OPINION

By Craig Custance

updated 11:35 p.m. ET Nov. 26, 2008

If it's good enough for team executives, it's good enough for us. Rather than panic following a slow start or print playoff tickets a few games into the season, NHL general managers typically remain patient in their assessments.

Thanksgiving has become the unofficial evaluation point, the point by which everyone should have a good idea of what to expect.

"I think U.S. Thanksgiving is the gauge as far as I'm concerned," Detroit GM Ken Holland told sportingnews.com. "Everybody has played somewhere between a quarter and third of their schedule. You've sort of identified what winning percentage you're going to play at."

So with Thanksgiving here, we evaluate:

Looking good
Detroit: As expected, Marian Hossa has been a perfect fit and has developed chemistry with Pavel Datsyuk. If there were concerns about a Stanley Cup hangover, Hossa's energy and consistent production (24 points in his first 20 games) has wiped out those fears.

"He's been everything we could have hoped for, or even more," Holland said.

The defense hasn't been perfect, and you'd like to see an experienced team like Detroit do a better job holding late leads — such as in losses to Vancouver and Pittsburgh. But that's nitpicking. This is hockey's best offense and best power play.

San Jose: With Dallas struggling and Anaheim inconsistent, San Jose has emerged as the other elite Western Conference team — one that can challenge the Red Wings.

Todd McLellan's coaching style has been a great fit for the Sharks, and they've been dominant, even without a healthy Evgeni Nabokov.

Brian Boucher (7-1-1, .928 save percentage) has been great in relief of Nabokov, and Devin Setoguchi has emerged as one of the best young talents in the game. He had 12 goals and 12 assists in his first 21 games.

"He's a good hockey player. Playing with (Patrick Marleau) and Joe (Thornton) you have to go to the right place and do the right thing," San Jose GM Doug Wilson told sportingnews.com. "He's starting to fulfill the things we saw in him and (director of scouting) Timmy Burke saw in him. He wants to be a great player and he has the skill set to do it."

Boston: The Red Wings and Sharks were supposed to be great this season, but few expected Boston to be atop the Eastern Conference at Thanksgiving.

But with the right combination of grit, skill and goaltending, the Bruins have been outstanding. Now come the expectations, and the Bruins no longer can surprise anyone.

"Now that we know teams are coming for us, they're going to be ready every night," center Marc Savard said during a conference call. "Claude (Julien) keeps us pretty honest on that side, that we've got to be ready every night."

Could use a tweak
Anaheim: It has been a bizarre season so far for the Ducks. They struggled out of the gate, then had a stretch where they were one of the hottest teams in the league. GM Brian Burke resigned and now the veteran Ducks are searching for consistency under new GM Bob Murray.

They're average at home (6-6-2) but tough on the road (6-2-1). This is a team with lots of talent and experience, but one that might need new blood to join San Jose and Detroit at the top of the West. Maybe Bobby Ryan's callup was the spark the Ducks needed. They are 3-1-1 since he was called up from Iowa, and he has two goals and two assists in that stretch.

Buffalo: The Sabres built some equity with a great start but have been too inconsistent lately. This is an organization that is patient with its core players, almost to a fault. It might be time to deal some of those players — most notably Drew Stafford and Maxim Afinogenov — to shake things up.

The Sabres at times have strayed from playing responsibly on defense and getting away from Lindy Ruff's system. When that happens, they lose.

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