Blog posts by category: NHL power rankings
Category: NHL power rankings
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 2:02 AMPower rankings, week 7
All the Russian stars who have been out with injuries are coming back -- Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk and Washington's Alex Ovechkin. They've all made a difference.
1. (1) San Jose Sharks (14-5-4): The Sharks keep scoring and for the most part, keep winning. They are second to the Washington Capitals with 76 goals to the Capitals' 79.
2. (2) Washington Capitals (13-4-4-): The aforementioned Capitals welcomed back Alex Ovechkin, who promptly scored. However, Alexander Semin might miss time with a wrist injury.
3. (3) New Jersey Devils (14-5-0): The Devils may have seen their road win streak end at nine games but they have allowed the fewest goals in the league with just 40.
4. (4) Colorado Avalanche (13-6-3): Backup goaltender Peter Budaj and the Avalanche gave up six goals to Edmonton Wednesday night but they still lead the Northwest Division.
5. (8) Pittsburgh Penguins (14-7-0): Evgeni Malkin returned to the lineup last Saturday and the Penguins have won two straight. Coincidence? I think not.
6. (5) Buffalo Sabres (12-5-1): It was an odd night Wednesday for the Sabres, who allowed six goals to the Florida Panthers. But they are second to the Devils in fewest goals allowed with 43.
7. (9) Los Angeles Kings (13-7-2): The Kings have won two in a row but now they've lost Ryan Smyth for up to a month with an "upper-body injury."
8. (7) Chicago Blackhawks (12-5-2): The Blackhawks have won four in a row and are set to sign Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith to extensions. Oh, and Marian Hossa is due back next week.
9. (11) Philadelphia Flyers (12-5-1): Probably the most impressive thing about the Flyers is they have scored 20 more goals than they have allowed.
10. (6) Calgary Flames (12-5-2): They've improved defensively but still can't manage to beat division rival Colorado at home.
11. (12) Atlanta Thrashers (10-6-1): The Thrashers are riding a four-game winning streak and they welcomed back star Ilya Kovalchuk this past week. Good week for them.
12. (14) Detroit Red Wings (10-6-3): The Wings lost their first game at home in regulation and are a point behind Columbus, but they've scored more (63) than they've allowed (57), a figure probably skewed by their 9-1 blowout at Columbus last week.
13. (15) Columbus Blue Jackets (11-6-2): Coach Ken Hitchcock didn't dwell on that blowout loss to the Wings in his 1,000th game. The Blue Jackets have responded with two straight victories over the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers.
14. (10) Dallas Stars (9-5-6): The Stars became the first team to win in regulation at Detroit Wednesday night, improving to 6-3-3 on the road.
15. (16) Phoenix Coyotes (12-9-0): Radim Vrbata had his third multi-point game of the season against Minnesota Wednesday, but his first since the first two games of the season.
16. (13) New York Rangers (11-9-1): Marian Gaborik is scoring -- he's tied with Washington's Alex Ovechkin for the league lead in goals with 15 but no one else seems to be scoring.
17. (20) New York Islanders (8-6-7): The Islanders have come a long way, baby. But they're still last in the Atlantic Division. But they seem to be headed in the right direction.
18. (17) Tampa Bay Lightning (8-4-6): The Lightning are a team on the rise, as their 4-1 victory in Phoenix demonstrated. Goalie Antero Niittymaki is 5-1-3 with a 1.93 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage.
19. (21) Vancouver Canucks (11-10-0): Things may be on the upswing for the Canucks as Daniel Sedin (broken foot) is hoping to return to the lineup this Sunday against Chicago.
20. (19) Ottawa Senators (9-6-3): The Senators are kind of doing what a team hopes to do to get in the playoffs -- win at home (6-3-3) and split on the road (3-3-0).
21. (24) Nashville Predators (10-8-1): The Predators have won three in a row but they'll get a real test tonight when the New Jersey Devils come to town.
22. (18) Boston Bruins (8-8-4): The up-and-down season of the Bruins continues. They're 2-3-2 on the road and will try to improve on that at Atlanta tonight.
23. (22) Edmonton Oilers (9-10-3): The Oilers are struggling on the road but they improved to 7-3-1 at home by beating Colorado Wednesday night.
