A month and a half into the season and we now have a pretty good perception of all six Canadian teams' identities. Here is how the Six Pack stacks up as of November 16:
1. Montreal (9-4-2)
It's hard to keep the Habs in the no.1 spot after a couple of poor weeks that have seen them lose four of five. Their only win this week was against the listless bottom-dwellers of this list, but the fact remains that if all six Canadian teams battled it out, Les Canadiens would emerge victorious.
2. Vancouver (10-6-1)
I thought long and hard about moving the Canucks up to the no.1 spot, but it's going to take a more tested week than the one the Canucks just completed. A light week of only two games (against the Avalanche and Leafs) is not a good enough indicator of where this team is. If the Canucks can continue their solid play, led by Luongo's near-unbeatable presence in net, and the Habs keep slipping, there will be a new no.1 next week.
3. Edmonton (8-7-2)
No one wants to take firm position of the no. 3 spot in this weekly ranking. Between the Oilers, Flames and Leafs, you could pretty much flip a coin right now. The Leafs beat the Oilers on the road but the Flames beat the Leafs, and it just goes on and on. The Oilers get this spot more out of default than anything else right now, but don't think that their early-week win against the Rangers went un-noticed.
4. Calgary (9-8-1)
The Flames lost two of three this week and their only win was a home-victory over the Leafs, which they nearly blew with an own-goal off a face-off. Their two losses were more of a statement than their lone win, dropping games 6-1 to Chicago and San Jose, respectively. Two shellackings in one week? Ouch.
5. Toronto (7-7-4)
The Leafs finished a week in Western Canada with a win and two defeats. They played the Flames hard to the last second, outplayed the Oilers from start to finish, and then battled to make a game of it in Vancouver after starting the game with what seemed to be an empty-net. It's hard to use the excuse they were on a road-trip though, when there were more Leafs fans in the Saddledome, Rexall Place and GM Place than fans of the home teams.
6. Ottawa (6-9-2)
How do you sink lower than last place in the Six Pack rankings? You drop two games (back to back might I add), to the lower than low New York Islanders. Even when the Sens get decent goaltending (from Alex Auld), they still find ways to lose hockey games. The Senators can not and will not go on like this. Expect big changes in the nation's capital very soon.