It’s the mid-point of the 2007-08 season and there is much to muse on.

Here are a few of the best:

Can Tortorella survive the season in Tampa Bay?

If you’re a poolie, it’s easy to get lost in the individual performances of players. Vincent Lecavalier, for example, at the ripe old age of 27, is already in his ninth NHL season with the Tampa Bay Lightning and is leading the NHL scoring parade, with 28 goals and 62 points in just 42 games.

Lecavalier is one of three Lightning players — Martin St. Louis and Vinny Prospal are the other two — who are scoring at a pace of more than a point a game.

Yet the Lightning sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, with 35 points; saved from the NHL cellar at 30th place by the inept Los Angeles Kings, who have but 32 points.

Lightning coach John Tortorella is a quotable guy and has won a Stanley Cup, but this cannot be making owners in Tampa Bay happy.

Will the Detroit Red Wings be this impressive come playoff time?

The Red Wings have been a model franchise for about a decade now, with three Stanley Cups and a few President’s trophies thrown in for top team in the regular season.

The Motor City machine is at it again, blowing away most of the competition on a nightly basis. With snipers like Zetterberg and Datsyuk, the Wings have scored the most goals of any team in the NHL at the mid-way point.

With five-time Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom leading the way, the Wings have allowed the fewest goals of any team in the NHL at the mid-way point.

But can the Wings carry their domination into the playoffs? In between the Stanley Cup years, there have been a few occasions where the Wings have been caught flat-footed in the post-season and have bowed out quickly despite being virtually unbeatable in the regular season.

The 2002-03 season stands out as a particularly egregious example of this reversal of fortune. The Red Wings had 110 points — good for third overall, behind Ottawa’s 113 and Dallas’ 111 — but were swept in four games in the first round of the playoffs by Anaheim.

Can the hot Hawks’ rookies keep it up?

Eighty-two games is a lot of hockey. So far, in their freshman campaign, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have been a delight to watch for not just Blackhawks fans, but anyone who enjoys youthful exuberance combined with hard work, talent and smarts.

Kane and Toews are one and two in the rookie scoring race, though this may change if Toews is out for a while. He’s on the shelf currently for about three to four weeks with a sprained knee that will not require surgery.

It would please all lovers of hockey if these two kids keep up their solid play. The Blackhawks aren’t about to end their 47-year Stanley Cup drought any time soon, but you gotta start somewhere.

Can Colorado continue to win without Sakic and Smyth in the line-up?

Short answer? No.

Longer answer? The Avalanche are so good at drafting and player development that even without these two huge parts of the puzzle, they can contend. Stastny, Hejduk, Brunette, Wolski and Svatos provide a balanced attack.

Can Jarome Iginla take Calgary to a Stanley Cup?

Expectations are higher than the price of oil in Cowtown. After coming within a stick blade of a Stanley Cup championship in 2004, the Flames have been considered contenders ever since.

With Iginla turning in a Hart-worthy performance and teammates Kristian Huselius and Daymond Langkow going goal crazy, there is cause for optimism, but the Flames aren’t going anywhere until newly re-signed goalie Miikka Kiprusoff plays consistently almost every night.

The Flames have given up the third most goals in the Western Conference. This won’t do come playoff time.