| 2nd November, 2011 - 9:29 pm
 By Nick Obergan
Leaf fans, while always skeptical of any positive news, have to be thrilled at the way the 2011-12 season has started. Not only does Toronto lead the Northeast Division after the first month, but the two cornerstones of their franchise that GM Brian Burke chose to build around, Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf, each lead their respective positions in OCPR through October.
Kessel has been the most surprising story in the first month, leading the league in goals (10) and points (18) in his team's first 11 games and put up a +6 rating. Phaneuf, a Norris Trophy candidate in Calgary what now seems like ages ago, has added 11 points and a +7 rating while looking more and more comfortable as the team's captain.
Among goalies, the surprise story has been Dallas' Kari Lehtonen, leading the league with eight wins (8-1-0 record), but he was edged by the Kings' Jonathan Quick who posted three consecutive shutouts in the middle of the month.
Last year's top ranked goalie, Tim Thomas, starts the season ranked #29, while the top ranked defenseman Dustin Byfuglien starts defending his crown at #24.
Some of the names below should look familiar: Jonathan Toews and Anze Kopitar, showing their consistency, both finished last season in the top-10; Toews finished first among forwards, while Kopitar finished ninth. Among defensemen, Kris Letang (sixth), Shea Weber (third) and Alex Pietrangelo (seventh) also finished in the top-10 last year while starting there again this season.
All stats are as of October 31, 2011; all ranking totals are derived using the unique OCPR formulas.
Forwards
1. Phil Kessel, Toronto - 84.63
2. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia - 83.90
3. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles - 80.69
4. James Neal, Pittsburgh - 78.66
5. Joe Pavelski, San Jose - 77.53
6. Milan Michalek, Ottawa - 77.37
7. Jason Spezza, Ottawa - 76.56
8. Jason Pominville, Buffalo - 74.95
9. Jonathan Toews, Chicago - 74.22
10. Ryan Callahan, NY Rangers - 73.98
Click Here for the top-100 Forwards.
Defense
1. Dion Phaneuf, Toronto - 96.29
2. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh - 95.12
3. Alexander Edler, Vancouver - 94.95
4. Ryan Suter, Nashville - 87.38
5. Sami Salo, Vancouver - 84.67
6. Shea Weber, Nashville - 84.60
7. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa - 84.34
8. Kyle Quincey, Colorado - 84.30
9. Jason Garrison, Florida - 84.28
10. Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis - 83.81
Click Here for the top-100 Defensemen.
Goalies
1. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles - 43.35
2. Kari Lehtonen, Dallas - 42.44
3. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh - 40.08
4. Nikolai Khabibulin, Edmonton - 39.96
5. Pekka Rinne, Nashville - 37.20
6. Tomas Vokoun, Washington - 37.15
7. Cam Ward, Carolina - 35.29
8. Corey Crawford, Chicago - 34.92
9. Mike Smith, Phoenix - 33.47
10. Brian Elliott, St. Louis - 33.02
Click Here for the top-40 Goalies.
Forward stats:Goals, assists, game-winning goals, plus/minus, shots on goal, shooting percentage, shifts per game, ice time per game, power play goals and assists, short-handed goals and assists, hits, blocked shots, giveaways, takeaways, missed shots, minor penalties taken, face-off percentage and the percentage of the team's face-offs taken by the player.
Defense stats:Goals, assists, plus/minus, shooting percentage, shifts per game, ice time per game, power play goals and assists, short-handed goals and assists, hits, blocked shots, giveaways, takeaways, missed shots and minor penalties taken.
Goalie stats: Wins, losses, overtime losses, shutouts, goals against, save percentage, total saves, total goals allowed, as well as saves made and save percentage on the power play.
Nick is RealGM's NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email nick.obergan@realgm.com or on twitter @NickObergan
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