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Who’s hot and who is NOT Eastern Conference – Week 2 Fire, Fire! FIRE!!!! Let us keep the Montreal Canadians on top here, at 10-2-0 and 20 points, Montreal continues to impress and make noise in the each. At this point, they still remain the top contender in the each for a playoff run. Carey Price, who has been amazing, will be sidelined with a lower body injury. Hopefully for the Habs, this is nothing serious and they can continue their impressive run. 3-0-0 Mike Condon looks to settle in as the starter with youngster Dustin Tokarski to back him up…. Montreal’s net is crazy deep, although he is not eligible to play remember they also have Zach Fucale in their system (future trades for Montreal? Who knows!) I will nab the Pittsburgh Penguins here; the Pens have who their last four games after a dreadful start to their season. The took on the red hot Predators and Capitals to snag 2 of those four and then stole two more from some strugglers in the east. Evgeni Malkin has put up ten points to this point and Phil Kessel is slowly finding his stride, he is up to 6 points 4 of which are goals. Marc-Andre Fleury has put up some great numbers and is 4-1 in his last 5 games. As long as this group stays healthy and continues to build chemistry, expect the Penguins to start getting a little pesky once again. Boston has been playing good hockey of late as they have also won 4 in a row. Jonas Gustavsson is 3-0-0 playing well behind Tuukka Rask who sits 3-3-1. David Krejci has been a force to be recon with putting up 15 points in just 10 games. The Bruins are on a terror since starting the season 0-3-0, Boston is 6-0-1 in their last 7 games, do not expect them to slow down much in the month of November. Players to be aware of – Offense— David Krejci – Krejci continues his rampage for Boston with 15 points and 10 of those 15 have come during the Bruins current 6-0-1 run. Expect Krejci to slow down some, but not too much. Ryan O’Reilly – Ryan had been turning on the heat for the Buffalo Sabers of late. The 24-year-old has put up 10 points in his last 5 games. The Sabers are 2-3-0 in their last 5 games and 2 of those 3 losses were by only 1 goal. Mark Stone – Stone is having a quite season alongside the Ottawa Senators. Stone had 13 points on the season and 5 points in his last 4 games. The right winger is trying to make a new for himself as a point producer as he has 64 last season, he is current 51 points shy of that mark, but well on his way. Defense— Erik Karlsson – Erik has been impressive in his young career, and the 7-year vet continues to shine. Although he has yet to put a puck in the net, he has helped his team 11 times to do so. The sens just split a home and home with Detroit and have a tough test in Montreal coming up. Look for Karlsson to continue to shine and add a few more helpers and may a goal in this next week. Dion Phaneuf – Dion has played well in his last few games, 3 assists in 4 games. Phaneuf has not played too great in Toronto since 2011-12, this could be a good year for the 30-year-old or a trade year. Toronto and new coach Mike Babcock will continue to watch and see how Dion leads the team up to the trade deadline. P.K. Subban – P.K continues to play solid on the back end for Montreal. PK has 11 points (1G,10A) and is a +10 for Montreal. Look for Subban to step up with Carey Price injured and young goaltenders Tokarski and Condon in net. In the nettttt – Goaltending— Henrik Lundqvist – 5-2-2 Record - .934 save percentage – 1.87 goals against average – 0 shutouts – 280 of 297 shots stopped. Lundqvist is playing solid in net as he has allowed 2 or less goals in the last 5 games and in 8 of 9 games. Marc-Andre Fleury – 6-4-0 Record - .942 save percentage – 1.71 goals against average – 2 shutouts – 275 of 291 shots stopped. Fleury is on a 3 game winning streak and has allowed only 2 goals in those 3 games stopping 92 of 94 shots. Corey Schneider – 6-2-1 Record - .919 save percentage – 2.17 goals against average – 0 shutouts – 227 of 247 shots stopped. Schneider is 4-1 in his last 5 games. As we inch closer to winter, some teams and players are playing in the cold a little soon! The Toronto Maple Leafs are tops on this week’s cold list. The Maple Leafs have not been good for quite some time and I do not expect that to change until they get a new leader in the locker room. I think Dion Phanuef’s welcome is long gone and I expect to see him moved at the latest the NHL draft, but in the 2015-16 years. Toronto has lost their last 4 games sit 1-7-2 and have been out-scored 20 to 35. The Columbus Blue Jackets looked like they had started to turn a corner winning 2 in a row…. Until now, Columbus has lost two straight and have a league worst 2-10-0 record. Jack Johnson is seemingly invisible as he sports 1 point and a -6 on the back end of things… Is Johnson another player that could be targeted for a move at this trade deadline? The Flyers have been less than spectacular to start this season. At 4-4-2 the Flyers have lost two in a row, and Steve Mason continues to play salty in net with a .900 Save percentage and 3.39 goals against. Flyer fans are waiting for both Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux to break out, but that won’t save their Defense or goaltending. Could the Flyers look at a defenseman like Dustin Byfuglien or Jack Johnson? Even if they don’t, the Flyers need a change somewhere before they end up good friends with Toronto and Columbus. Let’s look at which players are struggling off the hop. Offense – James Vans Riemsdyk – Toronto has never been the place to be for James and has struggled quite a bit. Although the last two seasons were decent. James has 4 goals and 1 assists this season so far. He could be another name on the market place around trade deadline, yet he will not be a cheap trade regardless of his stats. Claude Giroux – You Flyer fans had to know I was coming after picking on the Flyers not too long ago. Captain Claude has not started this season off well by any means. After back to back seasons that panned out nicely, Giroux is struggling to find the net consistently. He sits 3 goals two assists -4 and 2 of those 3 goals came in one game. I expect Giroux and Wayne Simmonds to find some consistency soon, otherwise, the Flyers are not looking too hot. Ryan Johansen – Johansen has been a no show in the past five games with nothing but a -2 to show. Johansen is one key to why the Blue Jackets continue to struggle, weird enough, Ryan was out for the only 2 wins the Blue Jackets have this season. Goaltending – Jonathan Bernier – 0-6-1 Record - .889 Save percentage – 3.02 goals against average – 0 Shutouts – 170 of 189 shots stopped. Bernier continues to struggle as a starter in Toronto, his name could possibly end up in trade rumors everywhere. Steve Mason – 2-3-3 Record - .900 save percentage – 3.39 goals against average – 0 shutouts – 181 of 201 shots stopped. Mason looks shaky to begin this season; could an offensive strike help the 27-year-old find confidence? Sergei Bobrovski – 2-8-0 Record - .865 save percentage – 3.97 goals against average – 0 shutouts – 224 of 259 shots stopped. Bob’s was on the rise with 2 wins, but came back down after two losses. He was pulled in the last game Columbus played after allowing 3 goals on 11 shots. Defense – Jack Johnson – Johnson is having a terrible start to the season in 12 games he has produced 1 points and a -6. Sadly, I do not expect Johnson to shake this funk unless the Blue Jackets magic pull off .500 or better at the end of November. Kris Letang – Normally a force that doesn’t stop in Pittsburgh, Letang has had a quiet week. In his past 5 games, Kris has managed 0 points and a -1. The 28-year-old has 4 points on his 11 games season and is a -4. While the Penguins find offence, expect Letang to catch a whiff of that confidence. The ENTIRE Detroit Red Wing Defense – Highest scoring defensemen, Niklas Kronwall, 4 points. The Wings are finding ways to win games, but no thanks to anyone on D…. **All stats are as of 10/31/15**

Western Conference Hot or Not WEEK 2 I am sorry about images​, they were saving as URL and Not the picture..... It is amazing how things can change so quickly in just a few games, today I will look at who’s NHL season is not panning out the way they had hoped. So, who is in the freezer? Anaheim Ducks – Now this is a team the has Stanley Cup written all over it. Stellar goaltender Andersen has been spectacular in net, but has had no offensive help. Names like Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Carl Hagelin and Ryan Kesler all have all-star performances throughout their NHL careers. Even with all these great athletes, Anaheim is 1-7-2 and their young goaltender, even though he is playing great hockey, has taken the brunt of the bat with an 0-5-2 record. The Ducks leading goal scorers have 2 goals, lead assist man has 3, and their top point scorers are a three way tie with 3-points each. I expect once Getzlaf returns from his recent appendectomy, the Ducks will find some goal scoring rhythm and start their climb back to the top of the western conference. Now I could get some heat for this one but that is ok, because I feel this team has been very back and forth. My second ranking for this week is the San Jose Sharks, yes they have a winning record at 5-4-0 but, that winning record started off 4-0-0, which means in the past 5 games, the Sharks are 1-4-0. This team came out on fire like they had a point to prove. New captain Joe Pavelski came out in game 1 of the season making a statement helping lead the Sharks to a 5-1 victory over Los Angeles where he sank 1 goal alongside 2 assists. Joe and the Sharks lone win recently came against the Carolina Hurricanes, a team that started their season poorly. Regardless of all that, in the Sharks four losses they managed 5 goals combined, yet in just 3 of their 5 wins, San Jose has 15 goals and 5 goals in each of those 3 wins. Young goaltender Martin Jones has played