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HPT Power Rankings: 'Tis the season |
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Features
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Written by Blake Benzel
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Monday, December 26, 2011 03:08 |
It’s the season to give and the season to receive, but there’s no denying that some NHL teams have been in more of the giving mood than others lately. We happened to get a quick peek at all 30 NHL teams’ Christmas lists this season, and all they want for Christmas is …
1) Boston Bruins (23-9-1) – …One more year with Lord Stanley’s Cup. Since stumbling out of the gates early this season, the Bruins have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL and don’t look intent on slowing down soon.
2) Chicago Blackhawks (22-9-4) – …A goaltender that can stop the puck. Despite being the top team in the league, the Blackhawks are one of just two teams with more than 40 points that rank in the bottom 10 in the league in goals against, with 102.
3) New York Rangers (21-8-4) – …Marc Staal. The Rangers’ blue line has performed admirably in the absence of their top defenseman thanks, in large part, to some spectacular goaltending.
4) Pittsburgh Penguins (20-11-4) – …A healthy Sidney Crosby. Crosby gave everyone a big tease with 12 points in eight games before being sidelined with concussion symptoms again.
5) Philadelphia Flyers (21-9-4) – …Consistent goaltending. Ilya Bryzgalov was a big part of the Flyers’ off-season overhaul and has been brilliant in stretches, a disaster in others. The answer could be in his back up; Sergei Bobrovsky has lost just three times in 13 games this season.
6) St. Louis Blues (20-10-4) – …Their young superstars to break out. Despite solid seasons from T.J. Oshie and the recently returned David Perron, Chris Stewart (31 games played, five goals, seven assists) and Patrik Berglund (34 games played, eight goals, six assists) have both struggled to find points.
7) San Jose Sharks (19-10-3) – …Goals. Surprisingly, the typically high-scoring Sharks are barely in the top half of the league in goals and don’t have a single point-per-game player on their roster.
8) Vancouver Canucks (21-12-2) – …First place. The Canucks have been chasing ever since a rough stretch early in the season. They’re on track now though, just one point behind the Minnesota Wild in the Northwest.
9) Detroit Red Wings (21-12-1) – …Henrik Zetterberg. Zetterberg is on pace for his worst NHL season since his rookie year of 2002-03. The Wings have been winning without him, but I don’t think they’d protest a return for Hank.
10) Nashville Predators (18-13-4) – …A goal scorer. Seriously. One Predator has more than 10 goals and Patric Hornqvist, their top goal-scorer the past few seasons, has one goal in seven games.
11) Minnesota Wild (20-11-5) – …A healthy team. The Wild had been having a great run despite injuries until Mikko Koivu got hurt. Koivu’s the big one, but they probably wouldn’t mind having Devin Setoguchi and Guillaume Latendresse back in the line up either.
12) Florida Panthers (18-11-7) – …Secondary scoring. Kris Versteeg, Stephen Weiss and Tomas Fleischmann have combined to become one of the top lines in the NHL and are a big reason for the early success of the Panthers. After those three, however, their top scoring forward has all of 14 points (step on up, Shawn Matthias and Tomas Kopecky).
13) Dallas Stars (20-13-1) – …Some power play help. The Stars have been abysmal with the man advantage, converting at a 14.9 percent clip. A big reason has been the absence of Alex Goligoski. The former Penguins D-man is back in the lineup manning the point, so that could help.
14) New Jersey Devils (19-14-1) – …Martin Brodeur. Johan Hedberg has been great for the Devils this season, but the Devils would definitely benefit from an appearance of old school Marty for the rest of the season.
15) Calgary Flames (17-15-4) – …Someone to score, please. Four players have more than 20 points and one defenseman has more than 10. Oh yeah, and Olli Jokinen is their leading scorer. Who saw that coming?
16) Toronto Maple Leafs (18-13-4) – …Optimus Reim. The Leafs have gotten by largely on being able to outscore the opposition. James Reimer hasn’t performed as hoped for the Leafs since coming back from his concussion. Two wins in a row, plus three games giving up three-or-less goals might be a good indication he’s turning things around.
17) Colorado Avalanche (18-17-1) – …A little bit of everything. When the Avs traded Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk last season, it was to start a defensive makeover of their franchise. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to keep pucks out of the net (or put pucks in) with any regularity.
18) Ottawa Senators (17-14-5) – …Craig Anderson to stop a puck. Anderson has been a shadow of the goaltender that stood out at the end of last season for the Sens. If he even regains part of that form, the Sens could be one of the best teams in the league.
19) Winnipeg Jets (16-14-5) – …To win when they control the game. The Jets have won just 35 percent of games that they’ve outshot opponents in. That’s just not very productive now, is it?
20) Washington Capitals (17-14-2) – …To get Alex Ovechkin back. Ovie is currently tied for 71st in the NHL in scoring. Players that are higher than him include rookies Craig Smith and Adam Henrique; Radim Vrbata, P.A. Parenteau, Jokinen; and the ageless Teemu Selanne.
21) Phoenix Coyotes (18-14-3) – …Mike Smith in net. Jason LaBarbera has been great in the absence of Smith, but Smith has been having a terrific season and was a large reason why the ‘Yotes have been riding high this season.
22) Edmonton Oilers (15-16-3) – …Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to keep it up. The Nuge has been terrific this season for Edmonton and has far exceeded expectations. If he keeps this up, a Calder Trophy is sure to be in his future.
23) Carolina Hurricanes (11-19-6) – …To get Jeff Skinner back in the lineup. Skinner hasn’t played since Dec. 7 due to a concussion and he’s still Carolina’s leading scorer. That should tell you how much they miss him.
24) Los Angeles Kings (16-14-5) – …A goal. Dustin Penner has just two, Jarrett Stoll has three and Justin Williams five. Jonathan Quick would be a Vezina candidate with a little more goal support.
25) Tampa Bay Lightning (14-17-3) – …For it to be last spring. The Lightning are in the bottom 10 in both goals for and goals against and their lack of movement this off-season is looking like the absolute worst thing they could have done.
26) New York Islanders (11-16-6) – …A second line. The Isles’ top line is being very productive – Matt Moulson, John Tavares and P.A. Parenteau each have 28 points – but the bottom three lines are not.
27) Buffalo Sabres (16-15-3) – …Their $27-million man. So far this season, Ville Leino has made $1.66 million per point. That’s not a very good “bang for your buck” scenario.
28) Montreal Canadiens (13-16-7) – …Some help for Carey Price. Price has been pretty brilliant so far this season for the Habs. No one else has been.
29) Anaheim Ducks (9-19-6) – …To reach 10 wins before the Blue Jackets.
30) Columbus Blue Jackets (9-21-4) – …To reach 10 wins before the Ducks.
Photo by Getty Images
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Last Updated on Monday, December 26, 2011 13:17 |
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