Around the League: Trouble in Edmonton

Yes, Craig, it is as bad as it looks.

I was watching some hockey game last week – Lord knows it wasn’t the Rangers, since they had basically all week off – when the standings flashed on my screen and I nearly choked on my hot chocolate. The FLORIDA PANTHERS have more points than the Rangers!? Surely I must’ve been drunk, but no, I wasn’t. I wondered what the heck was going on around the league.

We’re more than a third of the way through the season, so although nothing is set in stone, most of the trends we see are, well, more than just trends.  There were some predictions I made early in the season which are horribly wrong (I thought the Oilers would break out. I understand if you don’t want to read this post anymore), and some that were right. Instead of analyzing these, I’m breaking down what you need to know in my (second) favorite form: bulletpoint.

• The Rangers upcoming schedule is really very easy, so the fact that they’re fourth in the Metro – and the Metro is the weaker division in the Eastern Conference – shouldn’t be too worrisome. Additionally, the Rangers have played the fewest games in the East by 2-4 games (depending on the opponent you’re looking at), so this schedule and their rest could be extremely advantageous.
• That being said, the Blueshirts should view the rest of December as a must win. No pressure!
• It’s amazing to see the Patrick Roy method of pulling your goalie early being adopted into the league. It seems more normal now to see a goalie pulled at the 3 minute mark as opposed to 90 seconds. I’m sure other coaches did it before, but it really took flight recently. Too bad for Roy it isn’t helping his team win this season.
• Dallas Eakins getting fired in Edmonton is really just a giant cluster-you-know-what. Obviously something had to be done, but just hearing what the players have to say is surprising. Jordan Eberle said the mess that is the Oilers’ season isn’t Eakins’ fault… but then you hear Darren Dreger say that Taylor Hall is the face of uncoachable players. Well….. All I know is this: I’m glad I’m not an Oilers fan.
• Also, I’ll be laughing at Craig MacTavish behind the bench. What a mess.
• We have to play nice to the Islanders. Sorry, but fair is fair, and they’re one of the few 20 game winners thus far this season. Despite the few blowouts we’ve seen them suffer, they’re a scary team to have to battle. They ended the Blackhawks’ impressive 8 game win streak on Friday night and always seem to find a way to come back (see: Devils game last night). Makes you wonder if people will show up to the Coliseum.
• Speaking of coming back, how about Bobby Ryan up in Ottawa? He did this while playing with a halfway-still-broken finger:

• Quick wraps elsewhere: the Dallas Stars are still not good. Their defense is basically nonexistent, their signing of Ales Hemsky has been a complete bust, and Kari Lehtonen can’t stop a beach ball right now. Tyler Seguin is right up there in goals this season, but who cares when your team can’t win? Of course, this is a team that could get really dangerous really quickly.
• Legal wrap ups: Wild forward Thomas Vanek apparently has a gambling problem, Kings defenseman Slava Voynov will go to trial for a October domestic violence incident, and hopefully the Kings won’t let him skate in a (very well organized) “optional” practice again.