Sports Logic

After three full weeks of NHL action, we are finally starting to get a better understanding of how teams are going to play this season. Obviously there are a few playing over their heads, and a few who are struggling out of the gate, but the wheat is starting to be separated from the chaff. Now if only the NHL schedule makers could schedule some teams for more than one game a week, we'd be in business.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins (7-1-0) LW: 1 – They were first last week, and thanks to a 3-0 week, they obviously won't be replaced at the top. Marc-Andre Fleury is making a real statement that he wants to be included on Canada's Olympic team, and with a 7-0 record, a 2.09 GAA and a Stanley Cup ring, who can argue with him?

2. New York Rangers (7-1-0) LW: 3 - Maybe I was wrong about the Rangers. In the preseason rankings, I picked them to finish 14^th in the East. Henrik Lundqvist is playing very well right now, but I will caution the Rangers' fans about 2 things. Thing the first, they started hot last year and faded. Also, if they play anything like they did Saturday against Toronto, the losses will come quickly.

3. Columbus Blue Jackets (5-1-0) LW: 7 – The Jackets will never win any awards for being the most exciting team in the league, but they have just enough offense to get the job done. Rick Nash is off to a great start, and if he continues on this pace, a Hart nomination may be in his future. He's come a long way from the minus-62 combined from his first 2 seasons.

4. Colorado Avalanche (6-1-1) LW: 18 – I reluctantly put the Avalanche in this spot because everybody knows the walls will eventually cave in on them. But with 4 wins this week, including a comeback victory over the Red Wings and the very steady play of Craig Anderson, how could I put them any lower?

5. Chicago Blackhawks (4-2-1) LW: 11 – I feel very confident in saying that if you exclude goaltenders the Blackhawks are the best team in the league. Sadly, for the Hawks, goalies do count and theirs stink. Cristobal Huet looks lost in the net for the Hawks, and there are only so many times they can bail him out.

6. Calgary Flames (5-2-1) LW: 2 – The Flames had a roller coaster of a week didn't they? They steamroll Chicago on Monday and blow a 5 goal lead, then look awful against Columbus the next night. Then on Friday, the Flames played their most complete game of the year in a statement game against Vancouver. I think it's safe to say they won't blow anymore 5 goal leads with Mr. Sutter in charge...unless they like puckless skates.

7. Ottawa Senators (5-2-0) LW: 10 – I get the feeling that Ottawa is one of those teams we haven't quite figured out yet. If the early season is any indication, they will be a team who can easily beat the bottom feeders, and can't compete with the top teams. I like to call those teams the 6-8 seeds come playoff time.

8. Edmonton Oilers (4-2-1) LW 13 – Much like Ottawa, the Oilers are in a pattern of beating the teams below them and losing to the teams above them. The difference is that Edmonton is getting outshot by the bad teams and getting their goalies to bail them out. Getting outshot on a 2:1 ratio by Minnesota and Nashville has to be corrected and quickly.

9. Buffalo Sabres (4-1-1) LW: 12 – I'll admit that Buffalo should probably be ahead of Edmonton, but I already wrote the first draft in pen. How can I go back on that? So here's how I get around it. Buffalo beat a banged up Detroit team and an awful Islanders team. Then a loss to Atlanta set them back a spot in the ranking...I covered it beautifully I think.

10. Philadelphia Flyers (3-2-1) LW: 5 – It's very hard to place a team when they only play one game in a week as the Flyers did. They lost to a bad Panthers team, but I won't punish them too bad because Scott Clemmensen stood on his head to win it for Florida.

11. San Jose Sharks (4-3-1) LW: 4 – What is up with the Sharks? A 1-0 loss to Phoenix with that kind of fire-power is unacceptable. I don't care how effective the trap is for the Coyotes, there is no way the Sharks should ever lose that game. Then they come up listless against an eastern contender like Washington? Maybe someone forgot to tell the Sharks the playoffs aren't until April. Oh Snap.

12. Washington Capitals (4-2-2) LW: 9 – The Capitals are a funny team. There's nothing wrong with being 4-2-2, but the expectations are so high on them this year that it almost feels like a failure. Also a memo to Bruce Boudreau, I made a prediction about Nicklas Backstrom before the year, so if you could kindly reunite him with Ovechkin, that would be super.

13. Phoenix Coyotes (5-2-0) LW: 27 – I don't believe in the Coyotes and I probably never will. Dave Tippett has them playing a boring trap system and they are winning games because of it, but the clock is about to strike midnight there. Ilya Bryzgalov will eventually start to struggle and the losses will pile up. With that being said, a week of wins over San Jose, St. Louis and Boston is mighty impressive.

14. Atlanta Thrashers (4-1-0) LW: 16 – It's time for me to admit my mistake. In one of the earlier power rankings, I said Pavelic started the opener ahead of Kari Lehtonen. It turns out Lehtonen had off-season back surgery and still isn't ready to play. Color me surprised that Lehtonen is hurt again. No matter what the reason, Pavelic is the starter in Atlanta now and Lehtonen will probably be traded at some point this season.

