A look at the NHL’s Western Conference overall standings as of November 24, 2009.

San Jose Sharks. Unsurprisingly the Sharks are once again atop the Western Conference standings and among the dominant clubs in the league. They’re currently fourth in goals-for, have the third-best goals-against average and the second-best power-play and penalty-kill. Dany Heatley has thus far proven a valuable addition, leading the Sharks in goals with 18 and has tremendous chemistry with superstar center Joe Thornton.  What’s also significant is several players, including Patrick Marleau and Evgeni Nabokov, have picked up their respective performances this season. The Sharks are playing like a team on a mission thus far.

Chicago Blackhawks. As expected the ‘Hawks are establishing themselves as a powerhouse in the league and as of this writing were only four points back of the Sharks in the Conference standings. Led by young stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews the ‘Hawks are sixth overall in goalscoring and has the ninth best powerplay but what’s also notable is the club’s defensive play, giving up the fewest shots-against and possessing the best penalty kill. Starting goalie Cristobal Huet has overcome a shaky start to this season and with backup Anntti Niemi have given up the fewest goals. The future continues to be bright for this team.

Colorado Avalanche. Few other than die-hard fans expected the Avalanche to be a playoff contender, let alone sitting third overall in the Western Conference at this point in the season. One reason is the play of rising young players like Paul Statsny, Wojtek Wolski, David Jones, Ryan O’Reilly and Kyle Quincey, who’ve risen to the challenge and are thriving with additional playing time. Perhaps the most significant factor is goaltender Craig Anderson, who ranks among the league leaders in save percentage and shutouts and could be the steal of this summer’s UFA market. Still, their defensive game remains a problem area as they’ve given up the fifth-most shots in the league and Anderson has faced more shots than any other NHL goaltender. They’ll need to tighten up defensively to remain a playoff club and avoid burning out Anderson, who’s never played more than 35 games in a season.

Calgary Flames. They’ve been slowly eating away at the Avalanche’s lead in the Northwest division and have played well under new head coach Brent Sutter thus far. Franchise players Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff continue to be the cornerstones as both have shaken off their respective slow starts and are back in all-star form. What’s interesting is that a team which was expected to return to their defensive roots under Sutter gave up the ninth-most shots and rank 22^nd overall on the penalty kill. It’ll be interesting to see if those defensive statistics improve. Another troubling concern is Olli Jokinen has been a bust thus far as a Flame which could be a problem later in the season.

Dallas Stars. It’s amazing what a coaching change and a healthier roster can do for a club. The Stars at this time last season were injury-ravaged and floundering at the bottom of the standings but now are firmly amongst the pack of playoff contenders. Two players who’ve bounced back are goaltender Marty Turco and center Brad Richards, who’re now amongst the best in the league statistically at their respective positions. Marc Crawford has a reputation for favoring offensive hockey but the Stars are tenth overall in goals-against and 14^th in shots-against. Still, their penalty kill ranks 21^st overall so there’s still work to be done in that regard.

Los Angeles Kings. After years of being also-rans the Kings are finally showing signs they could be a playoff contender. Their offense is ranked amongst the top fifteen in the league, powered by emerging superstar Anze Kopitar, who leads the league in points with 33. Defensively they’ve also improved, giving up the second-fewest shots but there remains work to be done in that regard. They’ve got the sixth-worst goals-against and the fourth-worst penalty kill. Part of the reason is their goaltending has struggled, particularly young star Jon Quick, and they’ll need better performances between the pipes in the coming weeks if they’re to remain a playoff contender.

Nashville Predators. After a slow start the Predators have been hot in November, winning eight of their last ten games. Goaltender Pekka Rinne has bounced back from an October to forget while their offense received a valuable shot in the arm with the return from injury of J.P. Dumont. Defensively the Predators remain among the league’s best but offensively they’re among the league’s worst, ranking 29^th in goals scored despite ranking 9^th overall in shots-against while their PP is the sixth-worst. While they’ve been scoring more this month they’ll need to cash in on their offensive chances if they’re going to hang onto a playoff berth.

