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| Power Rankings: Where past, present and future converge. |
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| Features |
| Monday, December 07, 2009 04:09 |
 HPT Power Rankings (Week 10): If Mark Wahlberg ever runs out of story ideas for "Entourage," he need only look to the real lives of three wealthy young men from Chicago. Likewise if Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane ever run out of ideas on how to spend their free time (and all that money), they know what to pop in the DVD player during the next road trip. While the signing of the young superstars on Thurdsay offered the Blackhawks three reasons to look forward, the Canadiens took a day Friday to look 100 years back. In the present? No change at the top.  1. New Jersey Devils (19-7-1): The Devils hold the edge over the Caps for being 3-0-0 in head-to-head play this year. Rob Niedermayer, Jay Pandolfo and Johnny Oduya all have points since their returns. Paul Martin is skating and eyeing a return.  2. Washington Capitals (18-5-6): The Caps went 3-0-0 this week, even with Alex Ovechkin injured and suspended. Alex Semin picked up the slack with six points in his last two games.  3. San Jose Sharks (19-7-4): Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley each have 19 goals, which is just ridiculous at this point of the season. After a 2-1 week, the Sharks sill play the Kings, Stars and Coyotes.  4. Pittsburgh Penguins (20-9-1): The Pens are the league’s only 20-win team. Some of that has to do with a top-heavy schedule, but some is because their depth players are stepping up big time: Mike Rupp scored a hat trick.  5. Chicago Blackhawks (18-7-3): Re-signing Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith long term are positive developments in a league without a salary cap. Add Marian Hossa and Brian Campbell to the mix, and the Hawks will have to give up some promising young talent.  6. Calgary Flames (18-7-3): The Flames went 2-1 this week and are now on top of the Northwest Division. Jarome Iginla is climbing the scoring ladder with 30 points.  7. Los Angeles Kings (17-10-3): The Kings went 2-0-1 this week and are still playing good hockey. Good play and the 2010 Entry Draft being awarded to L.A. is putting the city back on the hockey map.  8. Buffalo Sabres (16-8-2): Ryan Miller (1.85 GAA/.936 save percentage) is a shoo-in to start for Team USA in Vancouver. The Sabres have a tough week ahead with the Devils, Caps, Hawks, and Rangers on the horizon.  9. Colorado Avalanche (16-9-6): The Avs fell from the top of the division but are still playing well. Defense is the main concern; only five teams have allowed more goals against (94).  10. Nashville Predators (16-11-2): Jason Arnott became the first Predator to hit double digits in goals. If they want to be more than a bubble team in the Western Conference, the Preds will need to trade for a scoring winger.  11. Boston Bruins (15-9-5): The Bruins are playing better hockey and Marc Savard is showing why he is so important to this team. Maybe his shiny new contract helped him get back onto the ice.  12. Vancouver Canucks (16-13-0): The Canucks went 2-1 on their eastern road trip. Henrik Sedin has 34 points in 29 games while brother Daniel has 11 points in 11 games. Those twin contracts look better and better every day.  13. Phoenix Coyotes (17-11-1): The Coyotes won all three games they played this week and are determined to show fans that they intend to be competitive all season long. Ilya Bryzgalov is sporting a 2.07 goals-against average.  14. Dallas Stars (13-8-8): The individual efforts are there: Brad Richards, James Neal, Loui Eriksson, Mike Ribeiro, and Brendan Morrow all have over 20 points. Marty Turco and Alex Auld also make up for a pretty solid goalie duo. How come this team can’t string together more than two wins?  15. Atlanta Thrashers (15-8-3): The Thrashers went 2-1-1 this week and remain in playoff position in the East. Strong play from Ilya Kovalchuk, Max Afinogenov, Rich Peverley, Nik Antropov, and Tobias Enstrom have helped, while Johan Hedberg (7-2, 2.24 GAA) is the best backup in the league.  16. Detroit Red Wings (14-10-5): The Wings went 1-0-1 during a weekend in New Jersey and New York. dropping a shootout loss to the Devils before beating the Rangers. Until Johan Franzen gets back, a .500 record might have to be enough.  17. Ottawa Senators (13-10-4): Whenever the Sens take a step forward, they take two back. A shootout win Sunday in Anaheim should be occasion for a nice little slump.  18. Columbus Blue Jackets (13-11-5): The Jackets are struggling big-time, having allowed 105 goals against so far. The only rebound in store for Steve Mason is a long one for the Panthers to bury on Wednesday.  19. Philadelphia Flyers (13-12-1): What happened to these Cup favorites? John Stevens gets canned and the Flyers lose by an embarrassing score of 8-2 against the Caps in Peter Laviolette’s first game behind the bench.  20. St. Louis Blues (12-10-5): The Blues went 2-1 this week while they look to climb the standings in one of the toughest divisions in the league. Defenseman Erik Johnson is leading the team in scoring, one byproduct of not having a marquee scoring line.  21. Tampa Bay Lightning (11-9-8): The Bolts went 1-3 this week. The good news is that Victor Hedman scored his first NHL goals and looks like a true veteran back there — which is more than Alex Tanguay can say at the moment.  22. New York Rangers (14-14-1): The Rangers are just not playing well. Though Brandon Dubinsky remains on the shelf, not even he could cure what ails the rangers: Matt Gilroy and Michael Del Zotto have dropped off, and Michael Roszival is not the player he was expected to be. .gif) 23. Montreal Canadiens (13-14-2): A two-hour ceremony and a win on their 100-year anniversary made Friday a special night. The other nights haven’t been so special.  24. Minnesota Wild (13-12-3): Five straight wins moves the Wild up a few spots. They’ll be pressed to keep it up this week against the Coyotes, Avs, Flames, and Canucks.  25. New York Islanders (11-11-7): Rick DiPietro’s knee let up three goals on 13 shots in a rehab start in Bridgeport. Meanwhile, Matt Moulson (14 goals, 22 points) has come out of nowhere to be the team’s number one center.  26. Edmonton Oilers (10-13-4): The Oilers should get an automatic pass every week for what they have had to deal with on the injury front. Only five players have played in every game this year.  27. Florida Panthers (11-13-5): Keith Ballard almost decapitating Tomas Vokoun is about the most exciting thing to happen in Sunrise. The Panthers give up an average of more than 3.3 goals per game, 0.72 more than they allow.  28. Toronto Maple Leafs (8-13-7): The Leafs would certainly be in a better position if they had Phil Kessel (15 points in 16 games) for the whole season. Looks like Brian Burke knew what he was doing with that one.  29. Anaheim Ducks (10-13-5): The Ducks followed a three-game win streak with a five-game losing streak. Teemu Selanne (broken hand) is going to be out for a while and the team cannot get consistency out of either of its goalies.  30. Carolina Hurricanes (6-17-5): Duke is 7-1. Nice.
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| Last Updated on Monday, December 07, 2009 14:27 |
