It’s still early in the season, so teams are beginning to find their way. We have seen some surprises in the league this year, both good and bad. Good being that the Central division looks like it will be the most competitive in years, as through at least seven games every team has a winning record. The bad is how the New Jersey Devils have looked so far, and several teams including Phoenix, Columbus, and Atlanta playing in frontof less than 10,000 fans. You mean to tell me in a city like Phoenix with a population of several million people, can only draw 6,706 fans to a Thursday night game against a division opponent? I’ve seen more fans attend events such as the WNBA, high school and NCAA Division II football games. Dear Gary Bettman, just move the team to Hamilton, Ont. or back to Winnipeg and get it over with. The NHL owning a team drawing crowds like that is getting similar to MLB owning the Expos several years ago. The Coyotes can’t play the Red Wings 42 times in Glendale (They did sellout the home opener against Detroit last week).
Check back next week where the monthly 1-30 rankings will appear.
| Rank | Team | Last Week | Team Notes |
| 1 | NSH | 4 | Only team to not lose in regulation. Posted 2-0-1 record last week. Games this week vs St. Louis and at Detroit will be exciting to watch. |
| 2 | |DET | 6 | Have won last three games. Jimmy Howard looks like he has not lost a beat in goal. Wings also have 3-0-1 record on home ice. |
| 3 | PIT | NR | Has earned points in last five games. Played two of three games in stretch against this week’s Top Six, beat Nashville in OT and lost to St. Louis in OT. Will be at Tampa Wednesday. |
| 4 | LA | NR | Tough decision to put Kings here. Could have been the Stars, but Kings looked impressive in game two of five game road trip against Avalanche. Wednesday at CHI will be good to watch. |
| 5 | STL | NR | Chicago may have more points, but Blues took three points from them this week in home-and-home series. Erik Johnson’s OT winner vs PIT was very impressive. |
| 6 | TB | NR | Was a bubble team in last week’s rankings. Posted 2-1-1 record last week with only loss coming Sunday night vs Nashville. |
| 25 | FLA | NR | Discount two shutout wins there they scored nine goals, they are 1-3 with -5 goal differential. Only team with + goal differential among ten worse records. Vokoun needs goal support in close games, not blowouts. |
| 26 | PHX | NR | They have a .500 record, but I can’t overlook the fact that 6,706 fans watched them play at home. At least they got to see their only win in last five games. |
| 27 | ANA | 29 | East teams can struggle on west coast. West teams can struggle playing east as well. Has 0-5 record at Central division teams this season. Still have to play at Chicago in three weeks. |
| 28 | NJ | 26 | When Martin Brodeur get’s a shutout, they win. When he doesn’t they lose. Something has to change, because he can’t get a shutout every night. Tough west coast trip on horizon this week. |
| 29 | OTT | 20 | Has 1-3-1 record on road, and 1-3 record last four games. They also got shutout by Carey Price, his first in 90 games or for those that need a date: Nov. 11, 2008. |
| 30 | EDM | NR | Lost four straight games. Counting the preseason, they will have faced Calgary five times including tomorrow night. By this time next week we should know if Taylor Hall will remain in NHL or be sent back to Windsor. |
