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Power Rankings: A bedeviling week in the NHL Print
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Sunday, November 29, 2009 23:09
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HPT Power Rankings (Week 9):




This is one of those weeks when you wish you had the BCS on speed dial — not to complain about college football rankings, but for some help sorting out the NHL. Marian Hossa returns and the Blackhawks promptly crush the front-running Sharks, then lose to lowly Anaheim and a depleted Kings squad.

So who’s on top now?

How about an even-more-depleted Devils squad, for whom injuries are just weakness leaving the roster.

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1. New Jersey Devils (17-6-1): The Devils turned in a three-game losing streak for a three game winning streak, even as the injured list keeps growing (David Clarkson will now miss 4-6 weeks with an ankle injury). Brian Rolston and Patrik Elias each had two goals and two assists in a 6-1 win over the Islanders on Saturday.



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2. Pittsburgh Penguins (18-9-0) : The Pens went 3-1 this week, finishing with an 8-3 romping of the Rangers on the strength of a Sidney Crosby hat trick. Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are both operating at a point-per-game pace.



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3. San Jose Sharks (17-6-4): The big three of Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, and Patrick Marleau keep on rolling. The team had a collective hiccup against Chicago, losing 7-2 on Wednesday, and needed the shootout to dispatch Edmonton on Friday.



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4. Chicago Blackhawks (16-6-2): After causing that minor earthquake in San Jose, the Hawks finished the week with two losses. Marian Hossa scored twice in his debut, but was quiet the next two games. There was some buzz Wednesday that this could be the best team in the Western Conference, but it’ll take more than one game.



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5. Washington Capitals (15-5-6): The Caps went 2-0-1 this week. Mike Green may not make the Canadian Olympic squad, but he’s getting some serious Norris consideration (again) with 25 points and a plus-6 rating in 25 games. Semyon Varlamov only has one regulation loss in 13 decisions.



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6. Calgary Flames (16-6-3): The Flames stayed atop the Northwest Division with a 3-0-1 week. They have the league’s third-best road record at 9-1-3, while Olli Jokinen (seven points in the last five games) is improving.



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7. Los Angeles Kings (15-10-2): Anze Kopitar (one point his last five games) is feeling the consequences of Ryan Smyth’s upper-body injury, having relinquished the title of league’s leading scorer. The Kings finished November with a 2-1 week.



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8. Colorado Avalanche (14-8-4): The Avs are slowly coming back down to Earth, posting a 3-5-2 record in their last 10 games. Their 78.9-percent penalty-kill rate ranks 21st in the league. The Avs will look to stop a three-game losing streak on Monday night in Tampa.



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9. Buffalo Sabres (14-7-2): For the first time all season, the Sabres surrendered first place for a few days in the Northeast Division (to the Sens). Now tied for first, Buffalo will face the Leafs, Habs, and Rangers. Tomas Vanek (eight goals) is having a disappointing season.



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10. Ottawa Senators (13-7-4): The Sens went 2-1-1 this week but remain impressive at home with a 10-3-3 record and have caught the Sabres in the Northeast. Mike Fisher has been out with an upper-body injury and Alex Kovalev has two points since coming off injured reserve.


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11. Nashville Predators (15-9-1): The Preds went 3-1 this week. The team is also an impressive 9-3 in November and would be in the playoffs if they started today. This is in spite of, not because of, their offense: Jason Arnott leads the team with seven goals.



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12. Boston Bruins (13-8-5): The Bruins went 3-0-1 this week, their only loss coming in a shootout to the Devils on Friday. Patrice Bergeron leads the team in points but has zero in his last three games. His seven goals are only one behind his total from all of last season. Tim Thomas may have lost his starting spot to Tuukka Rask.



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13. Philadelphia Flyers (13-10-1): The Flyers went 1-3 this week and would not be in the playoffs if they were to start today. That’s not a good sign for a healthy, highly touted team. Simon Gagne (sports hernia surgery) is, not surprisingly, the team’s biggest injury loss.



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14. Vancouver Canucks (14-11-0): After a 1-0 loss to the Blackhawks last Sunday, the Canucks finished the week with a 4-1 win over the Kings and a 7-3 win over the Oilers. Daniel Sedin has a goal and two assists in his first three games back from his foot injury.



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15. Dallas Stars (12-7-7): The Stars have played a lot of close games and, if they could win them, would be in much better shape. A 5-2 loss to Phoenix on Friday didn’t help. James Neal has no points in three games following his return from a suspension.



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16. Detroit Red Wings (12-9-4): The Wings’ improvement took a step back this week, with one win in four games, including shutout losses to the Thrashers and Flames. Dallas, Edmonton, and New Jersey await. Henrik Zetterberg only has one goal in his last five games.



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17. Columbus Blue Jackets (12-9-4): The Blue Jackets have slowed considerably and bring a five-game losing streak into Monday’s matchup with the Blues. Steve Mason’s .890 save percentage and 3.46 goals-against average aren’t what the Jackets got used to last season.


