After being knotted atop last week’s Radio Sports Center’s NHL Power Rankings, the Detroit Red Wings snuck by the New York Rangers on the strength of a league record for consecutive wins in the Motor City. Still, the gap between the top six squads is very slim and with the trade deadline nearing, we expect some major shifting in the NHL balance of power in the immediate future.
By Bob Mand and Rob Elbaz
1. Detroit Red Wings (Last Week: 1T) – Three First-Place Votes. The Wings tied a NHL record Sunday night with their twentieth consecutive win at home, this time against the Flyers and haven’t lost at the Joe since the first week of November. The Wings also jumped ahead of the Bruins for the League’s 5-on-5 scoring ratio lead. They might be the NHL’s oldest team – but they’re also its best.
2. New York Rangers (LW: 1T) – Two First-Place Votes. New York drops to second spot this week but continued to stretch their lead over the rest of the Eastern Conference. The Rangers had a goal disallowed in the dying seconds of Tuesday’s game against New Jersey as the Devils went on to beat New York 1-0 handing the Rags their only loss of the week. Marian Gaborik picked up four points in Saturday’s win over Philly to bring his total to 48 (27g, 21a) matching his production from last year.
3. St. Louis Blues (LW: 6) – The Blues parlayed the NHL’s stingiest defense (1.91 goals allowed per game) to four wins this week – but still couldn’t gain much ground on the equally-hot Wings. Brian Elliott has a real shot for the NHL’s best GAA since the Second World War and is sporting a microscopic 1.63 GAA.
4. Vancouver Canucks (LW: 3) – With only two regulation losses in their last fifteen games, the Nucks are four points and two games in hand behind Detroit for the NHL’s top seed after a win and a split of two shootouts on the week. It’s difficult to imagine them failing to take home a second consecutive President’s trophy given how awful the rest of their division is.
5. Boston Bruins (LW: 5) – The news of Nathan Horton’s post-concussion symptom setback couldn’t have come at a worse time as the B’s struggled to get offensive rhythm and dropped a real massive stinker vs. the Sabres. The Black and Gold recovered in a big way with a shootout win against the Preds but with their recent struggles, many believe the B’s will be looking to deal.
6. Pittsburgh Penguins (LW: 8 ) – The Pens hit a bit of a speed bump last week. A loss to New Jersey and a shootout loss to Montreal kept them from leapfrogging the slumping Flyers, but a couple of weekend wins has them tied with their Pennsylvania rivals. Evgeni Malkin continues to dominate the scoring race, helped by a five point night Satuday against the Jets. Gino is up to 69 points (32g, 37a) on the year.
7. San Jose Sharks (LW: 7) – Despite peppering opposing netminders for an NHL-tops 34.5 shots per game, the Sharks don’t have a top-ten offense and dropped two of three on the week to see their lead in the Pacific drop to one point over the Kings. However, the Sharks could be a sleeping giant with their top-heavy offense and playoff-tested ‘tender – opponents beware.
8. Nashville Predators (LW: 4) – After getting within spitting distance of the Central Division lead, Smashville lost all three this week (two by shootout) to fall to eight points below the white-hot denizens of Hockeytown. Even so, two of the Preds’ blueliners are the talk of the NHL world – Shea Weber and Ryan Suter – both for their Norris candidacy and their contract/trade status.
9. New Jersey Devils (LW: 10) – Despite a loss to the Panthers Saturday, the Devils have done a good job solidifying their playoff chances with five straight wins after the All-Star break. They still have plenty of competition in the Atlantic division, but their performance has earned them a higher rank this week than the Flyers, who still have a small edge on New Jersey in the standings.
10. Philadelphia Flyers (LW: 9) – Injuries and inconsistent goaltending have finally caught up with the Flyers as the team struggles to regain its form. Philly drops another spot in this week’s rankings as a pair of losses to the division leading Rangers help take them out of contention for top spot in the Atlantic Division. The Flyers had a chance to preserve their own record of 20 straight home wins Sunday, but a 4-3 loss in Detroit gave the Wings a place in hockey history.
11. Florida Panthers (LW: 13) – A 4-0 loss to the Caps could have sent the Panthers’ season spiraling out of control, but the team has rebounded with three straight wins and ended the week with a four point cushion atop the Southeast. Florida and Washington faceoff yet again in the upcoming week, a win for the Cats would put them in prime position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2000.
12. Los Angeles Kings (LW: 14) – A win Sunday over stumbling division-rival Dallas gave the Kings five out of eight points on the week – gaining ground on the division-leading Sharks but LA is still putting too much pressure on their goalies/defense: They haven’t won a game in which they gave up three goals since Boxing Day and they haven’t managed two points in any game this season where they’ve given up more.
13. Chicago Blackhawks (LW: 11) – Losers of eight straight (and grabbing only one point in that streak), the Hawks are in a tailspin. Chicago is failing at ends of the ice, averaging less than two goals for and more than four goals against during this slide and one has to imagine that with two weeks to go till the trade deadline, moves are imminent.
14. Phoenix Coyotes (LW: 22) – Making the biggest jump this week were the ‘Yotes, whose five consecutive wins (four this week) vaulted them into the Western Conference’s playoff picture. Mike Smith continued his awe-inspiring season with all five victories, a 1.19 GAA, and a .962 Sv% during the streak.
