1. Montreal (13-6-4)

After being out of the top spot for one measly week, the Habs reclaim their rightful spot as the top team in Canada. They hit a bit of a bump in the road, and still aren't completely out of the woods, but a big win over the champs and a character win last night over Buffalo will hide that blemish against the lowly Islanders earlier in the week.

2. Calgary (14-9-1)

They're knocking on the door of the spot we all though they would be at some point or another, no.1 in the Northwest. They still sit one point behind the Canucks, but a sweep of a home and home against Vancouver this week means they are Western Canada's best right now.

3. Vancouver (14-8-2)

Last week I said that without Luongo this team would plummet down these rankings fast. Well after one 1-2 week sans Roberto, the Canucks already drop two spots. They started the week by beating the defending champs in overtime, but then had nothing against Calgary to end the week. The problem for the Canucks is, even with Luongo, could you really have seen them beat the Flames the way they were playing? Let's see how low these 'Nucks can go...without Luongo.

4. Edmonton (10-10-2)

Edmonton is still this high (if you can call middle of the pack "high") only because the Leafs and Sens refuse to make some positive gains. Things are spiralling out of control and rumours are swirling about the coach's job. This kind of debauchery isn't good for any team, let alone a young team that came in with high expectations and a hot start. If they can rebound, it shows character. But, they may run out of time. The season is still young, but the days will start to fly by once December and January roll around.

5. Toronto (8-9-6)

The Leafs have only won one of their last six games, but they may have made the biggest gain this week, and you know who I'm talking about. I've said it before, I'll say it again. Brian Burke may not be the absolute best executive in hockey. But, his mix of undeniable talent and media savvy-ness make him the perfect fit for the most scrutinized job in hockey, and the perfect man to eventually end this 41-year (and counting) drought.

6. Ottawa (8-10-4)

Just when you think they are starting to make a move upwards, this team shoots itself right back down. If they had beat the Leafs handedly, they would have moved up one spot, but the game depended on the luck of the shootout (By the way, Sens-fans are officially the quietest fans in pro sports. Even when they out-number the opposing team's fans, they still can't be heard). Plus, the Leafs, with the hire of Burke, have something that the Senators aren't even in reach of right now, a direction. Oh yeah, and they are 0-3 against the Islanders this year. That alone should keep them at the bottom of this list.

CBC.... you suck!  Thank you so much for "featuring" the Ottawa game with your 3 updates throughout the night.

The only thing that's going to keep me from losing it will be a Flyers comeback... scores!  Flyers are within 1 with 2:30 to play in the second.

Now I need to find a radio so I can hear the Sens game.

GO SENS GO!

Finally a great game in the Battle of Ontario.  It was looking like Toskala was going to win the game by himself.  The game stats will show that the game was pretty even, but Toskala turned away several great scoring chances by the Ottawa Senators. 50+ hits in the game... and mostly clean.  The Senators remain unbeaten in black.

I'm glad I'm not Hartsburg as I suggested it might not be wise to inject Fisher too quickly against a team that was clearly planning to hit everything in sight.  But the Fisher line was great and Mike was credited with the lone regulation goal for Ottawa.  Fisher looked 100%, especially when he laid out Schenn with a good hit.  At the end of the game the kid was smiling and said something to Fisher... I'm guessing it was something along the lines of "you caught me with my head down", or something like that.

The Sens had some good chances in OT and I was dreading another shootout loss, which would have been our 3rd in 4 games, but Spezza came through again scoring the first goal.  Alfie scored on the third attempt and Auld turned away Kulemin and Stempniak.  By the way, I could have sworn that the Leafs had a couple of good chances in OT, but the scoresheet shows 0 shots on net in the extra frame.

The best thing of all is that the win puts us ahead of Toronto (tied in points but more wins) and puts us 4 points back of Carolina with a couple of games in hand.  It's too bad we gave Toronto the extra point.  I thought we clearly deserved to win the game, and we did, but it would have been nice to be a point up on the Leafs.

Our big line is still struggling to get points, but the defense is improving and Auld has been consistent and probably our best player thus far.  Donovan had a great game.  He's making the most of his extra ice-time and I'm glad he hasn't been traded as some Sens fans would like.

And last but not least, it looks like we can say farewell to Luke Richardson as the Senators placed him on waivers today.  It's expected he'll retire rather than report to Binghampton.  That should make Riddick happy. 

GO SENS GO!

As the world's most famous groin injury heels, the Vancouver Canucks are leaning on Curtis Sanford and Cory Schneider to get the job done in net.

So far, so good.

Sandman, who has started two of Vancouver's last three games, is currently on a three game winning streak; his most impressive being a 32-save performance in a monumental win this past Monday night against the Detroit Red Wings. His last three wins have come against teams that won their respected divisions last season, so obviously he's proving he can be relied on in Roberto Luongo's absence. 

Even with Sanford winning between the pipes, there is a quiet movement in Vancouver trying to get Schneider is first career NHL start. The 22-year-old, who was recalled from the Manitoba Moose last Saturday, has never seen any NHL action before, the closest he's come is backing up Sanford against the Red Wings earlier this week.

Now I'm not against Schneider getting some playing time in, but when the last time an NHL team was successful with their third-string goalie in net? There are examples out there, none really worth mentioning unless I'm overlooking something. 

The Canucks are on a roll with points in their last 10 games and Sanford will be a big part of whether or not that streak continues. Why mess with a hot goalie? It's a different story if Sandman drops his next two starts to Calgary, then a change might do the team good.

There is no need to rush things though, Schneider has dominated in the AHL this season (10-1-0), yet it's tough to believe that he'll be effective in the NHL right off the bat. Plus, Vancouver's rugged road schedule over the next two weeks doesn't really allow them to take any nights off. The worst team they face is either Colorado or Edmonton (both have 20 points right now), and those games certainly won't be a walk in the park.

If Sanford keeps his exceptional play going, which is quite conceivable, leave him in there until Luongo comes back - I'm assuming that'll be mid-December.

Schneider may be the goalie of the future on the west coast (depending on what Luongo does when his contract is up) but rushing him into the net would be a mistake that the Canucks might pay for in the standings. Even if it is only one game.

Colby Armstrong strikes again... his latest victim is Jason Blake who took a high hit from Armstrong and suffered a concussion.

Coach Ron Wilson called up tough guy Andre Deveaux from the Marlies to fill Blake's void in the lineup.  I don't know much about Deveaux other than he has 57 pims in 13 games and is coming back from serving a 4 game suspension for an attack on Nolan Baumgartner.  I call him a goon, but he does have 6 goals so he serves more than one purpose.

If I'm Craig Hartsburg I'd think twice about inserting Fisher against the Leafs.

If we know one thing, it's that the Leafs don't seem to have a problem getting up for a game against the Ottawa Senators.  It should be a good battle on Thursday night.  Auld gets his 7th straight start and I'm guessing the Leafs will go back to Toskala after Cujo was pumped for 6 goals on Tuesday night.

GO SENS GO!