Columbus Blue Jackets. The good news for the Blue Jackets is their offensive game is going well, sitting ninth overall in goals-for and third overall in power-play percentage. Franchise forward Rick Nash is a big reason for those statistics while Antoine Vermette, acquired at last year’s trade deadline, has been a valuable addition, while sophomore Jakub Voracek is on pace for a 52-point season. The bad news is goalie Steve Mason, last season’s rookie of the year, is struggling between the pipes, which explains why they’ve got the 28^th worst goals-against while the Jackets defense hasn’t been getting the job done as they’ve currently got the seventh-most shots.  Mason and the defense have to improve over the course of this season for the Jackets to return to the playoffs.

Phoenix Coyotes. Despite the uncertainty over their ownership and their future in Phoenix the Coyotes are off to one of their best starts in years and remain very much in the playoff chase. A big reason for their improvement is goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who has the third-best goals-against average and is tied for the league lead in shutouts with 3. Another is new head coach Dave Tippett, who has the Coyotes playing a more responsible defensive game, resulting in their giving up the third-fewest shots and the fifth-best goals-against average, as well as ranking 12^th in penalty-killing. Their offensive game however needs more work, ranking 26^th in goals-for, so if they hope to finally end their playoff drought they’ll need more production from their goal-scorers.

Detroit Red Wings. The loss of several key forwards in the off-season to free agency and injuries to several other notable players including sniper Johan Franzen has the once-dominant Wings in an uncharacteristically low positioning in the Western standings. Predictions of their demise however could be premature as they’ve won six of their last ten as of this writing. They remain lethal on the power-play (sixth overall) and are second in shots-against, while sitting in the middle of the pack in most of the other statistical categories. The Wings are down but not out and if they can remain in the chase until they get their injured players back reports of their demise could be premature.

Vancouver Canucks. Inconsistency due in part to injuries hampered the Canucks early in the season as Pavol Demitra, Daniel Sedin and Roberto Luongo have been sidelined.  Despite that they’ve remained quite solid defensively, giving up the seventh-least shots although their penalty kill (ranked 24^th) needs work. Offensively they’ve been middle of the pack which isn’t bad considering what they’ve been through injury-wise, and those numbers could improve as the club gets healthier.

Edmonton Oilers. A season which started with promise has been hampered by injury, illness and inconsistency. It’s been a weird season for some players, too. Dustin Penner has thrived playing for new head coach Pat Quinn but Shawn Horcoff has been struggling. Defense has been the problem area as they rank in the bottom third of the league in those categories. Still, there remains enough time in the season for the Oilers to rebound if they can get healthier.

St. Louis Blues. Another team which started this season with promise only to stumble out of the gate, the Blues have thus far lacked the energy which propelled them into the playoffs last season.  Many players expected to have strong performances, including veterans Keith Tkachuk, Brad Boyes and Paul Kariya and promising youngsters TJ Oshie, Patrik Berglund and David Perron, simply aren’t getting the job done. It not for their strong goaltending tandem of Chris Mason and Ty Conklin the Blues would be in big trouble.

Anaheim Ducks. For a team which looked so strong in last spring’s playoffs the Ducks are lacking a significant spark, probably still trying to cope with the loss of Chris Pronger who was dealt away last summer.  A team which once prided itself on its defensive play is struggling big time this season, ranking in the bottom third in most defensive categories, including goaltending, as Jona Hiller and JS Giguere have not played well. Fortunately for the Ducks they haven’t fallen too far out of the playoff chase but if they don’t get their act together over the next 20 games that could be a real possibility.

Minnesota Wild.  One need look no further than the Wild’s popgun offense to understand why they’re in the bottom of the Conference standings. Beyond Mikko Koivu and veteran forward Andrew Brunette there hasn’t been much generated in the scoring department. Off-season additions Martin Havlat and Petr Sykora have been hampered by injury and weren’t playing well before they got hurt. If they don’t address their scoring woes over the next couple of months they can forget about making the playoffs.