15. Toronto Maple Leafs (LW: 12) – After going 5-0-1 to reassert themselves in the playoff picture, the Leafs have now lost three straight and are once again on the bubble. Mats Sundin had his number retired Saturday night; the grand celebration was ruined by a 5-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens which followed. After posting back-to-back shutouts, James Reimer looked remarkably average again last week. He allowed 11 goals in his three starts and was pulled after two periods against the Habs.
16. Washington Capitals (LW: 16) – With Niklas Backstrom and Mike Green still out the Capitals are struggling to stay afloat in the playoff race. A win Tuesday over the Panthers did move Washington into the division lead, but their time at the top was short lived. The Caps have just two wins in six games since returning from the All-Star break.
17. Ottawa Senators (LW: 15) – A 4-3 win over the Predators on Thursday gave the Sens their first victory since Jan. 19 and momentarily kept Ottawa in a playoff position. Although currently alone in seventh place in the East, the Leafs and the Caps both hold enough games in hand on the Senators to bump them out of a playoff spot. Goaltending continues to be the issue in Ottawa, number one goalie Craig Anderson has been unable to earn a win in his last eight starts.
18. Calgary Flames (LW: 19) – Calgary took points in all four games this week to continue to hang around just outside the West’s eighth seed. Color us skeptical, but even if they sneak in it’s hard to imagine them being anything more than one-and-done.
19. Dallas Stars (LW: 18) – Losers of three of four this week (and nine of their last thirteen overall), the Stars appear to be running out of steam at exactly the wrong time. With their lone win coming against the lowly Jackets, Dallas’ GM Joe Nieuwendyk is in a tough spot when it comes to deciding between selling and buying in the next fortnight.
20. Tampa Bay Lightning (LW: 21) – Steven Stamkos continues to build on his league leading goal totals, but even his 37 markers haven’t been enough to help the Lightning win on a regular basis. Tampa’s streak of earning points in seven straight games came to an end last week and the Bolts find themselves not much closer to a playoff berth.
21. Colorado Avalanche (LW: 23) – After taking points in all four games this past week, Avs fans have to hope that the team will finally be able to employ these short-term successes to some decent forward momentum. Colorado is virtually assured of being a buyer no matter their playoff scenario, since their first-round pick resides in George McPhee’s pocket in D.C.
22. Montreal Canadiens (LW: 29) – With a 5-0 win over the Leafs Saturday, the Habs earned their fourth straight win and matched their longest win streak of the season. Carey Price earned a pair of shutouts, Max Pacioretty had a hat trick Thursday on Long Island and Scott Gomez scored his first goal in over a year the same night. Of course, the Canadiens will need much, much more of the same if they hope to crack the playoffs this season.
23. Winnipeg Jets (LW: 20) – The Jets have had trouble finding goals recently but that wasn’t the case Saturday in Pittsburgh. Winnipeg managed to score five against the Pens, the first time they potted more than two goals since Jan. 21. Of course, scoring five goals doesn’t count for much if you give up eight in return as the Jets did against Malkin and company.
24. Buffalo Sabres (LW: 25) – Buffalo’s hot streak continued into last week with wins against Boston and Dallas, but the team finally cooled off Saturday night against the Lightning. The Sabres got some retribution against the Bruins with a huge 6-0 victory Wednesday. Patrick Kaleta squared off with Milan Lucic in the first period, getting a rise out of the hometown crowd even though Kaleta was the clear loser of the bout.
25. Minnesota Wild (LW: 17) – Falling eight spots, the Wild own the ignominious honor as the biggest droppers in this week’s power rankings thanks to a winless (and pointless) week. Owners of one of the League’s best records into December, ‘Mighty’ Minny has fallen completely off the map largely thanks to an offense one could generously describe as ‘impotent’.
26. New York Islanders (LW: 24) – Evgeni Nabokov has been running hot recently for the Islanders, but even his great play has been marked by some shaky efforts. Nabby has won seven of his last ten starts, six times he allowed a goal or less. In his most recent start, Nabokov gave up four goals to the Panthers on 15 shots and was pulled after two periods.
27. Anaheim Ducks (LW: 27) – The Waterfowl’s outstanding play since January 6 (12-2-3) has many in SoCal crossing their fingers for a possible playoff berth – but their unabashedly horrendous run from late October through early January (6-21-6) has made that all but the most remote of possibilities. In reality, all the Quackers are doing is hurting their chance at one of the 2012 Draft’s true gems.
28. Edmonton Oilers (LW: 26) – Owners of the League’s second-worst record, the Oil won only one of three on the week as Sam Gagner’s five-game (fifteen-point) scoring streak finally came to an end. Rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ Calder chances took a hit as the slender native of British Colombia will be out perhaps another week with shoulder trouble.
29. Carolina Hurricanes (LW: 28) – The Hurricanes will be looking to take as many positives out of the rest of the season as possible, with their chances of making the playoffs all but over. Incredibly the Canes have earned points in 10 of the last 12 games, but their record over that span is still an uninspired 6-2-4.
30. Columbus Blue Jackets (LW: 30) – The Jackets’ now two-month reign at the bottom of RSC’s NHL Power Rankings continues and we don’t expect it to end anytime soon. Despite the squad’s first two-win week since mid-November (both against the floundering Wild), they’re still eleven points behind twenty-ninth place… and the Oilers have a game in hand. With the deadline looming, anything but completely blowing this team up for futures will end up shocking many.
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