24. (23) Montreal Canadiens (10-11-0): The Canadiens got a boost from their shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes but it'll be a tough go when they visit the Capitals Friday.
25. (25) St. Louis Blues (6-8-4): The Blues have to start scoring some goals. They have a league-worst 41. Winning at home would help, too, as they are 3-7-1 there.
26. (26) Anaheim Ducks (6-10-3): The Ducks had four losses -- one in overtime -- in a four-game road trip. They have their next seven games at home to try to right their sinking ship.
27. (28) Florida Panthers (8-9-2): Scoring six goals against a team like Buffalo is definitely something the Panthers can build on. The Panthers are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.
28. (27) Minnesota Wild (7-12-2): Coach Todd Richards called the Wild's 3-2 loss to Phoenix probably their "poorest performance of the year." That's saying something for the Wild.
29. (29) Toronto Maple Leafs (3-11-5): It's going to be a battle of the baddies when the Maple Leafs travel to Carolina to face the Hurricanes. Don't expect any shutouts.
30. (30) Carolina Hurricanes (3-12-5): The Hurricanes ended their long, long losing streak but remain 0-7-3 on the toad and have allowed a ridiculous 75 goals while scoring 44.
Category: NHL power rankings
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Sat, Nov 14, 2009 at 2:45 AMPower rankings, week 6
The power rankings are a little late this week because of a quick trip to Columbus to watch the Red Wings smash the Blue Jackets. Injuries have caused trouble for the Pittsburgh Penguins but the San Jose Sharks have found their mojo. Last week's rankings are in parentheses after this week's.
1. (3) San Jose Sharks (13-4-3): The Sharks are 8-0-2 in their last 10 games and have scored 67 goals, second in the league to Washington.
2. (5) Washington Capitals (12-3-4): The Capitals have an astounding 73 goals in just 19 games. It's even more amazing when you consider Alex Oveckin has been out since Nov. 1.
3. (8) New Jersey Devils (13-4-0): The Devils have taken advantage of the Pittsburgh Penguins' little slump and they're back on top of the Atlantic Division. Oh, yeah, they've won all nine of their road games so far.
4. (2) Colorado Avalanche (12-4-3): The Avalanche -- and goaltender Craig Anderson -- continue to play well and still have a three-point lead in the Northwest Division.
5. (4) Buffalo Sabres (11-4-1): The Sabres are tied with the Devils for fewest goals allowed with 35, in large part due to goaltender Ryan Miller (MSU), who has a league-leading 1.75 goals-against average.
6. (12) Calgary Flames (11-4-2): The Flames lost to the Sabres in a shootout but they're still right behind Colorado in the Northwest Division.
7. (11) Chicago Blackhawks (11-5-2): The Blackhawks have won three in a row, including a victory over the improved Toronto Maple Leafs. But they're only 2-3-1 away from home.
8. (1) Pittsburgh Penguins (12-7-0): Since Evgeni Malkin went down, the power play has gone south and the Penguins have lost four in a row. They'll be better when they get healthy.
9. (6) Los Angeles Kings (11-7-2): The Kings suffered a 7-0 beat-down at the hands of Ilya Kovalchuk and the Atlanta Thrashers but they're still one of the top teams in the West.
10. (13) Dallas Stars (8-4-6): The Stars are behind the Sharks in the standings but they bet them in a shootout Thursday night in San Jose, a good sign for them.
11. (15) Philadelphia Flyers (10-4-1): The Flyers may finally be on the rise, having won five straight games. They also have an impressive goal differential, scoring 19 more than they've allowed.
12. (21) Atlanta Thrashers (9-6-1): The Thrashers have their star Ilya Kovalchuk back and they have won three straight games. They also didn't lose too much ground when Kovalchuk was out.
13. (7) New York Rangers (10-8-1): The Rangers have dropped two straight and have fallen to a tie for third in the Atlantic Division.
14. (16) Detroit Red Wings (9-5-3): The Red Wings have beaten some good teams but they have had a few stinkers, which is understandable considering the players they've lost to injury. Jimmy Howard has looked good in allowing two goals in two games.
15. (14) Columbus Blue Jackets (10-6-2): The Blue Jackets aren't behind the Red Wings just because they lost 9-1 at home to them. They've allowed 10 more goals than they've scored.
