SMC 10-23-2016 I think that we should just the Hart Trophy to Carey Price right now.  You can see how much he means to this team. After just two weeks, the NHL Standings are rounding into shape just the way pretty much everyone thought they would look like except that Edmonton is off to a 4-1-0 start. Oh and Vancouver at 4-0-1 is another one that has me scratching my head.  Aren’t they supposed to be just a so-so team this season? I guess Anaheim doesn’t believe in fast starts.  It’s not how you start but how you finish is what I always say. Is anyone else waiting for the Dallas Stars offense to explode? Los Angeles better stock up on backup goaltenders this year as they are going through goaltending like water. NY Rangers’ Jimmy Vesey has really impressed me so far with his poise and confidence just two weeks into his NHL career. I wouldn’t be surprised if Brent Burns actually led the league in scoring this year.  He’s that kind of Beast! I know he hasn’t scored 4 goals in a game since opening night, but Auston Matthews is right up there with 8 points in 5 games.  And who does Richard Panik believe he is leading the league in goal scoring? Matt Read has resurrected his scoring ways this season. A lot of interesting names atop the leader board in points so far this season.  Thomas Vanek and Artem Anisimov are in the top 10 along with a bunch of young studs like Matthews, Connor McDavid and David Pastrnak. Gustav Nyquist is going to have a nice rebound year. Jonathan Marchessault has found a home in southern Florida as opposed to Western Florida where they didn’t have room for him to show off his offensive skills. Speaking of resurrections and rebounds, Jimmy Howard seems to be a man on a mission with a miniscule 0.50 GAA and a .984 SP.  Wow!  He shut out the Sharks las t night 3-0. It’s going to be fun to watch teams like the Lightning, Capitals, Canadiens, Rangers and Penguins battle this year.  You just might want to add Boston and Florida in that group as well.  Any one of those teams can go to the Cup Finals. Devils 2-1 winners over the Wild.  Didn’t expect anything more, or less! The Maple Leafs might be getting a complex about squandering leads and losing games late. The Rangers look impressive this year with their speed and tenacity.  Tampa Bay is 4-1-0 and I don’t think they are even hitting on all cylinders yet.  Scary! Both Montreal and New Jersey have only given up 9 goals in 5 games.  The big difference?  Montreal has 20 goals scored for and NJ only 8.  Taylor Hall has 3 of those goals.  Good thing they stole, I mean traded, him from Edmonton. The Flyers are really getting young as both Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny are involved in the offense early on this season.  Now they players who can play on the defensive side of the puck as well. Lundqvist made this wicked save on Ovechkin who had a wide open net after taking a cross ice pass. OV only had 6 SOG against the Rangers on Saturday night which I think is a victory onto itself. Does anybody know that Brian Campbell has 4 assists in 6 games so far with Chicago? Nashville’s 5-1 pasting of the Pittsburgh Penguins just might spur the return of Sidney Crosby. Columbus has beaten Dallas and Chicago back-to-back after losing to Boston and San Jose to start the season.  It all depends on Sergei Bobrovsky really. A barn burner in Calgary last night between the Blues and Flames as St. Louis outscored Calgary 6-4.  Chad Johnson has not faired any better than Brian Elliott so far in net for the Flames. Have a great week and may all your fantasies come true!