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Power Rankings: A Crack in the Igloo Print
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Monday, October 26, 2009 04:25
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HPT Power Rankings (Week 4)



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1. Pittsburgh Penguins (9-2-0): Despite a 4-1 loss at the hands of the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, the Pens are still the best team in the league. They embarrassed the Blues and snuck by the Panthers. Alex Goligoski (nine points) continues to impress on the blue line, and will need to continue this play in the absence of Sergei Gonchar.



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2. Calgary Flames (7-2-1): The Flames won both of their games this week — 6-3 over Columbus and 5-2 over Edmonton — in a display of offensive depth. The Flames now boast a 3-0 lead in the Battle of Alberta and a 5-1 record at home.


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3. Colorado Avalanche (8-1-2): Tied with the Penguins for the best record in the league, the Avs have yet to descend from the stratosphere. They seem intent on disappointing critics all season long. Darcy Tucker will be out 10 days after receiving a dirty hit from Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu, who was suspended for three games.


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4. New York Rangers (7-3-1): Losses to the Sharks (7-3), Devils (4-2) and Canadiens (5-4) this week bring the Rangers back down to Earth. Vinny Prospal’s impressive play is earning some big ice time (20:13). Ales Kotalik (five goals, 11 points) is averaging a point per game.


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5. Washington Capitals (6-2-2): The Caps won both games this week without Alexander Semin, who is nursing an illness. Jose Theodore is playing very well in net and seems to be closer to claiming the starting spot. Free-agent signee Brendan Morrison (eight points in 10 games) has been a nice surprise.


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6. Chicago Blackhawks (6-3-1): Losing Jonathan Toews for any amount of time will hurt the Hawks; the captain suffered a concussion in a 3-2 loss to the Canucks on Wednesday. Cristobal Huet was excellent in net Saturday in a 2-0 victory over Nashville.


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7. Philadelphia Flyers (5-2-1): The Flyers had a two-game win streak halted Sunday night against San Jose, as Brian Boucher spelled Ray Emery for the first time this season. Should Mike Richards have been suspended for his hit on David Booth? Yes. There was a clear intent to injure.


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8. New Jersey Devils (6-3-0): The Devils are 5-1 since dropping their first two games, and posted impressive wins this week against the Rangers and Penguins. Injuries are the issue here: Mike Mottau, Jay Pandolfo, and Paul Martin have joined Patrik Elias in the trainer’s room. Elias is due back in two weeks, but the club can’t survive without Martin for long.


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9. Buffalo Sabres (6-1-1): The Sabres went 2-0 this week and are now sitting atop the Northeast. Drew Stafford, Jason Pominville and Tim Connolly are playing well. Derek Roy has yet to score a goal, but is leading the team with seven points, all assists. Ryan Miller is 6-0-1 with a .940 save percentage.


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10. San Jose Sharks (6-4-1): Ryan Vesce has four points in his first four NHL games, making a strong case to stay in the league. Now playing his natural center position, Patrick Marleau leads the team with nine goals. Somehow, the Sharks only sit in third place in a competitive Pacific Division. Defense is an area of concern: San Jose is allowing an average of three goals against per game.



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11. Ottawa Senators (5-2-2): The Sens suffered two losses this week but gained a point in each, a 6-5 overtime loss to Nashville and a 4-3 shootout loss to Boston. Have Jonathan Cheechoo (two assists) and Ryan Shannon (no points) realized the season already started?


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12. Columbus Blue Jackets (6-3-0): The Jackets went 1-2 this week, giving up 16 goals in three games. Steve Mason has a troubling 3.14 goals-against average, while backup Mathieu Garon gave up five goals in a loss at Edmonton. Jakub Voracek is surprising everyone with eight points and a plus-5 rating in nine games.


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13. Dallas Stars (5-2-4): If the Stars can get this overtime thing figured out, they’d have one of the best records in the league. James Neal is an impressive youngster and captain Brenden Morrow has 10 points in 11 games. Getting Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen back from IR will only make this team better.



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14. Edmonton Oilers (6-3-1): Though they’re generally playing well, the Oilers are going to have to beat the Flames eventually if they want to challenge for the division crown. They’ve lost three times to the Flames already. Edmonton got Luongoed in Vancouver, 2-0 on Sunday night, and faces the surging Avalanche on Tuesday.


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15. Phoenix Coyotes (6-3-0): The Coyotes went 1-1 this week and are still playing some good hockey. A total of 7,968 showed up Saturday night to witness a 5-3 loss to the Kings. Fans clearly seem disinterested in keeping their team; Quebec City here we come?


