Feature Articles

Two of the hottest teams in the league still reside in the Northeast Division. Unlike it’s been throughout most of the early season, though, neither of them is Buffalo. The Ottawa Senators have continued their phenomenal late November run into December, and have won four in a row and eight of nine. Meanwhile, the only team still behind the Senators within the division, the Boston Bruins, has won seven of ten themselves, including three wins over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto, one of the biggest surprises of the early going, has fallen back to earth in recent weeks, losing eight of their last ten (two in OT). Meanwhile, the Sabres and Habs continue to look like exactly what we figured they’d be at the beginning of the year… two probable playoff teams.

 

Buffalo Sabres

 

Hot: Daniel Briere (Hat Trick Tuesday), Thomas Vanek (6 G, 5 A in Last Ten), Maxim Afinogenov (6 G, 8 A, 13 PIM, 6 PPP in Last Ten), Chris Drury (7 G, 2 A, 2 GWG in Last Ten), Ales Kotalik (7 A in Last Seven)

 

Cold: None

 

Injuries: Jaroslav Spacek (D2D – Leg), Tim Connolly (Indefinitely – Post-Concussion Syndrome), Henrik Tallinder (4-6 Weeks – Broken Left Arm)

 

The Sabres just keep rolling, thanks largely to their depth. The top four forwards all continue to stroll along at a point a game pace, while the defensemen continue to boost their +/- ratings playing behind one of the most powerful offenses the league has seen in since the 1980s.

 

Daniel Briere squashed any concerns over his condition after the dirty hit he took from Alexander Ovechkin on Saturday night. Though he returned to that game (a 7-4 loss to the Caps) later, Briere didn’t look quite like himself, and was complaining of pains in his neck for the remainder of the evening after being checked into the boards up high by Ovechkin. In his first game since the incident Tuesday, the Sabres captain netted a hat-trick as he led the Sabres to a 4-1 win in Tampa Bay. Briere has established terrific chemistry with Jochen Hecht and Jason Pominville on the Sabres top line, and they’ll need him to continue to dominate the East.

 

Though neither Maxim Afinogenov nor Thomas Vanek found their way onto the scoresheet in Tuesday’s win, they’ve still been absolutely dominant. Vanek, the sophomore Austrian winger, still has at least a point in seven of his last ten games, and currently ranks third in the league with 17 goals and eighth in the league with 33 points. Afinogenov, who missed five games in early November, has been even more dominant on a per-game basis, and ranks twelfth in the league with 31 points in just 21 games.

 

Chris Drury continues to be a big goal-scorer, but he needs his linemates to step it up a bit with their finishing skills. Entering play this season, Drury averaged 1.53 assists per goal over the course of his career. However, while he’s scored a fantastic 16 goals to this point, he has just 10 assists to go along with them. Ales Kotalik has been fantastic in creating space for Drury, but he’s certainly not showing much improvement in the goal-scoring department with just 6 so far after netting 25 as a soph last season.

 

Ryan Miller had a bit of a blow-up against the Caps on Wednesday, allowing three goals in the game’s first eight minutes before getting pulled for Martin Biron. That said, he’s been just fine for the most part lately, and has allowed three goals or less in four of his past five starts, including Tuesday’s 4-1 win in Tampa.

 

Brian Campbell continues to be outstanding along the blue line, and may be among the most improved players in the league. He’s showing plenty of flair offensively (20 points in 26 games, including 9 in 13 November games), which was to be expected. However, his play in his own zone this season has to be applauded. After posting a -14 rating in 2005-06, Campbell is a +13 so far this season, despite a weak -4 showing in Washington on Saturday.

 

Next Five: at Florida, at Montreal, at New Jersey, vs. Florida, vs. Ottawa

 

This is a rougher stretch than we’ll see most of the time for the Sabres, despite the fact that they’ll be playing the worst team in the East right now twice. Why is it difficult? While the Panthers haven’t scored much themselves (read Tuesday’s Southeast Report for more info there), they have kept their opposition down lately. Similarly, the Devils, who have been outscored this season despite being four games over .500, have one of the league’s better defenses, thanks largely to Martin Brodeur. The Habs shut the Sabres down last time they met, winning 2-1 in overtime in Buffalo. The Sens… well… we’ll get to them in a bit. Miller makes for a terrific start the next few weeks, as they won’t face a single dominant offense until the final game of the stretch (vs. Ottawa), and as good defensively as some of their opponents have been lately, they haven’t done it against the best offense in the league.