his rear off for them in net despite 3 losses. Jones is sporting a 1.74 goals against average with a .938 save percentage. I feel like the Sharks will get back on pace here soon. And once again breaking my heart to put them anywhere on the cold side, the Colorado Avalanche. I could have put the Flames here, however Colorado went through what the Flames are going through last season. Colorado should be a much more poised team and playing smarter, but they are not. Colorado is 3-6-1 so far this season and Goaltender Semyon Varlamov has looked less than spectacular, in every game except for 1 which was a 34 save 2-1 win over Tampa Bay. Varlamov is allowing 3.37 goals per game and has a very sad save percentage of .889 with a 2-4-1 record. In my personal opinion, I would like to see the Avalanche send Varlamov to the AHL for a conditioning assignment and call up young goaltender Calvin Pickard. I feel like that would be a slap in the face that Varlamov could use, especially if he comes back to the Pepsi Center and continues to play this way… there might be some boos. Another sore spot, Colorado was top 5 in both power play and penalty kill last week… Colorado’s power play is not 17th, and allowed their 1st shorthanded goal of the season to the Carolina Hurricanes. If you watch the power play work, 1:30 is either used chasing the down from their goal line, or passing…. The other .30 seconds are used shooting the puck into defender’s legs or taking a penalty. Colorado has had three consecutive games with 5-on-3 power plays and have come up empty on all three, including a 5-on-3 that lasted about a minute and a half. Now you think that has gone south… How about their penalty kill that has sunk to 21st in the league? So, we are not scoring man up and we are not stopping anything man down, yet our 5-on-5 has been our strongest point and it is the only thing Coach Roy seems to care about. Another thing, Patrick Roy has become the NHL’s softest coach!!! What happen to the fired up Roy who was fined $10,000 for shoving the middle glass in the bench towards Bruce Boudreau? Or the guy who told his team they need to put their B***s on the table?? Now it is a bunch of, oh I thought they played fine, our 5-on-5 was good and Varly played pretty well. Oh the power play will come back to us we need to just make smarted choices… He does not have the Patrick Roy fire that won him four Stanley cups, three Conn Smyth’s or the central division title with the Jack Adams. Nope…. I will call him out all day until it changes, Roy is soft and has been for two seasons. Sorry to rant and rave there, it is a deep passion of burgundy, blue and white that runs through my veins… Alright, now which players in the west need a kick in the rear? Defense— Tyson Barrie – Last season Tyson played 80 games and tallied 53-points, 41 of those were assists. This season, Barrie has served a 3-game suspension for interference/charging after driving into a player’s head. In his seven games Tyson has 2 assists and a -2 with 15 shots on goal, while the shots on goal are ok, there is never any traffic in-front of the opposing teams net while his shots are being taken… Each saves. Barrie is also not effectively jumping into the offense play like he is known for and when he does it is all untimed and leads to turnovers. Erik Johnson – I suppose it is pick on the Avs week here. Funny stat here, as of last night Johnson is the 3rd highest scoring defensemen on the power-play with two goals. Why is this funny? Well, Erik tallied those 2 goals in games 1 and 2 of the season where he also registered his only assist. Johnson has gone 8 games without a point and has stopped firing the puck at the net on power-plays. Like the rest of the power-play unit, Johnson has resorted to over passing the puck or taking shots on net with no screen. This is the NHL and a former #1 overall pick, you would think he would eventually start playing like he is a part of both little clubs there. After only playing 47 games last season, Johnson has not seemed confident in his play and it shows through the lineup that this team is looking for answers, even if they have managed 3 wins. Hampus Lindholm— This 21-year-old defensemen has played amazing in his first two seasons with Anaheim, but like the rest of the Ducks, he has not found any rhythm to start the season. Hampus is tied for the team lead with 2 goals and 3 points but also has a tough -6 on the season. Lindholm has been a + only once so far this season and that came against the Minnesota Wild, the Ducks only win of the season. He also scored a goal and had an assist in that game. Like the rest of the Ducks, expect Lindholm to catch fire once all the cylinders get running. Goaltending— Jonas Hiller and Joni Ortio – I decided to choose both Flames goaltender because they are both not playing to their potential, mainly Jonas Hiller. After placing Kari Ramo on waivers and sending him to their AHL team, Ortio came in relief, but it has not been such a thing. In 4 games (2 starts) Joni is 0-2-1 and owns a 4.26 goals against average, a .868 save percentage and has allowed 10 goals in those 4 games. Jonas Hiller has played in 7 games (started 6) and is representing the best goaltender for the Flames with a 3.67 goals against Average and a .861 save percentage. I feel like it is safe to say that Calgary is in need of a goalie…. Maybe they can trade Johnny Gaudreau to the Avalanche for Semyon Varlamov? No, bad deal? Ok ok…. How about Monahan? No still bad? Alright, alright, well maybe there is someone sitting in the AHL or Free Agency that the Flames can try for at some point, question is, who do they give up if they make a deal? Cam Talbot – Edmonton went out and snagged Cam Talbot the off-season and expected him to be their number one guy. While rookie Phenom Connor McDavid has caught fire as well as guys like Nail Yakupov and Taylor Hall… The oilers defense and goaltending have not been too great. Not one of the worst in the league number wise, Talbot has a 3-5-0 record a .904 save percentage and 2.63 goals against average. With the offense starting to click, the Oilers entire team should pick up and that includes Cam Talbot in net. Semyon Varlamov – For the second week in a row, Varlamov finds himself on the cold list for the Avalanche. This was Varlamov’s stats last week – 1-2-1 Record – 3.89 Goals Against Average - .861 Save Percentage – 0 Shutouts – 87 of 101 shots stopped. Now let’s look at what has changed. 2-4-1 Record – 3.37 goals against average - .889 save percentage – 0 shutouts 176 of 198 shots stopped…. So, in other words not much has changed with Varlamov, expect that he has faces more shots bringing his numbers down a smidge in his GGA and up slightly in his save percentage. Varlamov played in back to back games against Tampa Bay and Carolina, winning 2-1 in Tampa and dropping 3-1 in Carolina. Offensive struggles – Anze Kopitar – Kopi has played 9 games for the Kings this season and had only been able to manage 3 goals and 3 points in those 9 games. Kopitar is known for his ability to put pucks in the net and set up plays for the Kings. Since the addition of Milan Lucic to the Los Angeles roster, Kopitar has fallen back and is struggling, the good news is that 2 of those 3 goals have come in the past 3 games. With the monkey on his back, I expect to see Kopitar on the rise next week. Matt Duchene – 10 games into the season, Duchene finds himself on the bad list for many if not all Avs fans. Duchty has managed just 1 goal and 1 assist this season and is a -5. Many expected after he broke the mark against Los Angeles in game 5 that Duchene would ignite and start putting pucks in the net, however the 24-year-old is still gripping his stick two tightly. Highlight saves by Cam Ward and Ben Bishop are probably haunting the young center as he was robbed by both. Cam Ward’s save was much butter but none the less they were both spectacular! Duchene could be the spark that ignites the Avalanche, if he can get going and the TMI line stays hot, that could spell trouble for the west… it just needs to happen…. (The TMI line – Tanguay, MacKinnon, Ignila – or as Mack calls them, his dads so the family line could work? No, no, I like TMI better.) Corey Perry – Alongside Varlamov and Duchene, finds himself on the Chilly side of things. Perry continues to struggle to put numbers up. He is up to four assists and holds a -4 and is managing just over 2 shots per game… sadly 12 of his 22 shots have come between 2 games. Once Getzlaf gets back from his appendectomy, I do feel the Ducks will find some offence, I truly expect that the next three – four games will be improvements for the Ducks to build on, I see them going 2-1 if not 3-1. It’s getting’ hot in here, so take off all your….no please don’t…. But, some warmth is greatly needed and the perfect place to start is with the Dallas Stars! Why not right, they are proving my predictions way wrong for where I placed them in the Western Conference! Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin a just tearing it up for the Stars who have built an 8-2-0 record behind Antti Niemi’s 5-1-0 record and Kari Lehtonen’s 3-1-0 start to the season. Expect the Stars to keep climbing in the West despite lossed to the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers. http://www.hockeyforums.net/index.php/blog/65/entry-787-western-conf/#commentsStart The Nashville Predators will stay in this week’s hot list as they continue to produce wins. Currently Nashville is Tied for 2nd in the Central and second in the west with a 7-1-1 record and 15 points. They are one of four central division teams at the top that do not include the Chicago Blackhawks. The Predators have only played 9 games while everyone else is at 10 and 11 games played. Nashville has also allowed only 17 goals this season which is the lowest in the league (18 for Los Angeles.) This is a tough choice – I can go with Los Angeles who is 6-0-0 in their last 6 games, or I can take the tie between the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild who sit 7-2-1 and both have won their last 2 games. How about we honorable mention all three and not make a choice here. Minnesota is the only team in the west not to lose at home, (Nashville and St. Louis both has an OT/SO Loss at home) their 5-0-0 record is proving to be vital at home considering they are 2-2-1 on the road. St Louis is battling through a lot of injuries and still finding a way to win games. They have lost Paul Stastny to a broken foot, Jaden Schwartz who needed ankle surgery, rookie Robbi Fabbri (who looks like promising talent in St. Louis) Kevin Shattenkirk and now Vladimir Tarasenko will both be out also beginning 10/31/15 – Tarasenko and Shattnkirk’s injuries are listed as day to day. Los Angeles is winning, but struggling to score goals… They are 6-0-0 in their previous 6 games and 6-3-0 overall. Enroth has a 1.00 GAA and Quick a 2.00, Quick is 5-0-0 in his last 5 games. With that said, let’s take a peek at this week’s players to mention! Goaltending— Jonathan Quick – 5-3-0 Record – 2.00 goals against average – .928 save percentage – 1 shutout – 205 of 221 shots stopped. Johnny is 5-0-0 in his last 5 games, in those games he has allowed 1 goal in 3, 2 goals in 1 and 0 goals in 1. That is 2 weeks in a row for Quick on the hot side. Pekka Rinne – Also receiving his 2nd mention in a row. 6-1-1 record – 1.74 goals against average - .934 save percentage – 1 shutout – 197 of 211 shots stopped. This 32-year-old former 258th overall pick has been on fire since returning from his hip surgery and infection just two years ago. Brian Elliott and Jake Allen duo – Elliott 4-0-1 record – 2.18 goals against average - .908 save percentage – 0 shutouts – 108 of 119 shots stopped. Allen – 3-2-0 record 2.01 goals against average - .928 save percentage – 1 shutout – 128 of 138 shots stopped. Allen is 3-1 in his last 4 starts. Do not expect this duo to have 1 leader, Allen and Elliot will split all season. Defense— Ryan Suter – Ryan finds himself the leading point getter in the Western Conference among defensemen. Suter has 2 goals and 1 assist in his past two games, look for him to continue to produce now that he has established some points in the last 5 games. Suter is known for producing points sending 30+ helpers to the net in 7 consecutive seasons. John Klingberg – Klingberg finds himself tied with Suter in the western conference with 2 goals and 7 assists. The second year player for the Stars has at least 1 point in his last 5 games and with the Stars in full click mode, expect that to continue at, at least a point every two games. Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Oliver has played well for Phoenix this past week on the back-end. Ekman-Larsson has pinned up four assists in his last 4 games and has seven on the season which includes 36 shots on net. Don’t expect Ekman-Larsson to keep this pace up on a young Coyote team, but expect him to still put up numbers. Offense – Nathan Mackinnon – Mack has been a point per game player this season. His 4 goals and 6 assists lead the Avalanche headed into the weekend. Nathan has been put on a line with Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla a line I call the TMI line. Tanguay has scored in two consecutive games with an assist, Iginla has two apples in the past two games as well on this line, while MacKinnon holds 1 goal and 2 assists. Expect MacKinnon to keep up his pace and possibly even turn it up. Jamie Benn – Jamie might stay in the hot slot for the rest of the season the way he is playing. In his previous 4 games Benn has 1 goals and 4 assists, and leads the NHL with 9 goals and 17 points. As long as he stays healthy, I do not see Jamie Benn and his line-mate Tyler Seguin slowing down any time soon. Tyler Toffoli – This kid is just getting better and better every season and is turning into a guy you WANT on your team. Toffoli is tied for the NHL lead in goals scored with 9. I mean to be tied with Jamie Benn, that just makes you that much more noticeable. Tyler has had 3 goals and 1 assist in his last 2 games played 5 goals, 2 assists in his last 4. I expect Tyler’s assist production to increase and would watch him to continue his pace. This may be a career year for the 23-year-old Canadian. **All stats are based up until 10/31/15 only*** ​

Western Conference Hot or Cold I have decided to do a weekly hot and cold for clubs and players. WEEK 1 The Western Conference is shaking up a little less than expected and here is why, who’s hot: We have to start with the Dallas Stars who have been great since they were blown out 6-3 vs the Colorado Avalanche. Since then, Dallas is 5-0-0 and has allowed 3 goals once, 2 goals twice and 1 goal twice in those five games. Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen has split the duties and have gone 3-1-0 and 3-0-0 respectively. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have been hot with 10 points each. Things are in place with the Stars who have five teams coming up that are looking to get on track for their season. Second nod is going to the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings looked like they were dead in the water starting their season 0-3-0. After a hard fought game against the Minnesota Wild, a 2-1 overtime win, the Kings have seemed to turn things around and win the next three in regulation. The Kings are now 4-3-0 and riding high with confidence. Jonathan Quick is now .500 on the season, Jhonas Enroth is 1-0-0 and much needed clicking through the roster is happening. I cannot leave out the Nashville Predators here. This team has been making magic the past two seasons and unlike last season, it isn’t one player making the show. Nashville has 10 different players with 3 or more points and 16 players with at least one point. While Pekka Rinne has enjoyed most of the load he is 5-1-0 and back up Carter Hutton is a whopping 1-0-0. Who is making noise in the Western Conference: Offense— Jamie Benn – Benn has been on a terror his past 4 games notching 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists.) The only downfall to Benn’s 10-point season so far is his +1 rating. Jamie has put 18 shots on net and holds 1 game winning goal. With the next 5 opponents not super impressive in their all-around game, look for Benn to keep up with strong numbers, we might see him in our week 2 of who’s hot. I did forget to mention… Benn is tied for the league lead in goals with six. Connor McDavid— McDavid scored his first NHL goal in game three and since them he has sprung into the #1 pick he was made out to be. In his past four games Conner has netted 4 goals and 3 assists, while he does have 8 points on his young NHL career, he is a -4 with only 14 shots on goal. As the season carries, I expect McDavid to shoot more and make away with the Calder trophy as expected. Tyler Seguin— It took Seguin four games to capture his first goal of the season, after back to back 37 goal seasons, Seguin is just getting started. With 4 goals, 6 assists, Tyler is tied for the team lead with 10-points with Jamie Benn. Seguin has a blistering 30 shots on net after 7 games, expect him to carry on his assault over the next 5 games. Defense— John Klingberg – In his second full season in the NHL Klingberg continues to be impressive. The 23-year-old Swede has 1 goal and 5 assists and is a +5 in his first 7 games. Klingberg had a 2-point night (1g1a) against the Penguins on the 22nd of October, it was his first 2-point game of the season. It was hard to pick the top hot defensemen as the Western Conference is lacking outstanding defensive-offensive defense to begin the season. Usually a Kevin Shattenkirk or Tyson Barrie are making noise, but nothing yet. Ryan Suter – The 30-year-old vet has yet to find the back of the net with his dangerous slapper but does have 6 assists on the season. Suter has a whole 7 shots on goal and has seem to be a little sluggish to start, Suter also is a +/- 0 on the season. Look for Suter to start firing to puck and hopefully start picking up his offensive and defensive game. Roman Josi – Josi has been pretty solid on the blue line for Nashville to start the season. His 2 goals and 3 assists have him the top defensive scorer for the Predators. Josi has; 1 power play goal, 1 shorthanded goal, and 1 game winning goal on 19 shots this season. Although he has been held off the score sheet in the previous two games, Josi is +3 and playing about 24 minutes a game. Goaltending— Pekka Rinne – 5-1-0 Record – 1.82 Goals Against Average - .933 Save Percentage – 1 Shutout – 154 of 165 shots stopped. Rinne continues to prove he is elite and make a name tag headed for the NHL hall of fame. Kari Lehtonen – 3-0-0 Record – 2.35 Goals Against Average - .920 Save Percentage – 0 Shutouts – 80 of 87 shots stopped. It was hard to choose two and three and honestly I could have chosen maybe two others but I like what Lehtonen has done losing the full-time number spot with the addition on Neimi. This is a professionalism pick. Jonathan Quick – 3-3-0 Record – 2.16 Goals Against Average - .923 Save Percentage – 1 Shutout – 155 of 168 shots stopped. Quick and the Kings have regained a spark and he is on a rampage right now. Over the past three games, Quick has allowed 2 goals on 89 shots and had a 40 save shutout. The Western Conference is trending upwards but let’s look at who is in the most need of a hot trend because they are just filthy cold. We have to start with Anaheim here, I mean what on earth happened? This is a team that, I am sure, was penciled in by nearly the entire hockey nation as a top contender in the West. Mind you, yes we are only like 9 ish games into the season and only 7 for Anaheim, but man…. No one is scoring, hands down is their number one issue. Getzlaf, Perry, Kesler combine for 3 points and their leading goal scorer has 2 (tied between 3 players.) They have been shut out 3 times and scored more than 1 goal only 1 time, that was their 4-1 win over a tough Wild team. Frederik