Not only is he the best, but Sir Sid has three games this week to boot.

With the season well under way, the contenders and the pretenders are starting to emerge. Teams such as Edmonton and Phoenix, who were picked to finish at the bottom of the standings, are well on their ways, while perennial contenders Detroit and Ottawa find themselves atop the standings once again. The schedule this week features some exciting matchups that should keep hockey fans glued to the TV. With that being said, let's break down this week’s action!

Four Games
Nashville, St. Louis, Tampa Bay

Only three teams have four games this week, and with Nashville playing all four on the road, and St. Louis still not proven just yet, I would go with Tampa Bay players this week. Tampa's schedule features a home tilt against Atlanta and visits to the Rangers, Islanders and Devils. The Islanders and Thrashers are having all sorts of problems keeping the puck out of the net. The Hurricanes put up eight goals against the Islanders on Saturday, while the Thrashers are in a tie with the Leafs for most goals allowed. Look for the line of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and Vaclav Prospal to have a big week.

Three Games
Atlanta, Boston, Calgary, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Florida, Los Angeles, Montreal, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York Rangers, Ottawa, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Toronto, Washington

Montreal has looked terrific this season. I am a little concerned about their defence, but with Huet playing great, and a power play clicking at more than 30%, they look like a team to be reckoned with. The Habs have an original-six matchup against the Leafs at home on Saturday, as well as home games against the Flyers and Thrashers. The Thrashers are awful on the penalty kill, and games against the Leafs seem to end up being 5-4, 6-3 games, so be prepared for a lot of scoring from the Canadiens. Saku Koivu and Tomas Plekanec lead the charge scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Dallas is another team to watch once again. The Stars play three home games against San Jose, Chicago, and Phoenix. The Coyotes are a struggling in all areas of the game. Shane Doan leads the team with a paltry seven points, and the team is near the bottom in both penalty killing and power play percentage. The Blackhawks are thin at defence, so look for the Stars to put some goals on the board. On an interesting note, coach Dave Tippett seems to be cutting Mike Modano's playing time, as the struggling center failed to crack the 15-minute mark in a 5-3 Saturday win over Phoenix.

Two Games
Anaheim, Buffalo, Carolina, Colorado, Detroit, Edmonton, New York Islanders, Vancouver

Last week I went out on a limb and picked Atlanta to have a strong week. They responded by winning two of three and not looking totally lost out there. This week I'm going to pick Vancouver as a team to watch. The Canucks play the Predators at home and the Avalanche on the road. The Preds and Avs are both allowing an average of three or more goals per game, and are two teams with injury problems on defence. Marek Zidlicky was a healthy scratch recently against the Thrashers, and the team is still without defenceman Shea Weber. Colorado, on the other hand, has lost Jordan Leopold for two months due to a wrist injury. Look for Henrik and Daniel Sedin to sparkle in both games.

Best Games
Monday, Oct. 29, 2007
San Jose Sharks at Dallas Stars

The week kicks off with an exciting matchup featuring division rivals San Jose and Dallas. San Jose brings a solid 4-3-1 road record into Dallas, with the Stars being undefeated at home. The Sharks will be looking to get center Patrick Marleau going, as Marleau has only four points this season. Joe Thornton continues to lead the attack, scoring 11 points thus far. The Sharks could be without forward Ryane Clowe, who left Saturday's game against Columbus with an ankle injury. The Stars will be led by goaltender Marty Turco and his outstanding 1.99 GAA.

Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007
Toronto Maple Leafs at Montreal Canadiens

Saturday night Leafs vs. Canadians matchups are always fun to watch regardless of how the two teams look in the standings. Toronto won an earlier matchup, 4-3; look for the amount of goals to be similar. The Leafs are led into Montreal by Mats Sundin, who is tied for second in league scoring with 18 points, and by Nik Antropov, who leads the league in plus/minus. Look for Alexei Kovalev to have a big game against the Leafs, who seem to chase him all over the ice without much luck.

Top Players This Week

Center
Sidney Crosby
Jason Spezza
Mats Sundin
Vinny Lecavalier

Left Wing
Vaclav Prospal
Dany Heatley
Brendan Morrow
Paul Kariya

Right Wing
Jaromir Jagr
Alexei Kovalev
Daniel Alfredsson
Martin St. Louis

Defence
Wade Redden
Sergei Gonchar
Sergei Zubov
Tomas Kaberle
Paul Ranger

Goaltenders
Martin Gerber
Johan Holmqvist
Marty Turco
Henrik Lundqvist

Sleepers
C- Tomas Plekanec
LW- Jan Hlavac
G- Josh Harding
RW- Petr Sykora
D- Filip Kuba
D- Mike Green

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