Central Division.....Powerhouse?

Central	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	Home	Road	L10
Detroit	18	13	4	1	27	61	41	7-1-0	6-3-1	8-2-0
Nashville	18	10	7	1	21	53	52	6-2-0	4-5-1	8-1-1
Columbus	18	9	6	3	21	47	42	6-2-1	3-4-2	5-3-2
Chicago	19	10	8	1	21	57	58	6-5-0	4-3-1	5-4-1
St. Louis	15	8	7	0	16	39	37	5-3-0	3-4-0	4-6-0

There's the Central Standings thus far. That's a big start for this division, which is usually a cakewalk for the Wings. The last few seasons have come down to Detroit and Nashville, with the Wings pulling away in the last month or two to win the division; and St. Louis, Chicago and Columbus haven't come close to contending for the playoffs.

Currently, the division is the only one with all teams with a .500 or better winning percentage. Every other division has at least two teams under .500 right now. This will make this current run of division games for the Red Wings, which is already off to a rough start, HUGE this early in the season.

Also, don't forget, that even though the St. Louis Blues are in last place they have played 3 or 4 games less than all the other teams, so they are right in the thick of it as well.

One team that I am surprised with is Nashville. They lost some key players in Tomas Vokoun, Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg in the offseason, but have still managed a solid start thus far. Guys like Martin Erat, Vernon Fiddler, David Legwand, J.P. Dumont and the young Alexander Radulov have stepped it up on the offensive side thus far, and goalie Dan Ellis has an impressive 1.35 goals against average in 4 wins as a backup.

Columbus is getting big contributions from superstar Rick Nash and goalie Pascal Leclaire, who already has 5 shutouts this season. Chicago's big start is thanks to rookie sensations Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, who have a combined 37 points to start the season. Furthermore, former Red Wings Jason Williams and Robert Lang are in the top 4 in team scoring.

As for the Red Wings, well.....they always seem to find their way to the top of the Central early, but unlike previous years, there are 4 teams good enough to hunt them down and catch them.

Jackets/Blues tonight.