Andersen, their number one goaltender, is 0-2-1 but still has solid numbers with a 1.57 GGA and a .947 Sv% he has stopped 108 of 114 shots…. No blame can be put on this kid. Next up, the Calgary Flames… wait a second, haven’t we all seen this story? Oh wait that’s right, the Colorado Avalanche did this one! 112 points in 2013-14 and then… well we all know the rest, that’s right the #10 overall pick following a horrid 2014-15 season…. Yet that was caused by a LONG list of injuries including their goaltender….so what is with the Flames? Well, maybe their goaltending was the issue? Number one goalie to start the season, Kari Ramo, was placed on waivers and sent to the AHL. Ramo was 0-3-0, Jonas Hiller has not done much better at 2-3-0… Maybe Joni Ortio will help resolve the goaltending issue? Next up though is the offense, Johnny Gaudreau has 8 assists which is means he has assists on 1 less than half the team’s goals…. Which means there is no real offense happening. Gaudreau, Bennett and Monahan have 3 goals combine… I really hate to do this to myself but number three belongs to the Colorado Avalanche. First off, they beat the Dallas Stars 6-3 and that was no easy task… But then they get stuck with desperate times and play like they are Buffalo… Boston (0-3-0) – 6-2 loss…. Los Angeles Kings (1-3-0) 2-1 loss… Carolina Hurricanes (1-4-0) 1-0 loss… Three games that Colorado should have put in the other direction, however could not. Many thought a healthy team and goalie, Colorado could make a run but who knows… Chances are looking better and better that Colorado could be in the top 10 picks again. However, it is pretty early in the season. If the Avs can get their young offense rolling and keep playing the defense they are, things could turn good. They are the only team in the NHL with both their Power Play and Penalty Kill in the top 5. Lack of fire power, let’s see which players are frozen on ice… ha ha get it? Offense— Ryan Getzlaf – You cannot not put Ryan on this list and this week, he is frozen and not moving. The 5 time 20+ goal scorer has 1 point 6 games into the season. This Duck captain is looking to get his Ducks in a row and string together not only some scoring but some wins. However, their next few opponents won’t be giving any swimming room as they take on Minnesota, Dallas and Chicago. Corey Perry – I find myself feeling bad about these picks because these two guys can score and in a hurry, but have yet to do anything. Perry also sits on the Ducks bench with just 1 assist this season, the 5 time 30+ goal scorer is scratching his head wondering what is going on. His 10 shots on goal have not been enough to mustard up a goal so far this season and his next three opponents won’t just hand them over. Matt Duchene – Now normally points do not hide from Dutchy to start the season, however his 1 goal this season is all he has in 6 games for the Avs. The third overall pick in 2009 has never had that huge breakout season we all know he is capable of and it doesn’t look like it will happen this year. But when Ducth catches fire… watch out because it could snowball into a whole team boost. Defense – Kevin Bieksa – Alright now I feel like I am plucking guys from the Ducks here… Oh wait a second, I am… My question is, how are the Ducks doing better than the Blue Jackets? I mean at least one of their guys has more than 2 points… Anyway, Bieksa has no points, is a -5 and has six shots on goal… flat out just bad hockey. Cam Fowler – I promise my assault will end soon… Kind of feels like Montreal in reverse on my Eastern Conference hot side… Fowler has one point, 13 shots on goal and is -6, his one goal can at even strength. Dougie Hamilton – 9th overall pick in 2011 – Calgary went out and stole Hamilton from the Boston Bruins where he had a break out season last year with 10 goals and 32 assists. However, he is nowhere to be found so far in Calgary with 1 goals, -6 and 11 shots. His only goal came on the power-play… I am sure that when the Flames signed him to a 6 year $34.5-million-dollar contract… they had much bigger production numbers in mind from the 22-year-old. Goaltending- Kari Ramo – 0-3-0 Record – 4.37 Goals Against Average - .879 Save Percentage – 0 Shutouts – 80 of 91 stopped shots. Ramo was placed on waivers by Calgary, cleared and is now reassigned to AHL. Semyon Varlamov – 1-2-1 Record – 3.89 Goals Against Average - .861 Save Percentage – 0 Shutouts – 87 of 101 shots stopped. Varlamov and the Avalanche currently trail the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in the third period. Frederik Andersen – 0-3-1 – 1.86 Goals Against Average - .938 Save Percentage – 0 Shutouts – 135 of 144 stopped shots. (Stats updated after 10/24/15 game against Minnesota Wild.) Although Andersen’s play is not to blame fully, he earns my final spot this week.

This Weeks Hot and Cold in the Eastern Conference I have decided to do a weekly hot and cold for clubs and players. WEEK 1 Who’s Hot in the Eastern Conference: Of course this will be highlighted by none other than the Montreal Canadians who are on a relentless terror right now. 8-0-0 to begin the second, Montreal is flying high with goaltender Carey Price. While Price has been stellar at 6-0-0, sitting behind him, 25-year-old Mike Condon is playing top notch as well. Condon is 2-0-0 and holds a 1.5 GAA and .947 Sv%. Montreal leads the Atlantic division, Eastern Conference and the entire NHL at that. In the same division we see the Tampa Bay Lightning also starting where they left off last year. Currently Tampa sits 5-2-1 behind only Montreal in the Atlantic division. While they are winning games, Tampa Bay has only scored 4 more goals than their opposition. Look for Tampa Bay to fall a little here as their next two opponents are a force to be recon with. They will have a Stanley Cup Final rematch Saturday, October 24th in Chicago and then head over to St. Louis to fire up against the pesky Blues. Tampa Bay is 2nd in the Atlantic division, 4th in the Eastern Conference and 6th in the NHL. Another team to watch here are the Washington Capitals and man are they playing some great hockey. Now they only have one blemish on their 6-1-0 record and that came to a San Jose Sharks team who started off the season shot out of a cannon. Since then, Washington and Captain Alex Ovechkin have turned a sharp corner winning 5 of the next 5. Holtby is putting up pretty solid numbers in net, 5-1-0 2.03 GAA .917Sv%. But the defense and goal scoring are coming along as they have 29 goals for and 18 against this season, mind you 5 of those 18 came in their only loss 5-0. Washington leads the Metropolitan division, is currently in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference and sits 2nd in the NHL. Who’s hot in the playing department? Goaltending – Carey Price – 6-0-0 Record - .966 Save percentage - 1.00 Goals Against Average – 2 shutouts – 170 of 176 shots stopped. Braden Holtby – 5-1-0 Record - .917 Save Percentage – 2.03 Goals Against Average – 0 Shutouts – 132 of 144 shots stopped. Henrik Lundqvist – 4-2-1 Record - .938 Save Percentage – 2.00 Goals Against Average – 0 Shutouts – 210 of 224 shots stopped. (Despite his record, Lundqvist has been a monster in net for the Rangers, just look at the shots he has faced compared to Price or Holtby…. Monster!!!) Defense – We cannot NOT talk about Montreal Players and the team, here’s another. P.K Subban – 8 games played, 0 goals but 8 assists, he is an amazing +13! Subban has taken 2 penalties for 4 minutes and put 16 shots at the opponent’s net. Subban is in his 7th season with the Canadians and is looking to add some goals, watch out if Subban gets hot on the power play! Andre Markov – While Subban has been good, Markov has been just as good! 8 games played, Markov sports 1 goal 8 assists and an even better +14!! He also has had 2 penalties for 4 minutes but has managed only 10 shots on goal. Markov is averaging around 23 minutes a game. Victor Hedman – Another defensemen playing some great hockey on the back end. Hedman has played in 7 games for Tampa Bay, he has 0 goals but has 9 helpers. Like Subban and Markov he has 2 penalties for 4 minutes. He is a +7 and has 10 shots on goal. Hedman is skating about 20 minutes per game right now. Offense— Now we want to see some fire power! Max Pacioretty – Without question this guy is my top pick, and yet another Montreal Canadian. Max has played in all 8 games for Montreal racking up a lead leading 6 goals (tied with 3 others) and has 3 assists. Max is tearing goalies apart with 34 shots on net, he also sits +11 on offense for the Habs. David Krejci – I personally regret dumping Krejci on my fantasy team before letting him have a fair chance. David has made me look silly as all get out, he has a league leading 12 points in 7 games, (10 of those came after I dropped him and the winless Bruins.) With 5 goals and 7 assists Krejci has only managed 18 shots on goal. David is just 2 goals shy of the 7 he established last season, if he keeps it up, he might be on pace for his 3rd 20+ goal season and might manage a possible 30… but let us stick with 20 for now. Evgeny Kuznetsov – I have to pick this kid after his stellar game in Edmonton last night. Recording not only his first 2 goal (regular season) game, but his first career hat trick in the NHL. Kuznetsov is playing on a line with Alez Ovechkin and T.J Oshie seems to be working well for the youngster. He is currently 2nd in the NHL in points with 11, has 3 goals and 9 assists with 16 shots and a +5. It feels a little chilly out… oh wait, that’s just the Colorado weather, no but really let’s look at who is in the Cold in the Eastern Conference: I must start with the Columbus Blue Jackets… This is a team A LOT of people were looking forward to watching this season. They were on the up and up and many thought they would contend for a playoff spot this season… Well, what happened? 