Can the Vancouver Canucks and young Dan Cloutier upend any of the powerhouses in the West playoffs this year? The Canucks seem be on the brink of a great team. I really enjoy watching Todd Bertuzzi, Cloutier and the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik. -- Brian, Rochester, NY

	Todd Bertuzzi, left, has had much to celebrate this season, with the Canucks leading the Northwest Division.

Melrose: Well, I don't agree with you about the twins. I think they have been major disappointments. They only have four goals between the two of them, and they play a ton of ice time. They play on power plays and with the big boys. Saying that, Vancouver was only two wins away from upsetting Detroit last year, and the Canucks are even better this year. The young players are older. Cloutier looks fabulous. They just won 10 games in a row before losing to the Islanders. They are arguably the best team in the West. You have to think they will be among the top four and get home ice in the playoffs. Someone will have to beat them to get to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Was Tom Poti's hook to the arm on Michal Handzus enough to warrant a penalty shot in Philadelphia's 3-2 OT win on Thursday night over the Rangers? -- Jordan, New York, NY

Melrose: Definitely. That's the rule. Handzus was behind the defenseman. He had a breakaway. He had a chance to score, and it was taken away because of a hook. That's a penalty. Referees don't want to call penalty shots, so a player basically has to get a slash across the ankles, get a broken ankle and be carried off the ice for him to get a penalty shot. On Thursday night, you saw how the rule is supposed to be called. I'm hoping the referees will continue to call more penalty shots. It was exciting and a great ending to an awesome game. I thought it was fabulous. The referee made the right call, and more referees need the guts to make that call.

How are the New Jersey Devils able to stay in first place in the Atlantic Division with the division's third-lowest "goals for" average, no one at the top in scoring or assists, and Martin Brodeur seventh in "goals against"? -- Chuck Mott, Warren, N.J.

Melrose: If you look at the Devils' history, they have never had one or two players who have led them in scoring. It's always been a team effort. Not one is dominant. It's always been a strength, not a weakness. It's better to make teams think about more than one line. And they score enough to win. The Devils may not be a scoring machine, scoring less than they have in the past. But they have also lost people like Jason Arnott and Bobby Holik. They are a different team. They are still very good defensively. Brodeur gives them great goaltending every night. They don't need four or five goals night to win. It's not how many goals a team scores; it's when it scores. The Devils are doing a great job of scoring one more than the other team.

The Colorado Avalanche haven't been the same since they measured Dominik Hasek's stick. They traded away much of their youth and prospects in recent years. Is this team on the decline? -- Shanafan, Tucson, Ariz.

Melrose: They are certainly playing poor. I like the idea of bringing up Hasek's stick because I thought that cost the Avs the playoffs. They motivated the Red Wings, and Colorado hasn't played well since the stick measurement. I'm all for paying the piper on those cheesy calls. But the Avs don't win at home. They aren't scoring. On paper, I feel they are a better team than last year. They have Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Rob Blake, Adam Foote, Derek Morris, Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay and Patrick Roy. They should be one of the best teams in the West. They are struggling. If they turn it around, there will be changes. Teams can't get too far behind in the West. Even the mighty Avalanche would have trouble if they got 6-8 games behind the eighth-place team.

What is it going to take for the Buffalo Sabres to turn things around? They may not be a first place team but they are better than a last place team. Is a coaching change needed? Should they trade a goaltender or one of their "youth movement" players like Taylor Pyatt or Tim Connolly? -- Brian, Boulder, Colo.

Melrose: I agree that the Sabres are not a last-place club. Talent-wise, they should be in the middle of the pack and certainly fighting for a playoff spot. I feel they have to open up their system offensively. They are not the great defensive team they were with Hasek. They need to score more than two goals to win. If they score two, they will lose most nights. Players like Connolly, Stu Barnes, Chris Gratton, Miroslav Satan and J.P. Dumont have to score. They have offensive weapons. But their system really takes the creativity and innovation away from the offensive players. Lindy Ruff has to change. They won't win 1-0 and 2-0 games. They need to score to have any chance at the playoffs.

What is your take on the situation in San Jose and how do you think Ron Wilson will do as the new coach? -- Brian, Oakland, Calif.

Melrose: Wilson has a few advantages already. One is his relationship with Teemu Selanne, who played for him in Anaheim. That's a good thing. Ron is a much different coach than Darryl Sutter. He is more boisterous. He talks a lot more. He has a better sense of humor. It will be a big change for the Sharks, who are a very good team. If Wilson can get some of the young players to perform better and gets the older players on his side, they are one of the four best teams in the West. I think he will do a good job.

If Mario Lemieux can win another scoring title at his age, does this mean we can finally put him above "The Great One" as the best ever? Wayne Gretzky was never as dominating Mario is at 37. -- Rege, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Melrose: I disagree. If Wayne was playing during this era with the wide-open system and the penalties and the seven or eight power plays a game, I think he would have continued to be a dominant offensive player. He was still getting a lot of points his last few years. He wasn't scoring goals like he did when he was younger, but he was still getting a lot of assists. I think Mario is awesome, but Wayne was healthy his entire career. That is part of being a great player, being able to play a ton of games. Mario has never been able to do that for a number of reasons. Can't you be happy with No. 2?

The Detroit Red Wings' penalty kill has been cover-your-eyes bad lately. The Wings are soft around the net, can't clear the zone, and shorthanded goals seen to be a thing of the past (empty netters don't count). This is a team that knows how to do all this stuff, so why the heck aren't they? I realize that Wings fans tend to be a little hypersensitive about our team's ups and downs, but cripes! -- Andrew Swartz, Midland, Mich.

Melrose: I don't see many downs. The Wings are playing good, but not great. They always stress the second half of the season over the first. They have a lot of young players playing key roles, like Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. They are breaking in some young defensemen. They just added Jason Woolley, who is fitting in well. The Wings will get Steve Yzerman back in January. Curtis Joseph is playing well, and Manny Legace gives them a quality backup. It's hard to feel sorry for Wings fans. You are really nitpicking to find something to complain about.

What do you think the Pittsburgh Penguins will do with Alexei Kovalev. It seems to me that instead of losing another great player for nothing (i.e. Robert Lang), the only choice is to trade him. They obviously can't afford his high price and have little hope of signing him. -- Paul Brostrom, New Brighton, Pa.

Melrose: I think they will try to do everything possible to sign Kovalev. No matter how great Mario is, he still needs to play with some great offensive players. He needs someone to pass to. I think they will draw their line in the sand with Kovalev and Martin Straka. Kovalev will take less, but not a lot less, to stay in Pittsburgh.

The rumor around here seems to be that once Brent Johnson returns to the St. Louis Blues lineup, that Fred Brathwaite is going to be the odd man out. I don't see how or why this is. He has been playing stellar, and Tom Barrasso just has not looked good in goal. Do you think we are keeping Barrasso just to save face since we just signed him? -- Steve Breier, St. Louis, Mo.

Melrose: I listened to the game on Thursday night, and Brathwaite had a great quote. He said, "All I'm trying to do with the way I'm playing is to make a very tough decision for the management of the St. Louis Blues." And he's doing that. The game before, he got a shutout. On Thursday, he stopped three breakaways in overtime in order to give the Blues a tie and a point. He's doing what he is supposed to do -- keeping his mouth shut and letting his play speak volumes. He can only control how he is playing, and he's playing great.

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