NEWS BY DIVISION
- Sizing up the ‘Yotes deadline haul Pacific
- Flames finally lighting the lamp Northwest
- That's the Pitts: Crosby booed by home 'fans' Atlantic
- Thomas gets second chance in net Northeast
- Hurricanes are wheeling, dealing – and contending Southeast
- Central balance of power remains the same Central
COLUMNS
- Picking up the pieces of USA-Canada Justin Bourne
- Beyond the trapezoid: A look at Olympic rules Justin Bourne
- Ah, skill day at the rink Justin Bourne
| Power Rankings: The definition of 'ownage' |
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| Features |
| Written by Andrew Timoni |
| Monday, January 18, 2010 04:16 |
 HPT Power rankings (Week 16): The verdict is in: The torch has been passed in the Central Divison. Anyone who believes differently is simply seduced by the spokes of the Winged Wheel. Talk all you want about injuries — and the Detroit Red Wings have plenty — but surely no one expected each of the first three meetings between and Chicago and Detroit to fall in favor of the Blackhawks. Sunday's shootout victory, in which Todd Bertuzzi and Pavel Datsyuk scored shootout goals but Detroit still lost at the Joe, proved that the 'Hawks have done more than escaped the Wings' mighty shadow. They own 'em.  1. Chicago Blackhawks (34-11-4): So long as Antti Niemi and Cristobal Huet keep playing well in goal, this team will go far. There’s no all-star game this year, so the ’Hawks are as close as it gets to an all-star team. They are 7-1-1 in January.  2. San Jose Sharks (31-10-8): Remember the bad old days for Patrick Marleau? When the “C” on his jersey created the illusion of expectations he could never live up to, leaving him on the trading block around this time of year? Now he has 32 goals and is on pace for a career season.  3. Washington Capitals (30-12-6): Alex Ovechkin has 11 points in the last five games, and 64 points in 40 games this season. The specialty of this team, however, is secondary scoring — 10 players have at least 10 goals this season.  4. New Jersey Devils (32-13-1): The Devils' only win the past 10 days is a 1-0 shootout win over the Rangers last Tuesday. There’s hope for the future, which includes four games in six days this week: Patrik Elias is “OK” after being taken off the ice in Colorado on a stretcher.  5. Buffalo Sabres (29-11-6): The Sabres are playing well, and Tyler Myers is making a case for the Calder Trophy. His 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) lead all rookie defensemen, as well as all American-born defensemen.  6. Colorado Avalanche (27-15-6): The Avalanche sit in first place after an impressive 2-1 win over the Devils on Saturday. Even if the Avs don't continue to overachieve in the postseason, their young core gives them plenty to be excited about.  7. Nashville Predators (29-16-3): The Preds, tied for the second-best record in the Western Conference, are still exceeding expectations. Patric Hornqvist has five goals in his last five games to continue his impressive season.  8. Phoenix Coyotes (28-16-5): These guys just won't go away! They ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Devils and a 6-4 win over the Wild. Ilya Bryzgalov (25-12-4, 2.27 GAA) is making a good case for the Vezina Trophy and even the Hart Trophy.  9. Pittsburgh Penguins (30-19-1): It is very hard to figure out how the Penguins have such a terrible power play. Any unit with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on it should connect much more often. Maybe their superstars need more help on the wings.  10. Vancouver Canucks (28-18-2): Despite a 1-2 week, the Canucks are challenging for the first spot in the division after struggling early in the season. Currently the league’s leading scorer (67 points), Henrik Sedin is on pace to blow away his stats from last year.  11. Los Angeles Kings (27-18-3): Which was the more impressive win, Thursday’s 4-0 shutout of rival Anaheim, or the come-from-behind shootout win over Boston on Sunday? The Kings have a tough week coming up with the Sharks, Sabres, and Red Wings.  12. Calgary Flames (26-17-6): The Flames are 1-5-1 in their last seven and in danger of falling out of the West’s top eight. They probably won’t get four goals every night, like they did Sunday in a loss to Anaheim, and might seek secondary scoring towards the trade deadline.  13. Detroit Red Wings (24-16-8): If only Pavel Datsyuk would play the first 65 minutes like he does in the shootout. He embarrassed Niemi in a losing effort Sunday in Chicago. Rookie goalie Jimmy Howard has grabbed the number one mantle from Chris Osgood.  