
New Jersey Devils (2-3-2-0)
Did Joe Nieuwendyk really mean that much to this team's success? Scott Gomez, Igor Larionov, John Madden and Jay Pandolfo all have yet to net a goal, while playoff stars Jamie Langenbrunner and Jeff Friesen have combined for just four. Maybe they do miss Nieuwendyk's strong play in the faceoff circle and leadership in the locker room.
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| 15 |
25 |
 |
Buffalo Sabres (5-4-0-0)
The Sabres went 4-2 on their Western road trip, including consecutive wins over the Kings, Ducks and Avs. Lindy Ruff and his staff are doing a tremendous job, especially with young forwards Ales Kotalik and Taylor Pyatt.
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| 16 |
14 |
 |
Los Angeles Kings (4-4-0-0)
The Kings are a disappointing 2-3 on a seven-game homestand, which concludes with games against the Canucks and Coyotes. The blown three-goal lead against Boston was bad, but losing back-to-back games to Buffalo and Chicago is tough to swallow, even for a team as injury-ravaged as L.A. is.
|
| 17 |
19 |
 |
Calgary Flames (4-3-0-0)
The funniest sight of the week may have been Krzysztof Oliwa getting a breakaway in Saturday's 4-2 win over Edmonton. Throwing down the mittens with Georges Laraque two seconds into the game was almost a guarantee, but Oliwa getting a breakaway and then scoring his first goal in 115 games (shame on you, Tommy Salo) was definitely a stunner.
|
| 18 |
13 |
 |
Edmonton Oilers (3-5-0-0)
The Oilers looked lost defensively in allowing 16 goals to the Blues, Avs and Flames. Scott Ferguson, Steve Staois and Jason Smith have been steady, but Cory Cross and Eric Brewer have been disappointing. Edmonton also needs a better defensive effort out of its forwards to help out in its own zone, or Salo will continue to be on the wrong end of target practice.
|
| 19 |
16 |
 |
Phoenix Coyotes (3-3-2-0)
Phoenix showed some nice character to rally and earn a 3-3 tie on Sunday with Vancouver. But after their impressive 3-0 start, the Coyotes have given up 22 goals in the past five games.
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| 20 |
22 |
 |
Florida Panthers (3-4-2-0)
Although the defense is allowing 35.2 shots per game, the Panthers have a shining star on the blue line in Jay Bouwmeester. J-Bo plays with the poise of a 10-year veteran, not a 20-year-old kid, and his skating ability from the back end may already be the best in the NHL among defensemen and could rival Paul Coffey, Bobby Orr and Denis Potvin for the best wheels ever on a defenseman in the near future. Do yourself a favor and catch a Panthers game soon so you can check out Bouwmeester's incredible skills.
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| 21 |
21 |
 |
New York Rangers (2-2-2-0)
Despite a $77 million payroll, the Blueshirts have just one more goal than Ilya Kovalchuk, who is making $1.13 million in base salary. Maybe the Rangers should practice a little bit of Gary Bettman's favorite buzzword, "cost certainty," in the future.
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| 22 |
30 |
 |
Anaheim Mighty Ducks (2-5-1-1)
Two wins in a week -- what a novel concept. One of the bright spots in the Ducks' tough start has been the play of rookie Joffrey Lupul. The 20-year-old Edmonton native has displayed the form that made him one of the most feared snipers in juniors the past three seasons, when he netted 127 goals in 191 games with Medicine Hat of the WHL.
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| 23 |
23 |
 |
Minnesota Wild (2-6-1-0)
The Wild are on pace for just 45 points, which is also the approximate number of goals that Marian Gaborik could've scored. I'm not saying Minnesota is running things on the cheap or telling them how to spend their money, but the Wild's rank of 29th in payroll at $24.9 million seems a bit miserly for a team that was close to reaching the Stanley Cup finals.
|
| 24 |
26 |
 |
Chicago Blackhawks (3-4-2-0)
If fired general manger Mike Smith loves Russian players so much, why doesn't he move to Russia and become GM of a team in the Super League? Brian Sutter won the power struggle, and the 'Hawks are likely to play more in his scrappy image now. Thank God one of the two is gone, because there were more disagreements at Blackhawks practices than in an episode of Project Greenlight.
|
| 25 |
17 |
 |
Columbus Blue Jackets (3-5-0-0)
A four-game losing streak has the Jackets looking mortal again after a 3-1 start. Rick Nash has been awesome, but after him only David Vyborny, Todd Marchant and Andrej Nedorost have more than one goal. Columbus has just five goals during its skid and needs to start scoring to take pressure off Marc Denis.
|
| 26 |
18 |
 |
Nashville Predators (3-4-0-0)
Watching Jordin Tootoo in person for the first time last Thursday was a real eye-opener. The kid hits anything that moves and has superb hockey sense for such a young player. And he backs up his impressive play on the ice with a calm, mature demeanor off it.
|
| 27 |
24 |
 |
Pittsburgh Penguins (1-4-2-0)
The Penguins' goalies are seeing a shot every 36 seconds. While that keeps them in the game, it is also going to leave them bruised and battered by the time the calendar flips to 2004. Marc-Andre Fleury has handled the barrage well, but Sebastien Caron has been unable to back up his excellent rookie season.
|
| 28 |
29 |
 |
Carolina Hurricanes (1-2-4-0)
Sure, a tie gives you a point in the standings, but there isn't much exciting about earning a lot of draws in the standings. Carolina's six points in seven games may not be earth-shattering, but at least the Hurricanes' 70-point pace has them ahead of last year's dismal 61-point effort.
|
| 29 |
28 |
 |
San Jose Sharks (1-4-3-0)
On a team with veterans Kyle McLaren, Mike Rathje, Scott Hannan and Brad Stuart, rookie Tom Preissing has been their best blueliner. While that doesn't say a lot for the play of the more experienced rearguards on San Jose's roster, it speaks volumes about the skill level of Preissing, who had 23 goals and 29 assists last season as a senior at Colorado College. At 24, Pressing is older than Stuart (277 NHL games) and Hannan (266), and his mature game and excellent hockey sense have been a bright spot.
|
| 30 |
27 |
 |
Washington Capitals (1-6-1-0)
How on earth did a team this bad beat the Islanders 6-1 in the season opener? The Caps have already quit on Bruce Cassidy, namely Jaromir Jagr, who broke up with his girlfriend (former Miss Slovakia Andrea Veresova) and seems to think the media puts too much pressure on him because of his $11 million salary. A supermodel girlfriend (even if she is now an ex) and a bank account bigger than the gross national product of most third-world nations -- we should all have such problems, buddy.
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