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Todd Cordell
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (14-4-2)
Sure, they lost a couple games to the Islanders, but they're still 1st in the league in terms of points per game and they have a league-best plus-26 goal differential through 20 games played.
2. Anaheim Ducks (14-4-5)
They slipped a little bit when Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin were out, but the Ducks have gotten back to their winning ways with three consecutive wins. Sami Vatanen has turned into a star, and is playing himself into the Norris conversation in his first full season with the Ducks.
3. New York Islanders (15-6-0)
They've won nine of their last 10 games including a pair of wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Enough said.
4. Nashville Predators (14-5-2)
They're dominating in possession, the Filip Forsberg - Mike Ribeiro - James Neal line continues to produce and they've been one of the stingiest defensive teams in the league.
5. Tampa Bay Lightning (14-6-2)
Despite playing almost the entire season without Victor Hedman they're tied with Pittsburgh for 2nd in the Eastern Conference. They're leading the league in goals, are doing well in possession and are proving to be legitimate contenders.
Honorable mention: Montreal. I'm still not completely sold on them as an absolute contender out East, but they're sitting atop the Eastern Conference and deserve some credit for their strong start.
Ryan Wilson
1. St. Louis Blues 14-6-2
St. Louis takes over my top spot after the Penguins dropped two games against their solid divisional rival Islanders. The Tarasenko line is flat out awesome and it isn't like the Blues need to lean on it either considering the crazy forward depth they have. St. Louis is also 2nd overall in EVSV% at .941% so even when they aren't scoring, they aren't being scored on.
2. New York Islanders 15-6-0
The Islanders are really really good so get used to it. They looked terrific against Pittsburgh and it wasn't a fluke. The moves Garth Snow has made this offseason have all panned out. Grabovski and Kulemin added to what was a strength (F depth). Boychuk and Leddy have transformed their defense corp. And last but not least Jaro Halak is on pace to have the franchises best ever save percentage in a single season. The Islanders will be leaving the Island on a high note.
3. Nashville Predators 14-5-2
The Predators have been a pleasant surprise so far this year and it is not a fluke. They have the league's best goaltending with an EVSV% of .943% and are a top five possession team (5th SAF 54.3%). When you have the puck all the time and you are the best at stopping the puck the positive results you get are well earned. David Poile made some low risk high reward moves that are paying off and he also hit some homeruns like the Forsberg/Neal trades. Nashville is doing what I thought Dallas was going to.
4. Pittsburgh Penguins 14-4-2
They may have been humbled by the Islanders but that doesn't mean they are in shambles either. The Penguins bounced back and defeated Boston on Monday night. Losing Pascal Dupuis was a tough blow to everybody involved in Pittsburgh and now in the fallout coach Mike Johnston has started to tweak his forward lines in an effort to see what works. Ultimately we are all just playing the waiting game until they acquire another top six winger via trade. Penguins are still 4th overall in Score-Adjusted Fenwick at 54.5% and have a respectable .933% EVSV% as a team.
5. Tampa Bay Lightning 14-6-2
I haven't forgotten about the Lightning. I still have the same respect that I have had for them in prior week's it's just that some of these other teams are coming on strong at the moment. My only concern for Tampa right now is that they are getting below league average goaltending with an EVSV% of .915%. I tend to believe that will go up as Ben Bishop (.918%) starts to play better. Can't say I care for Evgeni Nabokov as a backup, he is at a woeful .900%. I would see if a guy like Tomas Vokoun would be willing to come back and play.
Tim Chiasson
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (14-4-2)
They have games in hand and they thumped the only team ahead of them in the East. Still number one for me.
2. Nashville Predators (14-5-2)
Nashville is getting great goaltending and a lot of offense. This is a totally different Predators team than we're used to seeing and the credit goes to Peter Laviolette. They continue to keep pace with top teams and could be leading the Western Conference if the games played were even.
3. New York Islanders (15-6-0)
In the last ten games they've beaten Anaheim, LA, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh(twice). That's enough to get them in the top five for me. The Isles are 9-1 in their last ten and look like they did at the start of the season again. They join the Predators as completely different teams from last season.
4. Anaheim Ducks (14-4-5)
The Ducks are back to winning as they sit with a three game win streak and remain on top of the Western Conference. Even though they barely won the three games they're getting the quality goaltending that they're used and that makes them one of the most dangerous teams in the league again.
5. Montreal Canadiens (16-6-1)
Montreal got outscored 10-6 in their last four games but still won two of them. As the Carey Price goes, the Habs go. As long he's healthy he's going to make this team tough to play against which is the only reason they're in my top five.
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