15. Dallas Stars (3-1-3) LW: 20 – After an impressive 6-0 win over Nashville, the Stars came up lame against Boston. The Stars can be included in that list of teams who have yet to find their way. But wins this season over Calgary and Chicago is a positive sign.

16. New Jersey Devils (4-3-0) LW: 17 – Martin Brodeur is rounding into form. Coincidently, so is Jacques Lemaire's 1-2-2. If there is a plus side, Zach Parise is averaging a point per game early in the season, and he is doing it very quietly...just the way the Devils like it.

17. Los Angeles Kings (4-4-0) LW: 6 – Just when it looked like the Kings were going to be a contender in the west, they lose three games in a row. Now to be fair to the Kings, those losses came to the Rangers, Red Wings and Blue Jackets. Still, the Kings looked like boys playing against men in those games, which is essentially what it was.

18. St. Louis Blues (3-2-1) LW: 21 – Are the Blues starting to rebound from their Swedish trip to start the year? A 5-0 win over the Ducks on Saturday would indicate that they are. That's pretty much all I've got for the Blues this week.

19. Detroit Red Wings (3-3-1) LW: 8 – I am putting my neck out there right now. The reign of dominance is over. The Red Wings have come back to the pack, and for the first time in a decade, they will have to scramble to get home ice advantage in the playoffs. Sure, injuries, lost talent and getting old have caught up to the Wings, but perhaps the biggest reason is that the Central division has become the most competitive in the league. No longer will the Wings play 40% of their games against non-playoff teams.

20. Vancouver Canucks (3-4-0) LW: 14 – A 5-3 loss was flattering to the way the Canucks played in a loss to the Flames on Friday night. The Canucks were outskated, outhit and obviously outplayed in that game. The next night, the Canucks had what they called their best game of the season against Minnesota. It might have been their best game, but I don't think many other teams will put in the piss-poor effort that Minnesota gave in that game.

21. Anaheim Ducks (3-3-1) LW: 19 – The Ducks are so frustrating this season. They win one and look good, and then they lose one and look abysmal. Case in point, a 3-2 win over Minnesota where they played well, followed by a 5-0 drubbing at home at the hands of St. Louis. PS: Anytime Ryan Getzlaf wants to play this season, he's more than welcome.

22. Boston Bruins (3-4-0) LW: 15 – Are the Bruins really this bad? Tim Thomas has come back to earth after his Vezina winning campaign, Marc Savard has to score goals because there's no one to pass it to, and adding to their woes, Milan Lucic suffered a broken finger this week and will be out of the lineup for a period of time.

23. Carolina Hurricanes (2-4-1) LW: 23 – Cam Ward is playing out of his mind for the Hurricanes and they can't seem to rally around him. Look at the game this week against Pittsburgh. Ward stands on his head and gets his team to overtime and then once they get there, Ward again steals the show and gets them to a shootout where the Penguins finally took them down.

24. Tampa Bay Lightning (2-3-2) LW: 24 – Unlike what Toronto claimed to have a couple of weeks ago, an actual goaltending controversy could be brewing in Tampa. Mike Smith hasn't looked very good this year, and backup Antero Niittymaki is primed to steal that job. Head coach Rich Tocchet has given a vote of confidence to Smith, which means he'll be on the bench by November 1.

25. Florida Panthers (2-4-0) LW: 29 – How often does a team go 1-1 and move up 5 spots in the rankings? It was basically by default this week because the bottom feeders of the NHL are quickly becoming apparent. The Panthers are looking to trade Nathan Horton if you listen to rumours. And why wouldn't they want to trade a potential 30 goal scorer? It's not like they don't have a bunch of other guys who can score 30. What's that? They don't? Hmm, my bad.

26. Nashville Predators (2-3-1) LW: 22 – Has the time come to wonder about Barry Trotz's job security in Nashville? With the goaltending they have been getting this season, Toe Blake and Scotty Bowman's love child couldn't save this team.

27. Montreal Canadiens (2-5-0) LW: 28 – How bad have things gotten in Montreal? The loudest ovation on Saturday night was when Alex Kovalev scored a goal. Kovalev doesn't play for the Canadiens anymore, so for the fan in Montreal of all places to cheer him is a real indictment of how bad the Habs are this year.

28. New York Islanders (0-3-3) LW: 26 – There are already rumblings on Scott Gordon's job security as head coach of the Islanders. It's hard to imagine he will last the year, but if there's one player who can't be blamed its Tim Jackman. He's an even player for the Islanders this season, making him one of only 5 players who aren't a minus and have played all 6 games.

29. Minnesota Wild (1-6-0) LW: 25 – I want to clarify something. If it were possible, I would have two number 30s and no number 29 because this Wild team deserves to be in last after the effort put forth Saturday night against Vancouver. The Wild had 8 shots after 2 periods, and that was being kind. I understand they have injury concerns, but the team they iced on Saturday night was pathetic and their effort was worse.

30. Toronto Maple Leafs (0-6-1) LW: 30 – Unlike the Wild, the Leafs tried on Saturday night against the Rangers, but Henrik Lundqvist stole the game from them. With a week off before their next game, the Leafs will probably find themselves in last place next week as well.