in NHL Articles
NHL Power Rankings Jan. 27
by Kevin Greenstein
Last night, the top-ranked Ottawa Senators dominated the Montreal Canadiens from start to finish, demonstrating why they deserve their spot atop the Northeast Division... and the INSIDE HOCKEY Power Rankings. Nipping at their heels, however, are the Carolina Hurricanes, who have been on an absolute tear this month. Expected to fade as the season progressed, Peter Laviolette's team has instead improved, and they now look like bona fide Cup contenders.
At the other end of the spectrum are the Pittsburgh Penguins and the St. Louis Blues. The Pens have lost 11 of their last 12, and it's clear that new head coach Michel Therrien has a lot more work to do before all of his players will be reading from the same playbook. Meanwhile, the Blues are expected to initiate a fire sale in the coming weeks, dealing perennial All-Stars Doug Weight and Keith Tkachuk as they initiate a long-overdue rebuilding program.
So here’s how the teams line up this week. Our method for evaluating the teams includes each team's standings points-per-game average, their goals-for and goals-against, and their special teams effectiveness (including shorthanded goals for and against). Each team’s ranking from last week appears in parentheses.
1) Ottawa Senators – (LW: 1) – Even when they're struggling – as they have throughout this month – the Senators still manage to win. They trounced Toronto 7-0 on Saturday night, underscoring just how lopsided the "Battle of Ontario" has become. Rookie Andrej Meszaros - at +33 - is the NHL's leader, and seven of the other players in the top 10 also play for the Sens. By a wide margin, they are the NHL's finest team at even strength.
2) Carolina Hurricanes – (LW: 2) – The 'Canes are on fire, winners of 11 of their last 12 games, and have opened up a 16-point division lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Eric Staal, Rod Brind'Amour, and Erik Cole have been firing on all cylinders since the season began, and now Justin Williams is joining them on the scoresheet nearly every night. The Hurricanes are already an incredibly dangerous team, and if 2005 first round pick Jack Johnson joins the blue line after his freshman season with Michigan concludes, they will get even better.
3) Nashville Predators – (LW: 7) – Paul Kariya and company defeated the Red Wings in back-to-back games this week, demonstrating that they are the best team in the Central Division. Tomas Vokoun has been good – but not great – since returning from his knee injury, and back-up Chris Mason proved that he's not an adequate security blanket in last night's 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
4) Philadelphia Flyers – (LW: 4) – Peter Forsberg's groin injury is proving to be more troublesome than initially expected, and without him, the Flyers are simply not the same team. The best-case scenario for the Flyers would be for Forsberg to shut down right now, and use the Olympic break as an opportunity to rest (rather than to represent Team Sweden). This way, he'll be back to full strength by the time the playoffs begin.
5) Detroit Red Wings – (LW: 3) – The Wings have faced some high-level competition this month, but haven't fared particularly well. Losses to the Hurricanes, Stars, and Predators leave reason to doubt whether Detroit's goaltending is good enough to make a Cup run.
6) Dallas Stars – (LW: 5) – With eight points in his last six games, power forward Jason Arnott has re-emerged as a top-tier scoring threat. Surprisingly, the Stars have succeeded despite receiving mediocre goaltending from Marty Turco (.895 save percentage).
7) Buffalo Sabres – (LW: 6) – Ales Kotalik was very impressive in the Sabres' 2-1 victory over the Rangers on Tuesday night, exhibiting a deadly shot from the power play point and a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
8) Calgary Flames – (LW: 8) – Goaltender Philippe Sauve wasn't pleased about giving up seven goals on 27 shots to the Avalanche on Tuesday night; he fought opposing netminder David Aebischer and racked up 14 penalty minutes in the process. Last night, Miikka Kiprusoff returned between the pipes, but the result wasn't much better; the Flames were shut out by the middling Blackhawks.
