Central Thoughts

Mid-November can mean a lot of things.  For starters Thanksgiving is only a week away, the weather is getting cooler (or not it was 64 today in Columbus, cue Al in 3, 2, 1 …) Christmas music is on the radio (WNIC and WMGC in Detroit; WLZT in Columbus), and it’s the quarter point of the NHL season.  So, as we round the quarter pole I thought I would take a look at how the Central Division is stacking up so far.

Going into this season the Central Division was spouse to be one of the best divisions in the NHL with the Red Wings and Blackhawks battling it out on top and the other three teams having a good shot at making the playoffs.  As the standings stand now it’s the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, and Red Wings fighting for the top spot and the Blues and Predators outside of the playoffs but still within striking distance.  With only three points separating the top three it is the closest division in that aspect.  However, the Blackhawks do lead the division with only 26 points which is the second lowest amount of any division leader.

At this point the Central is not as dominant as may have been predicted, but still does have a good shot a qualifying three or four teams into the playoffs and should get better as the Red Wings get healthy and Marian Hossa joins the Hawks later in the season.

Division Power Rankings:

1. Atlantic

2. Pacific

3. Northwest

4. Central

5. Southeast

6. Northeast

Central Power Rankings:

1. Detroit Red Wings- Ok, I know that they are in third place right now, and yes this may be partly a homer pick, but the Wings are only three points behind Chicago and have played one less game.  When you look at the players that have been out of the line up and the fact that they are 10-3-3 in the last 16 games this is still a strong team.

2. Chicago Blackhawks- Locking up the young player’s long term will keep this team at the top of the Central for years to come.

3. Columbus Blue Jackets- Started out the season strong, but seem to be leveling off lately.

4. Nashville Predators- Should hover around in playoff contention for awhile, but will most likely fall out of contention around February.

5. St. Louis Blues- I still have faith that the Blues are a playoff team, but they are going to need to start turning it up soon before it’s too late.