27-year-old Russian Goaltender Sergei Bobrovski has always had a winning record and won some vital games for the Blue Jackets, last season he was 30-17-3 but things this season are falling way opposite. Columbus fired their Coach, Todd Richards and hire Coach John Tortorella (who should spark these guys, I just hope not against my AVS!) After yet another loss 3-2 to the Wild, Columbus is off to the worst start in the NHL in 72 years when the New York Rangers in 1943-44 started off 0-11!! Columbus is currently 0-8-o and Ryan Johansen leads the club with 6 points (1g5a) but was benched for the remaining 6.5 minutes against Minnesota. Sergei Bobrovski will look to get his first win of the season against fellow struggling Russian goaltender Semyon Varlamov. Must be something in the Russian water over the summer…… Next – the struggling Sabers…Surpriseeee!!! But no really, Buffalo well, we pretty much expected this… Super young team, their #1 goalie is on IR, I mean what else can you say? Bright side, Sam Reinhart is looking pretty good with 1 goal, 2 assists and a +2 (the highest +/- on the team.) However, guys they are leaning on to be leader just have not truly stepped up. Ryan O’Reilly has 2 goals and 2 assists with a -2, Evander Kane, 1 goal 2 assists and a -5 and you don’t expect a ton from Jamie McGinn but he is considered a lead on this young team 0 goals 2 assists -4. Young Jack Eichel (the #2 pick in the draft) started off the season well, he had a goal in his NHL debut and a goal in his third game but nothing since, Eichel sits -6 and looks to rebound after having 0 points in his last 4 games. I could pick a few here but I will stay bottom three. The Carolina Hurricanes, this is a team that I feel should really be winning more. The combinations of players they have, you would think pucks would be going in the back of the net, yet they are not. There are three players with a team leading 4 points on the team, while Cam Ward continues to try and figure himself out. Rookie Noah Hanifin looks like a great draft for Carolina, although he had 1 point (an assist) he is a -2 but has 10 shots on goal. In order for the Hurricanes to start winning, they need to start scoring and balance their attack. In the last two games they have 1 goal (which they won on a Cam Ward shutout in overtime with that 1 goal.) They are being out scored 12 to 20 at this point of the season, Jeff Skinner, Staal brothers are three struggling goal scorers that can ignite at any time…. Just maybe together is their issue. Struggling goaltenders— Sergei Bobrovski – 0-6-0 Record – 4.71 goals against average - .840 Save Percentage – 0 Shutouts – 136 of 162 shots stopped. This kid can get going if the offense can get going. I see Bob’s and the Jackets rebounding but I do not think it will be enough to fight for a playoff spot. Cam Ward – 2-4-0 Record – 2.68 Goals Against Average - .895 Save Percentage – 1 Shutouts - 136 of 152 shots against. This 11-year veteran has seen better days; I almost feel like there is a chance Ward could find a new home in the NHL. Where would be the question or who would want him? He does have 1 Stanley Cup on his resume. Jonathan Bernier – 0-3-1 Record – 2.39 Goals Against Average - .924 Save Percentage – 0 Shutouts – 97 of 105 shots stopped. Bernier has never seemed to feel at home in Toronto since leaving Los Angeles. I could see Bernier or Reimer moving out of Toronto by trade deadline if not sooner. Something needs to happen with the Leafs. Defense— Ryan Murray – a 2nd overall pick in 2012 has just never gotten going. In 2013-14 he played 66 games and managed 21 points. Last season injury led him to only 12 games and 3 points… So far to start the year, Murray has played all 8 game, he had no goals 2 assists and is a -3 with 8 shots. Is it a matter of bust or is Murray in need of a new team? He is only 22, however for a #2 pick he sure is not playing like it. Morgan Reilly – Reilly was taking 5th overall in the 2012 draft, yes just 3 after above mentioned Murray. Reilly though, has proven himself valuable to the Leafs. The 21-year-old defensemen managed 27 points in 2013-14, 29 points last season but is off to a sluggish start. In 6 games, Reilly has 2 assists and is -2 with 11 shots on net. Reilly is a solid defenseman that needs to get the wheels turning to help the Leafs turn their season around. Torey Krug – Off to a sputtering start, Krug has 6 points all assists to start the season, 5 of those 6 have come in two separate games. Krug has made a name for himself as a solid all around defensemen. He has been firing shots towards the net with 22 in 7 games and is looking to catch fire but has had nothing in his past two games other than a -1. Watch for the pucks to start going in as the Boston Bruins have started to turn things around (although they are 0-3-1 at home, they are 3-0-0 on the road.) Offense-- Ryan Johansen - Benched in the final minutes of the Blue Jackets last game in Minnesota. His 1 goals 5 assists are -6 are not enough to get this Blue Jacket team moving. By benching him, New Coach John Tortorella made a statement to not only Ryan Johansen but the Columbus Blue Jackets as a team. Evander Kane - The number 4 overall pick in 2009 is known to be a pretty consistent 40 point a season guy. Kane was injured last season and did not play for Buffalo after being traded by Winnipeg. Kane has regained his health but along with the rest of Buffalo cannot find his scoring touch. Kane has 3 points (1g, 2a) and is a -5 on the season, a lack of chemistry and spark has him struggling. Once chemistry comes around, expect Kane to start putting up some numbers. Eric Staal - a 1 time 100 point scorer, 7 time 70+ point scorer. Eric Staal was the 2nd overall pick back in 2003, but the now 30-year-old is struggling to get back to the 70's. E.Staal has 4 points to start the season and 3 of those 4 came in one game, a game that should have sparked the Hurricane captain. With the thought that maybe Cam Ward is on his way out of Carolina, could Eric Staal be? Probablu brother first though? Also a former #2 overall pick, Jordan Staal is struggling with 0 points 7 games into the season. Now it is up to you, who do you think deserves to be listed in the hot or cold for the Eastern Conference?

How Bad Do They Want It??? It could very much so be too early in the season, but I do have to ask… Could the Stanley Cup finally be returning to Canada? Ironically the last team that won Lord Stanley’s Cup was none other than the Montreal Canadians, who look to be an early contender to start the 2015-16 season. Last season. Montreal clinched all but the Presidents trophy with a 50-22-10 record and 110 points. Carey Price dominated the NHL and took home the Hart, Vezina, Ted Lindsey and also shared the William M. Jennings trophy with Corey Crawford. The only thing he did not do last season, was win the Stanley Cup. Price and the rest of the Canadians were bested by a very young, very hungry Tampa Bay Lightning team. With an amazing stand through-out the 2014-15 season, the Montreal Canadian fans would look towards another year without the cup. It was 22 years ago that Montreal went 48-30-6 with goaltender, Patrick Roy, 28, now that is not as impressive as 50-22-10 but it is pretty darn close. Roy and the Habs would take on Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings and beat them four games to one. That my friends, is the last real time Canadian fans had anything to cheer about. The next few seasons would go by and eventually Roy would play his last game before being traded to the Colorado Avalanche. Since that day, Montreal has looked for a goaltender to fill the void in net. Here and there they would find a spark, but nothing to get the fire going. Then 2005 would come along, all eyes focused on the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby, everyone seems to have forgotten the #5 pick that season, Carey Price. Price would sneak in behind the scenes, Price would wait until the 2007-2008 season to get his shot. At 19-years-old he would prove worthwhile. Playing in 41 games, Price would show up with 24-Wins 12-Losses and 3-Overtime losses. The Canadians would find themselves in the playoffs but out after 11 games with the rookie goaltender. After that season, the net belonged to Carey Price and no one would compete for it. In 8-full seasons under Price, the Canadians have gone to the playoffs 7 times and so far, they are on track for 8 of 9. The Canadians are off and running to start the 2015-16 season. Naming Max Pacioretty as their 29th captain in team history. Carey Price coming off one of the most remarkable seasons in NHL history and PK Subban coming into his second of an eight-year contract with the club. The Canadians are off to a 7-0-0 start and remain the only undefeated team in this fresh 2015-16 season. The have scored 23 goals and after Price’s second shutout of the season they have allowed only 7 goals. Carey Price, now 6-0-0, is sporting insane numbers. He has 2 shutouts, a 1.00 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage stopping 170 of 176 shots. This team is playing a full-team game, you are not seeing sloppy play in front of their goaltender, much less in their own zone. They currently rank third in the NHL in Penalty Kill percentage, having been short-handed 21 times already this season (not including the St. Louis game.) A few faults that could come back to hurt Montreal as of now are the amount of penalties they are taking and also their power play rate which is ranked 20th in the NHL right now (not including the St. Louis game.) Other than that it is safe to say the Habs are on FIRE!! Or at least Carey Price is playing like he not only wants another Vezina, but he wants the President’s trophy and just maybe a Stanley Cup. If the season ended today (not that any of us want it to!! I mean it JUST started) the Habs would be my pick and might just stay in the top 2 for the entire season. Unless of course massive tragedy strikes or just injuries or fatigue. It is far too early to predict or say anything, but WOW, this team is playing damn near perfect hockey.