9) New York Rangers – (LW: 9) – After exposing the Devils in an impressive victory on Sunday, the Rangers came out a bit flat on Tuesday against the Sabres, falling 2-1. The Rangers have to remember why they've done so well this season – hard work – and stick to that program.
10) Vancouver Canucks – (LW: 10) – They won seven of eight games earlier this month, but two losses in a row to the hapless Blues and Blue Jackets – and a re-aggravated groin injury to Ed Jovanovski – are causes for serious concern in Vancouver. Catch the Canucks on HDNet on Saturday night, as they do battle with the Colorado Avalanche in a game that starts at 10:00 PM.
11) Los Angeles Kings – (LW: 12) – The Kings are once again suffering through an injury-plagued season, but the difference is that this year, they've got the young talent to keep them in the running for a playoff spot. In particular, forwards Mike Cammalleri and Dustin Brown - who starred for the AHL's Manchester Monarchs last season - have been quite impressive.
12) Colorado Avalanche – (LW: 11) – By tallying his 561st goal on Tuesday night against the Flames, Joe Sakic passed Guy Lafleur to move up to 18th on the NHL's all-time goal scoring list. Next, he'll pass Mike Bossy (573). But the Avs are going to need more consistent production out of Milan Hejduk if they're to go far in the playoffs. Catch the Avs on HDNet on Saturday night, as they do battle with the Vancouver Canucks in a game that starts at 10:00 PM.
13) Edmonton Oilers – (LW: 13) – He started the season with the Greenville Grrrowl (ECHL), but Michael Morrison has been the Oilers' best netminder this season. Could the Oilers' recent acquisitions of defensemen Jaroslav Spacek and Dick Tarnstrom be a sign that there are more deals still to come? It's possible that they'll retain both newcomers along with Marc-Andre Bergeron, but their surplus of offensive defensemen leads to natural speculation that they might look to move one of them in a deal for a netminding upgrade.
14) New Jersey Devils – (LW: 16) – The might be a one-line team – Elias, Gomez, and Gionta have accounted for 22 of the team's last 32 goals – but they're a good one-line team. Martin Brodeur has posted four shutouts this month, and is clearly back on his game once again. He should thrive in goal for Team Canada, but it's a good bet that Brodeur will be exhausted come playoff time.
15) San Jose Sharks – (LW: 17) – With two game misconducts in the past two weeks for hits from behind, Joe Thornton is developing a reputation as a dirty player. Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov missed a few games with a groin strain, but was in fine form for his return against the Kings earlier this week. He played well again last night, but with their loss to the Ducks, the Sharks fell eight points back of the Western Conference's final playoff spot.
16) Anaheim Mighty Ducks – (LW: 19) – Jean-Sebastien Giguere has rebounded to his 2003 playoff form, and so the Ducks remain in the thick of the playoff hunt. But he'll need to be calmer than he was on Wednesday night - when he racked up 16 minutes in penalties towards the end of the Ducks' Wednesday night game against the Oilers. Back-up Ilya Bryzgalov jumped to center stage last night, shutting out the Sharks 2-0.
17) Tampa Bay Lightning – (LW: 20) – The Lightning passed a huge test last night, defeating the New Jersey Devils in a tight defensive struggle. They held the Devils' first line off the scoresheet, and outshot New Jersey 33-20. And best of all, John Grahame delivered a very solid performance in goal. Next up for the Lightning: their 2004 Eastern Conference Finals opponents, the Philadelphia Flyers.
18) Minnesota Wild – (LW: 22) – With five straight victories, including an impressive 5-1 win over the red-hot Predators in St. Paul last night, the league's best last-place team is creeping ever closer to a playoff spot. Could all five Northwest Division teams reach the postseason? It's possible, but unlikely; the teams filling the 6th, 7th, and 8th spots are all division rivals.