16. (9) Phoenix Coyotes (10-8-0): It's getting tougher and tougher in the Pacific Division with the Sharks on cruise control, but the Coyotes are hanging in there.
17. (23) Tampa Bay Lightning (7-4-5): The Lightning have been getting better. They're still a lot better at home with a 5-0-3 record as opposed to 2-4-2 on the road.
18. (24) Boston Bruins (8-7-3): The Bruins still haven't found their footing but they're second in the Northeast Division to the Sabres.
19. (18) Ottawa Senators (8-6-2): The Senators have been up and down lately, kind of like the Bruins were earlier when they alternated wins and losses.
20. (19) New York Islanders (7-6-6): They might still be last in the Atlantic Division, but this is a team on the rise. No. 1 pick John Tavares had two goals against Carolina Friday.
21. (10) Vancouver Canucks (10-10-0): The Canucks have lost three straight and they're a lot better at home (7-2-0) than on the road (3-8-0).
22. (17) Edmonton Oilers (8-9-2): As Joe Namath might say, the Oilers have been struggling in their last 10 games, going 2-7-1.
23. (22) Montreal Canadiens (9-10-0): Despite selling out their building every night, the Canadiens are just kind of 'eh.' They're 5-5 at home, 4-5 on the road, 5-5 in their last 10.
24. (20) Nashville Predators (8-8-1): The Wings thought they were going to have trouble scoring goals but the Predators are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes with the fewest goals with just 37 in 17 games.
25. (26) St. Louis Blues (6-7-4): The Blues now occupy the bottom spot in the Central Division. Welcoming San Jose in Saturday night probably won't help matters.
26. (28) Anaheim Ducks (6-8-3): Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry have 10-game point streaks but their power play is powerless of late, 0-for-11 in the last two games.
27. (27) Minnesota Wild (7-11-1): The Wild can't win on the road, which they proved again Friday night against the Alex Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals. They're 2-9-1 away from home.
28. (25) Florida Panthers (6-9-1): Here's the mystery for the Panthers: why are they better on the road (4-4-1) than at home (2-5-0)?
29. (30) Toronto Maple Leafs (3-9-5): Phil Kessel has definitely helped out in the scoring department but the Leafs have still given up 20 more goals than they've scored.
30. (29) Carolina Hurricanes (2-12-4): Since beating the Florida Panthers 7-2 on October 9, the Hurricanes have gone 0-10-4, which ties the franchise record for longest winless streak. That streak was set in 1992 when the team was known as the Hartford Whalers.
Category: NHL power rankings
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Thu, Nov 5, 2009 at 1:05 AMPower rankings, week 5
There is some movement in the rankings, with the San Jose Sharks getting their act together and the New York Islanders showing quite a bit of improvement. Carolina, not so much. Last week's rankings are in parentheses after this week's.
1. (2) Pittsburgh Penguins (12-3-0): Only two other teams have double-digit wins (San Jose, Colorado) and only one other team (New Jersey) is 7-0-0 on the road.
2. (1) Colorado Avalanche (11-3-2): Goaltender Craig Anderson got his first night off and Peter Budaj picked right up where he left off in a 4-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes.
3. (7) San Jose Sharks (11-4-1): The Sharks are on a roll. They've won six straight games and lead the league with 55 goals, 10 of which belong to Dany Heatley.
4. (5) Buffalo Sabres (9-2-1): The Sabres continue to be a stingy bunch. They've allowed a league-best 24 goals in 12 games this season. No other team is close to that.
5. (3) Washington Capitals (8-3-4): Even with Alex Ovechkin sidelined with an upper-body injury, this team has enough talent to win. But they need to stop taking third-period penalties to do so.
6. (6) Los Angeles Kings (9-4-2): With Alex Ovechkin out, people are going to have to start paying attention to Anze Kopitar, the 22-year-old who leads the league with 24 points in 15 games.
7. (4) New York Rangers (9-6-1): The Rangers are starting to fall further back of the Pittsburgh Penguins, mostly because they are struggling on the road, losers of four straight away from MSG.
