San Jose (10-2-0): How nice. But will anybody cares until the playoffs how well the Sharks are playing? They have been teasing with great regular season play for many years yet still fail come playoff time.
The team is continuously developing excellent forwards and this year's new arrival is Devin Setoguchi who is leading the team with 12pts in 12 games. On top of those 2 powerful offensive top lines, the rest of the forward lines are extremely pesky and difficult to play against.
With the arrival of Dan Boyle & Rob Blake, the departure of massively overrated Kyle McLaren and the steady progress of Ehrhoff & Vlasic, the backend is also quite capable and perfectly matched to the forward group.
While Nabokov hasn't been great so far, his play has been good enough to make the Sharks the class of the West.
Rating: A
Outlook: same
Detroit (8-2-2): Just read any analysis from last year's playoffs and add Marian Hossa. The firepower is all over and this group is extremely annoying to play against.
The Wings are on their way to another season with over 100pts and even mediocre goaltending will not change that.
Rating: A
Outlook: same
Minnesota (7-2-1): Gaborik is hurt and in no hurry to resign while Eric Belanger is 4th in team scoring with 5pts in 10 games. That is the extent of the bad news in Minneapolis.
The team has been playing extremely well, the younger Koivu is thriving as the new captain and Nicklas Backstrom is on his way to the AllStar game as one of the best goalie in the league.
This team is built quick and tenacious, controlling the puck and feeding on mistakes. Whoever wants the NorthWest title will need to go through the Wild to get it.
Rating: A
Outlook: same
Calgary (7-4-1): Offense is always an issue in Calgary but some nice offseason acquisitions are bearing fruit and Iginla is finally getting some help. Now if only youngsters like Lombardi (well, not that young now but still with that prospect tag), Boyd, Moss & Nystrom would play better than 4th liners!
With this rough & tough defense and Kiprusoff actually playing well, the Flames can really focus their attention on the offense and hopefully generate enough offense to stick to 4th or 5th place and avoid meeting one of the big 3 in the first round of the playoffs.
Rating: B+
Outlook: same
Anaheim (7-5-1): Seriously handicapped by an awful cap situation, the Ducks still manage to win more often than they lose with a big physical group of guys and good possession skills.
The team is pretty much the same as the cup winning team... just with the veterans a bit older and the youngsters a bit older too (weird how that happens eh?!) which balances itself out.
Catching San Jose might be difficult but as long as the team ends the season healthy and rested, the Ducks will be a nasty team to face in the playoffs.
Rating: B
Outlook: same
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