And all I can think of is how great the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks have been playing. I think it’s somewhat expected though, so I won’t bore you with that.
But really, can you think of a more dynamic duo since Batman and Robin than Dany f’n Heatley and Jumbo Joe Thornton? Because I’m really hard pressed to think of any center/winger duo that has looked better together. As far as the Batman and Robin reference, I don’t know if Heater would be Batman or Jumbo Joe, but that’s probably unimportant anyway. Joe Thornton leads the league in assists, not so surprisingly, actually. Dany Heatley has in my opinion, never looked more consistent that he does on the Sharks (sorry, Sens fans) what I thought was going to be hellacious in the locker room has turned out to be probably one of the best moves any team has made this season.
Enough about the Sharks though, there’s 29 other teams to dissect. I’ll start with the team that looked great to start the season and have considerably cooled since then; the New York Rangers aren’t looking like a very good team right now. They’re not getting any secondary scoring to speak of, if it’s not Gaborik or Prospal scoring, the Rangers aren’t scoring. A lot can be said about injuries, they’re all over the league, but it can’t be used as an excuse, coaches don’t accept it, fans really shouldn’t use it as a crutch either. Chris Drury is one of the downed Rangers, and even when he was playing this season he hasn’t looked like he’s worth much anyway. Sean Avery has apparently disappeared from the line up, replaced with some tame guy, and someone who, in my opinion is an underrated playmaker, hasn’t been contributing much points wise, either. Chris Higgins has not contributed anything, at all. The guy who looked like he was going to be a rookie phenomenon, Michael Del Zotto has adjusted and has been playing like a rookie, even seeing a decrease in ice time. Losing Brandon Dubinsky is a big blow to this club and the Rangers can only benefit from getting him back ASAP. Some high points is a ridiculously high penalty kill and of course, Gabby and Prospal scoring as many points as they have. Teams have adjusted, and the Rangers seem like a one-trick pony right now, they go back into the same shell they did last year, even with a new ensemble cast of characters.
One of the less depressing things for New York hockey fans (unless the Rangers are the only team they can feel good for, of course) is the New York Islanders. The Isles have shown marked improvement over last year, granted they’re not on pace to lose 500+ man games to injury, but of course, that still wasn’t an excuse for a 26 win season last year. 26 wins last year- as in the number and age of the Isles surprise break out winger, “Mighty” Matt Moulson, as all the Isles fans and bloggers have been calling him. The chemistry between he and Tavares has only helped the team, that plus, the Isles ARE getting secondary scoring on a regular night. They lost 2 games in a row, probably the first time all season they didn’t get ANY points in a 2 game stretch which is rough, but they’ve shown they’re able to rebound. Their main caveat is that they’re still a young team, and they are going to make mistakes a young team makes, it’s unavoidable. As talented as Tavares and Moulson are, they’re still getting their feet under them, and yes, they did hit the ground running, which is a sign of great things to come for this Islander team. Their powerplay and penalty kill are both pretty effective, which never hurts.
The Washington Capitals are up on tap, and they’re a bit underwhelming. They play down to their opponents, they lost a 2-1 game in Toronto over the weekend, which for a team as talented as the Caps should have been a complete blow out. There shouldn’t have been any second guessing that they should have won that game. I’ve said it before, a good team will beat teams better than them, a GREAT team will beat teams they SHOULD beat. The Caps have yet to show that they’re really ready to make that step towards being a great team, which a team with as much talent as they have is sort of tough to watch.
I’m expecting to edit this a few times with whatever other thoughts I can put together.