 

Montreal Canadiens

 

Hot: Saku Koivu (4 G, 4 A, 3 PPP in Last Seven), Guillaume Latendresse (1 G, 3 A in Last Three), Alexander Perezhogin (2 G, 1 A, +3 in Last Two),

 

Cold: Andrei Markov (0 G, 1 A, -6 in Last Seven), Radek Bonk (Scoreless in Last Six), Mike Johnson (1 G, 1 A in Last Ten), Sergei Samsonov (0 G, 5 A, -5 in Last Fifteen)

 

Injuries: Chris Higgins (2-4 Weeks – Torn Ligament in Ankle)

 

Captain Saku Koivu has led the charge of late for the Habs, who have won six of ten to pass slumping Toronto and take over second in the division in the past week. The scorers finally stepped to the forefront for the first time in the past two weeks as the Habs exploded for nine goals in their last two games, after scoring just seven in their previous four. Unfortunately, their most recent contest saw Cristobal Huet’s worst effort of the season in a 6-5 loss to the Boston Bruins.

 

Guillaume Latendresse continues to step up for the Habs, and now he’s being joined by another young winger, Alexander Perezhogin. The rookie Latendresse, who disappeared for most of the second half of November, has redeemed himself with four points in the past three games, including a pair of assists in a crucial 4-3 win over the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

 

Perezhogin, a second-year Russian winger, has proven that he can adapt to the defensive play in the NHL, and currently has a +12 rating after finishing last season at a +5. He’s also improving upon his offensive game, and scored his fourth goal a little beyond the quarter point after scoring just nine goals as a rookie last season. Both Perezhogin and Latendresse figure to become fixtures on the Habs’ top two lines down the road, and it’s good to see them coming along a little ahead of schedule.

 

The Habs hope to get some good news regarding Christopher Higgins’ return in the next couple of weeks. Higgins, who had 13 points in 13 games before suffering a torn ligament in his ankle in early November, was another young gun who the Habs were counting on big things from. He has a fine goal-scorer’s mentality, and loves to feed his linemates as well. Though he’s a natural winger, Higgins often plays more like a pivot, and can cover the slot as well.

 

Despite Huet’s subpar effort in Monday’s loss to the Bruins, he’s been outstanding lately, and went 7-2-0 with a 1.63 GAA and .954 Save Percentage in November. With Huet between the pipes, there’s little cause for concern in Montreal, as they should be able to get by even if their offense can be a little limited at times.

 

Next Five: at New Jersey, at NY Islanders, vs. Buffalo, vs. Boston, vs. Tampa Bay

 

While their next two games figure to be low-scoring, we should be expecting a handful of strong offensive showings to close out the stretch. The Devils find themselves among the top defensive units in the league, but also have just the 26^th best offense to this point. The Islanders are a middle of the road team both offensively and defensively. That’s where it gets a little messy. The Sabres, who the Habs beat 2-1 last week, remain the top offensive team in the league by a considerable margin, though their defense has been below average, allowing more than three goals a game. The Bruins and Lightning have been even worse defensively, and rank 28^th and 22^nd respectively defensively. However, both teams are strong offensively. Keep Huet in the lineup regardless (even against Buffalo), and let your skaters go in the last four.

 

Toronto Maple Leafs

 

Hot: Michael Peca (2 G, 3 A, +3 in Last Six)

 

Cold: Alexei Ponikarovsky (0 G, 1 A in Last Six), Jeff O’Neill (0 G, 1 A, -3 in Last Five), Matthew Stajan (Scoreless, -4 in Last Five), Alexander Steen (0 G, 1 A in Last Twelve), Andrew Raycroft (0-4-1, 3.58 GAA, .865 Sv. % in Last Five)

 

Injuries: Andy Wozniewski (2-3 Months – Shoulder Surgery)

 

For most of the first two months, the Leafs were (surprisingly) one of the better offensive teams in the league. However, it’s all come crashing down of late, as they’ve scored just seven goals in their past five games, all losses. Only checking center Michael Peca has stood out offensively in the past week, nearly matching his point total from his first 21 games in his past six.