8. (13) New Jersey Devils (9-4-0): After a slow start to the season, the Devils are picking it up of late, having won three in a row. Like the Penguins, they're 7-0-0 on the road.
9. (12) Phoenix Coyotes (9-6-0): The NHL owns the Coyotes for now. The team continues to keep all the off-ice stuff off the ice.
10. (22) Vancouver Canucks (9-7-0): Don't look now but Mikael Samuelsson has eight goals, which is what fellow Swede Tomas Holmstrom has for the Wings.
11. (9) Chicago Blackhawks (8-4-1): Captain Jonathan Toews has missed four games but practiced with the team Wednesday. Former Red Wing Marian Hossa could be back in three weeks.
12. (8) Calgary Flames (8-4-1): Including the game-winner in overtime Wednesday, captain Jarome Iginla has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his last five games.
13. (10) Dallas Stars (6-3-6): What would the Stars do if they could actually win a game in overtime? They dropped another one Wednesday night against Calgary when the Flames scored a power-play goal in overtime.
14. (15) Columbus Blue Jackets (7-5-2): Blue Jackets forward Raffi Torres knocked Washington's Alex Ovechkin out in the Blue Jackets' 5-4 victory but they couldn't knoch out the Sharks in a shootout.
15. (16) Philadelphia Flyers (7-4-1): The Flyers have scored 11 more goals than they've allowed but they're stuck behind Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers and New Jersey in the Atlantic Division.
16. (21) Detroit Red Wings (6-4-3): The Wings have gotten better goaltending from Chris Osgood in two straight wins, including Osgood's 50th career shutout. It's still going to be tough without Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula.
17. (14) Edmonton Oilers (7-7-1): The Oilers continue to be plagued by the flu bug, which they very generously gave to some of the Red Wings when they were in town.
18. (11) Ottawa Senators (6-4-2): It's probably not a coincidence that the Senators have lost two straight and center Jason Spezza has missed those two games with back pain. But Spezza said he feels better and might play Thursday.
19. (25) New York Islanders (5-5-5): The Islanders took a while to win one but this past week they won four straight before getting shut out by a very stingy Buffalo team.
20. (24) Nashville Predators (6-6-1): The Predators have won three in a row but now begin a four-game road swing out on the West Coast. Up first, the struggling Anaheim Ducks.
21. (20) Atlanta Thrashers (6-4-1): The Thrashers lost Ilya Kovalchuk to a broken foot but they have managed to win their last two games, including a 5-4 victory in Montreal Tuesday.
22. (19) Montreal Canadiens (7-8-0): Tomas Plekanec has 14 points in 15 games, including five in his last five games. Their next game is against Boston, a team that hasnt' scored in a while.
23. (23) Tampa Bay Lightning (5-4-4): The Lightning are second in the Southeast Division behind the Washington Capitals and may be able to give Tampa Bay fans something to watch other than the woeful Buccaneers.
24. (18) Boston Bruins (6-7-1): The Bruins finally saw their odd streak of alternating wins and losses come to an end Tuesday in Detroit, when they were shut out for the second straight game. They are struggling to score goals.
25. (29) Florida Panthers (5-7-1): Goaltender Tomas Vokoun has two straight shutouts and the Panthers have three straight wins.
26. (17) St. Louis Blues (5-6-1): The Blues got back captain Eric Brewer last week after he had missed 10 months because of back and knee surgery. But the Blues still aren't winning.
27. (27) Minnesota Wild (5-9-0): A two-game winning streak is nothing to sneeze at, especially when those wins are against the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers.
28. (26) Anaheim Ducks (4-7-2): There's no shame in losing to the Penguins, but there is shame in a team with this much talent only getting 10 points in 13 games.
29. (28) Carolina Hurricanes (2-9-3): Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice saw better things against the Florida Panthers, but you can't sugarcoat the fact that the 'Canes have lost 10 in a row.
30. (30) Toronto Maple Leafs (1-7-5): The Leafs are still stuck on one victory but Phil Kessel returned Tuesday night with 10 shots on goal and goaltender Jonas Gustavsson is playing well.
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.
Category: NHL power rankings
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 2:09 AMPower rankings, week 3
There's a little movement at the top, not as much at the bottom this week. But the Wings are hoping to move up in the pack during their five-game road trip.