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18. Phoenix Coyotes (14-11-1): A sluggish offense rebounded from back-to-back losses in a 5-2 win over Dallas on Friday. Captain Shane Doan had three points in five games entering Sunday’s matchup in Anaheim. The Coyotes are now offering lower-level seats at $25 each for the rest of the season. Tell the front office it’s not the price of the ticket, but the fact that no one wants to invest time and money in a team that might not be around next season.



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19. Atlanta Thrashers (13-7-2): The Thrashers won all three of their games this week and Maxim Afinogenov (five points his last five games) is looking like one of the better free-agent pickups of the summer. The Thrashers have a home-and-home with the Panthers next week and a matchup with the New York Islanders.


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20. New York Rangers (13-12-1): If the playoffs started today, the Rangers would not be in. Considering that Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal are having exceptional seasons, this doesn’t add up. The Rangers suffered an embarrassing 8-3 loss Saturday on the front end of a home-and-home with the Penguins.


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21. New York Islanders (10-10-7): The Islanders were playing some impressive hockey before they were rudely interrupted by a 6-1 loss to the Devils on Saturday. John Tavares (10 goals, 21 points) is a leading Calder candidate.



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22. Tampa Bay Lightning (10-6-8): Steven Stamkos (17 goals) is climbing up the league scoring leaderboard. The Bolts went 2-1-1 this week as Martin St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier each have one goal in the team’s last five games.



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23. Montreal Canadiens (12-12-2): The Habs went 1-1-1 this week and face the Leafs, Sabres, and Bruins to start a busy December (17 games in 31 days). Tomas Plekanec is having a career year, with 25 points in 26 games.



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24. Florida Panthers (10-11-4): The Panthers unveiled their new uniforms, a copy of the Penguins’ baby blues. The team has an abysmal 14 percent power-play success rate. Their 73.4 percent penalty-kill rate is second to last in the league. Nathan Horton has two goals and three assists his last five games.



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25. Edmonton Oilers (10-13-4): How long can the Oilers exploit the success of Dustin Penner? He’s got six points in his last five and is tied for sixth in the league in scoring, but the goaltending has been poor and Ales Hemsky is now out for the rest of the season.



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26. St. Louis Blues (10-9-5): The Blues went 2-1-1 this week. Defenseman Erik Johnson leads the team in points and has four in his last five games. That doesn’t say much for the rest of the offense.



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27. Anaheim Ducks (10-11-3): The Ducks are starting to improve, taking a three-game win streak into Sunday night’s game against Phoenix. They have the league’s fourth-best power play and a decent 6-2-3 record at home. Corey Perry tied a franchise record with a point in 17 straight games on Friday.


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28. Minnesota Wild (10-12-3): The Wild swept their home-and-home with the Avalanche this past weekend by scores of 5-3 and 3-2. The Ducks visit the state of hockey Friday before the Wild embark on a home-and-home with the Predators.



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29. Toronto Maple Leafs (6-11-7): The Leafs went 2-0-1 this week to pull out of the last spot in the rankings. Phil Kessel is having a terrific season and the Leafs have one of the league’s best power plays. The Sabres, Habs, Jackets, and Bruins are up next in a busy week.



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30. Carolina Hurricanes (5-14-5): The Hurricanes have embarked on another fun losing streak — four in a row. Things don’t get any easier, as the Caps and Canucks are the next to come to Raleigh. Ray Whitney has no goals and one point in the last five games but still leads the team with 15 points (ouch).

Comments (3)

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The Wild 28th?
Seriously? The Wild beat the team that you had ranked as 8th in back-to-back games, not to mention are 7-3-3 in their last 13 and are 3-0-1 in their last four and are 28th? Not to mention that they have one less point than both the Panthers and Oilers, both of whom are ranked above them and of which, the Panthers have lost 3 straight and the oilers are 2-5-3 in their last ten. The Ducks are at least debatable, but I think that both Anaheim and Minnesota deserve to be higher than Florida and Edmonton at the very least, probably even than St. Louis.
Blake , December 01, 2009
Wild
I understand your reasoning and Wild fans have reasons to be optimistic. But without a player with double digits in the goal column and not one player that has put on a Wild uniform this year having a plus rating, the Wild still have a long way to go. A home and home win against the Avalanche is impressive, but not enough for me to have too much faith in the team yet.

I ranked the Oilers above the Wild because if you take a look at the list of injuries facing this team and what they have had to battle through, it's remarkable.

I'll admit you have a point with St. Louis. After their surprising start, they have fallen off pretty hard.

But at this point, I don't have enough reasons to back up ranking the Wild above teams that have more points than them.
AndrewTimoni , December 01, 2009
Not enough reasons?
You want to talk about injuries? During their four game point streak, the team was missing Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Petr Sykora, Martin Havlat and Antti Miettinen...That's four of their top-six forwards. Not to mention missing Marek Zidlicky for the last one. So they don't score goals? Is that anything new for the Wild? I'm not saying that the Wild should be in the top half of the rankings...But they're behind some teams that they're clearly playing better than.
Blake , December 02, 2009

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Last Updated on Monday, November 30, 2009 09:59