Week at a Glance

Atlantic Division is the best in the NHL this season

By Jon A. Dolezar, SI.com

Martin Brodeur won his first Vezina Trophy last season, but he's been ever better so far this year. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

The title gets passed around like a hot potato.

OK, it's probably a safe bet that the Southeast, Central and Pacific Divisions aren't in the running, but which among the other three deserves the title of the best division?

The Northeast Division has five teams with 17 points or more, the Northwest put four teams in the playoffs last spring, but the Atlantic takes the crown after the first 5 1/2 weeks of the 2003-04 regular season.

The dueling duo at the top of the Atlantic heap are both among the top teams in the NHL. And while Philadelphia holds a two-point edge on New Jersey, the red-hot Devils are looking even more impressive than their Stanley Cup champion version of a year ago.

Only the Penguins are truly a bad team among the Atlantic quintet, and even they are entertaining. Youngsters Marc-Andre Fleury, Rico Fata and Konstantin Koltsov make Pittsburgh fun to watch, even when it is giving up nearly 35 shots per game.

The Rangers are inconsistent, but if Brian Leetch finds his game and Mike Dunham continues to play well, the Blueshirts could end their playoff drought.

And let's not forget about the Islanders, who can't be written off as a possible division contender with the Devils and Flyers. The Isles' offense has been excellent, helping them to a nifty 7-2 mark at home.

But realistically, it's a two-horse race. The Isles are a good team, but the Devils and Flyers are elite, Stanley Cup-contending squads.

The Flyers have used a similarly balanced game to take the division lead after one-fifth of the season. Philadelphia extended its home unbeaten streak to nine (7-0-2) with Saturday's 4-0 win over Atlanta, though the Flyers have a way to go to match the 1979-80 team record of 26 in a row at home without a loss.

But the Devils are the champs until someone knocks them off next spring. And right now that's looking like an increasingly unlikely proposition, considering the team's nine-game unbeaten streak, during which it has allowed just 11 goals.

Martin Brodeur is looking like he may eventually break many of Patrick Roy's records, and he could even challenge Terry Sawchuk's mark of 103 career shutouts. Brodeur's 1.77 goals-against average is the best of his 11-year career, and his .920 save percentage is second only to the incredible .927 he posted in 1996-97.

The ironman netminder has sat only once this season, and backup Corey Schwab allowed the Leafs only one goal in that game. Brodeur is on pace to play in a career-high 76 games, though head coach Pat Burns surely will give him some rest down the stretch and in back-to-back situations. With three under his belt already, Brodeur is also on pace for 15 shutouts this season, which would tie Alex Connell, Hal Winkler and Tony Esposito for second behind George Hainsworth's single-season record of 22, set in 1928-29.

Scott Niedermayer is challenging Nicklas Lidstrom for the title of the best all-around defenseman in the NHL, and Nieds has been one of the five best players in the league this season. Devils studio analyst Stan Fischler called him the best player in the NHL after Saturday's game, and while that may be a bit of hyperbole, it is clear that Niedermayer has stepped up his game to another level in his 12th full season.

Niedermayer has been Norris Trophy-good so far, and he could even garner some Hart Trophy support if he continues to lead the Devils from the back end so spectacularly. His smooth skating, effortless passing and underrated physical play make him one of the most complete packages in the NHL, along with Lidstrom and Rob Blake among defensemen, and Peter Forsberg, Joe Thornton, Jarome Iginla, Bill Guerin and Marian Hossa among forwards.

The Devils won the first meeting between the two teams on Oct. 30 by a 3-2 score, but they don't meet again until Dec. 12-13, when they will play critical back-to-back games.

Outdoor game
All eyes in the hockey world (well, except those from U.S. television viewers without the NHL Center Ice package) will be on Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium for Saturday's Heritage Classic between the Canadiens and Oilers. And while the regular game between the 2003-04 editions of the team will be fun to see on an outdoor rink, the alumni game beforehand will be even more spectacular, thanks to Wayne Gretzky's return to Edmonton for his first old-timers' game.

