Category: NHL power rankings
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 1:56 AMPower rankings, week 4
The Colorado Avalanche are showing some unexpected staying power, in large part due to heroics by goaltender Craig Anderson. And the New York Islanders are moving up a bit in the rankings. Last week's rankings are in parentheses after this week's rankings.
1. (3) Colorado Avalanche (10-1-2): Goaltender Craig Anderson wins the 13-game MVP with his 10 wins, 1.97 goals-against average and .940 save percentage.
2. (1) Pittsburgh Penguins (10-2-0): The Penguins reached 10 wins first in the league, a few hours before the Avalanche did. Sidney Crosby had three goals against Montreal.
3. (10) Washington Capitals (7-2-2): The Capitals have picked up the pace lately, winning their last five games. Alex Ovechkin continues to dazzle, leading the league with 11 goals.
4. (2) New York Rangers (8-4-1): No team has more than the Rangers' 47 goals but an undisclosed lower-body injury to Marian Gaborik could spell trouble if it lingers.
5. (4) Buffalo Sabres (7-1-1): The Sabres have still only allowed 17 goals this season in their nine games and are 4-0-0 on the road.
6. (14) Los Angeles Kings (8-4-1): Led by 22-year-old Anze Kopitar, the Kings are on a four-game winning streak and Kopitar has more points (21) than Alex Ovechkin (19).
7. (8) San Jose Sharks (8-4-1): The Sharks appear to be coming into their own, especially holding off the Kings in a shootout Wednesday night.
8. (5) Calgary Flames (7-3-1): The Flames lost to the Avalanche Wednesday night but losing by one goal to Colorado and goalie Craig Anderson is nothing to be ashamed of these days.
9. (12) Chicago Blackhawks (7-3-1): Captain Jonathan Toews won't play Thursday against Nashville after getting leveled by Vancouver's Willie Mitchell last week.
10. (15) Dallas Stars (6-2-4): The Stars won a game in overtime! OK, it was only Toronto, but the Maple Leafs were coming off their first win with rookie goaltender Jonas Gustavsson.
11. (7) Ottawa Senators (6-2-2): Ottawa defenseman Filip Kuba is back after missing eight games with a lower-body injury. He had two assists against Florida Wednesday night.
12. (6) Phoenix Coyotes (7-4-0): Just when you thought Ilya Bryzgalov was playing well, Jason LaBarbera comes along and stops 31 shots against Columbus, lowering his goals-against average to 1.59.
13. (17) New Jersey Devils (6-4-0): The good news for the Devils is they're 5-0-0 on the road. The bad news is they aren't winning at home, falling to 1-4-0 after Wednesday's loss to Buffalo.
14. (9) Edmonton Oilers (6-5-1): Ladislav Smid has the H1N1 virus and is one of several Oilers who have exhibited flu-like symptoms. Tell the Wings not to breathe near them in Thursday's game.
15. (13) Columbus Blue Jackets (6-5-0): Columbus goaltender Steve Mason has given up 20 goals in his last five games, including four to Phoenix Wednesday night.
16. (18) Philadelphia Flyers (5-4-1): They have the same record as the St. Louis Blues, but they play in a tougher division (except for the N.Y. Islanders).
17. (19) St. Louis Blues (5-4-1): The Blues won another road game Wednesday night but it was only the Carolina Hurricanes so they aren't getting giddy.
18. (16) Boston Bruins (5-4-1): The Bruins are ranked 27th on the power play, having converted just six of their 31 chances.
19. (22) Montreal Canadiens (6-6-0): Despite getting pulled in a 6-1 loss to Pittsburgh Wednesday, backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak has out-performed Carey Price.
20. (11) Atlanta Thrashers (4-3-1): The Thrashers don't deserve to drop nine spots but losing Ilya Kovalchuk for a month with a broken foot will do that to you.
21. (20) Detroit Red Wings (4-4-2): The Wings are still kind of treading water but got a boost from goaltender Jimmy Howard, who relieved Chris Osgood on Tuesday in Vancouver.
22. (21) Vancouver Canucks (6-6-0): After losing to the Red Wings, the Canucks lost goaltender Roberto Luongo to a rib injury. He'll miss at least the rest of the week.
23. (23) Tampa Bay Lightning (3-3-3): It hasn't been a bad week for the Lightning, beating the San Jose Sharks and losing in overtime to the Buffalo Sabres.
24. (27) Nashville Predators (4-6-1): The Predators have the worst power play in the league but did get a power-play goal in their win over the Minnesota Wild Wednesday night.
25. (29) New York Islanders (2-4-5): Things seem to be looking up for the Islanders as they won their first game in regulation Wednesday and beat the Rangers in the process.
26. (26) Anaheim Ducks (3-6-1): The Ducks still need more production from Ryan Getzlaf, who has just one goal in the Ducks' first 10 games.
27. (28) Minnesota Wild (3-9-0): The Wild just can't get any breaks on the road at all as they're 0-8 and Wednesday they couldn't win at home against the Predators.
28. (25) Carolina Hurricanes (2-6-3): The Hurricanes have lost seven in a row and still haven't won a road game (0-4-2).
29. (24) Florida Panthers (2-7-1): The Panthers are tied with the Predators with the fewest goals (22) and losing Detroit native David Booth to a concussion won't help that department.
30. (30) Toronto Maple Leafs (1-7-2): The Maple Leafs have the Ducks to thank for their first and only win this season as the Ducks gave them 11 power plays and plenty of 5-on-3 time.
