Team Canada .... notice "Team" in the title. Not sure P.K. always gets it just yet. Loads of talent and upside, still a bit of growing up to do perhaps? Sort of like Patrick Kane a few years back.

And Stevie Y. has balls of steel. :-)

Bryz gets a shutout in his first start for the Oilers.....could the playoffs be far behind, Derrek? :-)

Blackhawks moved to 5-1 in their 7 game road trip, winning an 11 round shootout against Dallas. Corey and Kari were both stellar in the shootout, Corey was just "one louder....he went to 11".

Early in the season, Hawks would dominate early, then hang on to win. Now it seems to be the reverse. They have won 5 in a row, but have been behind going into the 3rd period in 4 of the 5, finding a way to come back and win in each. Once they start playing 60 minutes consistently, they are gonna be really dangerous.....but I'll settle for 1st in the NHL right now. :-)

LOLIslanders...

Finding new and incredible ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

This team rapes my soul!

Hawks finish their annual "Circus" road trip 6-1 with 6 straight wins. They are off to their second best start in team history, bested only by last year's NHL record start.

3 of the top 4 teams in ESPN's power ranking are from the Central. Hawks #1, Blues #3, Avs #4. Best division in hockey. :-)

Sharks are #2, Mike....and they look good with Burns back in the lineup.

What the heck does ESPN know about hockey :-)

True Dat....they actually think the Hawks won the Cup in Jine! :-)

The Isle's completely baffle me anymore. I was a fan years ago when Indy had a farm team for them and they actually played hockey and won on a regular basis. But damn I almost think they would do better in a men's figure skating team event now!

ESPN knows almost as much about hockey as the NHL knows about baseball.

Right! I mean, they have the Avs all the way up at #4.....I mean, c'mon, right??

:-)

I know that is a jab :-) ....and I agree, they are the 4th best team in the league.

That said, they are 3-1 against the top 5 teams in the East and 3-2 against the top 5(6, as they sit 5) in the West. Winning 67% of your games against the best teams in the NHL, not to shabby for a team that wasn't supposed to compete.

Add, if you take playoff teams(as currently stands) from both leagues, they are 6-1 against the East and 6-2 against the West.

They sure have made it a fun year more me, so far!

That should have read "....and I agree, they are not the 4th best team in the League."

No longer able to edit...

Who knows, maybe it was a Freudian slip...:-)

E.J., I was just jabbing, but I think 4th is probably about right, I can't put them ahead of the Blues, Sharks or Hawks at this point. OK, maybe ahead of the Blues. :-)

Doesn't matter what the polls say anyway, it is all about head-to-head come April :-)

I know, I took it in the way intended....:-)

The Blues have the Avs number, 2 of their 6 losses are to them.... Outscored 11-4....


Even with almost a third of the season over, I am really just hoping they make the playoffs. Then all bets are off, just win 4 before the other team does and move on!

It just doesnt seem right the Avs should be ranked that high. Maybe I'm just a prejudiced hawks fan.

Burrows took a puck to the face and broke his jaw today, couldn't happen to a nicer, warmer, cleaner player. :-)

This is awesome and just another reason hockey kicks ash!

http://blogs.denverpost.com/avs/2013...r-sakic/15879/

Brett Hull to Sean Avery: “You do not get to talk to Mr. Sakic”
By Mike Chambers
The Denver Post

Great read by Adam Proteau of The Hockey News on Monday about the game’s “code” and respect for its best players. Proteau writes that in Sean Avery’s rookie year in 2001-02, when he was coming into the league with the Detroit Red Wings, Avery tried to chirp the Avs’ Joe Sakic before a faceoff in front of the Detroit bench.

“You do not get to talk to Mr. Sakic,” Brett Hull told Avery, after pulling on the rookie’s sweater and making him sit down on the bench.

Proteau’s complete story is here. It speaks to our recent two-part series about hockey fighting and having players police the game, and I’ve always liked Brett Hull and obviously everyone in Colorado loves Joe Sakic.

As Proteau writes, “this was hockey policing itself without an enforcer.”

“With the guys we had on our team – myself, Brendan (Shanahan) and Stevie (Yzerman) – guys played hard and played to win, but when we played Colorado and all the other great teams, we had a lot of respect for them,” Hull told Proteau. “They were champions and unbelievable players. And I just never believed in all that chirping anyway.”

Love me some Brett Hull, even more after that story. :-)

Wild looking like they did earlier on in the season. Controlling the flow for the whole first period against Tom's deadly Hawks squad. Hopefully we can keep it going!

Nice to see the Avs play a great game against the Oilers :-)
Our defense looked like swiss cheese :-)