19) Toronto Maple Leafs – (LW: 14) – Goaltender Ed Belfour is on pace to finish with a goals-against average over three for the first time since 1988-89. He did nothing to help his case last night against the Sabres, giving up four goals on 16 shots before getting yanked in favor of back-up Mikael Tellqvist. Perhaps a change of scenery would be best for "The Eagle," whose trade value is shrinking by the second.
20) Atlanta Thrashers – (LW: 18) – They've lost four straight games, and though they're technically in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, the Thrashers are virtually tied with the three teams chasing them. Last night, they were completely outclassed by the visiting Hurricanes, falling 5-1 to - and 22 points behind - the Southeast Division leaders.
21) Montreal Canadiens – (LW: 15) – Former league MVP Jose Theodore has been anything but this season; will he be dealt? Back-up Cristobal Huet was very impressive against the Senators last night, stopping 37 of 40 shots. Unfortunately, the rest of the team delivered an absolutely atrocious performance: in 60 minutes of play, they managed to fire only 12 shots against Sens goalie Dominik Hasek - matching a franchise record for futility - which helps explain why they fell 3-0.
22) Phoenix Coyotes – (LW: 21) – Team captain Shane Doan (15 goals, 96 PIMs) needs to raise his game considerably if the Coyotes are going to squeak into the playoffs. Curtis Joseph has been absolutely stellar in goal, while the team's defense has survived nicely without Derek Morris, largely due to the breakout performance of Paul Mara.
23) Boston Bruins – (LW: 25) – With a 4-0-2 record over their past six games, the Bruins have slipped back into playoff contention. Will GM Mike O'Connell look to make some trade deadline upgrades? Keith Tkachuk will be available in trade, and if the Bruins are willing to take on his salary, the price won't be high. Would the sight of the Worcester native wearing black and gold bring back memories of the legendary Cam Neely?
24) Florida Panthers – (LW: 24) – The Panthers are 4-0 in Sunday games, but unfortunately for Jacques Martin's crew, they've only got one Sunday game remaining (4/9 vs. Tampa). Tonight, the Panthers host Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils, who will be looking to rebound following last night's 1-0 loss to the Lightning.
25) New York Islanders – (LW: 23) – After an atrocious loss to the Devils on Tuesday, the Isles redeemed themselves last night with a shootout victory over the hapless Penguins. Alexei Yashin and company are unlikely to get back into playoff contention, and so it's possible that skilled veterans Miroslav Satan and Alexei Zhitnik will become available as the trade deadline approaches.
26) Washington Capitals – (LW: 26) – Olaf Kolzig will be very sought-after at the trade deadline, but Caps GM George McPhee wants to keep his franchise goalie. Though they're clearly out of the running, McPhee might want to investigate bringing former Capital Sergei Gonchar back to Washington. He enjoyed his best seasons with the Caps, and would develop great chemistry with über-rookie Alex Ovechkin.
27) Chicago Blackhawks – (LW: 27) – Free agent acquisitions Adrian Aucoin (six points, -14) and Jassen Cullimore (six points, -18) have been huge disappointments. The reeling Blackhawks dealt Jaroslav Spacek to the Oilers in exchange for Tony Salmelainen, the Finnish Elite League's leading scorer; look for additional cost-cutting moves to follow.
28) Columbus Blue Jackets – (LW: 28) – With three points in the Blue Jackets' Tuesday night win over Vancouver, Bryan Beard is working to move past last week's steroid scandal. And since Rick Nash's return, the Blue Jackets have quietly emerged as a much more competitive team. Look for them to pass Chicago in the standings very quickly.
29) Pittsburgh Penguins – (LW: 29) – The Penguins ended a 10-game losing streak with an 8-1 thrashing of the Capitals on Wednesday night, but took another step backwards with a shootout loss to the Islanders last night. The Pens dealt Dick Tarnstrom to the Oilers yesterday, and should be expected to make more moves (perhaps dealing Mark Recchi, John LeClair, and/or Sergei Gonchar) as the trade deadline approaches.
