1-Chicago Blackhawks (21-2-3, 45pts, 1st in West): The Hawks have lost two in a row, but are still miles ahead of everyone else.
| 2-Anaheim Ducks (18-3-3, 39pts, 2nd in West): Getzlaf & Perry have been dynamite, and their supporting cast hasn't disappointed either. 3-Pittsburgh Penguins (18-8-0, 36pts, 2nd in East): Boast the leading scorer in Sidney Crosby, on a tear right now. 4-Montreal Canadiens (17-5-4, 38pts, 1st in East): Not quite at the Pens level yet, adding Ryder was a good deal for them. 5-Boston Bruins (16-3-3, 35pts, 4th in East): The big bad Bruins are living up to their name, getting great goaltending from Tukka Rask. 6-Toronto Maple Leafs (15-10-1, 31pts, 5th in East): Nazim Kadri is the real deal, and the Leafs are tough as nails this year. 7-Ottawa Senators (13-8-4, 30pts, 6th in East): Despite losing their two best players, and their starting goalie, the sens are hanging in there. 8-Los Angeles Kings (13-8-2, 28pts, 5th in West): The Kings have their Stanley Cup form back, look out if Doughty decides to heat up. 9-Detroit Red Wings (12-9-5. 29pts, 4th in West): Struggling to find total consistency, Wings slowly improving as the year goes on. 10-New Jersey Devils (12-9-5, 29pts, 7th in the East): They've slowed down a bit, but still have a team that can contend for the Stanley Cup, especially with a healthy starting goalie. 11-Carolina Hurricanes (14-9-1, 35pts, 3rd in East): The current Southeast division leaders are without their starting goalie, still playing well though. 12-New York Rangers (13-9-2, 28pts, 8th in East): Just hovering above the playoff line is not where Torts expected to be, they're improving though. 13-Vancouver Canucks (11-7-6, 28pts, 6th in West): Consistency has been a problem with the Canucks, like so many other teams in the West, they'll always be a threat though. 14-Minnesota Wild (13-9-2, 28pts, 3rd in West): This has to be the first time in years that the Nucks haven't led the Northwest division. (They're technically tied though). 15-San Jose Sharks (11-7-6, 28pts, 7th in West): They've slowed down a bit, but still have what it takes to make a long playoff run. 16-St. Louis Blues (13-10-2, 28pts, 8th in West): Like the Rangers, the Blues still trying to find their dominant form from last season. 17-Nashville Predators (10-9-6, 26 pts, 11th in West): Pekka Rinne is keeping this team in the hunt, and will continue to do so. 18-Phoenix Coyotes (12-10-3, 27pts, 9th in West): Just one point of the a playoff spot, the Yotes might just sneak in. 19-Dallas Stars (12-10-2, 26pts, 10th in West): Another team in the clustered Western Conference vying for a spot in the playoffs. 20-Philadelphia Flyers (12-14-1, 25pts, 11th in East): 11th place is a disappointment for a team that has as much talent as the Flyers. 21-Winnipeg Jets (12-11-2, 26pts, 9th in East): Despite inconsistency, the Jets remain in the playoff hunt thanks to the play of Andrew Ladd. 22-New York Islanders (11-12-3, 25pts, 10th in East): The pesky Islanders still in the playoff hunt. 23-Colorado Avalanche (10-10-4, 24pts, 12th in West): Slowly improving, getting healthier. 24-Columbus Blue Jackets (10-12-4, 24pts, 13th in West): Winners of 5 in a row (yeah that's not a lie) the Jackets are rolling, can they keep it going? 25-Washington Capitals (10-13-1, 21pts, 12th in East): They've shown some glimmers of brilliance, but are still struggling to find consistency. 26-Edmonton Oilers (9-11-5, 23pts, 14th in West): I still think the Oilers can sneak in but they'll need better play all around, could another first overall draft pick be in the cards? 27-Tampa Bay Lightning (10-14-1, 21pts, 13th in East): Tampa has fallen off in a big way, the once SE Division leaders now sit near the basement of the conference. 28-Calgary Flames (9-10-4, 22pts, 15th in West): Struggling mightily, their GM claims their a playoff team, but they have yet to show it. 29-Buffalo Sabres (9-14-3, 21pts, 14th in East): This is not a team that should be this low, but here they are, one up from the basement. 30-Florida Panthers (7-13-6, 20pts, 15th in East): The Panthers aren't getting much better, look for Versteeg, Fleischmann, Weiss and Kopecky to be heavily discussed names at the trade deadline. 3 STARS: BY POSITION Forwards: 1-Sidney Crosby (PIT): Showing us why he's the best player in the world, having an unbelievable season. 12 goals, 33 assists for a total of 45 points, averaging almost 2 points a game, he stands alone at the top. 2-Steven Stamkos (TBL): Widely considered the #1 contender to Crosby's belt, the Ontario native has 37 points in 25 games, and currently leads the league with 19 goals. 3-Chris Kunitz (PIT): Proving to be a valuable asset to the Pens, his chemistry with Crosby is "Sedin Brother" like. 17 goals, 19 assists, and 36 points in 26 games. Honorable Mention: Marty St. Louis, Ryan Getzlaf, Eric Staal, John Tavares. D-Men: 1-Kris Letang (PIT): 3 goals and 23 assists in 23 games played for the Pittsburgh Penguin, another weapon on an already stacked team. Is the current front runner (in my opinion) for the Norris Trophy. 2-Kimmo Timmonen (PHI): 3 goals and 16 assists has him tied for 2nd in d-man scoring, he'll need to keep this play up to keep the Flyers afloat. 3-Kevin Shattenkirk (STL): Still going at a strong pace, 2 goals and 17 assists in 25 games played so far for the young man. Honorable Mention: Nik Kronwall, PK Subban, Alex Peitrangelo, Ryan Suter, Andrei Markov. Goalies: 1-Cory Crawford (CHI): Leads all starters with a 1.91 GAA, and boasts a dandy .925 save %. Tied for 5th in the league with wins at 11. 2-Victor Fasth (ANA): May have stole the starting job from Hiller, the young Swede has been brilliant this year with a 1.92 GAA, and a .929 save %, 10 wins and only 1 regulation loss. 3-Tukka Rask (BOS): 2nd in the league with 12 wins, he has Bruins fans, not so much missing Tim "cry baby" Thomas. 1.97 GAA, .927 save %. Honorable Mention: Antti Niemi, Carey Price, Nicklas Backstrom, Henrik Lundquist UN SUNG HERO: Andrew Ladd (WPG): With 13 goals and 11 assists, Ladd has been the Jets most impressive, and most consistent player all year, he may even be the sole reason why they're still in the playoff picture. Runner Up: Jacob Voracek (PHI) BEST ROOKIE: Cory Conacher (TBL): Although he and his team have slowed down greatly, he still leads all rookies in scoring. Runner Up: Damien Brunner (DET) BIGGEST SURPRISE TEAM: Toronto Maple Leafs. They got bigger, and tougher. BIGGEST SURPRISE PLAYER: Nazim Kadri. Expected him to make an impact, but not this much, he's been everything the Leafs needed. BIGGEST LET DOWN TEAM: Honrable mention goes the the Philadelphia Flyers, but after their hot start, and subsequent horrid play, I have to go with the Tampa Bay Lightning. | \ |
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