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Atlantic Division: Survival of the Fittest


October 29, 2007
By: Jay

First Season Update. Well, we are 1/8 thru the hockey season. The Atlantic Division has lived up to the hype.

Here are the Standings (As of Sunday October 28, 2007): Philadelphia 14 Pts in 10 Games Pittsburgh 11 Pts in 10 Games NY Islanders 10 Pts in 9 Games NY Rangers 7 Pts in 10 Games New Jersey 7 Pts in 10 Games

I hate to say it, but Philadelphia has done extremely well out of the gate this season. Daniel Briere leads the Flyers with 13 points. Mike Richards has been a surprise. The 23 year old center has 12 points with a plus minus rating of 4. Martin Biron has been a key part to Philly success thus far this season. He has 7 wins and 2 losses with a .948 save percentage. He is tied for first with Martin Gerber (Ottawa) with the most wins for goalies.

The Penguins are doing well. Petr Sykora has been the perfect fit on wing for Crosby. Sid and Evgeni Malkin are tied for first on the team with 13 points each. Syko is next with 9 points. Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney have done well as Offensive defensemen with 7 and 6 points respectively. However, their plus minus ratings are -4 and -3 respectively. Max Talbot and Adam Hall, both forwards, lead the team with a +2 rating. Come on Pens defense!

Goaltending has been extremely inconsistent for the Pens. Marc-Andre Fleury is 4-4 with .892 save percentage. Backup Dany Sabourin has played in 4 games and played very well in relief of Fleury last Saturday night in a shoot-out lose to the Montreal Canadians. Sabo stopped the first 7 Canadians shooters in the shoot out.

The Isles are basically tied with the Pens for second. They have played one less game then everyone else in the division. Center Mike Comrie and RW Bill Guerin, both Free Agent signings in the off-season, lead the team in points with 11 and 10 respectively. Who would think that 37 year old Bill Guerin would be posting these numbers? His hat trick against the Capitals on Oct 18th pads his stats a little bit. Ruslan Fedotenko, another newcomer this year for the Islanders, has 8 points. Defenseman Chris Campoli has 9 points in 9 games. Their plus minus leader is Darryl Bootland with a ZERO, in four games.

Jaromir Jagr leads the Rangers with 9 points. No surprises there. Chris Drury, acquired from Buffalo in the off season, is next with 6 points. Where is the 10 million dollar man Scott Gomez? He has 3 points in ten games. Good decision overpaying another washed out player Rangers. According to my math, the Rangers front office has already wasted about 865,854 dollars on Drury for 6 points AND 1,219,512 dollars on Gomez for 3 points.

New Jersey Devils are finally in the cellar! Zack Parise is a promising star with 10 points in 10 games. The 24 year old left winger has 2 goals and 8 assists. The next highest in points are Elias, Madden, Martin and Zajac with 6 a piece. Brodeur has played in 8 games with a 2-6 record. He has a .877 save percentage. Kevin Weekes, the free agent backup, has a better save percentage .928, in two games this season. Could this be the 36 year old Brodeur’s last season in the NHL?

The only thing the Devils have going for them is the opening of their new arena the Prudential Center, nicknamed “The Rock” Of course, Jersey boys Bon Jovi were there to rock “The Rock”.

Overall, the Atlantic Division has lived up to its name. It truly is the Survival of the Fittest.

Jay can be contacted at chetdgnome@gmail.com


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