Chris Kunitz and the Anaheim Ducks get four this week.

I hope all my neighbours to the south had an enjoyable Thanksgiving. The NHL sure saw its share of turkeys this week. We saw another vicious stick incident when Scott Parker gave Dion Phaneuf a cross check to the face, and rumours are rampant in the Leaf Nation, as coach Paul Maurice could see the same fate as Glen Hanlon did in Washington. This weeks schedule is significantly lighter than last week as only five teams have four games this week. We highlight the teams and the players to watch as we breakdown another exciting week in the NHL!

Four Games

Anaheim, Dallas, Edmonton, New York Islanders, Washington.

None of the five teams listed have appealing schedules this week. The only one with the potential to have a good week is the Ducks. Anaheim has gone 6-2-2 in its last 10 games, and despite playing three out of their next four games on the road, they do have a chance at winning all four of their games. The Ducks have a home and home against a terrible Oilers team, and travel on the road to Vancouver where they will meet a decimated Canuck defence core thanks to injuries. A road contest against the Flames will be tough, although the Flames have been anything but stellar at home going 6-6-2. The Ducks are still struggling to score goals, and their secondary scoring has certainly been an issue. The trio of Chris Kunitz, Corey Perry, and Ryan Getzlaf have carried the offence, and the Ducks will need more production from Andy McDonald, and Todd Bertuzzi if the Ducks are even going to make the playoffs.

Three Games

Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Columbus, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ottawa, Phoenix, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Vancouver.

The Detroit Red Wings have the highest scoring team in the Western conference, and are one of the NHL's premier home teams. The potential for a big week is high as the Wings have three home games against teams .500 or below. The Wings will welcome the red-hot Phoenix Coyotes, the Calgary Flames, and a match-up between possibly the top two players in the NHL in Henrik Zetterberg and Vincent Lecavalier as the Tampa Bay Lightning roll into town. Chris Osgood has stepped up his game immensely in the absence/poor play of Dominik Hasek. Osgood has put together a record of 10-1-1 with a 1.66 GAA and a 930 SVP. Osgood is actually 41-10-12 over his past three seasons and could possibly finish with 400 wins for his career, which could definitely put him in contention for the Hall of Fame. The Red Wings power play has been solid this season led by Brian Rafalski and Nicklas Lidström, which could be the most feared power play tandem in the NHL. The Lightning, Coyotes, and Flames all have mediocre/poor penalty killing, so fantasy owners could see big production from the Red Wings.

Last week, I took the Phoenix Coyotes as my sleeper team of the week, and they responded going 3-0. Now far be it from me to take any credit, but I wonder if the team used my column as motivation? This week another team has caught my eye that could sneak up and post a big week. The Florida Panthers have the third best power play in the NHL and face two teams in the bottom half in penalty killing. The Boston Bruins and their 25th-ranked penalty killing unit roll into town to face the Panthers, who are also a solid home team going 7-4 so far this season. The Panthers also face the Capitals in a home and home series, and the Capitals are 2-0 since the firing of coach Glen Hanlon. The Capitals have only managed to win eight games so far this year, good for last in the NHL. Hulking center Olli Jokinen once again this year leads the Florida Panthers with his 24 points. Stephen Weiss is finally displaying the talent that got him drafted No. 4 overall in 01 scoring 17 points in 24 games. Tomas Vokoun gives the team steady goaltending despite facing a league leading 672 shots this season.

Two Games

Atlanta, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh, San Jose,

The Thrashers have been on fire since the termination of Bob Hartley going 7-3 in their past 10 games. Atlanta faces the wildly inconsistent Toronto Maple Leafs and the surprising New York Islanders. The Toronto Maple Leafs have been awful lately going 0-3 this past week, scoring only four goals in the process while allowing 12. The Leafs are certainly missing defencemen Carlo Colaiacovo and Pavel Kubina, who are both on the IR for extended periods. Ilya Kovalchuk could have a field day against the Leafs who struggle against speedy forwards. The Islanders are the lowest scoring team in the NHL despite their 12-8-0 record. The Isles have not gotten the production expected from usually strong goal scorers in Miroslav Šatan and Bill Guerin. New York will need to rely on goaltender Rick DiPietro and his 2.28 GAA in order to be successful against Atlanta.

The San Jose Sharks have been solid in their past five games, claiming seven out of a possible ten points. The Sharks have two home games against LA and Colorado, two teams who struggle on the road. San Jose has been uncharacteristically bad at home going 3-5-1, but could certainly even out that record with two strong games this week. For a team which features Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Jonathan Cheechoo, the Sharks have really had their problems scoring. The Cheechoo train has stalled at the station scoring only three goals in 22 games. Evgeni Nabokov and the strong defence core of San Jose have carried the team this year allowing only 49 goals, good for second-lowest in the conference behind St. Louis.

Best Games
Monday, November,26th , 2007
Boston Bruins vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Revenge could be on the menu Monday night as the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins face off for the first time since a cheap shot by Flyers defenceman Randy Jones knocked Patrice Bergeron out of action for months. Philly will most certainly have sluggers Riley Cote and Ben Eager ready to go if Boston decides to get redemption for the injury to their star center. Lost in the shuffle could be the actual game between these two teams who are winning games with different approaches. The Flyers, led by centers Mike Richards and Daniel Briere, prefer a fast, attacking style that usually produces many goals. The Bruins on the other hand like to slow the game down, and keep the score low – Tim Thomas has been amazing going 8-6-2 with a 1.99 GAA – and this should be a game that should have something for everyone.

Thursday, November 29th, 2007
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings have had problems filling the Joe Louis Arena even though they are once again one of the top teams in the NHL. Living on the Detroit/Windsor border, I can say first hand that ticket prices being high, a struggling local economy, and the rebirth of the Detroit Tigers have had their effect on the Detroit Red Wings. However, fans may not want to miss this rare opportunity as Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and the Tampa Bay Lightning visit the Detroit Red Wings in a Thursday night affair. Will the line of Lecavalier, St. Louis, and Vaclav Prospal overcome the Red Wings top line of Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Tomas Holmström? Will Osgood continue his stellar start? Can Tampa's injured defence compete with Detroit's speedy offence? We should receive answers to those questions in what is sure to be a fast paced, high scoring match-up.

Top Players This Week

Centre

Olli Jokinen
Pavel Datsyuk
Vinny Lecavalier
Ryan Getzlaf

Left Wing

Henrik Zetterberg
Vaclav Prospal
Alexander Ovechkin
Brenden Morrow

Right Wing

Daniel Alfredsson
Pierre-Marc Bouchard
Martin St. Louis
Corey Perry

Defence

Tomas Kaberle
Sergei Zubov
Nicklas Lidström
John-Michael Liles
Chris Pronger

Goaltenders

Rick DiPietro
Niklas Backstrom
Tomas Vokoun
Chris Osgood

Sleepers

G- Peter Budaj
C- Nicklas Backstrom
LW- Ruslan Fedotenko
C- Travis Zajac
D- Matt Niskanen
D- Steve Wagner