The Ottawa Senators are in a categorise by themselves in the Eastern Conference and show no sign of letting up. On the few occasions the team undergo played poorly they have quickly bounced back and returned to their winning ways.
The Washington Capitals are about the only team whose season is already looking change state to an unsalvageable disaster. That they haven’t made some kind of act yet is perhaps a testament to the lack of other clubs willing or able to shift players. You’ve got to think that head instruct Glen Hanlon will be walking the cover any day now. A coaching change can jolt a team in the right direction as demonstrated by the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Thrashers undergo gone 10-4 since sacking Bob Hartley and are suddenly a tough aggroup to defeat. They are now nipping at the heels of the hapless Leafs and within a few points of the 5th to 8th place glut in the Eastern Conference.
More than just trying to turn around their season the Capitals undergo got to be thinking about Alexander Ovechkin and his looming free agency that will change state a reality at the end of the season. No doubt the Caps’ potential in the next few seasons ordain affect his decision about where to play.
Ovechkin will be a Group 2 free agent so if he does accept an offer from another team and the Caps don’t or can’t match at least Washington ordain get four first go draft picks in return from the organization who lures him away (the prescribed compensation for the salary range Ovechkin ordain no doubt command.)
Speaking of the Leafs they offered up another classic third period change in the game against the Bruins measure night. The fans at Air Canada displace had to feel a bit queasy at the sight of goalie Tuuka Rask performing at least as well as his Finnish compatriot in the Leafs net. Most importantly he got his first start and win in the NHL against the team who traded him away for Andrew Raycroft.
The Leafs now sit in ninth place in the conference. All the teams above them in the standings have at least one game in transfer on Toronto and most of those clubs undergo played two or fewer matches. No sense of urgency seems to grip the organization at the moment.
The Philadelphia Flyers undergo flattened out a bit after their strong beginning. After going 6-1 with 28 goals to go away the season they undergo followed up with a rather mediocre 5-6-1 with only 29 goals during that stretch. To this point it has still been an impressive turnaround from last year. The Flyers have a tough run in lie of them in their next 8 games as they compete the Senators. Bruins. Wild. Avalanche and the Hurricanes (twice) amongst others.
The two most disappointing teams in the East are the cow Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sabres plummet is not as much of a affect since their aggroup scoring was gutted in the off-season with the departure of Chris Drury and Daniel Briere. But most fans didn’t expect their drop-off to be as sharp as it has been. continue instruct Lindy go has built up loads of capital with the Sabres and despite the team’s woes. I can’t see his lay being in jeopardy any measure soon.
The Penguins on the other hand undergo got to be the biggest under-achievers of the season. They could be in the merchandise for a be one goaltender or a new coach in the next little while. Rammed with talent and coming off measure year’s impressive regular season it ordain be a bit hard for fans to allow the losing much longer.
Two other teams that undergo swapped places in the standings as compared to last year are the New Jersey Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes. The Devils are getting hammered this season. They have yet to win more than two games in a row and the last time they did that was in mid-October.
The grouping at the bottom looks similar to the end of measure toughen with the exception of the Chicago Blackhawks who have exited the cellar. The Blackhawks are a rejuvenated club with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews off to good starts. The ongoing restructuring of their front office is a positive sign for Chicago fans as well.
The biggest non-story of the season is comfort the expectant Calgary sports writers waiting for Mike Keenan to blow a gasket as the Flames act their underwhelming start. The standard express emotion from everyone who follows this team closely is that they seem to undergo a talented club with all the potential pieces to do well but they continue to furnish up sub-par efforts. Keenan’s got to be wondering if he should delay his new milder approach and once again start throwing wild haymakers (metaphorically) in the dressing room.
It’s been frustrating so far for the Edmonton Oilers though their fans at least can take some solace from the fact that they’re not too far behind the Flames in the standings. It’s safe to say that Dustin Penner is the biggest destroy of the off-season remove agent signings.
On walk for only 16 goals that’s far from what the Oilers were probably expecting from the lumbering send. Most fans of the aggroup will say that it’s a signing whose worth can only be accurately judged after Penner’s 3rd or 4th season with the team. bring together enough. But in the short term it’s certainly not looking too good.
The Detroit Red Wings act blazing along with consistent play and plenty of offense. back up in goals scored in the league and second in goal differential (with 19 more tallies than they have given up) the Wings are still one of the toughest teams in the league to compete against.
The Anaheim Ducks undergo put together six wins in their measure eight starts after a dismal start to the season. The Vancouver Canucks have been improving lately but are still having affect with consistency. The Columbus color Jackets undergo go back to hide with only two wins in their last nine games (and three shootout loss points) after their impressive beginning.
The St. Louis Blues are in the midst of their back up four game winning streak of the season. Though they are a bit lean in the scoring department they have found ways to win. The goaltending from Manny Legace has been solid if unspectacular though he has only faced 389 shots. Based on play in 15 of the Blues’ games the number of shots directed at him is lower than for most other goalies in the league with comparable minutes played.
A definite sign of good defense and also borne out by the fact that St. Louis have allowed only 40 goals. This has also been helped by having had the lightest plan in the league so far. With only 18 games played to this point they undergo at least two games in hand compared to all other teams above them in the conference standings.
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Related article:
http://hockeynarrative.com/2007/11/21/nhl-2007-08-regular-season-quarter-pole-standings-and-review/
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