Sidney Crosby and the Penguins went north of the border for the past week.

It is always an exciting game when Sidney Crosby comes “home” to Toronto (Sid the Kid is actually from Nova Scotia, but since there’s no hockey team there, Toronto and all of the other eastern Canadian teams like to claim him as their own), and this week’s game was no exception. The Penguins peppered Leafs goalie Vesa Toskala with 51 shots on goal while Crosby and Maxime Talbot each scored two goals in a 6-4 win. The Penguins got a much-needed win to even their record at 2-2 after a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens that featured the debut of 20-year old prospect Carey Price in goal. As if living up to the pressures of being a regular goalie in Montreal wasn’t bad enough: Price debuted on the same day (October 10) as Patrick Roy, and became the third Canadiens goalie to debut against Pittsburgh – Roy and Ken Dryden were the other two.

The Penguins are chasing the first-place Flyers in the Atlantic Division thanks to a 3-1 start by Philadelphia. The Flyers won 2 of 3 on the road (Calgary and Vancouver) and then beat the Islanders 3-1 on Saturday as goalie Martin Biron stopped 29 of 30 shots. New acquisition Daniel Briere received a warm welcome from the Flyer faithful before the game (he scored four goals on the team’s three-game trip) but did not tally a point in the home opener.

The Ottawa Senators finally dropped their first game of the season, a 5-3 loss to Carolina on Thursday where Martin Gerber allowed four goals on 31 shots. Carolina got two goals from Eric Staal and three assists from Chad Larose (who netted just 18 points in 80 games last season) in ending Ottawa’s season-opening five-game winning streak. Ottawa went on to beat the Rangers 3-1 on Saturday, scoring all three goals in a span of 52 seconds in the second period. Gerber stopped 36 of 37 shots, but the Rangers did have reason to celebrate when Jaromir Jagr finally tallied his first goal of the season late in the third period.

The Atlanta Thrashers would like to borrow some of the Senators’ mojo – Atlanta has started the season 0-5-0 after losing a heartbreaker to the Devils on Saturday. Patrick Elias scored a tie-breaking goal with just 27 seconds remaining in regulation, sending the Thrashers to a 6-5 defeat after they held a 4-2 lead in the second period. Ilya Kovalchuk’s second goal of the game tied the score at 5-5 but defenceman Garnet Exelby was called for holding to give the Devils a late power play and Elias a chance to break the tie. Atlanta has been without winger Marian Hossa, who has missed the last three games with a groin injury, but hopes to break their losing streak when Hossa returns against the Flyers on Tuesday.

With the Senators’ loss last week, the only undefeated team in the NHL is the Minnesota Wild. Minnesota has a record of 5-0-0 and has allowed just four goals all year, posting three shutouts in five games. Sure, they have had a relatively easy schedule (Chicago, Columbus, Phoenix, Edmonton), but backup goalie Josh Harding shut out the defending champion Anaheim Ducks with a 37-save effort on Sunday. Centre Eric Belanger has been the offensive star, notching five points and a plus-six rating, while Brian Rolston also has five points (and a lowly plus-five rating).

The St. Louis Blues had a productive week last week, even if it was not particularly busy (Why don’t those two things ever go hand-in-hand at my job?). St. Louis beat Nashville and Colorado at home, winning both games by scores of 4-1. Brad Boyes scored two goals (both assisted by Paul Kariya) as the Blues won their home opener against the Predators, and Boyes and Kariya hooked up again in a 4-1 win over the Avalanche. Goalie Manny Legace stopped 43 of 45 shots for the week to improve to 2-1 on the season.

The Dallas Stars did not have a week as good as the Blues, but it was a lot more exciting. Dallas gave the Calgary Flames their first win of the season on Friday, losing 3-2 in overtime as Matthew Lombardi scored his second goal of the game 3:20 into the extra period. Lombardi’s first goal of the game had tied the score at 2-2. Dallas then handed the Blackhawks a 2-1 win when Jason Williams scored a power-play goal just 43 seconds into overtime – Mike Modano had been called for a late hooking penalty that extended into overtime. The Stars actually blew their 1-0 lead against Chicago with just two seconds left in the third period – Robert Lang scored at 19:58 when he deflected Jonathan Toews’ shot past rookie Tobias Stephan. Just in case you missed that – Stephan was two seconds away from recording a shutout in his first NHL game!

Now, to keep you busy for the next week, here are a couple lists of things to watch in the coming week.

Things should get better: Potent offenses with miserable shooting percentages (NHL rank is listed):

30. New York Rangers: 5.7%

28. San Jose Sharks: 6.8%

27. Anaheim Ducks: 7.0%

23. Washington Capitals: 8.1%

15. Ottawa Senators: 9.6% (scary thought, isn’t it?)

Things could get worse: Teams playing over their heads on the power play (NHL rank is listed):

1. Boston Bruins: 28.6%

2. Carolina Hurricanes: 26.5%

3. Philadelphia Flyers: 26.3%

6. Los Angeles Kings: 24.2%

13. Columbus Blue Jackets: 20.0%

Questions and comments may be sent to johnfranco@sportsgrumblings.com