Semyon Varla-Who? Last season the Colorado Avalanche saw nothing go right for them and that included the luck of their goaltender Semyon Varlamov. The then 26-year-old, Russian, goalie found himself of the ice and away from his team three different times last season due to injury. He also showed sub-par numbers when he was in net, now some of that could be linked to the entire team’s average of six roster players hurt per game, but you cannot blame just that. Varlmov earned a 28-20-8 record, still winning but not expected after his 41-14-6 performance the season before. The plus side, Semyon posted 5 shut-outs which was a career high. Along-side his 28-win record, Varly showed a 2.56 GAA which was not far off from his 2.41 the previous season. Now it is only three games into the season for Colorado, but Semyon Varlamov is not looking like the goaltender he did in 2013-14. He is very similar to the goaltender Avalanche fans saw start the season last year. In three games, Semyon is 1-2-0 and sporting a 5.06 GAA along with 13 allowed goals on 82 shots. In his 2014-15 season, Varly was 0-2-1 in those first three games allowing 10 goals however he faces 111 shots. In game one, the Avalanche took on their biggest division rivals in the Minnesota Wild. After exploding to a 4-1 lead after two periods, Colorado was smashing the Wild in every category. They were out-hitting them at the end of two periods 23-8, out shot-blocking them 25-6, winning face-offs and of course the score. Come the third period Colorado forgot who they were or what they were doing and lost the game 5-4 as Minnesota just demolished the third period. Being at the game 7 in 2013-14 and then this home opener, it certainly felt similar the way the fans went from a 10 to a 0 on the excitement scale – déjà vu…. Minnesota found Varly’s weak spot up high over the gloves once again allowing 4 goals on just 10 shots. Game two, Colorado started the game similar to the way they ended game one. This time though, the Dallas Stars would find themselves up 3-1 mid-way through the second period. I could not give you the exact number shot goal 3 was, but at the end of two periods, Varlamov gave up three goals on 23 shots which was building for a strong third period to follow. Varly would make some key saves and give the team a little boost. A power-play goal by Erik Johnson would begin the rally and see Colorado win 6-3. Game three... The Boston Bruins came into town 0-3 and playing with their back-up goaltender Jonas Gustavsson. This game was just sad, from the jump Colorado could not get their heads in the game. Varlamov would allow 5 goals in two periods on just 19 shots, Reto Berra would come in relief and stop 5 of 5 shots. The number one power-play in the NHL would strike again and get Colorado on the board, but they would fall 6-2. Stemming from the third period of game one, Semyon Varlamov had faced 62 shots and allowed 12 shots. Not very well for a guy who is capable of a 40+ win season. Maybe watching his back-up in Reto Berra post a 3-0 35 save shut out against the Anaheim Ducks will get Varlamov back on track. He knows he will need to compete and prove he can stay the number 1 goaltender in Colorado. Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy have faith in the 27-year-old goalie, but that faith only goes so deep as no player on the Avalanche roster is safe from being traded… Just look at Ryan O’Reilly. Speaking of Ryan O’Reilly… Do you remember when Nathan MacKinnon just could not get things going after Paul Stastny up and left? Well this past summer as we all know, Ryan was traded to the Buffalo Sabers, this trade brought over a few key parts but I will not get into that now. The main thing here is what it seemed to leave behind. 18-year-old rookie Matt Duchene, drafted #3 overall by Colorado in 2009 name found a close friend when the Avalanche selected Ryan O’Reilly #33 overall in the same draft. Also at 18-years of age, O’Reilly looked like a pro off the hop and made the club with Duchene. The two went back and forth from centre to wing and line to line, many times landing together on any given night for line combinations or even the power play. Any ways, back to my point here. The Colorado Avalanche have played four games, in those four games, Matt Duchene has a whole three shots on goal and is a -4. Even though -3 came on opening night where he epically failed at his own blue where he lost the puck and Minnesota went on to tie the game. I will not say the loss of Ryan O’Reilly is strictly to blame for the kids lack of play-making ability this season, but I am sure it is not helping. In four games last season, Duchene had 1 goal 1 assist and +/- 0, the 2013-14 season 2 goals 2 assists +2, and of course the 2012-13 2 goals 2 assists +4… He is not an explosive 10 points in the first four or anything, but he usually is producing with even an assist or a goal by now. The only other time he started this slow, he was an 18-year-old rookie fresh out of the crib, he posted 1 assist and a -3 that 2009-10 season. What has to give here in order for the Colorado Avalanche to be successful for the remainder of the season starts with these two guys. Nathan MacKinnon and Gabe Landeskog have come out of fire, between the two of them they have 6 goals and 6 helpers. Reto Berra has stopped 40 of 40 shots in relief and his first start and the defense… well up until their 3-0 shut-out over Anaheim was a little shaky but seems to be finding their legs. New comers Francois Beauchemin and Nikita Zadorov are fitting in quite well. Beauchemin jumped out with 5 points in his first two games but was a -3 versus the Boston Bruins. The 20-year-old kid Zadorov started off a little soft on defense as a -1 in the first two and a -2 against Boston (who wasn’t a – in that game got Colorado) he has one helper on the back end and is looking to be more of a threat for the blue line in Denver. With the back –end coming together, Tyson Barrie will speak with the player safety association this week. Barrie threw a questionable hit against Anaheim Duck defensemen Simon Despres. The hit was not penalized in the game but Despres was injured. Barrie is looking at a suspension for charging/interference. Once these three things form a solid, Colorado will be a team to beat in the Western Conference once again. At 2-2-0, Avalanche sit in 6th place in their division… which mind you is outstanding! The five teams above them combine for a 17-4-1 record and shockingly that does not include the Chicago Blackhawks who sit 7th at 2-3-0. Remember though, we are JUST starting the season.

The Colorado Avalanche will enter the 2015-16 season with many question marks. In the 2013-14 season there was doubt among the hockey world that Colorado would contend for anything more than last place. They had just selected Halifax Moose heads forwards Nathan MacKinnon number one overall (after winning the NHL draft lotto) and finished as the second worst team in the National Hockey League. Many had speculated that Colorado would take young defensemen Seth Jones number one as he had ties to the Organization. However, newly acquired head coach Patrick Roy and Vice President of Operations and assistant General manager at the time Joe Sakic, had better ideas. Nathan MacKinnon and Patrick Roy would come into Denver and shock the NHL world. A strong start to the season found the roster clicking on all cylinders. Long time Avalanche forward Paul Stastny would have a breakout season, the first break out since his third year in the league. Young forward Ryan O’Reilly would go on to lead the team in goals (28) and go onto win the Lady Byng after taking one penalty in 82 games (even though many argue the call made was just to get him on something.) Nathan MacKinnon would handle 63 points and the Calder trophy or rookie of the year. Matt Duchene was finally on pace, despite a late season injury that saw Matt miss the final 10 games, Duchene was able to put up 70 points just on shy of a point per game. Captain Gabe Landeskog finally found his groove as a second year Captain of the team. At only 20 (21 end of season) the young man found himself with 65 points and leading the team like everyone expected. Erik Johnson would finally come to the party after Colorado had traded promising young defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and forward Chris Stewart to the St. Louis Blues in 2010-11. The former first overall pick would put up 39 points and play a solid number one defensive job. Rookie Tyson Barrie would make his NHL statement adding an additional 38 points and lock in an NHL job. Most importantly though, Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov would put on a show. The then 25-year-old would play 63 games submitting a 41-14-8 record with a 2.41 goals against average. Varlamov would be bested by Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask for the Vezina trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender but came runner up over Ben Bishop of Tampa Bay. A fairy tale season for the boys in burgundy was well on its way as Colorado would claim their first division championship since 2002-03. Colorado came out of nowhere to pass up the free-falling St. Louis blues by one point to claim the thrown. The unexpected Avalanche would end up second in the western conference and took on the Minnesota Wild for the first round. With under four minutes remaining, Colorado was in control, Pepsi Centre was going nuts, fans were loud and the all of a sudden… Darcy Kuemper, Minnesota goaltender leaves the rink with an injury. The change in goal sparks the Wild line up and the Wild tie the game late, sending it into overtime. Avs fans were on the edge of their seats and just moments after overtime begins, Nino Neiderreiter of Minnesota stunts the mile-high city on a two on one goal. The Pepsi Centre goes dead, Avs fans pale just watched their historic season flush down the drain and their Stanley cups hope fly out the door. Next season will be better…. Or so they thought. 2014-15 season decided to arrive in Denver and so did some new faces like Jarome Iginla and Brad Stuart. Colorado added some experience to the roster, little did they know, that experience would do nothing. All season the team was riddles up and down the roster with injuries. Nearly 500 man games lost to injury saw the club miss an average of six roster players per game to these injuries. This included Erik Johnson who had just come off his first break out season in Denver. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov could not stay healthy, despite the injuries, Varly still managed to play 57 games. With the constant mixing and matching of players, the loss of Paul Stastny to free agency, the new faces on the club… Colorado could not seem to find a groove to their season. The team only came up with three wins a row twice that season and that was their longest winning streak. At the start of the 2015 year, Jarome Iginla began to catch fire along with Nathan MacKinnon. Of course though, MacKinnon would go onto break his foot and lose the fire that had begun. Nothing would go Colorado’s way and they would find themselves at the bottom of the Central Division just one season after sitting on top. This was the season everyone in the hockey world had expected from the club in 2013-14. Now the hockey world is not too sure what to expect from the club. After trading promising forward Ryan O’Reilly many speculate that the Colorado Avalanche will again be on the outside looking in. That trade did bring in some new faces though, one being 20-year-old Russian defensemen standing 6’5” Nikita Zadorov. During pre-season, this kid has looked very good for the Colorado Avalanche. He will be partnered alongside Tyson Barrie to begin the 2015-16 year and gives Russian goaltender Semyon Varlamov a familiar native tongue to speak with. Colorado would also acquire forward Mikhail Grigorenko. Grigorenko played for coach Patrick Roy during his junior years in Quebec and looks to find his magic touch with his former coach again. Though in pre-season, Mikhail has not been able to find chemistry just yet and has been moved around on wing and centre with several players. Additional add-ons were defensemen Francois Beauchemin, who has looked great alongside Erik Johnson on the top pairing defense. Blake Comeau has also looked really solid for the Avalanche in pre-season, he will fit in nicely on the 3rd or 4th line. The biggest question is the addition of Carl Soderberg, in his pre-season match ups he has not quite found a rhythm. Now that could be a mixture of the nerves of a new club and no chemistry but he is no O’Reilly. Soderberg’s compete level is nowhere near that of Ryan’s and may come at some point, but as of now probably would grade Soderberg a solid C. Biggest news out of the Avalanche off-season is Mikko Rantanen, the 19 year-old Finnish forward brings huge size and can stand up against NHL players. He spent the last two seasons overseas playing against men and has been showing why he was the number European skater in the draft. Falling to 10th overall the Avalanche found a diamond in the rough and have a future top winger on their hands. Mikko had a goal in his first pre-season game, but along with the entire team has been held of the score board since. Colorado has several major questions coming into the season. Question one will be their goaltending, will Semyon Varlamov stay healthy and if not, is Reto Berra the answer and not Calvin Pickard. If not, can Pickard be a number one goalie? He certainly proved he can play at the NHL level, but the kid is not ready for a number one position. Varlamov has to stay healthy and on point for the season to come anywhere close to a playoff appearance. Second, will the defense finally be something that Colorado can say they actually have? Coach Roy will probably keep eight defensemen on the roster again this season. As of now, EJ will play with Beauchemin, Zadorov with Barrie but he third pair is not settled. That could be Nick Holden, Nate Guenin, Zach Redmond, Brad Stuart or Brandon Gormley. Stuart finished last season strong, but cannot compete at the NHL level like he once did. Holden and Guenin were 2013-14 surprises but struggled last season under the spot light. Redmond played well when given the chance and could see some ice time again. Newly acquired Gormley has looked solid in his Colorado pre-season and could fight for a spot on the roster to start the season. The final question is chemistry for the Avalanche. They could not find it last season and when they did, it came in waves. The only consistent match up was Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla, the two guys that played together for years in Calgary. Nathan MacKinnon struggled without Stastny and has not found anything in his pre-season. Matt Duchene has also had a hard time connecting this pre-season. A lot of new faces again this season could see the Avalanche off to another slow start and little offensive production. In five pre-season games, Colorado has been shut out three times, scored one goal in another and the exception to that was their 5-4 OT win in the first pre-season game. Mind you it is only pre-season and there is a lot of mixing and matching, it does not look good headed into the season opener against the Minnesota Wild. Final roster spots are coming up and Colorado has some tough choices to make, on profession tryouts Jack Skille has looked solid for the Avalanche and Curtis Glencross has played a couple games but has not made a splash. With Jesse Winchester headed back to the IR, the Avalanche are left with a cut of two players and these two guys might be headed out of Denver, even though Skille has made a case to stay. If these three things can fall into place for the Avalanche they might find themselves knocking on the playoffs door. Only time will tell for the young team but one thing is certain and that is the start of the season must be strong. If it looks anything like it did last season, we will all be looking at the top ten draft prospects by December once again. Keys players to watch: Semyon Varlamov, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Matt Duchene, Nikita Zadorov, Tyson Barrie. If any three of these guys catch fire I think the Avs will be in a very good position, especially is one of those three are goaltender Semyon Varlamov. Only time will tell what becomes of the Colorado Avalanche, patience will be needed and chemistry will need to be discovered. With Patrick Roy returning behind the bench for his third season, a more experienced Captain Gabe Landeskog, a settled in leader of Jarome Iginla and a healthy goaltender the Avs look to challenge for a playoff spot and will do everything they can to contend for another division title.

Alright, I am going to try not to be an a** but I seem to come off that way, and do not take it to heart. I love the everyone continues to say, "The Avs have done nothing to make their roster better from last season." Now lets look at this, the Colorado Avalanche lost an AVERAGE of SIX**** starting players PER game last season! 6 in 82 games. Ok so that is roughly 492 games lost amongst a team of VERY young players. Mind you MOST of their "Star" players were intact for majority of the season, they lost Erik Johnson for 35 games, Nathan MacKinnon 18 games, Semyon Varlamov (Unsure on how "many" he missed but lets say about 10. Not to mention Jesse Winchester did not play a single game (PK guy) - Patrick Bordeleau (Who I do not care for) missed 81 games (enforcer). These are key parts of this team, Stastny and OReilly did not run the show by themselves in 2013-14 or 14-15 did they contribute? Hell yes they did, but we have replaced them, maybe Iginla is not as young as he once was, but lead the Avs with 59 points last season - Stastny had 46 and missed 8 games. He replaced him quite well, both guys on new teams that didn't maybe hit the way they wanted. Both will have a chance to rebound now that they have found a little chemistry. Ryan OReilly sat with 55 points last season, which is about where O'Reilly is expected to produce. He isn't a top 3 guy, can he play like he is? Yeah I guess, but he is much better 6-9. He had a fantastic 2014-15, but so did the entire team. Replacing him; Carl Soderberd - a little older and has not seen as much NHL action. Do I think he was worth 5M per season? No, but he is a solid 6-9 guy. 48 and 44 points the last two season, I think Soderberg steps in nicely and makes a bang for his buck. The real replacement here though for OReilly is a true winger in Mikko Rantanen! This kid is going to be electric. He was the biggest overlook from picks 3-9, the #1 euro skater in the draft. He scored in the Burgundy vs White game and again against the Anaheim Ducks. Two games two goals by a playmaker. I cannot wait to see this kid work magic in the top 6. Varlamov - He has proven that when he s healthy, he does not need a back up goalie to be perfect. Reto Berra played last night against Calgary http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/boxscore?id=2015010035. No it wasn't their "actual" roster, but he played solid and looked confident, something he has missed since his injury last season in Ottawa. Calvin Pickard has proven he is pretty good and can back up as needed. So three solids in net. Last season 39-31-12 (in 2014-15 we found a way to win those OT/SO games and failed to do so this season.) Add 9 of those 12 to the W section, we tie the Jets for a wild card spot (even though I think the Jets win it.) We also lost a game by 1 goal 24 times, and 15 of those 24 were to playoff teams. Lets say those other 9 Colorado won.... This entire season could have been so much different has MacKinnon,, Varly ad Johnson been healthy all season. So its not a matter making changes and adding players that are "top 3-6" players or top 4 defensemen. It is purely chemistry and health and most people do not see that, except for the two that matter... Sakic and Roy... But that is just how I feel and again a lot of Bias... but yes, I see a Healthy Colorado Avalanche team in the top 3. I still feel like the Blues goaltending is weak, yes they have won both pre-season games by a good amount of goal scoring... I just do not think it will hold. As for the goaltending in Dallas, two starting goalies does not bid well often... Yes Minnesota had Manny and Rollie, but that was just two great personality goalies, mainly Manny for giving up so much time to Rollie...... Last the Sharks, have a great team, don't get me wrong.... But I don't think Jones can carry them to the playoffs... If he does... they are out in one.. But Stalock as his back up who will fight for number one. It could get into Jones head anytime he has an off game.... Its all just fun and prediction... Come December I might be off n EVERYTHING or hell Nothing,.... who knows

So here is why I think you are wrong about Colorado. Semyon Varlamov - Healthy and ready to bounce back - he has proven when healthy he is a monster, I do not see him having an injury prone season. Duchene - He is ready to break out, if he and Iginla can work the magic they sputtered with last season, BOOM. Tanguay and Iginla - finally found their chemistry again and I doubt it take 40+ games for them to get back into it again. Mikko Rantanen - he is a HUGE sleeper, I see this kid lighting fire after he proves he is a top 6 guy. Put him with MacKinnon, I can see Mack dumping 75+ points easy with this kid. Bigras - If he doesn't make the roster I will be shocked, He is primed and ready giving the Avs 6 pretty darn good solid defense on the back. Berra - wont lose the fight to Pickard this season and will be a solid back up that he started the season as. I cannot see the Avs dropping below 5th in a very tough Central. I don't see St. Louis #1 either. Just wont happen.

