The Beginning

Well this is the beginning of a weekly write up out there for all who will listen. Yes it is midway through the season and there is a lot to talk about. A lot of teams are not where we thought they would be at the start of the season.  Teams that have gone above expectations are everywhere in the Western Conference, just look at the surging Phoenix Coyotes. A team that  hasn't made the playoffs in years and has been laughable at best in many of the last few seasons. This team has shown maturity under former Dallas Stars head coach Dave Tippett. Tippett inherited a Coyotes team from Wayne Gretzky that has spent a lot of recent time in the headlines in regard to there eventual sale and possible relocation. Undoubtedly due to the play of Ilya Bryzgalov, the Phoenix Coyotes currently find themselves  not only in a playoff spot but at a 4 seed which carries home ice advantage. If the Phoenix Coyotes can pull off a great ending to the impressive start to their season and finish in the top 4, then look out for this team as they become a dangerous wild card. Another surprise team in the Western Conference is the Colorado Avalanche. The Av's were very disappointing last season as they finished out of the playoff race early. Unfortunately the Avalanche were without Joe Sakic who spent most of his final NHL season injured. The Colorado Avalanche too have had a goaltender come in and step up in a huge way however, unlike they Coyotes the Avalanche have been able to put up more impressive offensive numbers. Craig Anderson has put together stats worthy of Vezina consideration and young players like Wojtek Wolski quietly are putting up numbers that would lead to an 80 point season. Colorado has made the Western Conference even more unpredictable with its notable and effective play with seemingly no name players. This also under a new coach as Joe Sacco has been incredible for the Av's in his first full season behind the bench.
There are the obvious mentions like Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks. The Blackhawks have done very well after their impressive playoff run last season and it is clear to point out that the acquisition of Marian Hossa has made up for the losses of Nikolai Khabibulin and Martin Havlet as the Blackhawks find themselves second to none in the NHL. Regardless of how well the San Jose Sharks have started the season, it is difficult to proclaim them a legitimate contender for the Stanley Cup. As soon as they can prove they are worthy of doing postseason damage they will get more respect. The Sharks were many people's pick to win it all last season and they found themselves on vacation early as they were eliminated in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks in  6 games.
On the negative side the first team that must be mentioned is the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers were a team that after the signings of Ray Emery and Chris Pronger seemed destined for a long playoff run, but if you were to just look at the stats they would be dead and buried if they weren't in the Eastern Conference, which is up in the air for many seemingly poor teams to make the playoffs. The Flyers on paper are one of the most talented teams in the league yet find themselves near the bottom of Atlantic Division and currently out of a playoff spot. Much can be said for the fact that for large periods of time they were without key names like Simone Gagne, Blair Betts and Ray Emery. So it would be easy to blame the losing streak on back up goaltender Brian Boucher as his record stands at 4-11-1, however during a 17 game period over the months of November and December the Flyers were scoring under 2 goals a game. This streak included woeful victories over struggling teams such as the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Islanders. The Flyers however, have gotten healthy and with timely play by goalie Michael Leighton have repositioned themselves for a legitimate playoff push. Due to their expectations going into the season they are considered an enormous let down at this point, although with recently improving play from Daniel Briere and Captain Mike Richards and with the possibility of Jeff Carter catching fire, the Flyers could make their way to the playoffs and pose a serious threat as previously thought.
This is just the beginning of much to come. Power Rankings Coming Soon.