Costly suspension
I choked on my coffee this morning when I saw how much money Keith Tkachuk was losing for his three-game suspension. Tkachuk's cross-check to Sharks defenseman Rob Davison on Thursday made him $365,853.63 lighter in the wallet. Tkachuk sat out St. Louis' game at Los Angeles on Saturday and will also miss Sunday's game at Anaheim and Wednesday's game at Phoenix. He will be eligible to return Nov. 22 vs. Dallas. Tkachuk also paid $487,804.84 last February while serving a four-game suspension. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund, but perhaps the NHL would be better served by commissioning a blue-ribbon panel with all of this money to look into the vanishing art of scoring goals on a rush.

Eye on the future
While 2003 NHL Entry Draft selections Marc-Andre Fleury, Eric Staal, Nathan Horton and Milan Michalek all made their clubs out of training camp, a couple of other top-seven picks who didn't sign did battle in Madison, Wisc., over the weekend. Minnesota's Thomas Vanek and Wisconsin's Ryan Suter met in a two-game WCHA series, with the teams tying 3-3 on Friday and then the Badgers winning 4-3 on Saturday. Vanek scored twice in each game, but two-time defending champion Minnesota hasn't been getting offense from other sources and fell to 2-7-1. While major juniors remains the primary venue for teams to scout for future players, college hockey is improving and continues to attract high-profile prospects like Vanek, Suter, Hugh Jessiman, Zach Parise and Mark Stuart.

Three doesn't go into two
The Sharks became the first of the three-goalie teams to pare down to just two netminders when they dealt Miikka Kiprusoff to the Flames on Sunday for a second-round pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. That still leaves Atlanta, Detroit and Phoenix with three goalies on their active rosters. The Red Wings' locker room is growing increasingly fractured due to the continued presence of both Dominik Hasek and Curtis Joseph, so general manager Ken Holland is facing more pressure to get a deal done quickly to ship CuJo out of Motown.

Anaheim at Colorado -- 8 p.m. EST Tuesday
The chance of seeing Paul Kariya play against his former team for the first time was ruined Saturday when Kariya reinjured his right wrist late in the first period on a check from Stars winger Brendan Morrow. Colorado has a seven-game points streak (5-0-1-1), while Anaheim hasn't lost in regulation in its past four (2-0-0-2).

N.Y. Islanders at Tampa Bay -- 7 p.m. EST Thursday
Two of the league's top offenses should provide for an entertaining affair in Tampa. Both teams have tallied five or more goals four times this season, meaning it could be a long night for Rick DiPietro and Nikolai Khabibulin.

Boston at Philadelphia -- 7 p.m. EST Saturday
The attention of the hockey world will be on the first outdoor game in Edmonton, but the best game will be in the City of Brotherly Love. While it was mentioned above that the Devils and Flyers likely will continue to battle neck and neck in the Atlantic Division, they may both have to worry about the Bruins when it comes down to first overall in the East. The individual matchup of Joe Thornton against Keith Primeau could be one of the more physical pairings of the season.

Plus: Alex Tanguay -- Colorado hasn't had its dream lineup of top-six forwards together since the first five games, but Tanguay hasn't been bothered one bit. The 23-year-old left wing has seven goals and 18 assists to lead the NHL in scoring, despite the fact that usual center Peter Forsberg has missed six games. Second-line center Joe Sakic (who formerly occupied Forsberg's spot on the top line with Tanguay and Milan Hejduk) has stepped up and played well on the top unit.

Minus: Brendan Morrison -- The Canucks' first-line center has a five-game points drought and is minus-4 during that stretch. Morrison still has 13 points and a plus-9 in 18 games, but his recent personal slump has coincided with the Canucks dropping four of their past five games. Morrison is among the league's most creative playmakers, but he and linemates Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi have been shut down by opposing defenses lately.

