Since the Tampa Bay Lightning haven't defeated any quality teams yet, how does that reflect on your pick of the New York Rangers in the East, who lost to Lightning at Madison Square Garden this week? Is it just that the Rangers haven't gelled with their new acquisitions yet? Or is the rule enforcement helping the young, quick Lightning team, causing their improvement? -- Nicholas, Tampa, Fla.

Melrose: The Rangers have been a major disappointment. They have so many great players, with so much talent, but they haven't been playing as a team. Until they grasp that concept, they won't be the team they should be. Bryan Trottier has got to get his guys to play as a team -- not individuals. They need to start checking. The Rangers have been terrible in their own end and that's killing them.

The undefeated Lightning are a great story, but you're right, Nicholas, they have yet to play a good team. The Carolina Hurricanes and the Rangers are the only talented teams the Lightning have played. Let's wait until they start playing the Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings before we give them first place in the East. It's a great story, they're doing a good job and working very hard, but I need to see the Lightning play a good team before I make a judgement on them.

	The Wild's Andrew Brunette, top, puts the winning goal past the Blackhawks' Jocelyn Thibault.

Why do all of the "experts" love to talk so much about the Lightning's hot start, but no one seems to be talking about the Minnesota Wild's hot start? -- Brandon, St. Paul, Minn.

Melrose: We have been talking about Minnesota. They're a great story. Currently first in the West, the Wild are beating good teams. So while we're looking at two legitimate teams, I've got to think Minnesota is more legit than Tampa Bay. The Wild have always be good defensively. And this year, they have a good power play and penalty kill, and they're scoring some goals. Acquiring Cliff Ronning was huge. Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson are giving them great goaltending. The Wild are competing against good teams in the West, so you've got to believe they'll be around for a while.

Oh my, not again! First Brent Johnson, then Fred Brathwaite, then Reinhard Divis, now Curtis Sanford; is it ever going to end for my beloved St. Louis Blues? Quick question though: Why would the Blues sign Tom Barrasso instead of Byron Dafoe? Are they planning a short stop for Barrasso in St. Louis or what? Also, after the deal is sealed with Barrasso, is Brathwaite leaving St. Louis for maybe another defenseman? -- Chad, St. Louis, Missouri

Melrose: Dafoe is not highly regarded in the NHL right now. To become attractive again, he's going to have to start playing and prove himself. On the other hand, Barrasso is much less expensive and he's a proven winner. Whether or not he can be the Tom Barrasso of old, remains to be seen. But I think he's there mostly to push the young guys -- Johnson is skating and Brathwaite is ready to play.

The worst of it should be over for St. Louis. But the adversity has also been good for the Blues. It's made them more committed as a team and they've worked harder defensively. They've won four games in a row. And they went into Edmonton and won a tough game. Down the road, they'll probably look back on this and realize it was good for the team.

Unless Barrasso comes in and is unbelievable, I think they'll keep Johnson and Brathwaite around and judge the situation once everyone's healthy.

Right now, the New Jersey Devils are 4-1, however, their games have been low scoring. While that is good for a team that prides itself on defense, should this team try to acquire some offensive help via a trade? Or should they stick with the system at hand? -- Brian, Verona, N.J.

	Gomez

Melrose: The Devils have a lot of offense: Scott Gomez, Patrik Elias, Joe Nieuwendyk. They've got some guys who can put the puck in the net: Oleg Tverdovsky, Brian Rafalski, and Scott Niedermayer on the point. Their formula has been there for a long time. They've got great defense and goaltending and they score enough goals to win. The Devils aren't going to change, they'll continue to play the same style. So get used to seeing a lot of 2-1 games from the Devils.

Barry, I'm dying to know who you would select if you HAD to go on a date with any player in the NHL. I think the world is curious. -- Matt Topo, Detroit

Melrose: Matt, what kind of a question is that? Let's say this: If I had a daughter, I would let her date Jaromir Jagr because he's making $11 million. If I had a daughter, I'd want her to be with whoever has the most money.

The Atlanta Thrashers more than fulfilled their offseason goal of finding offense -- and we thank them for it. Do we have to wait until next summer to get some defense? And if it happens this season, will it be in the form of new people or the current people getting better? Or will they hire a new defensive voice? And if the new voice is necessary, are you interested? We all saw what you can do with our youth when you were at the Young Stars game. -- Andrew Tripp, Macon, Ga.

Melrose: Atlanta is not going to go out and make wholesale changes. They're not going to trade Ilya Kovalchuk or Dany Heatley. They're going to get it done with the group they've got.

It's disappointing that the Thrashers went out and spent some money, and now they're not winning with the players they acquired. Atlanta had the worse defense last season, and they're the worst defense again this season. So, obviously, they must improve defensively. They're not the '82 Pittsburgh Penguins. They're not going to score enough goals to win 6-5, so they've got to get better in their own end.

Just how great is Patrick Roy? -- Eric, Provo, Utah

Melrose: Since 1993, I've been saying that, without a doubt, Patrick Roy is the best goalie to ever play in the NHL. He owns every record. The only player who might have a run at Roy, depending on how long he wants to play, is Martin Brodeur. Roy has done it all: four Stanley Cups, three Conn Smythes. He's durable and he still has the fire and mental toughness to stay on top. Roy proves every night that he's the best.

Barry Melrose, a former NHL defenseman and coach, is a hockey analyst for ESPN.