1. (2) Pittsburgh Penguins (8-1-0): Sure, the Penguins haven't played many good teams yet but the two points count the same.
2. (1) New York Rangers (7-2-0): If you like offense, you'll love the Rangers. They're second in the league with 35 goals.
3. (6) Colorado Avalanche (6-1-2): Their rookies are contributing and they didn't give up when they were down two goals in the third period in Detroit.
4. (3) Buffalo Sabres (5-1-1): They aren't in the most competitive division but giving up just two goals a game is a winning formula.
5. (8) Calgary Flames (6-2-1): They may give up an alarming number of goals (31) but they often can outscore teams as they lead the league with 36 goals in nine games.
6. (17) Phoenix Coyotes (5-2-0): The Coyotes get the big bump up the rankings this week because they have allowed a league-low 10 goals in seven games.
7. (12) Ottawa Senators (5-2-0): Their only two losses have been against the top teams so far, the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. Goaltender Pascal Leclaire has a 2.17 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.
8. (14) San Jose Sharks (5-3-1): The Sharks are a work in progress but they have won two straight. Beating the Rangers 7-3 was a step in the right direction.
9. (13) Edmonton Oilers (5-2-1): Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin has been pretty good, with a goals-against average of 2.81 and a save percentage of .912.
10. (18) Washington Capitals (4-2-2): A team with Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom should probably be better than this but they've won two in a row.
11. (19) Atlanta Thrashers (4-1-1): They went 3-1-1 on their early five-game trip and rookie goaltender Ondrej Pavelec has been quite good, with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage. Thursday's game with the Capitals should be a good one.
12. (5) Chicago Blackhawks (5-3-1): Perhaps those who worried about Cristobal Huet as the No. 1 goaltender are being proved correct. He's 2-2-1 with a 3.25 goals-against average and an . 844 save percentage. How long before Antti Niemi gets the main gig?
13. (4) Columbus Blue Jackets (5-2-0): The Central Division teams haven't looked so good lately. Losing 6-3 in Calgary won't make defensive-minded coach Ken Hitchcock happy.
14. (7) Los Angeles Kings (5-4-0): Ryan Smyth and Anze Kopitar have been outstanding, with each player recording 13 points in nine games.
15. (9) Dallas Stars (4-2-3): The wins the Stars have gotten have generally been against quality teams, like the Calgary Flames and Chicago Blackhawks.
16. (22) Boston Bruins (4-4-0): After beating the Nashville Predators Wednesday night, they're due for a loss at Philadelphia Thursday. The Bruins have alternated wins and losses this season.
17. (11) New Jersey Devils (4-3-0): Goaltender Martin Brodeur is holding up his end of the bargain. He's got a 2.68 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. But his team is going to need to score some goals for him.
18. (10) Philadelphia Flyers (3-2-1): Weren't the Flyers going to dominate the league with defenseman Chris Pronger? Apparently they're still waiting for that to happen.
19. (20) St. Louis Blues (3-3-1): Probably the best thing you can say about the Blues is they have not given up more goals than they have scored (20).
20. (23) Detroit Red Wings (3-3-1): Imagine if the Wings had won those three games in which they had two-goal leads.
21. (21) Vancouver Canucks (4-5-0): Kind of like the Flyers, the Canucks were supposed to be contenders. But they did beat the Blackhawks, thanks to Mikael Samuelsson's game-winning goal.
22. (25) Montreal Canadiens (3-5-0): After beating the Atlanta Thrashers in a shootout, the Canadiens have a good chance to make it two in a row as their next game is against the New York Islanders.
23. (15) Tampa Bay Lightning (2-3-2): The Lightning have been outscored 11-2 in their last two games, losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators.
24. (28) Florida Panthers (2-5-0): After beating the Flyers, the Panthers came back with a bad home loss to the Buffalo Sabres, 5-2, a game in which they trailed 2-0 less than two minutes into it.
25. (24) Carolina Hurricanes (2-4-2): The New York Islanders had to win sometime, but the Hurricanes just wish it wasn't against them. The Hurricanes have dropped four straight.
26. (16) Anaheim Ducks (3-4-1): See Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks. Wasn't this team supposed to be a lot better? Ryan Getzlaf has one goal in eight games.
