from Elliotte Friedman of CBC,

- Here's the toughest challenge for Craig MacTavish, Dallas Eakins and Edmonton: to them, the Oilers are in the early-to-middle stages of a rebuild, a job that is undoubtedly more difficult than they realized. But, to the fans, this process predates their arrivals (or, in MacTavish's case, his return). That's very hard, because you want to preach patience, but your paying customers think they've already shown enough. You can't rush it; you must stick to your plan no matter how loud the complaints.

- One of the most painful things for MacTavish, Kevin Lowe and the fanbase has to be how Calgary -- with less star power -- is going to beat them in the standings, almost strictly on effort. The question must be, "How do we duplicate that?" The second thing you have to look at is Colorado. On paper, how much better is that defence than Edmonton's? But they are one of the NHL's best teams.

- One exec noticed the Blackhawks had a very different approach in their 4-0 win over St. Louis, Chicago's first victory against them. "The Blues like to bully you," he said. "Chicago came back hard right away." If you look back at some of the earlier games between these two teams, it took the defending champs awhile to become engaged. Not this time. You have to stand up to St. Louis right away. Feeling they can physically abuse you really feeds them.

more including some advice for James Reimer...