After the Red Wings blew a 3-0 lead against the Blackhawks on Sunday before settling for a 4-4 tie, Detroit coach Scotty Bowman wondered if this year's compressed schedule was catching up with his team. Nope. The Red Wings started their season on Oct. 4 and played their 25th game on Nov. 25. Last season, they started on Oct. 5 and played their 25th game on Nov. 27.
So how do you explain the fact that seven teams in last week's lower 15 had a week over .500, while only two of the teams in last week's top 15 did?
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Team
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Pvs.
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W-L-T-OL
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The skinny
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1. Red Wings
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1
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20-3-1-1
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Darren McCarty summed it up with one question in the Free Press: "How often do you see a Chicago-Detroit penalty-less period?"
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2. Islanders
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10
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15-5-2-1
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You know it's a weird season when the Islanders are leading the Eastern Conference and Mark Parrish is scoring shorthanded goals.
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3. Maple Leafs
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4
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13-6-2-3
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Curtis Joseph can't be too upset Patrick Roy decided to take the Olympics off.
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4. Senators
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5
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12-7-3-0
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Granted it ended against Atlanta, but an 11-game unbeaten streak is pretty impressive.
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5. Oilers
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3
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14-7-3-1
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The Oil combined for 28 shots against L.A. and Colorado. Both losses. Big shock.
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6. Flames
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2
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13-4-4-2
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The Flames have allowed 18 goals in their last four games, one more than in their previous nine combined.
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7. Rangers
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6
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14-9-1-1
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Washington's Brendan Witt on the Rangers' 101 PIMs in Sunday's game: "They're just venting out their frustrations." Was therapy too expensive?
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8. Sharks
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7
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9-7-4-3
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Bryan Marchment returns to the Sharks on Tuesday. Can't you hear the rest of the league rejoicing?
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9. Blackhawks
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8
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12-7-6-0
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State of the Central Division: The Hawks go 0-3-3 on their road trip and are still in second place.
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10. Flyers
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9
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10-7-5-0
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The Flyers are 3-for-40 on the power play in their last 10 games.
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11. Canadiens
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20
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11-8-2-1
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Everyone who thought the Canadiens would be three games over .500 by the end of Nov. raise their hand. We didn't think so either.
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12. Bruins
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12
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11-7-3-2
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The Bruins haven't won more than three games in a row this season. Then again, they haven't lost more than two in a row either.
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13. Stars
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13
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8-7-6-3
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Ken Hitchcock to the Dallas Morning News: "I looked at the opponents and I could clearly define the roles of their lines. I looked at our team, and I didn't know what the roles of the lines were." Maybe because they were all playing defense?
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14. Blues
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11
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10-8-3-1
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The road trip is over. You can open your eyes now.
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15. Hurricanes
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15
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11-9-4-2
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Not only can't the Hurricanes' power-play units score, but now they're giving up goals.
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16. Canucks
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18
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11-13-2-0
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After scoring three points in 16 games with Washington, Trevor Linden has five points in eight games with Vancouver. Some people were just born to be a Canuck.
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17. Coyotes
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17
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9-8-3-3
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Krys Kolanos has four game-winning goals. Have we mentioned he's a rookie?
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18. Wild
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22
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9-9-4-2
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The Wild have more players in double-digit points than the Flames.
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19. Devils
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19
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9-8-2-2
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No truth to the rumor that to separate the A-Line the Devils hired divorce lawyers.
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20.Penguins
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16
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9-9-3-2
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Mario Lemieux will play his 800th NHL game one of these days. The question is which one.
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21. Sabres
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21
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10-13-1-1
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The Sabres are 1-2-0-0 against the Thrashers this season. No other team can say that.
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22. Avalanche
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14
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11-12-1-0
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The last time the Avalanche finished last in their division was 1991-92 when they were the Quebec Nordiques and were members of the Adams Division.
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23. Capitals
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23
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9-12-2-0
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Jaromir Jagr has 4-5-9 in his last four games and the Caps have gone 3-1-0-0. Go figure.
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24. Predators
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24
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9-11-3-0
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A 4-1-1-0 roll isn't a bad way to begin a road trip.
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25. Blue Jackets
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25
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6-12-5-1
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Sunday's win over Calgary was the Jackets' first when allowing more than three goals.
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26. Lightning
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28
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9-11-1-1
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The Lightning are 4-1-0-0 in their last five, including three shutouts. It's difficult to make fun of that.
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27. Kings
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29
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7-11-3-2
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The Kings have won back-to-back games for the first time since Games 5 and 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. Pinch us.
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28. Thrashers
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30
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5-13-2-2
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Can Damian Rhodes play the Senators every day?
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29. Panthers
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27
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6-12-2-3
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Like Paul Kariya, Roberto Luongo deserves better.
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30. Mighty Ducks
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26
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7-14-3-0
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See above.
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