27. (26) Nashville Predators (2-5-1): After starting off the season with wins over the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche, the Predators have lost six in a row.
28. (27) Minnesota Wild (2-6-0): The Wild named Mikko Koivu captain Tuesday and then came out and beat the surprising Avalanche in a shootout. Koivu had the late tying goal and an assist.
29. (29) New York Islanders (1-3-3): The Islanders needed a shootout to beat the Carolina Hurricanes but a win is a win and they'll take it.
30. (30) Toronto Maple Leafs (0-6-1): The schedule-makers weren't kind to the Leafs, who have seven days to think about their loss to the New York Rangers last Saturday. Only the Nashville Predators have fewer goals (12) than the Leafs' 14 and no team has allowed more goals than the Leafs at 32.
Category: NHL power rankings
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 1:51 AMPower rankings, week 2
There's been lots of movement in the rankings, which is to be expected now that each team has played at least three games. Last week's ranking is in parentheses after this week's ranking.
1. (10) New York Rangers (6-1-0): After beating the Los Angeles Kings at home, the Rangers have run their winning streak to six games.
2. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins (6-1-0): Road sweet road? The Penguins beat the Hurricanes in a shootout to improve to 5-0 on the road.
3. (23) Buffalo Sabres: (3-0-1): Giving up five goals in four games will win you a lot of games, three in a row in fact.
4. (6) Columbus Blue Jackets (4-1-0): The Blue Jackets' penalty kill is tops in the league.
5. (9) Chicago Blackhawks (4-1-1): That was a wild comeback the Blackhawks had against the Calgary Flames.
6. (8) Colorado Avalanche: (4-1-1): The Joe Sacco era has definitely gotten off on the right foot after saying goodbye to the Joe Sakic era.
7. (14) Los Angeles Kings (4-2-0): If not for Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, the Kings could be sporting a 5-1 record coming into Detroit Thursday.
8. (2) Calgary Flames (4-2-1): They're scoring a lot of goals (25), but also giving up a lot of goals (25).
9. (27) Dallas Stars (2-0-3): Imagine if the Stars were any good when the game got to overtime.
10. (1) Philadelphia Flyers (3-1-1): Right now, the Chris Pronger-led team is looking up at the Rangers and Penguins in the Atlantic Division.
11. (29) New Jersey Devils (3-2-0): If the Devils were in a different division, they might be in first instead of fourth place.
12. (18) Ottawa Senators (3-2-0): Not a lot was expected of the Senators so they're doing well so far.
13. (19) Edmonton Oilers (3-2-1): Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin just lost to his former team and has a less-than-stellar .891 save percentage.
14. (20) San Jose Sharks (3-2-1): Dany Heatley has five goals and five assists in six games, just what the Sharks were hoping for.
15. (25) Tampa Bay LIghtning (2-1-2): Rookie Victor Hedman is getting more ice time than any other rookie and is holding his own.
16. (26) Anaheim Ducks (3-2-1): The Ducks have won three of their last four games.
17. (7) Phoenix Coyotes (3-2-0): You have to respect the way the Coyotes keep competing and keeping ownership distractions to a minimum.
18. (3) Washington Capitals (2-2-2): A team with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin should be better.
19. (12) Atlanta Thrashers (2-1-0): The Thrashers have only played three games so the jury is still out.
20. (5) St. Louis Blues (2-2-0): Hey, the Blues are undefeated in Sweden. That's something, right?
21. (22) Vancouver Canucks (2-3-0): After a slow start, the Canucks have won two in a row. Former Wing Mikael Samuelsson has five points in five games.
22. (11) Boston Bruins (2-3-0): The Bruins are changing up their top two lines as they head out on the road.
23. (24) Detroit Red Wings (2-3-0): This would have been higher but the stinker in Buffalo left a sour taste. Penalty kill still needs work, as does the overall defense.
24. (21) Carolina Hurricanes (2-3-1): There are no moral victories but the Hurricanes did mount a valiant comeback against the Penguins to get a point.
25. (17) Montreal Canadiens (2-3-0): Things looked promising when the Canadiens won two in a row but now they've lost three straight.
26. (13) Nashville Predators (2-3-0): Scoring seven goals in five games isn't going to get it done.
