Nette Wortgeplänkel » wins against its two closest rivals.ddd

Are the Columbus Blue Jackets for real? They sure look like it. And how about Tampa Bays response after losing Steven Stamkos? The Bolts?simply put their heads down and got to work. Have the Florida Panthers arrived? This weeks Rankings certainly have. Here we go:1. (Last week: 1)?Chicago Blackhawks, 13-4-2The Blackhawks notched wins in Calgary and Vancouver over the weekend as the circus trip rolled on. Chicagos younger forwards are starting to step up.2. (3)?New York Rangers, 13-5-1A home-and-home set with the rival Penguins looms on Monday and Wednesday. Giddy-up.3. (4) Montreal Canadiens, 14-3-2The Habs now have won 12 straight games over the Maple Leafs, but the young Buds are making it tougher on them. Saturdays 2-1 affair was a treat to watch. This age-old rivalry is entering a new phase.4. (5)?Washington Capitals, 11-5-2Has Evgeny Kuznetsov decided to take November off? Hes stuck at just seven points on the season.5. (11)?Tampa Bay Lightning, 12-6-1The surging Bolts can sweep their five-game road trip with a win on Monday night in Nashville. Life without captain Stamkos still will be a challenge, but Tampa Bay has a deep and talented forward group.6. (2)?Pittsburgh Penguins, 11-4-3After getting pasted 7-1 by the Capitals last week and suffering a 2-1 shootout loss at Buffalo, its time for the Penguins to reset. And what better way to get the juices flowing than to face the Rangers twice to kick off the week?7. (15)?Columbus Blue Jackets, 10-4-2The red-hot Jackets are 7-1-1 in November, including wins over Montreal, Anaheim, St. Louis, the Rangers and Washington (twice).8.?(16) St. Louis Blues, 10-6-3The Blues are 8-1-2 at home but just 2-5-1 on the road, where theyll be playing their next two games -- in Boston and Washington, respectively. Its time for St. Louis to get things going away from the friendly confines.9. (7) New Jersey Devils, 9-5-3Life without leading scorer Taylor Hall is going to be tough. The Devils werent exactly an offensive juggernaut with him in the lineup -- and now hell be out 3-4 weeks.10.?(12) Boston Bruins, 11-7-0Since dropping to 3-4-0 on Oct. 26, the Bruins have gone 8-3-0 as they begin to jell and look like a more cohesive unit.11. (19)?Florida Panthers, 10-8-1Have the Panthers arrived? Big wins at the Bell Centre and Madison Square Garden during their recent 3-1-0 road trip suggest so.12.?(8) Ottawa Senators, 10-7-1The Senators have dropped three of four as they get set for a big game on Tuesday night at Montreal. They beat the first-place Habs in a shootout back on Oct. 15.13.?(10) Minnesota Wild, 9-7-1Said a veteran scout to me over the weekend regarding the Wilds 1-0 win over the Bruins last Thursday, in which Devan Dubnyk and Tuukka Rask?each did their thing: That was one of the best goalie duels Ive seen in a long, long time.14.?(17) Los Angeles Kings, 10-9-1The Kings have won three in a row, including an entertaining game Sunday night across town in Anaheim. Peter Budaj keeps answering the bell.15.?(9) Anaheim Ducks, 9-7-3The Ducks, Oilers and Kings are all tied at 21 points in the topsy-turvy Pacific, with the Sharks just two points back. Hold on to your seats; this division is going down to the wire.16.?(6) San Jose Sharks, 9-8-1The Sharks went 3-2-1 on their road trip and now open up a five-game homestand at the Shark Tank, beginning with New Jersey on Monday night. San Jose is only 26th in goals per game and 16th on the power play, which is kind of stunning.17.?(13) Edmonton Oilers, 10-8-1Connor McDavid?had his first NHL career hat trick Saturday in Dallas and will have many more. More important, the Oilers win snapped a five-game losing streak.18. (18) Nashville Predators, 7-7-3Im really intrigued by Monday nights home game for the Predators, with surging Tampa Bay coming to town. About a week ago, it looked like Nashville had turned a corner -- but then the Preds lost games in Toronto and St. Louis, sandwiched around a win in Ottawa.19.?(21) Dallas Stars, 7-7-5The injury-riddled Stars have dropped three of four and just keep sputtering. This is an entertaining?team built to score, but I suggest that Dallas goes back to some defensive basics for a while so it can find some footing.20.?(26) Carolina Hurricanes, 7-6-4The Hurricanes have won four in a row, including decisions over Washington and Montreal. Veteran Cam Ward?has been rock-solid in net for Carolina of late and the Hurricanes have the top-ranked PK in the league.21.?