 

Youngsters Alexei Ponikarovsky, Alexander Steen, and Matthew Stajan are expected to be big parts of the rebuilding process in Toronto, and it looked like it was ahead of schedule for a while. However, their production has dropped off dramatically in recent weeks. Ponikarovsky was on nearly a point a game pace as recently as November 11, but has managed just a lone goal and a lone assist in nine games since that date. Steen, who has a terrific pedigree and had 45 points as a rookie last season, also started fairly strong, but just broke an eleven game scoreless streak with an assist in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to the Thrashers. Stajan figures as a potential first-line center in the future, and played well when the Leafs’ current number one center was injured. However, since Mats Sundin has returned, Stajan hasn’t found his name on the scoresheet once.

 

Andrew Raycroft started nicely in net for the Leafs, but seems to be folding a bit lately as the offense has. After allowing fewer than three goals in eleven of his first eighteen starts, Raycroft has allowed three or more in each of his past five starts and five out of six.

 

Next Five: at Boston, at Detroit, vs. Tampa Bay, at Carolina, vs. NY Rangers

 

Things don’t figure to get easier anytime soon. The Leafs will start their upcoming stretch in Boston, who has beaten them three times in the past three weeks. The Red Wings will follow, who boast the third best defense in the league, will follow. Things ease up for a game with struggling Tampa Bay, who the Leafs should be able to get the offense working against. If they can’t get that offense jump-started, though, they’re going to struggle to stay with the Hurricanes and Rangers, who both boast top ten offenses. Raycroft should be on your bench right now, and it’s hard to recommend any skaters other than Sundin, Tomas Kaberle, and Bryan McCabe right now.

 

Ottawa Senators

 

Hot: Jason Spezza (4 G, 6 A, +4, 5 PPP During Six-Game Point Streak), Dany Heatley (7 G, 4 A, +5, 4 PPP in Last Six), Daniel Alfredsson (6 G, 12 A Since November 1), Mike Fisher (4 G, 7 A, 2 SHP in Last Eleven), Antoine Vermette (3 G, 1 GWG, +2 in Last Three), Joe Corvo (2 G, 2 A, 4 PPP in Last Three), Andrej Meszaros (1 G, 4 A, +2, 2 PPP in Last Three), Peter Schaefer (2 G, 9 A, +4 in Last Ten), Tom Preissing (3 A, +7 in Last Four), Christoph Schubert (1 G, 3 A, +7 in Last Six), Ray Emery (7-2-0, 2.21 GAA, .926 Sv. % Since November 1)

 

Cold: None

 

Injuries: Wade Redden (Indefinitely – Chest/Shoulder)

 

Remember the Juggernaut that the Senators have been for the past few years? It’s back, and it’s going well beyond just a dominant top line! Jason Spezza seems to be over the back problems that were hindering him early in the year, which has led to a monster past few weeks for both him and linemate Dany Heatley. The two combined for three goals and five points in the Sens’ 4-2 dismantling of the New York Islanders Tuesday.

 

Daniel Alfredsson’s preseason move to the second line at even strength took a while to pay off, but it’s doing so in spades now. Both Antoine Vermette and Peter Schaefer continue to reap the benefits of playing with an unquestioned superstar, as they’re finding more space to create with the puck than they did last season. Vermette has transformed from a fantastic special teams weapon to a dominant offensive force, and is already more than halfway to his goal and point totals from a year ago just beyond the quarter point. Schaefer, who has proven to be a useful fifty-point man in the past, is coming off a dominant November that saw him post a point a game after going scoreless in seven October contests.

 

Mike Fisher has kept the third line moving, and has nineteen points of his own in just 29 games. He’s had some help on the third line, as Chris Neil has made himself a much bigger offensive presence after being their primary enforcer for the past few seasons. Neil is one of the rare breed that can intimidate both with his size and his shot, while Fisher is an outstanding defensive center who has plenty of offensive upside. Both should be gone in your league.

 

Even without standout defenseman Wade Redden, the blue-line corps has been outstanding on both ends of the ice. Andrej Meszaros is showing that he’s no flash in the pan defensively, as he’s been a +2 since the beginning of November. However, he’s also showing the offensive skills that had so many salivating about the youngster in the preseason. Meszaros has fourteen points in seventeen games since November 1 after producing just four points in eleven October games. Joe Corvo also continues to provide a strong offensive presence from the blue line, and notched the game-winner in Tuesday’s win over the Islanders. Corvo has recorded a point in each of his last four games, all on special teams.

