NHL Power Rankings: Top five in league

By Andrew Miller

1. San Jose Sharks (5-0-0)

Greg Beacham/AP

Secondary scoring is crucial to finding success in the NHL and the Sharks have plenty of it. Tomas Hertl has a two goal lead on everyone else in the league thanks to a four goal outburst against the Rangers (which also included an unreal through the legs move) and Logan Couture continues to build on what already is a very impressive resume for a 24 year old.

Through five games, the Sharks have yet to lose and have given up just seven goals. As Herb Brooks said about Vladislav Tretiak, if you score on Antti Niemi keep the puck.  Any team can beat anyone in the NHL on any given night, but if the Sharks sneak past the Blues on Tuesday, the winning streak could very easily 
reach eight games to start the year with matchups against the Stars and Flames ahead.

2. St. Louis Blues (4-0-0)

Somehow, some way, the Blues continue to live in the top of the West. There’s nothing flashy about this team. Some would argue they don’t have a bona fide star player (those people have not been paying enough attention to Alex Pietrangelo). Sound defensive coverage and players buying into Ken Hitchcock’s system results in the Blues starting the year with four wins and zero losses through Monday.

Around the league, there’s a lot of chatter about goalie Jaroslav Halak, and for good reason as he’s playing as confident as ever. As long as he avoids costly mental errors that plagued him last year, the ceiling for this team is the Stanley Cup.

3. Anaheim Ducks (4-1)

If you didn't catch throwback night in Anaheim do yourself a favor and check out the sweetest unis of all time. Rocking the purple and teal Mighty Ducks colors, Anaheim beat the Senators on Sunday night to improve their record to four and one, and that’s with a power play that has scored just once.

This may have to be the year to go all in for the Ducks as Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu are expected to retire at the end of the season.  All the pieces are there with a deep lineup. In fact, the only starter with a negative plus/minus is defenseman Cam Fowler. If the second line of Silfverberg, Perreault, and Penner keep up their scoring pace, the Ducks could slide even higher up.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins (4-1-0)

Regardless of where the Penguins are on this list, their season relies on one thing: the health of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. If that tandem can stay healthy, a Stanley Cup run is realistic even with an unreliable Marc-Andre Fleury.

During last year’s playoff push, it seemed as if the Penguins had too much star power. Now filled out with role players as well as scorers, Dan Bylsma’s team is coming along nicely even if they haven’t faced the stiffest of competition. The coach has to be circling the Canucks and Avalanche games as early season tests for him to gauge where his team truly is.

5. Colorado Avalanche (5-0-0)

10 different players have already netted a goal for the Avs through five games. That’s more than five teams have on the season. Nathan MacKinnon is the real deal, already dishing out assists all over the place, particularly with some good hands around the net. And how does four goals given up through five games sound? Patrick Roy is smiling somewhere behind all that fire.

With an absurd .970 save percentage, Semyon Varlamov is playing out of his mind, possibly feeling the pressure to perform well heading into the Olympics in his home country. Although it’s a great start for the team, it is hard to imagine his team maintaining their level of play and hanging around much longer in the top five.

Just missed: Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings

NHL Preview Part Two

Taking a look at a few of the biggest storylines in the Eastern Conference this season.

By Marcus White

AP Images

Last week, we took a look at the Western Conference’s biggest storylines going into the 2013-2014 season. We’ll be taking a look at the Eastern Conference this season, and the first area of discussion is the question that everyone in Pittsburgh is dying to know the answer to.

What will happen to Marc-Andre Fleury?

Despite a reputation as a “clutch” goaltender earned on performances in the 2008 and 2009 postseasons, respectively, Pittsburgh ‘tender Marc-Andre Fleury has been anything but in the last four postseasons. In those four years, Fleury’s goals against average hasn’t been below 2.50, nor has his save percentage cracked the .900 mark. As a result, Pittsburgh’s only made it past the second round once in the last four years, and that was only after head coach Dan Bylsma turned to Tomas Vokoun to man the crease.

Although Vokoun outplayed Fleury, both Bylsma and General Manager Ray Shero came out in support of Fleury this offseason. Each declared Fleury the team’s number-one goalie. Fleury’s going to get every opportunity to prove that he is the solution in Pittsburgh’s crease, especially now that Vokoun is out following blood clot surgery.