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16. Los Angeles Kings (7-4-0): The Kings went 3-0-0 this week to climb atop the Pacific Division. Anze Kopitar has a ridiculous 19 points in 11 games and Ryan Smyth seems comfortable wearing purple. After a questionable start, Jonathan Quick is starting to look like a true number one between the pipes.


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17. Boston Bruins (5-4-1): The Bruins went 2-0-1 this week but will be without the services of offensive stalwarts Marc Savard and Mlian Lucic for a while. It’s troubling to see that defenseman Derek Morris is tied for the team lead in scoring. The team has four days off before the Devils come to town on Thursday.


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18. Montreal Canadiens (5-5-0): The Habs have brought themselves back to .500 and, in turn, brought some fans back away from the ledge. Mike Cammalleri had a great game in a 5-4 overtime comeback win on Saturday over the New York Rangers. Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is proving to be a solid pickup, with three points in his first three games.


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19. Vancouver Canucks (5-5-0): Christian Ehrhoff is proving to be a solid pickup with eight points from the back end. Kyle Wellwood (one assist in 10 games) needs to step it up. Mason Raymond scored twice in a win over Toronto on Saturday. After a slow start, Roberto Luongo has won three straight and finally pushed his save percentage north of .900.


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20. Atlanta Thrashers (4-3-1): The Thrashers are another early surprise team that seems to be leveling off. The best news in an 0-2-1 week is that Ilya Kovalchuk seems interested in signing long-term. A rejuvenated Maxim Afinogenov (six points in eight games) has been a big help on offense.


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21. St. Louis Blues (4-4-1): Bad news away from the ice during a 1-2 week: T.J. Oshie is out indefinitely after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. David Backes, recently a considered an Olympic squad sleeper, isn’t helping his cause, with just two points in nine games.



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22. Detroit Red Wings (3-4-2): The Wings have lost three in a row. Pavel Datsyuk has yet to score this season and Henrik Zetterberg only has one goal. If this is the year the Wings fall from the top, is it time to rebuild?

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23. Tampa Bay Lightning (3-3-3): The Bolts went 1-0-1 this week. Vinny Lecavalier got his first goal of the year and Steven Stamkos continues to impress. Alex Tanguay (two assists, no goals in nine games) lacked offers this summer and is helping to confirm opinions among NHL general managers.



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24. Anaheim Ducks (3-5-1): The Ducks have lost three in a row at home. Jonas Hiller had been keeping the team afloat, then was pulled midway through a Wednesday loss to St. Louis, then Jean-Sebastien Giguere tweaked his groin Saturday and may have to go on IR. Add that to a list of problems that includes Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and Saku Koivu (one goal each).


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25. Carolina Hurricanes (2-5-3): The Canes struggled through an 0-1-2 week. Tuomo Ruutu has been suspended three games by the league for a dangerous, inappropriate hit on Darcy Tucker in Colorado on Friday. Eric Staal only has four points.


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26. Nashville Predators (3-6-1): The Preds are not going anywhere this season. They have scored a laughable 18 goals in 10 games. J.P. Dumont is the leading scorer with seven points. Already this year, 27 different players have suited up.


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27. Minnesota Wild (3-7-0): The Wild went 2-1 this week, as this team may be turning the corner with Cal Clutterbuck off IR and Chuck Kobasew in from Boston. Martin Havlat’s injury was not serious and remains in the lineup. Clutterbuck had a highlight-reel overtime goal in a win over Carolina on Saturday.


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28. New York Islanders (1-4-4): The Isles got their first win of the year in a 1-1-1 week. Carrying their share of the burden, Matt Moulson, John Tavares, and Kyle Okposo are becoming a bona fide top scoring line. The goaltending picture hasn’t cleared up, with duties still being split between Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron.


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29. Florida Panthers (2-6-1): The Panthers sit in last place in the division after going 0-2-1 this week. If they don’t get David Booth (concussion) back for an extended period, things will just get worse. Steven Reinprecht leads the team with six points. It may be time to get off the Nathan Horton train.



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30. Toronto Maple Leafs (0-7-1): When the consensus is that the Leafs played their best game of the year in a 3-1 loss to Vancouver, it speaks volumes. So do the fans wearing paper bags on their heads. The Leafs’ ECHL-affiliate Reading Royals could probably beat them right now.

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Last Updated on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 06:24