 

Alas, they’re still getting production from even more of their defensemen. Tom Preissing ranks second in the league with a +18 rating so far, and has added twelve points to go along with it. Even soph Christoph Schubert is starting to make his presence felt offensively, notching four points in his last six games. To go along with his improved offensive showing, Schubert is second on the team with a +12 rating.

 

Ray Emery continues to take command of the goaltending situation, though Martin Gerber has been considerably better in his last two games. Emery waltzed through November with a 6-2-0 record, and currently ranks fourth in the league with a 2.08 GAA and first in the league with a .931 Save Percentage. Gerber, who is settling into a backup role to the red hot youngster at this point, has won his last two starts, allowing just 3 goals on 56 shots.

 

Somehow, it’s not too surprising that the Sens have won four in a row and eight of nine.

 

Next Five: at Washington, vs. NY Rangers, at Columbus, at Detroit, at Nashville

 

Based on past production (and their massive goal differential), we have to assume the Sens’ recent performance is for real. However, it’s going to be tested in their upcoming stretch. Not only will they play four of the next five on the road, but they’ll face some pretty tough matchups as well. The Caps are winners of their past three, and have scored sixteen goals during their run. The Rangers and Preds are both amongst the best offensive clubs in the league, while the Red Wings are the third best defensive squad in the league. Even the Blue Jackets have looked markedly better on both ends of the ice since new coach Ken Hitchcock took over, and have won three out of six, including back to back shutouts of Edmonton and Colorado. Nevertheless, the way the whole team is going, you can’t even think about benching any of your Senators.

 

Boston Bruins

 

Hot: Marc Savard (5 G, 19 A, +5, 11 PPP in Sixteen Games Since November 1), Patrice Bergeron (2 G, 10 A, 4 PPP, 1 SHP in Last Ten… Point in Fourteen of Last Sixteen), Glen Murray (10 G, 5 A, 5 PPP, 3 GWG in Sixteen Games Since November 1), Brad Boyes (3 G, 1 A in Last Five), Marco Sturm (3 G, 2 A in Last Seven), Brad Stuart (3 G, 1 A, 1 SHP, 1 GWG in Last Two), Wayne Primeau (1 G, 2 A, +4 in Last Four), Shean Donovan (3 G, 1 A, +4, 11 PIM in Last Four),

 

Cold: Phil Kessel (0 G, 1 A, -3 in Last Nine), Tim Thomas (Allowed Five Goals in Each of Past Two Starts)

 

Injuries: P.J. Axelsson (D2D – Foot), Paul Mara (D2D – Lower Body),

 

We knew how good Savard was, but it bears repeating that he was by far the most underappreciated free-agent on the market this past summer. Though he could never completely replace Joe Thornton, he’s doing his best imitation of last year’s Hart Trophy winner. Patrice Bergeron continues to take his game to the next level, and the Bruins (and his fantasy owners) will be enjoying the fact that they inked him to a long-term deal before the year for a long time.

 

A pair of Sharks who came over last year for the aforementioned Thronton have been picking up the slack a little lately. Brad Stuart has translated his fine play on both ends of the ice since his return into some major point production in the past two games. He scored twice in Monday’s 6-5 win over the Habs, including his first game-winner of the year. Marco Sturm also struggled out of the starting block after missing half of October, but he’s picked up the pieces lately, with a point in five of his past seven contests.

 

Our final two names on the hot list have to be the big surprises. Both Wayne Primeau and Shean Donovan are established veteran checking line players, and neither has made much of a habit in their career of scoring. However, the third line has figured prominently lately, as the Bruins have averaged four goals a game in their past four. When you’re putting that many in the net, everyone seems to get into the act, and they have.

 

Tim Thomas has still been vastly superior to both Hannu Toivonen and Brian Finley this season, but he’s struggled in his past two starts. Thomas has allowed five goals in each of his last two starts, including Monday’s thrilling 6-5 win over the Canadiens. Toivonen, the club’s goalie of the future, has yet to make a start since being recalled from Providence last week, but could get the call against the Leafs on Thursday with Thomas struggling.

 

Next Five: vs. Toronto, vs. New Jersey, at Montreal, vs. New Jersey, vs. Florida

 

The schedule should play favorably for one of the hotter teams in the league, as they’ll start off with the slumping Leafs (losers of eight of ten) and play the up and down Devils twice. Four of the five will come at home, where the Bruins have won four of their last six. The Devils and Habs are two strong defensive teams, so benching some of your (lower-tiered) skaters might not be a bad idea in the middle of the stretch.