Detroit Red Wings captain and all-star Nicklas Lidstrom became the first european defenceman to reach the 1000 point mark last night. Lidstrom assisted on a pair of goals to help lift the Wings to a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

Lidstrom is the eight defenceman to reach that mark, and the 4th Red Wing as well.

Aside from the milestone, this win helped the Red Wings to back to .500 after a surprisingly very slow start. Aside from several key departures that included Marian Hossa and Mikael Sammuelson, Detroit has also lost Johan Franzen to long-term injury and Pavel Datsyuk due to an injury the head, neck, face, chest and breast area. Not to mention inconsistent goaltending from Chris Osgood and backup netminder Jimmy Howard. Perhaps their start is not so surprising?

In any case, I don't mean to crap in their cornflakes. The Red Wings have probably played more games than any other club over the past decade due to the amount of post-season appearances they have made... such success cannot come without a price. While they may be a bit sluggish out of the gate, I suspect they will get back in gear in good time.

Around the league however, many of the predicted powerhouses have stumbled to start the year. The Vancouver Canucks have faltered on the heels of weak goaltending provided by Roberto Luongo, and they've also lost Daniel Sedin... no Henrik... no wait Daniel to a broken left foot... no right foot, ... no left for 4- 6 weeks... no months... wait, no weeks. Sedin joins a growing list of broken Canucks that now include Sami Salo, Pavel Demitra and Mathieu Scneider... but Matty should return by the end of this month.

The San Jose Sharks have not had the start most would have expected, or the fans out West would have hoped for. The big off season acquisition of Dany Heatley has done little to propel this club to a roaring start, while he has put up respectable numbers, the Sharks have let in alot of goals... thus not won alot of games... only 3 of their first 7 (and they were taken apart by Ovechkin and the Capitals 4-1 last night).

If the playoffs were to start today (and I know they don't and it's still early... it's just fun to check this stuff out so hang with me) the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes would be watching. Perhaps the biggest surprises are the Colorado Avalanche (who sit atop the West tied with the Blackhawks), the Phoenix Coyotes (who have allowed only 9 goals in their first 6 games), the Los Angeles Kings (Anze Kopitar is behind only Ovechkin in points and looks like he and the other young Kings are ready to take that next step), and the New York Rangers (Marion Gaborik remains healthy and productive, and the youngsters are producing where many predicted they wouldnt... oh and Wade Redden is playing well!). Oh and
the Toronto Maple Leafs suck... but no real surprise there... unless you are from Toronto and think every year is 'the year'.

Wild start, and all around good stuff, but keep in mind we aren't even 10 games in yet... the wheels could come flying off or come back on for just about every team. Enjoy my friends!

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh