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| Power Rankings: Caps firing on all cylinders |
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| Features |
| Written by Blake Benzel |
| Monday, February 01, 2010 17:47 |
 HPT Power rankings (Week 18): If you missed the Chicago Blackhawks' overtime win against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, you missed a good one. You missed a probable Western Conference Finals preview. You missed rare footage of Patrick Kane, John Madden and Kris Versteeg with their shirts on. You did not, however, miss the greatest show on ice. That would be taking place in the capital city (sorry, Ottawa, we're not looking at you).  1. Washington Capitals (37-12-6): Ten straight victories, 4.8 goals per game, 2.1 goals against per game and a partridge in a pear tree. Add in the fact that the Caps have lost twice this decade, and have scored less than four goals just three times? That’s the best team in the league.  2. San Jose Sharks (36-10-9): San Jose has earned a point in each of its last 10, the hiccup against Chicago notwithstanding. There are not many who can match their firepower, but that Evgeni Nabokov could possibly play well over 82 games this season, including the Olympics and playoffs, could be cause for concern.  3. Chicago Blackhawks (37-14-4): Despite their struggles over the last few games (3-3-0 in their last six), Chicago remains one of the top teams in the league. The win against San Jose was no fluke. Thank goodness that the team carried exact change to tip their limo drivers in their Canadian road swing.  4. Vancouver Canucks (34-18-2): Vancouver has set itself up heading into the month of February quite well, having won seven straight. In addition, Henrik Sedin has come into his own as an elite player in the league. Now the dives headlong into its record-breaking road trip that doesn’t see them play a home game for over a month.  5. Phoenix Coyotes (33-18-5): Talk about hot. The desert-dwelling Coyotes continue to prove their naysayers wrong, winning seven of nine, including four in a row. With their stifling defense and goaltending, it’s no wonder that the games in which the team has scored three or more goals in the last nine match up exactly with their victories.  6. New Jersey Devils (35-17-2): In typical Jacques Lemaire fashion, if the team can score, they can win. The problem, over the last handful of games, is that the Devils can’t score. They’re averaging just 2.4 goals per game over their last five, losing three.  7. Buffalo Sabres (32-14-7): The Sabres have rebounded from a four-game losing streak, winning their last two games in stifling fashion. The problem for Buffalo lies in the fact that they can only go as far as Ryan Miller can take them. Should he start to falter, Buffalo could be in trouble. The good news? Tim Connolly is healthy and producing.  8. Ottawa Senators (31-21-4): Ottawa has charged up the standings, winning nine straight. During that stretch the Senators have outscored opponents at a 3-to-1 pace, including two shutouts. I don’t care what team you are – them’s good odds.  9. Los Angeles Kings (33-19-3): The Frozen Royals have won six straight on the road, their longest since 1974-75, and eight of nine overall. After a 24-game drought that saw star forward Anze Kopitar score just two goals, Kopitar has seven goals and 16 points in his last 13 games, including a six-game point streak.  10. Pittsburgh Penguins (34-21-1): While Pittsburgh has looked like anything but the defending Stanley Cup Champions of late, they have won three of four and are consistent enough to be three points behind the Devils for the division lead. Helping that is Sidney Crosby, who is on pace for his first 50-goal season and has four points in their last four games.  11. Colorado Avalanche (30-18-6): The Avs are like that annoying little kid that lives next door. They just won’t go away, no matter what you do. They’ve slipped in the standings, due in large part to the strong play of the Canucks and an offense that has mustered just three goals in three games. Unlike the Canucks, however, there are no newspapers planning a victory parade quite yet.  12. Nashville Predators (30-21-3): Another of the league’s most surprising teams, the Preds broke a five-game losing streak on Saturday. It’s always a scary prospect when your leading scorer has 33 points in 54 games – it’s much easier to take, however, when your team has four players tied for the team lead.  13. Florida Panthers (24-22-9): Don’t look now, but Florida’s “other” team has snuck into the playoff picture with points in eight of its last 10. If there’s any question that the Panthers could be a dangerous playoff team, it’s easily answered by the team’s defensive play. In the last 10 games, they have given up more than two goals just twice – both to the league’s hottest team, the Capitals.  14. Philadelphia Flyers (27-23-3): Another team the East’s top seeds have to be dreading playing, the Flyers have stabilized and won eight of 12. Peter Laviolette’s system has caught hold and the Flyers have started to find their offense again. The return of Ray Emery seems to be a positive, despite Michael Leighton’s strong play in his absence. Emery has won four of seven since returning, giving up more than three goals just twice.  15. Dallas Stars (24-20-11): It’s been a mixed bag for the Stars this season. Sometimes they look like world-beaters, other times they look like the weight of the world is on their shoulders. To make matters worse, the poor play of Marty Turco seems to continue to haunt the team and it could just be that the goalie is due for a change of scenery in the coming weeks.  16. Detroit Red Wings (26-19-10): Yes, the Wings have points in seven of 10, but the fact remains that they need to start getting it done in regulation if they want any chance of catching those in front of them and solidifying their playoff position. The good news is that they are getting healthier by the day. If they’re still close to the playoffs by the Olympic break, this could be one dangerous team ending the season.  17. Calgary Flames (27-20-8): After losing nine straight, the Flames exploded against the hapless Oilers. The question hanging in the air is how this team will respond after the trade of one of its cornerstone players, Dion Phaneuf. On the upside, they received a plethora of secondary scoring options, something they needed more than an underachieving defenseman.  18. Anaheim Ducks (25-23-7): With the trade of Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the organization has turned another page on its Stanley Cup season. Giguere had turned into an unwanted contract and was moved. Will this become a trend for the Ducks in the coming weeks?  19. Minnesota Wild (27-24-4): A three-game winning streak ended Saturday in San Jose. Credit the Wild for swimming with the Sharks for 40 minutes, more than most teams can say. They’ve clearly bought in to Todd Richards’ system. But is there enough talent here to pass Dallas, Detroit and Calgary into the West’s top eight?
 21. Atlanta Thrashers (24-22-8): One point back of a playoff position, the Thrashers are your classic bubble team. Five of their 15 games in January went past regulation. They beat a good team (Ottawa) 6-1, lost to a bad team (Carolina) 5-2, and are generally just sort of hanging around. For this franchise, that’s an improvement.  22. New York Rangers (25-24-7): Sitting fourth in the league in goals, Marian Gaborik is about the only good thing going on Broadway right now. So, let’s sit back and enjoy his hat trick (http://rangers.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=765&id=58950) against the Avalanche, shall we?  23. Tampa Bay Lightning (22-21-11): The Lightning are playing better hockey now than their record indicates. After rattling off three straight wins, they lost in a shootout to the Ducks and lost by a goal to the Caps on Sunday. Steven Stamkos has a six-game point streak in which he’s scored four goals and five assists.  24. Carolina Hurricanes (19-28-7): Break up the ’Canes! No longer the worst team in the Eastern Conference, they’re 5-1 since Eric Staal was named team captain, and Staal has eight goals in that span. .gif) 25. Montreal Canadiens (25-25-6): An 0-2-1 week dropped the Habs out of the top eight in the East, and an injury Saturday to Michael Cammalleri means they’ll have to make do without their leading scorer. Five of their seven games before the Olympic break are at the Bell Centre.  26. Columbus Blue Jackets (22-26-9): Only the Toronto Maple Leafs have allowed more goals this season than the Jackets’ 188. Mathieu Garon (9-8-3, 2.76) ought to get the majority of the minutes from here on out, while Mason gets a five-game homestand plus the Olympic break to sort things out.  27. Boston Bruins (23-21-9): The Bruins fall nine spots in the rankings thanks to a seven-game losing streak. No defeat hurt more than Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Kings — their second in the last two weeks. Tim Thomas is 20-21 lifetime in shootouts.  28. New York Islanders (23-25-8): Rick DiPietro (2-4, 2.54) is a good goalie but not a miracle worker. Captain Doug Weight (five assists, no goals in January) could set an example for the youngsters by picking up his play — wunderkind John Tavares (goal, four assists) wasn’t much better last month.  29. Toronto Maple Leafs (17-28-11): Sunday’s shakeup was partially smoke and mirrors. GM Brian Burke had the Phaneuf deal in hand, and knew he could make a bigger media splash by calling Anaheim to ask for Giguere. That said, he acquired the two best players involved in either trade — something that should give Leaf fans optimism for the next trick up Burke’s sleeve.  30. Edmonton Oilers (16-31-6): How bad do you have to be to go an entire month without a win in the NHL’s salary-cap era? Monday night’s home game against Carolina is probably their best chance to snap their losing streak, which reached 13 on Saturday in Calgary. hockey news, 2010 NHL Trade Deadline, olympic hockey coverage, hockey headlines, hpt radio, nhl news, nhl power rankings, hockey video, podcasts, world hockey, hockey headlines
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| Last Updated on Monday, February 01, 2010 18:27 |