27. (15) Minnesota Wild (1-4-0): They came back from a 3-0 deficit against the Ducks but couldn't quite tie it.
28. (16) Florida Panthers (1-4-0): It hasn't been smooth sailing for the Panthers since that overtime win in Finland to start the season.
29. (30) New York Islanders (0-1-3): No. 1 overall pick John Tavares is second among rookies with five points.
30. (28) Toronto Maple Leafs (0-5-1): The Maple Leafs have given up a league-worst 28 goals. which may have contributed to their zero wins.
Category: NHL power rankings
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 2:33 AMFirst edition of the NHL power rankings
It really is way too early to be drawing any conclusions this early into the season but you have to start somewhere. So here goes:
1. Philadelphia (3-0-0): When you win your first three games, including one against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, you get the top spot.
2. Calgary (3-0-0): Winning without major contributions from Jarome Iginla is a good thing. Really.
3. Washington (2-0-1): When your star, Alex Ovechkin, has nine points in three games, good things can happen.
4. Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1-0): Certainly getting shut out by Phoenix at home is just a small bump in the road.
5. St. Louis (2-0-0): The Blues overcame their jet lag and two straight two-goal deficits to beat the Wings in Stockholm.
6. Columbus (2-0-0): Goaltender Steve Mason had 72 saves in two games, including outdueling Vancouver's Roberto Luongo.
7. Phoenix (2-0-0): Shutting out the Penguins in Pittsburgh can't be overlooked. Apparently, the team is managing to overlook the ownership situation.
8. Colorado (2-0-0): Former backup goalie Craig Anderson has allowed just two goals in the first two games.
9. Chicago (1-0-1): After losing in a shootout, the Blackhawks shut out the Panthers in Finland.
10. New York Rangers (2-1-0): Marian Gaborik has two goals and two assists in three games. So far, so good.
11. Boston (1-1-0): The Bruins rebounded nicely after their loss to the Capitals by pummeling the Hurricanes.
12. Atlanta (1-0-0): No matter what the Thrashers don't have, they do have Ilya Kovalchuk.
13. Nashville (1-0-0): OK, so the win was against the Stars. But it was in Dallas, so that's good.
14. Los Angeles (1-1-0): The line of Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams and Ryan Smyth has nine points (3-6=9) in the Kings' first two games.
15. Minnesota (1-1-0): Early results are mixed for new coach Todd Richards' new, more aggressive style of play.
16. Florida (1-1-0): Ville Koistinen got to give his fans in Finland a real highlight with the shootout-winner in the first game in Helsinki.
17. Montreal (2-2-0): Giving up seven goals to Vancouver is never a good thing but the Canadiens are atop the Northeast Division.
18. Ottawa (1-1-0): Goaltender Pascal Leclaire has not been perfect but he hasn't been horrible either.
19. Edmonton (1-1-0): Scoring eight goals in the first two games is good. Giving up eight, not so much.
20. San Jose (1-2-0): So far, the Sharks can score (10 goals in three games), but they need work on defense (12 goals allowed).
21. Carolina (1-2-0): Beating the Lightning in a shootout isn't much, especially since Erik Cole is out with a broken leg.
22. Vancouver (1-3-0): It's just a win over Montreal, but scoring seven goals and giving up one felt good.
23. Buffalo (0-0-1): It's just one overtime loss. They still have Ryan Miller (Michigan State).
24. Detroit (0-2-0): Giving up two-goal leads in two straight games did not make for a happy trip home from Sweden.
25. Tampa Bay (0-1-1): Second overall pick Victor Hedman is getting a lot of ice time. He needs to be a quick study.
26. Anaheim (0-1-1): Maybe they miss Chris Pronger a little bit.
27. Dallas (0-0-2): Captain Brenden Morrow is back but that hasn't translated into a win yet.
28. Toronto (0-2-1): Rookie goaltender Jonas Gustavsson is getting playing time but it hasn't been winning time for the Leafs yet.
29. New Jersey (0-2-0): Hey, the Wings aren't the only team looking for their first win on the young season.
30. New York Islanders (0-0-1): No. 1 overall pick John Tavares scored his first goal but the Islanders have only played one game.