Plus: Robert Lang -- There hasn't been a lot to cheer about in Washington this season, but Lang's play has been the one beacon of light. The 32-year-old has a nine-game points streak and lit the lamp five times last week, including his first career hat trick on Tuesday against the 'Canes. The Caps' second-line pivot has 10 goals and 13 assists in 18 games, but that hasn't stopped his name from coming up often in trade talks, as Washington is likely to enter rebuilding mode and trade away many of its big-money players.

Minus: Pasi Nurminen -- Atlanta is 2-6-1 in its past nine games partially because of a decline in the play of Nurminen. The Thrashers have allowed 25 goals in the past five games and Nurminen's once-impressive numbers are coming back to earth at 7-5-3 with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. Atlanta's defense isn't talented enough to weather mediocre performances in net, so if the Thrashers want to keep the early goodwill rolling for the duration of the season, Nurminen is going to have to be spectacular on many nights.

Plus: Glen Murray -- The Bruins weren't pleased when Murray didn't score until the ninth game of the season, but the team was winning and getting offense from other sources. But the 31-year-old Murray has picked up his play lately, scoring four goals in the past five games. Murray and linemates Joe Thornton and Mike Knuble are all in the top 20 in the NHL in scoring and have combined for 50 points and a plus-23.

"I'm going to get carried away for about 24 hours. I've been talking about way too many losses. It's a team we play well against. It's nice to get all our forwards going." -- Capitals coach Bruce Cassidy, after his team routed the Carolina Hurricanes 7-1 on Wednesday night to end a three-game losing streak.

"Terrible. He wasn't good and I probably shouldn't have started him." -- Canucks head coach Marc Crawford's assessment of Johan Hedberg's play in Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss against the Flyers. Crawford apologized to Hedberg the following day for his inappropriate criticism of one player.

"Nobody in hockey should be making that much money. There's no TV revenue to speak of, and why people think there is, I have no idea. I have a problem with everybody begrudging a group or individual that has paid $100 to $150 million for something making 2, 3, 4 percent on his money. To begrudge that and say the owners are lying ... well, I've been on both sides, and I can tell you the owners aren't lying." -- The always brutally honest Phil Esposito assessing the high salaries of today's NHL players, in particular, Jaromir Jagr's $11 million salary.

"In my career, it's always seemed like I played for teams that were in a transition. I was always the guy they were using just to get through to the next guy. This has been a fantastic opportunity for me to play for a team committed to winning." -- Flyers goalie Jeff Hackett after blanking the Thrashers 4-0 on Saturday.

"I wish I had been out there. I thought Chara did a good job. He didn't have to fight the guy, but you know why [Lessard] is out there at that time of the game. He's looking for something." -- Senators enforcer Chris Neil after Zdeno Chara fought Francis Lessard in the waning moments of Ottawa's 5-3 win over Atlanta on Tuesday.

Matthew Lombardi Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Flames C Matthew Lombardi -- Calgary is having trouble scoring goals, but 23-year-old rookie pivot Lombardi can't shoulder much of the blame. Lombardi netted his first career hat trick on Wednesday in Chicago and leads the Flames with six goals.

Lombardi is tied with the Islanders' Trent Hunter for second in goals among rookies, and he ranks fifth overall in rookie scoring with 10 points.

After initially getting drafted by the Oilers in the seventh round in 2000, Lombardi scored 130 points in 66 games for the Victoriaville Tigers in the QMJHL in 2001-02. Lombardi reentered the 2002 draft and was a third-round selection of the Flames. He had an impressive 25 goals in 76 games in his first professional campaign last year with Saint John of the AHL. 

He has impressed the organization with his offensive instincts, but his small stature and questionable attitude were worrisome to some scouts. But Lombardi has worked on his defense to the point where Flames head coach Darryl Sutter give him some work on the penalty kill and isn't afraid to play him in key situations during a close game.

The Flames were hopeful that Lombardi could make the club out of training camp this year and contribute some offense, but he has overshadowed fellow rookie Chuck Kobasew, as well as veterans Jarome Iginla, Steve Reinprecht and Craig Conroy.