So last season I waited until later in the season to make my predictions. This season though, I will be making one now, and one on December 31st. Now I was full of hope last season that my team would actually show up...Though they tried, injuries would continue and their 2014-15 season would go no where. Regardless, here we are getting ready for the 2015-16 season opener and there are a lot of new faces in a lot of places, so lets talk about the west. Pacific Division: 7. Arizona Coyotes - The Coyotes have had it rough for the last several seasons. In 2011-12 the Yotes were kicked out of the Western Conference Final by the Los Angeles Kings, who went on to win the Stanley Cup. Since then, the Coyotes have done nothing but get worse. Last season Arizona finished 7th in the pacific and ended up with the #3 overall pick (Dylan Strome.) Even with the addition of a young and talented Strome, the Coyotes need some serious help. Shane Doan continues to age out of competition but insists on staying with the team, could this be the season he actually leaves at the trade deadline? Even if Mike Smith remembers how to play in goal, Arizona will find themselves in the bottom five of the league once again and 7th again in the Pacific. Could this also possibly see Ekman-Larsson moved for a high price? Or are the Coyotes willing to keep him and pass up on possible prospects, picks or even roster players? 6. San Jose Sharks - Many will wonder why I am putting San Jose so low with young talent like Mueller, Hertl, Couture or the older guys like Marleau, Thornton, Pavelski, Burns, etc. They have Stalock and Jones both promising young goaltenders. Why did I put them so low, they had a winning record and finished 5th last season, yes. However, this season there is no room for the Sharks because of who they will be playing. A Ducks team that I feel will win the cup, a Flames team that shows now sign of regression, a revamped Oiler team that has a goalie and confidence and a Canucks team that might just come together, not to forget an LA Kings team that wants to redeem themselves. I could easily have swapped San Jose and Vancouver if San Jose would have been able to come to terms with and keep Neimi. 5. Vancouver Canucks - The Canucks have a few up and coming kids that could make an impact this season. My biggest question would have to be the Sedin's. They played well last season and were able to stay healthy, but at that age, back to back 82 game seasons will be hard and I question even with Vrbata staying, how much they will click again this season now that their division is a lot tougher. Ryan Miller needs to find his old form to bring Vancouver back to the playoffs. 4. Los Angeles Kings - This one is tough, there are three teams to me that can sit here. Both the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers could fall here easy. However, I picked the Kings because I just do not see them flying high even with their new adjustments and attitudes to get back to the cup. Lucic is a power horse and a player that likes to get dirty, and yes he might fit the Kings "style" but does he "FIT" will be the question. Quick will be the reason this team finishes higher, he is a work horse that pulls off some amazing games. Christian Ehrhoff will fill in the on the back end where there is still a hole after Voynov's stunt. He wont be making magic,, but he is a solid addition. 3. Edmonton Oilers - I choose Edmonton for a few reasons, one is their new found spark with Connor McDavid. The kid is lightening, and will win games for this team. McDavid is who Hall, Nug-Hop and Yakupov were supposed to be. 3 strikes youre out right? Not for Edmonton, they found a fourth chance at life and it will pay off. Edmonton went out and got a guy in Cam Talbot that will win them the games that Scrivens and Fasth let sail free. They also got a few new faces on defense like Reinhart and Sekera, who should help build some confidence on the back. Yes, they have a lot to learn this season, but for once, I do not see them finishing under the top 4 in the Pacific. 2. Calgary Flames - Another team that could end up lower, I choose the Flames because of their playoff run. A bunch of kids in Canada tried to be the Avalanche and did better. The difference will be their rebound and learning from Colorado's mistake. The Flames will need to stay healthy and they should find themselves sitting high in the Pacific. The biggest question on this team sits in their goaltending, Hiller seems to only play hockey when he feels like it and Ramo has the consistency of a two years older attention span.... It just isn't there and this far in, I don't know if it ever will be. I love Johnny Gaudreau's leadership, he is a lot like Joe Sakic, he lays it out on the ice and that's that. They added Dougie Hamilton to an already stellar defense, that just got their leader back after losing him in the playoffs. I see amazing things coming out of the Flames, could we see them make a run for the cup in the next few yeas? You Bet. 1. Anaheim Ducks - This is a no brainer! Their young goaltender, Fredrick Andersen, was not totally to blame but a big reason they made the exit home last season. His inexperience with winning in the playoffs, not just playoffs but big games cost him some soft goals in a nervous moment. Anaheim added Kevin Bieksa and Carl Hanglin, those two additions add to their already extensive group of talent and says, "Let's win" all over it. However, many of us have already seen this much talent work the other way, plus, how long will Gibson sit on the bench before he wants out of Anaheim if he cannot win the number spot to start the season. Could this cause controversy to the locker room? We will see! Now that is my Pacific Division, I am just making predictions, so if you do not agree please share yours! Central Division - I have my bias!!!!! But this division is tough as hell to break down. 7. Dallas Stars - The reason I pick Dallas is due to the goaltending. Neimi and Lethonen are both great, however, Neimi nor Lethonen are back ups and this could cause a conflict. Yes it could work out, but no goalie wants to be number two... They did add Sharpe and Oduya to the line up, both cup winners with the Hawks which could help. They have a lot of power with Benn, Spezza, Seguin, Nichushkin, but someone has to finish last. 6. Winnipeg Jets - The Jets had a feel good story last season and it was great to see them make the playoffs. Unless they play Hutchinson from the jump, I do not see the Jets following suit. Pavelec is not a number one goalie and should sit the bench to a more talented kid. Also, Dustin Byfuglien is again in trade rumors all over, does he move? If so, for what? The Jets defense is already pretty skim. Basically all mid-age guys and really you do not see their names a lot and they aren't really known for anything "big." Such as when you here Byfuglien, most people say... "I hope hes not playing tonight, the dude is an animal." 5. St. Louis Blues - Their failure in the playoffs is going to begin to get to them at some point and I think this season might just be it. T.J. Oshie is gone, which could be both good and bad. They added Troy Brouwer but they still only have that "one big name" in Tarasanko. Sure, they have Backes and Stastny, but those two cant change a game in a second like Valdimir can, they really lack that second hand in the 1-2-punch. Jake Allen should take over as the number one, if not, Elliott will drive this team into last place in the Central. 4. Chicago Blackhawks - I will take heat for this I am sure. The Hawks shipped off Sharpe, Saad, Oduya and could lose Patrick Kane pending his investigation. Corey Crawford got away with luck in the Stanley Cup Final, that luck was a damn good defense that was ale to stop the triplets of Tampa Bay. He made key saves, but he still was in luck, because he is a terrible goaltender. I think if Kane gets away with what he did, Chicago could be in the 3rd place, but I do not see them 1 or 2..... 3. Colorado Avalanche - this one is hard for me to swallow and to be honest, the Avs can fall anywhere be 1 and 7 honestly and it all depends on, A) can they stay healthy? Colorado lost and average of SIX starting roster players PER game last season, including their number one goaltender that could not stay healthy. Imagine Chicago losing 6 starting players per game... No way they win the cup and they probably miss the playoffs too, that goes for any team. B) How will the new guys fit in? Who makes the roster? Rantanen, Comeau, Beauchemin, Soderberg, Siemens, Bigras and many more. This team looked different last season and it burned them (excluding injuries) it took a long time or things to click, will they click this season? C) Valamov needs to stay healthy, and Berra needs confidence. You fix A and C alone, the Avs will be top 3, fix all three.... Dog fight for #1... 2 - Minnesota Wild - This chaps me, and I cannot deal with the Wild. However, if Dubnyk plays like last season, he wins the Veznia and they take on Anaheim for the Conference Final where they lose. Dubnyk fails like Dubnyk usually does..... Minnesota will be sitting last place... Enough on them, they leave a bad taste in my mouth. 1. Nashville Predators - Not a lot to say, they bring back 99% of what they had last season, better health with more experience. No doubt in my mind Rinne, Weber and Forsberg carry this team to the top of the Central. I still do not think they have the fire power up front that they need to win a cup though, yet a healthy Rinne and defense... who needs more than one or two goals? Again, all prediction and yes I am bias to the Avalanche, but make a valid argument that last season was just all sorts of tragic. It is a safe bet to say any team in the Central can make the playoffs and make a deep run, probably the toughest through and through division in the NHL and probably any sport to be honest. Please let me know your predictions!