CNNSI.com Power Rankings |
Rank | LW | Team |
1 | 1 |  | Detroit Red Wings |
Faithful readers, throughout our list quite a few teams made moves. This is not one of them. True, they spotted Vancouver three goal and Phoenix two last week but won both games before falling in Dallas to the Stars. |
2 | 2 |  | Chicago Blackhawks |
Six points back and breathing heavy on the Wings after consecutive game-winners from Phil Housley. |
3 | 7 |  | Philadelphia Flyers |
Quietly, which is rare for a Flyers club, Philadelphia stormed past two early risers, the Rangers and Islanders, to take sole possession of first in the division. They've also jumped ahead of the Boston and Toronto in the Eastern Conference. No coincidence that the same happens here. |
4 | 9 |  | St. Louis Blues |
Our pick for wrecking crew of the week. After a couple home wins to get things started, they ran their winning streak to six games by tearing through San Jose, Anaheim and Pittsburgh on the road and adding a win at home over Edmonton. St. Louis has outscored opponents 25-11 during the winning streak. |
5 | 3 |  | Toronto Maple Leafs |
A disappointing week for the Leafs, who are now only .500 over their last 10 games, thanks to a 1-2-2-0 stretch through Thursday. Things don't get much easier after Thursday's game with Nashville, either. Philly at home, a Calgary-Vancouver-Edmonton trip and San Jose at home. And the return of Alex Mogilny is undetermined. |
6 | 4 |  | Boston Bruins |
Very similar to a single free throw down the stretch in hoops, Boston's OTL point against Washington's three-defenseman format brought the Bruins even with Toronto in the points column. |
7 | 5 |  | Colorado Avalanche |
Only a couple games last week, but the big news is the continued inaction of Peter Forsberg. A blow to the team, a blow to the Olympics and a blow to the league. |
8 | 11 |  | Ottawa Senators |
We received some e-mail flak for last week's ranking of the Senators (from 10 to 11), but at the time they had come off a split with the Leafs and a loss to the Thrashers. This week, after the Flyers took it to them on Patrick Lalime Bobblehead Night, we raise them three spots. |
9 | 8 |  | San Jose Sharks |
With nary a Sharks Bobblehead doll in sight -- though our choice would be a fully coiffed Mike Ricci -- the Sharks slip a spot. |
10 | 10 |  | Dallas Stars |
Joe Nieuwendyk's goal against the Red Wings on Wednesday night said so much about the talent in the NHL. Simply amazing to have -- in an instant -- the instinct, confidence and coordination to pull off a move that caught Dominik Hasek cheating by about an inch or two. We'd almost feel better if Nieuwendyk had the gall to think about it in advance, because to do it on a lark is genius on a whole other level. |
11 | 6 |  | Edmonton Oilers |
Colorado rallied from two goals to steal a point from them, Chicago scored two third-period goals to bury them, and they lost to the Blues. Since Boxing Day, they've won three games, over the Wild, Rangers and Canadiens, a trio that has won eight of its last 30 games ... |
12 | 12 |  | Carolina Hurricanes |
... Heck, even the Hurricanes beat the Oilers. Then what are they doing here, you might ask? Well, we didn't want to punish Edmonton more than five spots, so we'll hold the fact that the Hurricanes have allowed 27 more goals against them. |
13 | 16 |  | Los Angeles Kings |
Thanks in large part to Calgary's struggles, the Kings are now in the playoffs as the Western Conference's No. 8 seed. But give it up for L.A., which went 4-1-0-0 on recent road trip that included a pair of shutouts. |
14 | 14 |  | New York Islanders |
Alexei Yashin managed only a plus-1 after dishing out four assists in a 5-4 win over the Bruins last Friday night. Despite figuring in nearly half of the Isles' goals (six of 13) in their last six games, Yashin is minus-1 in that span. |
15 | 13 |  | New York Rangers |
Consistent with the Rangers recent struggles, F-L-Y liner Mike York hasn't recorded a point in five games. Neither the line, nor his team, seems as resilient as earlier in the season, when linemates Eric Lindros and Theo Fleury were co-frontrunners for comeback player of the year. |
