And now onto the NHL . . .
#31 Chicago Blackhawks (9-14-5, -27, LW: 30)
#30 New Jersey Devils (9-12-5, -16, LW: 23)
Cory Schneider’s last two plus seasons have given him a GA%- of 107, meaning that he is about 7% below the league average for goalies. The Devils have lost all five of his starts as well. For a team that once prided itself on its defense and goaltending, they have a ways to go if they want to return to that glory.
#29 Vancouver Canucks (11-15-3, -20, LW: 31)
#28 St. Louis Blues (9-13-3, -11, LW: 25)
#27 Florida Panthers (10-10-5, -9, LW: 19)
#26 Los Angeles Kings (10-16-1, -24, LW: 25)
#25 New York Rangers (13-12-3, -8, LW: 14)
#24 Philadelphia Flyers (11-12-2, -12, LW: 27)
#23 Montreal Canadiens (12-10-5, -5, LW: 28)
#22 San Jose Sharks (13-10-5, -4, LW: 17)
Losses in five of their last six games have slowed down what was a solid start for the Sharks. Part of that problem has been the production from their defensemen. Their top five defensemen in +/- have a combined -26, which is not the end all be all, but still sucks. The back end was supposed to be their strong suit entering the season, and has to improve for any real future success.
#21 Detroit Red Wings (12-12-3, -11, LW: 21)
#20 Pittsburgh Penguins (10-10-5, -1, LW: 15)
#19 Edmonton Oilers (13-12-2, -12, LW: 22)
#18 Carolina Hurricanes (12-10-4, -5, LW: 11)
#17 Minnesota Wild (14-10-2, +7, LW: 9)
#16 Boston Bruins (14-8-4, +7, LW: 13)
#15 Ottawa Senators (12-12-3, -11, LW: 29)
The Senators have given up the most goals in the league and it’s worse than it looks in the standings; they haven’t played a single shootout (when you win a shootout you are given a goal for, when you lose a goal allowed). As a result they are again near the bottom of the standings. For those of you who read these every week you may notice my attention to defense this week. It’s not a typical cliché like “defense wins championships”. It’s more along the lines of “you don’t win games 10-10” just like “you don’t win games 0-0”. Lack of balance means lack of variety.
#14 Arizona Coyotes (12-11-2, 0, LW: 24)
#13 New York Islanders (13-9-3, +4, LW: 16)
#12 Anaheim Ducks (14-10-5, -13, LW: 20)
#11 Buffalo Sabres (17-8-3, +8, LW: 1)
#10 Dallas Stars (15-10-3, +6, LW: 18)
#9 Vegas Golden Knights (14-13-1, +4, LW: 10)
#8 Columbus Blue Jackets (15-9-2, +7, LW: 8)
#7 Winnipeg Jets (16-8-2, +14, LW: 12)
#6 Washington Capitals (15-8-3, +12, LW: 4)
#5 Calgary Flames (16-9-2, +15, LW: 7)
#4 Nashville Predators (19-8-1, +23, LW: 6)
#3 Colorado Avalanche (16-6-5, +26, LW: 2)
#2 Tampa Bay Lightning (20-7-1, +28, LW: 5)
#1 Toronto Maple Leafs (19-8-0, +28, LW: 3)
Honestly, today I put a ton into the College Football Money Grab, so, that’s really all today . . .