But Fleury’s not going to be judged on his regular season performance, where he’s had much more success than the playoffs in the last four years. He’s solely going to be judged on his performance in the postseason, and the Penguins are counting on him to rebound. If he doesn’t regain his form from Pittsburgh’s last two Stanley Cup Finals appearances, it’ll be another short postseason in the Steel City, and could very well be Fleury’s last as a Penguin.

Who will emerge in Toronto’s crease?

By all accounts, James Reimer had a solid year as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ starting goaltender, posting a .924 save percentage and 2.46 GAA in 33 regular season games. He was crucial in helping Toronto stave off elimination, posting back-to-back victories in Games five and six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Despite this, Toronto GM Dave Nonis felt the need to find an upgrade in goal, as the Leafs have been linked in deals to acquire goaltending since last offseason. Eventually, Nonis decided on shipping backup goaltender Ben Scrivens and young forward Matt Frattin to Los Angeles in exchange for former 2006 first-rounder Jonathan Bernier. Bernier has been the subject of immense hype since he was drafted, but has spent the last three years backing up Jonathan Quick and playing in only 55 games over that span. Considering his lack of experience and Reimer’s success, it’s a bit of an odd acquisition for the Leafs.

The Bernier trade, and subsequent contract extension, will become a true head-scratcher if Reimer is able to hold on to the starting job. It could also leave Toronto in yet another salary cap crunch next offseason, as Reimer, Phil Kessel, Cody Franson, and Dion Phanuef all become free agents. And if Bernier becomes the starter? We could be looking at a Luongo/Schneider situation on the opposite coast.

Are the (soon-to-be Brooklyn) Islanders for real?

To the surprise of many last season, the New York Islanders qualified for the playoffs as the eighth seed, giving the Pittsburgh Penguins quite a scare in an intense six-game series. The Isles’ long rebuild looked like it was finally starting to pay dividends.

The Islanders’ run to the playoffs was no fluke. This team is loaded with young talent up front, led by 2013 Hart Trophy-finalist John Tavares. And after adding veterans Cal Clutterbuck, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, and Peter Regin this offseason, the Islanders have solid depth up front. Losing former Captain Mark Streit to the Flyers will hurt, but the Islanders have an underrated group on the back-end. If their young defensemen continue to improve, they’ll will be even better.

The Islanders’ biggest question mark lies in goal. Evgeni Nabokov had a decent regular season for the club, but was far from it in the postseason, managing to play worse than Marc-Andre Fleury in the series against the Penguins. Competing for the back-up spot are youngsters Kevin Poulin and Anders Nilsson, who have played a combined total of 25 games in the NHL. The Isles need stability in net in order for their success to continue, otherwise this talented group won’t be able to take the next step.

Can the new-look Bruins make it back to the Final?

After being one minute and 16 seconds from forcing a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals this past June, the Bruins made some major changes to their roster. Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverley, Andrew Ferrence, Wade Redden, Nathan Horton, Jaromir Jagr and backup-goalie Anton Khudobin are gone, the former two shipped to Dallas in the most talked about trade of the offseason, and the latter six signing elsewhere as free agents.

GM Peter Chiarelli has filled these holes through internal and external means. The Bruins acquired Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith and defense prospect Joe Morrow in exchange for Seguin and Peverley, and signed Jarome Iginla to a one-year deal. Eriksson, Iginla, Smith and late-season addition Carl Soderberg look to have the edge on filling the spots vacated by Seguin, Horton, Jagr, and Peverley. With Ferrence and Redden gone, Boston is a lot younger on the back-end, as out-of-nowhere postseason hero Torey Krug and sophomore Dougie Hamilton are expected to take big steps forward in their development.

On paper, the Bruins are just as formidable as they were last year. They’re solid in goal, with Vezina Trophy finalist Tuukka Rask manning the crease, and have depth at just about every position. They have the strongest roster in the Atlantic Division, and perhaps even the conference. Don’t let the offseason makeover fool you: Boston is loaded and ready to make another run at the Stanley Cup.

How will Detroit and Columbus do in their first season in the East?