(14) Winnipeg Jets, 9-10-2Just when it looked like the Jets were ready to fly, they dropped the opening three games of their road trip. This team is better than its record.22. (19) Toronto Maple Leafs, 8-7-3The Leafs are third in goals per game and 27th in goals against per game. Theyll get better on the latter as the season goes on.23. (20) Philadelphia Flyers, 8-8-3A Flyers team that has lost five of seven now faces a tough, two-game swing through Florida and Tampa this week.24.?(28) Calgary Flames, 8-11-1Has Chad Johnson taken the No. 1 job from Brian Elliott? Johnson has been in net four consecutive games as the Flames have won three of four.25.?(20) Detroit Red Wings, 8-10-1A win over St. Louis on Oct. 27 improved the Wings to 6-2-0 on the season. Theyve since gone 2-8-1, including four straight losses.26.?(24) Colorado Avalanche, 8-9-0There has been so much focus on the Avs open goalie battle, but the real spotlight should be on the fact that Colorado is just 27th in goals per game.27.?(27) Buffalo Sabres, 6-8-4The Sabres showed real life with a shootout win over the Penguins on Saturday night, which snapped a six-game winless streak. Can they feed off that emotion?28.?(29) Vancouver Canucks, 7-10-2The Canucks blew a 3-0 third period lead Saturday night at home to Chicago in a 4-3 OT loss. Oy. The hits keep on coming.29.?(25) New York Islanders,?5-8-4This summer, John Tavares will be one year away from unrestricted free-agent status. He has always maintained that he wants to be an Islander for life. This is just my opinion, but this season needs to turn around in order for him not to challenge that loyalty.30.?(29) Arizona Coyotes, 6-9-2Mike Smith had 43 saves on Saturday night as the Coyotes snapped a four-game winless streak with an OT win over the Sharks. Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Willie Stargell Pirates Jersey . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. http://www.pittsburghpiratesprostore.us/Lonnie-Chisenhall-pirates-jersey/ . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Dave Parker Pirates Jersey . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. Corey Dickerson Pirates Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. LUCERNE, Switzerland -- Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice and missed a penalty in Portugals 4-1 win over Latvia in World Cup qualifying on Sunday, but the European champion still trails group leader Switzerland.Switzerland kept its 100 percent record with a fourth straight win but was often labored in beating the Faeroe Islands 2-0.Goals in each half from recalled forward Eren Derdiyok and captain Stephan Lichtsteiner were enough on a rain-swept evening.The Swiss stay three points ahead of Portugal, due to its victory when the teams played in September to open the qualifying program.Ronaldo, who missed that game in Switzerland, has scored seven of Portugals 16 goals in three games since.Against Latvia, Ronaldo opened the scoring with a 28th-minute spot kick, then saw his penalty in the 59th hit the left-hand post and bounce away off the goalkeepers legs.Latvia levelled through substitute Arturs Zjuzins in the 67th before Portugal substitute Ricardo Quaresmas crosses let William Carvalho restore the lead with a header and Ronaldo make the win safe with a volley. Defender Bruno Alves added a fourth in stoppage time.Earlier, third-placed Hungary beat Andorra 4-0.Switzerland has seemed to ease off against the group outsiders since startiing with impressive wins against its two closest rivals.ddddddddddddStill, the Swiss were seldom threatened and also struck the frame of the goal in each half against the Faeroe Islands, who lost 6-0 at home to Portugal last month.Derdiyok showed high-class technique to open the scoring in the 27th minute, taking a long lofted ball from Valon Behrami with a controlling first touch. He then struck a low left-foot shot past goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen.It was the 11th goal of Derdiyoks 56-match international career which has only rarely fulfilled the 28-year-old forwards early promise.Admir Mehmedis shot struck a post in the 78th five minutes before Lichtsteiner sealed the three points. The veteran right-back advanced deep into the penalty area to meet left-back Ricardo Rodriguezs cross with a bouncing header.In Budapest, Hungary captain Balazs Dzudzsak created first-half goals for 37-year-old Zoltan Gera and Adam Lang. Adam Gyursco and Adam Szalai added late goals.Hungary has seven points from four matches, and next travels to play Portugal in March. Then, Switzerland will be favored to beat Latvia at home. ' ' '