Hope everyone had a great Turkey Day! While football is the dominant sport played every Thanksgiving, there were a few great hockey games on the slate as well. Pittsburgh fans were thankful they were able to knock off Ottawa in a shootout. Nashville was thankful for a comeback win against Detroit. Chicago and Colorado were thankful for wins over Calgary and Edmonton respectively.
Mattias Ohlund of the Vancouver Canucks was suspended for slashing Wild forward Mikko Koivu (above). The cheap shot resulted in a cracked bone for Koivu and four games for Ohlund. I think the suspension should have been longer due to the fact it was a retaliatory cheap shot. The NHL has done a decent job on cracking down on those types of plays this year, and I hope it continues.
*NEW ADDITION*
Each week I will be supplying an AP photo with its caption, it is up to you all to come up with your own caption. The best ones will be chosen and I will add them in my blog each week! Here’s the first one…
Lanny McDonald is stunned at the addition of Roger Daltrey to the latest Legends Game.
Now onto the rankings...
30. Washington Capitals 8-14-1: The Caps went 2-2, but finished the week out on a great note defeating Carolina and Philadelphia. Maybe that gives them some confidence to climb out of the cellar.
29. Edmonton Oilers 8-13-1: Going 1-1-0 this week, the Oilers are 1-13 when scoring two or fewer goals. That’s something that has to change if they want to move up.
28. Toronto Maple Leafs(-7) 8-11-5: The Maple Leafs have lost six of seven. Their only win is against Ottawa, imagine that. A 0-3 week drops them close to the bottom.
27. Los Angeles Kings(-6) 9-12-1: The finally snapped a five game losing streak against San Jose. A 1-2 week is the only thing that kept them from being tied last in the NHL.
26. Buffalo Sabres(+1) 10-10-1: Currently on a four game win streak, the team has found its consistent goal scoring lost in the off-season. Is it time they make a run?
25. Tampa Bay Lightning(-10) 10-11-2: The Lightning are a team of streaks; lose six, win five, and last week- lose four more. That will get them absolutely nowhere.
24. Florida Panthers(+4) 11-12-1: The Panthers played some good hockey last week with impressive wins over CBJ and NYR. Now holding a playoff position, can they keep it up?
23. Atlanta Thrashers 11-12-0: Their four game win streak was stopped as they have been shutout in two straight. I guess when Kovalchuk doesn’t score, neither does Atlanta.
22. Pittsburgh Penguins(+3) 10-11-2: The Pens were able to knock off Ott. and destroy Atl. as they posted a 2-1 record last week. 11 goals in the last two games are as many as they scored in the previous five.
21. Phoenix Coyotes(+5) 11-10-0: Since picking up Bryzgalov, the Coyotes are 4-0. I’m not sure they will get a bigger gift for the rest of the year.
20. Calgary Flames 10-10-3: The Flames are trying to get back to .500, a 2-1 week helps. With so much more parody this year, they’re not far behind everyone else.
19. New Jersey Devils(+4) 11-10-2: The Devils posted a season high four game win streak last week. Zach Parise went on a scoring frenzy with 3g and 4a during that time.
18. Boston Bruins 11-8-2: They lost the first of a five game road trip on Saturday. They are 4-5-1 on the road, so its time to see what kind of a team they are.
17. Anaheim Ducks(-1) 10-9-4: After winning four, they lost two last week. Good news is they are still in the thick of things in the West, a few good runs and they’re at the top.
16. Nashville Predators(-2) 11-9-2: Losing two of three last week, the power play has sunk to 29th in the league, and the penalty kill to 20th. Help those and it should be enough to swing the close games.
15. Vancouver Canucks(+2) 11-9-2: Get this…1-7 against the Pacific and Central division, but 9-0-2 against their own. After a 2-1-1 week, I think they’re up for three losses next week.
14. Columbus Blue Jackets(-1) 11-8-4: November has not been nice to them as they pick up half of the wins in the month last week(2). However, they’re still second in the Central.
13. Dallas Stars(+6) 11-7-4: A change at the top of the organization is apparently what they needed. On a four game win streak, they have FIVE ROAD games next week. Got to love the NHL scheduling.
12. Chicago Blackhawks 12-8-2: The Blackhawks went 1-0-1 last week which included a shootout loss to league worst Edmonton. They finish out a Western Canadian road trip Sunday.
11. St. Louis Blues 12-8-0: The league leading penalty killing is major part of winning five of the past six. The only loss was to Detroit- taking eleven penalties doesn’t help.
10. Minnesota Wild: 12-9-2: The Wild went 2-2 last week. The once best defense has fallen to T14 in the league. They regain the division lead, but that changes daily anyway.
9. San Jose Sharks(-1) 11-8-3: They lost their only game of the week to the LA Kings. The loss drops them to 3-5-1 at home, but still one of the best GA in the league.
8. Colorado Avalanche(-2) 12-9-1: Not only have the Aves been losing, they are getting blown out. Losing four of five, they have been outscored 19-5 in losses.
7. New York Islanders 12-8-0: Only one power play goal in their last seven games in which the team has scored no more than two goals in each game.
6. Montreal Canadiens(-2) 12-8-3: Montreal did not have a good week, going 1-3. Divisional play has not been nice to them.
5. Philadelphia Flyers(+4) 13-7-2: Road wins in Carolina and Ottawa were spoiled by a home loss to last place Washington. You cannot take any night off, however, a 2-0-1 week will do.
4. New York Rangers(+1) 13-8-2: The hottest team in the league of late at cooled off a bit last week, going 1-1-1. They lead the division and have done a complete 180 from the beginning of the season.
3. Carolina Hurricanes 13-8-3: Like most of the teams at the top, the Canes struggled, losing two of three last week. They didn’t lose any ground though.
2. Detroit Red Wings 15-6-2: The Wings had seven regulation losses in the last two years to the Central division. This year: already five. A 1-1-1 week keeps them at number 2.
1. Ottawa Senators 16-5-1: Uh oh…the Sens are on a three game losing streak. By far the worst stretch of their season, they have four days off to figure it out.
Who do you have in your top ten?
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