As we looked at how Winnipeg will do in a new conference in Part One, it’s only natural that we do the same for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings in Part Two of our NHL preview. The former Central Division rivals are now in the Metropolitan and Atlantic Divisions, respectively. 

Both are coming off surprisingly successful seasons, as the Jackets challenged for a playoff spot on the back of Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky while Detroit upset the second-seeded Anaheim Ducks and took the eventual champion Chicago Blackhawks to seven games in their last playoff run in the West.

Both teams are improved, too. Detroit added Senators’ legend Daniel Alfredsson and former Panther Stephen Weiss, bolstering their top six forward group led by longtime-Wings Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. 

The Blue Jackets signed Nathan Horton and depth forward Jack Skille from Boston and Florida, respectively, and likewise appear to be deeper up front. The strength of both of these teams, however, is in goal. Jimmy Howard is Detroit’s stalwart in net and is coming off of the best season of his career. As is Sergei Bobrovsky, much to the chagrin of Philadelphia Flyers’ fans.

Unlike Winnipeg, Detroit and Columbus should do well in their new divisions. Detroit should have no problem making the playoffs, and could challenge Boston for the Atlantic Division title. Columbus will have a tougher go in the Metropolitan, with four playoff teams from last year (Capitals, Rangers, Islanders and Penguins) in their division, but they’ll be in the playoff hunt at the very least. And if Bobrovsky plays as well as he did last year? 

It’s not out of the question that the Blue Jackets will be in the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

Who’s Going to Raise the Cup? Part One

By Andrew Miller

Get excited, the playoffs are right around the corner. In just over a month, the NHL playoffs will start up and the chase for the Cup will begin once again. And right now, there is a tier at the top of the standings that is playing at another level compared to the rest of the league. In the Eastern Conference, the Canadiens and Penguins have a step on every one else, while the Ducks and Blackhawks are a lock on top of the West. Chances are, one of the four will be Stanley Cup Champions, but the question is who? For part one of the series, let’s take a look at things on the Eastern front.

Pittsburgh Penguins

(AP Photo)

As usual, Pittsburgh is leading the pack in the East as the playoffs approach. Currently riding an 11 game winning streak, the Pens are clicking on all cylinders. Crosby is a sure fire MVP finalist, casually putting up 39 assists in just 32 games. Equally impressive is the players around him. Neither Crosby or Malkin are among the top three goal scorers on the team as Neal, Kunitz, and Dupuis all have double-digit goal totals. All of their talent culminates in the man advantage giving them the thir best power play in the league. When Malkin heats up and pitches in, the NHL has to watch out.

On the back end, the defense is rock solid. Five starters boast a positive plus-minus and between Kris Letang and Paul Martin provide enough offensive support to get the puck into the hands of their goal scorers. When it comes to goalies, coach Dan Bylsma loves the production from back up Thomas Vokoun, who shoulders roughly a third of the games. Starter Marc Andre Fleury has been good enough posting a 2.38 goals against average with a .912 save percentage. More importantly, Flowers will be fresh come April when Sid the Kid and the rest of the Pens make a push to add another banner to the rafters.

Montreal Canadiens

The Habs have quietly put together a strong 2013 campaign with a .750 winning percentage. Their numbers aren’t sexy, but they continue to find ways to get the job done. When they light up the scoreboard, they win by committee. 13 players have double digit point totals including the defensive pairing of Marcov and Subban having 20 and 22 respectively. Thomas Plekanec, their leading goal scorer only has 12 goals. However, every player that has played more than 10 games has at least one. Depth is their strong suit so grinding out playoff games is no issue.

Goaltending has been phenomenal for Montreal. Price and Budaj both sport goals against averages under 2.50 and save percentages over .900. Although Price starts the majority of the games, there should be no lack of confidence in Budaj as he has grabbed a point in five of his six starts. They don’t have the same star power of others front runners, but on one in the NHL wants to play in the Bell Centre come playoff time.

Verdict: Pittsburgh Penguins

When it comes down to it, there’s too much the Penguins can throw at a team offensively to not win. Most of the players have already won the Cup with a very similar team, while the Canadiens haven’t made a cup final since 1993. Playoff hockey is meant for their storied franchise, but they will have to at least wait another year to come out of the East on top.