The Buffalo Sabres are the crop of the Eastern Conference at 9-0 but so far in the early going, the Western Conference is a much deeper conference. Dallas 8-1, Anaheim 6-0-2, San Jose 6-2, Minnesota 7-1, Edmonton 6-2, Nashville 4-3-1 would take down almost any team in the Eastern Conference in a 7 game series except for Buffalo. The Hurricanes have taking a step back but the one team that can compete with Buffalo on a nightly basis is the Atlanta Thrashers. Kari Lehtonen is becoming a star in this league and the Thrashers have the speed and scoring upfront to beat anyone in this league. The Tampa Bay Lightning have struggled out of the gate and rumors are already swirling about Marty St.Louis being on the trading block. No way anyone is going to take this guy. After the lockout St.Louis signed a 6yr 31 million deal which makes him almost impossible to trade. The Phoenix Coyotes are struggling and if things don’t turn around by the 25-30 game mark, expect a fire sale to begin. Shane Doan, Curtis Joseph and Ladislav Nagy are names being thrown around.
Michel Therrien’s decision to put Evgeni Malkin on Sidney Crosby’s line tonight against the Devils is not too surprising. Crosby and Malkin have had great chemistry together and both were not able to generate much offense last Wednesday against the Devils when they were on separate lines. Colby Armstrong has gone 7 games without a goal but the buzzontheburgh has learned Armstrong is not in any danger of losing his spot on the top line. Their is a good chance his power play time on the top unit is going to diminish due to Michel Ouellet’s early success.
Watching Terrell Owens on the sidelines yapping at his teammates and coaches makes me sick. Owens has all the skills in the world but he drops way too many balls. Yesterday on a 4th and 2 he dropped a perfect pass to end a drive and you don’t see his teammates getting in his face. If Romo would have thrown a int on that play Owens would have been all over him. He’s a disgrace to the league and when are teams going to stop giving this guy a chance. How about the two big catches Plaxico Burress had in yesterday’s game. How dangerous would the Steelers offense be with him. Speaking of the Steelers, everyone talks about how bad of a team the Raiders are but here’s a thought for Steeler nation: Your Pittsburgh Steelers only have 1 more win than the 1-5 Raiders.
