Pronger a huge asset for the Flyers

I have to admit - as a Flyers fan I have never had a chance to see a defenceman as good as Chris Pronger wear the orange and black. It was too late for me to admire the play of Mark Howe (although I saw three or four classic games with him playing), so until recently Eric Desjardins was the ideal - he was smart in joining the rush and he was exceptional at using his stick to stop the opposing forwards. On joining the Flyers Kimmo Timonen showed that he is just as good or even better than Desjardins (who retired in 2006). Pronger is really good on the PP and his breakout passes are near perfect, but what sets him apart from the other defenceman in the league is the defensive presence. An opposing team's rush against him usually ends up around the blueline - not only because of a hit but also because of Pronger's stick or positioning. With Timonen and Braydon Coburn struggling Pronger is currently leading the league in ATOI with 28:12 (1:10 more than no.2 Joe Corvo). The fact that Luca Sbisa is back in the WHL is another argument that shows that the Flyers trade for Pronger was a great move for the team, at least in the short term.

Image: Davey darling, source: Wikimedia Commons

Leaders in goal

As of right now Ryan Miller and Craig Anderson are statistically the best goaltenders in the NHL. Miller is not a surprise here so he gets overlooked by the media - Anderson gets all the coverage, because he came out of nowhere this season - his first as a starter. If the Avalanche manage to keep playing the way they are now, he is going to be the biggest free agent steal of this past offseason and might be one of the nominees for the Vezina Trophy.

Ilya Bryzgalov is still keeping his GAA under 2.00, but seems to be cooling off after his great start. However his career suggests that although his GAA should be higher, his high save percentage should remain at the current level. The Russian's performance is good news for the struggling franchise in Phoenix - especially after Bryzgalov's average season last year.

In Chicago a Finnish rookie - Antti Niemi is fighting to steal icetime from Cristobal Huet, while Washington's Simeon Varlamov has lost his fight to the veteran Jose Theodore. The former Hart and Vezina winner has started strong for the Capitals, despite the fans' and media's attention on Varlamov. The Caps once again look like one of the teams to beat in the East, but this time around they have two legit options in the net.

Leaderboard full of surprises

A quick look at the scoring leaderboard shows some familiar names - the highly touted Anze Kopitar with his breakout season, the healthy for a while Marian Gaborik, Alex Ovechkin, Joe Thornton and Gaborik's linemate Vinny Prospal. But if you look further down the list, some surprises start to pop up - Dustin Penner the last year's scapegoat in Edmonton is showing the skills that made the Oilers' brass think that he will be a star - he now has 15 points (including 8 goals) in 10 games. Brad Richards is the other player who is looking to put his career back on the right track - the former Conn Smythe Trophy winner is now the playmaker in Dallas (13 points in 9 games), setting up young James Neal (12 in 11. The usual suspect Dan Boyle is currently tied for the defenseman scoring lead (12 points in 12 games) with... Michael Del Zotto - a player who once was listed among those that could push Steven Stamkos out and become the first pick, but fell from grace because of his iffy defensive play. Del Zotto is now the quarterback of the NY Rangers powerplay unit lead by Gaborik and is not looking out of place - he is a sure bet for a Calder nomination right now.

Speaking of Stamkos - he is on a tear, scoring 11 points (7 goals) in 9 games and pushing Vinny Lecavalier out of the spotlight in Tampa Bay. It is also worth to mention the starts of Rich Peverley, Mikael Samuelsson and Ryan O'Reilly. Peverley (10 points in 8 games), whose powerplay scoring and chemistry with this year's first round pick Evander Kane have finally given the Thrashers some scoring depth. The injury-plagued Canucks are relying on free agent acquisition Mikael Samuelsson to provide scoring and he currently has 10 points in 11 games. O'Reilly is one of the biggest stories this year - the 18-year-old was picked in the second round (33rd overall) of this year's draft and not only made the team out of training camp, but also is currently outplaying Matt Duchene, the Avs' first round pick - he has 10 points in 11 games and is one of the league's leaders in +/- with +10.

Although some of those players should cool down soon - especially Samuelsson (might have a reduced role if Demitra and Sedin return from the injuries), O'Reilly (experts are predicting the Avs' fall in the standings) and possibly Penner (is he strong enough mentally to withstand the additional pressure?), they all have the potential to sustain their scoring paces until the end of the season.