Tuesday Timeout

Read the Toronto newspapers and you would think Ron Wilson is on the verge of being fired as coach of the Maple Leafs.

Go to the Islander message boards and fans are calling for the head of the coach, Scott Gordon.

Devils president, Lou Lamoriello has already defended coach John Maclean after a poor start of 4-10-1.

Rumblings out of Buffalo mention that Lindy Ruff may be on the hot seat as coach of the Sabres.

Yes, a head coach in the NHL usually gets canned early in the season, particularly in November, but is 15 games a true test if a team is good or not? I like to think of Thanksgiving as a measuring stick to really assess teams. Just think two weeks ago the Islanders and Maple Leafs were in first place. Now their respective coaches are on the hot seat. The NHL is like no other sport as far as coaches go. I say let things play out and have some patience till the end of November and then decide on a coaches future.

Are the Blues the best team in hockey?

Look at the rankings on ESPN and TSN and they all have the Blues as the best team in the league. St. Louis has a record of 9-1-2 and has given up a league low 18 goals in 12 games. Even when Jaroslav Halak takes a night off, they still got a shutout performance by backup Ty Conkin on Sunday night. Obviously the defense led by Eric Johnson is tremendous, but they are also getting timely scoring from Alex Steen, David Perron, T.J. Oshie, and Matt D'Agostini. Watch this team the rest of the year.

Are the New Jersey Devils the worst team in hockey?

The standings certainly indicate that as the Devils have a league low 9 points. The good news is that they should be getting some players back in Colin White, Brian Rolston, and Marty Brodeur. However, they will not be getting Zach Parise back for awhile. In my opinion, until the Devils acquire a defenseman who is able to create offense by rushing the puck up the ice they will continue to struggle. The good teams in this league get offense from the blueline.

Tuesday Pick:

A decent slate for a Tuesday night in the NHL featuring seven games. We'll take a shot with Carolina at home over Edmonton. The Oil is in the midst of a road trip and shocked Chicago on Sunday, but lost captain Shawn Horcoff in that game and he is doubtful. Carolina is a better team and is coming off a win at home Saturday over Florida.

Carolina -140