Our best guess at what the playoff seedings will look like.

This list will be updated each Sunday throughout the season.

Each week during the season, this space will be devoted to your comments on a particular issue.

Last week's topic: With the Heritage Classic coming up on Nov. 22 in Edmonton, would you like to see the NHL play more outdoor games in football stadiums? And which cities would be the best candidates to host them?

I would not be interested in seeing more outdoor hockey games played in football stadiums. But if I had to pick some cities, I'd say Dallas, Miami, Tampa and Anaheim. Oh, wait, those would have to be roller hockey games. Never mind. Well, come to think of it, a Blues-Blackhawks game at Soldier -- no, Wrigley -- Field would be interesting. Especially if the wind was blowing out and Al MacInnis was in the lineup. -- Dan Watkins, Fenton, Mo.

With the Heritage Classic coming up and with as many as 900,000 people requesting tickets, you can see that people are in love with this idea. Though I am sure it also has something to do with the old-timers' game beforehand. But I think it's a great idea. However, only a few cities would be able to support the temperature required. A good game would be Boston vs. Montreal or Toronto vs. Montreal, with an old-timers' game beforehand as well. Or how about a Minnesota vs. Dallas game in Minnesota with the Stars wearing the old Northstars jerseys? -- Greg Johnson, Vancouver, British Columbia

They should try to play a couple of outdoor games a year. I think this one is going to be great. I'd say a good place to hold one would be in some of the newer NHL cities that are cold this time of year, like Minnesota or Columbus. It would really help build the fan base. And of course the traditional hockey towns like Montreal, Toronto and Detroit would be great, too. Also maybe Calgary to help their franchise out a bit. They sure need it. -- Josh Lowney, Rothesay, New Brunswick

Nov. 22 is also the 100th game between Michigan and Ohio State. Without question, the best stadium to stage an outdoor hockey game would have to be Michigan Stadium. The actual field is relatively small: 360x160 vs. a 200x85 hockey rink, so the fans would actually be a minimum distance from rinkside. Plus, as part of the renovation during the early 1990s, the field level was dropped 3 1/2 feet, again helping sightlines. Could it get any better than 111,000-plus screaming fans watching an Avs- Wings game? -- Chris Boyd, Las Vegas

It would be great to have a game at the SkyDome. It may be possible then to get tickets to a Leafs game in Toronto. The SkyDome's easier to get to than having to drive to Buffalo to see the Leafs. -- Gary Lloyd, Ajax, Ontario

I love seeing outside hockey games, ala "The Cold War" Michigan vs. Michigan State in Spartan Stadium. I'd like to see the Red Wings play a game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. -- Mathew Branch, Traverse City, Mich.

I wouldn't mind seeing outdoor games held in the cities of the Original Six teams in the NHL, at least to start off. But I think if the Heritage Classic is a success -- which it sounds like it will be -- it could happen a few times a year. -- Terry Malko, Vancouver, British Columbia

I think a great outdoor game would be in Detroit, possibly at Spartan Stadium. They hosted a college hockey game outdoors a few years back and it was incredibly successful. Add the NHL stars, Detroit vs. Colorado for instance, and just imagine what it would be like. -- Matt, Attleboro, Mass.

Keep outdoor hockey as a once-a-year novelty. Teams are having hard enough times filling 25,000-seat indoor rinks, let alone a 60,000-seat stadium. But if the NHL wants to do more of it, I don't think it would get any better than Montreal at Toronto and Detroit at Colorado. -- Chip, Mount Vernon, N.Y.

I think it would be great to see more pond hockey in the NHL. Call it hometown pride, but I think that Minneapolis would be one of the best places to have it because of our plethora of lakes. Other good cities would be Edmonton, New York City, Ottawa (on the river) or Denver. -- J. Hanson, Minneapolis

This week's topic: What one rule change would you enact to increase scoring?

Send your opinion in the form at the right.

Jon A. Dolezar covers the NHL for SI.com. The Week at a Glance will appear each Sunday during the regular season.