16 | 20 |  | Vancouver Canucks |
Spread it around, boys. In three games last week, the suddenly sharpshooting Canucks went 2-0-0-1 and scored 16 goals by way of 13 different goal. Only Markus Naslund, Mattias Ohlund and Daniel Sedin scored more than a goal in those games. |
17 | 17 |  | Calgary Flames |
Three wins since Dec. 15 and only two goals in the last three games. Perhaps a four-day layoff over the weekend will be the cure for all that ails. |
18 | 15 |  | New Jersey Devils |
The most popular point total this week in the standings is 46, so we'll group the quartet here en masse. We give the Devils the baton first by virtue of the fact they have the most wins in the fewest games and the best goal differential (108 for, 112 against). |
19 | 22 |  | Montreal Canadiens |
The Candiens, only eight goals in the hole on the season, picked up five out of eight points in their last four games. And if anyone would have joined Oleg Petrov on the goal sheet against the Flyers, who knows? We might be looking at a 4-4 final and a four-game unbeaten streak. |
20 | 19 |  | Washington Capitals |
The Caps have scored more goals than all but six teams, but their 145 goals allowed is second worst in the league, behind Atlanta. |
21 | 18 |  | Phoenix Coyotes |
The caboose on our little No. 46 train, the Coyotes played well into the new year, but have struggled since banging into some pretty good clubs. They're now winless in four, having lost to San Jose twice, Tampa Bay and Detroit. |
22 | 23 |  | Buffalo Sabres |
We painted ourselves into a corner with the foursome above, though the standings wouldn't argue with us. Still, Sabres fans might, especially after seeing that they've won four of their last five. We'll see how they do out west before doing anything rash here. |
23 | 21 |  | Minnesota Wild |
Get well soon, Cam Stewart. The former University of Michigan standout (he was one of five players who scored 50 or more points on the 1992-93 team) has been advised to retire. He is still suffering from the effects of a concussion sustained in the preseason. |
24 | 26 |  | Columbus Blue Jackets |
In this neighborhood, .500 qualifies as success. So, when you go 2-1-1-0 in a four-game week, including a split with the Blackhawks and a shutout and tie with the Rangers, we're going to give you a bump. |
25 | 25 |  | Pittsburgh Penguins |
Here's how the Associated Press reported Mario Lemieux's return to the scoring column: "The goal pulled the Penguins within a goal, but it wasn't enough." Replace the "The goal" with "The return" and swap "a goal" with "sight of the playoffs," and, unfortunately, that's how we calculate their playoff chances. |
26 | 28 |  | Nashville Predators |
On Nov. 1, in a trade that only transaction junkies noticed, Petr Tenkrat was acquired from the Mighty Ducks. On Jan. 12, as the Predators were hosting Anaheim in the front end of a home-and-home, Tenkrat scored the game winner against his former team. Two nights later in Anaheim, Tenkrat was pointless and minus-2. |
27 | 27 |  | Tampa Bay Lightning |
For our money, no goaltender moves as fluidly or as comfortably in position, from side to side as Nikolai Khabibulin. |
28 | 24 |  | Florida Panthers |
Anyone want in on our pool to see how long Sandis Ozolinsh stays out of Mike Keenan's doghouse? |
29 | 29 |  | Anaheim Mighty Ducks |
In the last month, the Ducks are 5-2-0-0 when Paul Kariya records a point. Since Nov. 25, the Ducks are undefeated when he scores a goal. Unfortunately, that's happened in only six of Anaheim's last 26 games. |
30 | 30 |  | Atlanta Thrashers |
Let's not get all crazy here, but this is one of the hottest teams in the bottom half of our standings. An OT win over the Senators, another one-goal win over the Flames, a tie against the Lightning, and they kick off a three-game road trip with a win in Toronto. If they catch anyone in the standings, we will gladly redecorate around here. |
