NHL Weekly Fives From The Sports Mac: October 13th, 2010

5 Stories Making News The Past Week

1. The curtain rises on the 2010-2011 NHL season as the Blackhawks look to defend their Stanley Cup Championship after winning it last year.

2. Some of last year’s playoff teams in the East are off to shaky starts to the season including the Devils, Senators, Sabres and Penguins.

3. The league has suspended the Blackhawks Niklas Hjalmarsson’s for two games for his hit on Jason Pominville that had Pominville leave the ice on a stretcher.

4. Thrashers G Ondrej Pavelec has not gotten back on the ice since a fainting spell sent him to the hospital.

5. Brian Rafalski of the Red Wings is out indefinitely after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. He was replaced by defenseman Doug Janik.

Best 5 Teams Right Now

1. Philadelphia Flyers (2-0-1): The defending Eastern Conference champs are off to a good start behind rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

2. St. Louis Blues (2-0-0): The Blues have gotten off to a very solid start behind their new goaltender Jaroslav Halak.

3. Toronto Maple Leafs (2-0-0): A good start for Toronto after the struggles of the past few years may build some early momentum for a still young squad.

4. Edmonton Oilers (2-0-0): The Oilers have gotten good goaltending from Nikolai Khabibulin and have found some offense early on.

5. Dallas Stars (2-0-0): Dallas has won a couple of wild games to start the season scoring nine goals but giving up seven in the first two contests.

Worst 5 Teams Right Now

1. Anaheim Ducks (0-3-0): This is about as bad as it gets: No wins in the first three games and have been outscored 13-2 in those contests.

2. Florida Panthers (0-2-0): A tough start to the season for Florida as they have just managed three goals in the first two games.

3. New Jersey Devils (0-2-1): Where has the defense and goaltending gone in New Jersey? They’ve given up 14 goals in their first three games.

4. Ottawa Senators (0-2-1): The Senators aren’t doing much better than New Jersey at the start; they’ve given up 10 goals in their first three.

5. Minnesota Wild (0-1-1): Minnesota is still searching for their first win scoring only four times in their fist two games.

5 League Leaders To Keep Track Of

1. Derek Roy, Sabres C: Four goals in the first week of the season is good news for Buffalo’s offense early on.

2. John-Michael Liles, Avalanche D: It’s rare for a defenseman to lead in assists, but Liles has five of them through Colorado’s three games this season.

3. Brian Rafalski, Red Wings D: He’ll be the league leader in plus/minus for this week with a +5, but not next week after having arthroscopic knee surgery.

4. Michal Neuvirth, Capitals G: He is tied with six others with two win on the young season but it should be noted that he has already made 95 saves in the first week of the season.

5. Tim Thomas, Bruins G: While there are four goalies that have not given up a goal yet, Thomas has face the most shots with 29 and gets this week’s honor.

5 Games To Watch Over The Next Week

1. Tampa Bay (1-0-0) at Philadelphia (2-0-1), 7:00 p.m., Thursday: an early season test for the new look Lightning traveling north to take on the defending Eastern Conference champs.

2. Detroit (2-1-0) at Dallas (2-0-0), 8:30 p.m., Thursday, NHL Network: An match-up of two of the division leaders in the still fresh 2010-2011 season.

3. St. Louis (2-0-0) at Dallas (2-0-0), 8:00 p.m., Saturday: New goaltender Jaroslav Halak tries to help keep the early momentum going for the Blues in Texas.

4. Edmonton (2-0-0) at Calgary (1-1-0), 10:00 p.m., Saturday: The first meeting in the battle of Alberta for young Taylor Hall will be on the road at the Saddledome.

5. Carolina (2-0-0) at San Jose (1-0-1), 10:30 p.m., Tuesday: Carolina tries to keep an early advantage over Washington in the Southeast Division with a trip to the West Coast to face the Sharks.