14. Ottawa Senators (24-21-4): The Sens are 3-5 in January but got a boost when Daniel Alfredsson scored in his return Saturday. Rookie goalie Mike Brodeur shut out the New York Rangers at the Garden in his second NHL start.  15. Boston Bruins (23-16-8): The Bruins certainly have a goal-scoring issue; Marco Sturm only has points in one of his last five games and still leads the team with 15 goals. Miro Satan is looking like a nice pickup, but if Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron can’t right the ship once healthy, look for the Bruins to swing a trade before the deadline.  16. Anaheim Ducks (22-20-7): GM Bob Murray confirmed this week that Scott Niedermayer was never on the trading block. But the surging Ducks could use some trade bait: Top-six forwards Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu and Joffrey Lupul are all injured, and scoring help may need to come from outside the organization.  17. Minnesota Wild (24-22-3): Guillame Latendresse has new life with the Wild. He had a hat trick in his last game, a loss to Phoenix. Minnesota will try to get back in the win column Monday against former North Star Mike Modano in Dallas, a nationally-televised game on Versus.  18. Montreal Canadiens (23-22-4): The Habs can't get a good streak together. Lucky for them, the Eastern Conference is weak this year. Brian Gionta has been playing very well since his return. Jaroslav Halak still has the upper hand in goal.  19. Philadelphia Flyers (23-21-3): The Flyers have a good dilemma on their hands, trying to decide which of their three goaltenders they want between the pipes every night. A healthy Ray Emery’s job is probably safe, but Michael Leighton or Brian Boucher could be tending goal in the AHL before long.  20. New York Islanders (21-19-8): John Tavares scored Saturday for the first time since Dec. 23. The Islanders don't have a lot of secondary scoring and do have the cap room to trade for Ilya Kovalchuk … but that would make too much sense.  21. New York Rangers (23-19-7): The name 'Brodeur' could haunt Ranger fans the rest of the season — Martin AND Mike Brodeur shut out the Rangers this week. Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky each scored two goals against the Canadiens on Sunday, a welcome development for workhorse Marian Gaborik.  22. Atlanta Thrashers (21-19-7): Has Kovalchuk become bigger than the team? If Don Waddell doesn’t re-sign him soon, the GM is likely to be bowled over by a trade offer first. Hard to believe this team is second in its division — and 11th in its conference.  23. St. Louis Blues (21-19-7): The Blues finally won some games at home to climb above .500. Paul Kariya has returned to the lineup to provide some leadership. Rookie coach Davis Payne, four years Kariya’s senior, can only hope the goals follow.  24. Dallas Stars (20-17-11): The Stars lost three of four this week and have 13 games left before the Olympic break to get in playoff position. Marty Turco allowed five goals in back-to-back games; is it time to wonder how much he’s got left in the tank at age 34?  25. Florida Panthers (20-20-8): The Cats lost in overtime to the Capitals before sweeping a home and home with the Lightning to end the week. They have the Thrashers, Devils, Islanders, and Leafs this week.  26. Tampa Bay Lightning (18-19-10): The Bolts have a chance to climb the East standings this week, with games against the Hurricanes, Rangers, Leafs, and Thrashers. Steven Stamkos (25-22-47) is having a terrific season.  27. Columbus Blue Jackets (18-23-9): The Blue Jackets have lost three in a row and continue to slide down the Western Conference ladder. Should Ken Hitchcock get working on his resumé? It seems like he could be gone any day now.  28. Toronto Maple Leafs (16-24-9): Given how little scoring punch this team possesses up front, it’s not good news that Phil Kessel has no goals in his last five games. If Ron Wilson’s job is as safe as gold in Fort Knox, as GM Brian Burke so eloquently put it, then whose job isn’t?  29. Carolina Hurricanes (14-26-7): Cam Ward and Eric Staal are not themselves this year. It could be time to start selling off the old parts in Raleigh. After all, how much worse could the team’s top AHL talent do?  30. Edmonton Oilers (16-26-5): The Oilers are 0-6 in the new year. It's hard to say how the season would have gone if it weren't for all the injuries. But as of now, no one is having any fun in Edmonton. 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 |
