NHL: October taught me...

By Tim Daily

- The Avs are for real. They've got the best goal differential and penalty kill percentage in the Western Conference - not to mention a very effective power play. The Kyle Quincey acquisition gave Colorado another elite power play QB, which is almost unfair considering they have John-Michael Liles back there as well. Wojtek Wolski has always had the skills but is finally showing that his ability to be a PPG player. The story of the Avs' season so far, though, has been Craig Anderson.

- Anze Kopitar is making me look good. And by that, I mean that when I ranked him as a top 7 forward in the league last season (and was subsequently criticized), I fully knew he was going to become a big time player in this league. His ability to shield defenders off the puck is almost Jagr-like, and he has the vision and scoring touch to be a complete offensive threat.

- Don't be fooled, Marian Gaborik will get hurt. I know, you probably already knew this, but I'm a Rangers fan. I had my hopes up.

- The Sharks are again one of the best (regular season) teams in the league. Sure they're 8-4-1 and got off to a slow start but their power play is operating near 29% and Patrick Marleau is skating as well as he ever has.

- Steve Mason is going through a bit of a tough period in his development but that's actually a good thing. Professional sports are all about adjustments and the players that can consistently make them are the ones that will shine. Hopefully Mason can rebound and go back to being the best reactive goaltender in the league.

- DVR'ing NHL on the Fly at 3 AM on a Sunday morning is absolutely essential. If you're a hockey fan there isn't a better hour of television.

- The Flyers are going to have to score way more at even strength if they want to live up to a lot of experts' preseason expectations. Pronger has been more than effective (especially on the power play point) but Philadelphia is a team that can skate and bang bodies very well. Those talents are best displayed in 5 on 5 situations.

- The Central division is up for grabs. Any one of those teams can go on a run and make things interesting.

- Alexander Ovechkin is the best sniper this league has seen in a long time, perhaps since Mario Lemieux. I actually knew this already, but it's worth saying because of how true it is.

- Michael Del Zotto's 2008 training camp was no abberation, this kid can play and that's the reason he almost made the team out of camp LAST year. Last night he decked Kyle Okposo, who was coming in on the forecheck and attempted to hit Del Zotto. MDZ calmly backed into leverage position and used Okposo's momentum to drop him to the floor. Not only can the kid QB a power play, he can actually play defense in this league as well. Gilroy got all the preseason hype but I wouldn't be surprised if Del Zotto turns out to be the best Rangers d-man since Leetch.

- Sure Gomez and Gionta were great additions for Montreal, but Mike Cammalleri makes that line. No matter where he goes (LA, Calgary) the guy scores. That line may be small but you're going to have a tough time catching them. Physical puck possession teams will probably have a better chance to stop them than any other style.

- Boston sorely misses Phil Kessel, but hit a home run in making the trade that sent him to Toronto. They received Toronto's first rounder, which could give them the #1 pick. If that happens, they will have a shot to take the best player out of what some are saying is one of the best top-10 draft crops in a long time.

- The Pacific division is stacked with competition this year. Dallas, San Jose, Los Angeles and Phoenix have all looked pretty impressive to start the season. The Ducks have a ton of talent though and should be able to rebound as the season progresses.

- Steven Stamkos is going to be one hell of a player. He and Matt Duchene could be the face of the league in 5 years.

- This blog is a lot of fun. We initially intended to do something at the start of the 2008-09 season and got delayed, but I couldn't be happier with the way things have turned out. We have several terrific writers that deserve to have their material put out there and I'm glad I've been able to help them do that. Pretty soon we'll be moving to fromtheslot.com with a new design and some new features and for that I can't wait. Thanks for reading and keep checking it out!