The Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be streaking towards an epic Stanley Cup showdown. Both clubs look dominant over the past couple of weeks with each team playing like they have forgotten how to lose.
The Ducks and Penguins each have opened up double-digit leads in their respective divisions, but the playoffs always prove to be the great equalizer. The trophies handed out for regular season excellence carry as much weight as a satchel full of donkey poo.
Stevie Stamkos is skating at Tampa morning skates and the Olympic hockey tournament starts in less than four weeks. It’s a great time of year for hockey fans. The trade deadline, playoff picture and Olympics will give us plenty of fodder for discussion over the next few months. In the mean time, feel free to debate the eDraft Power Rankings 14.0.
30. Edmonton Oilers-Some partial credit to the Oilers for beginning the yard sale in Edmonton. Ben Scrivens isn’t going to save you Craig MacTavish, keep going. You need a defense in front of him, you know, like they have in Los Angeles that helped make Scrivens look like that goalie you coveted.
29. Buffalo Sabres-The Sabres have taken points in seven of their last ten games. That’s about all the good news I have for Buffalo, other than the price for Matt Moulson is very high for potential trade partners.
28. Calgary Flames-What was once a potentially charming story in Calgary, has gone sideways with eight losses in ten games. The Flames should start looking for Mike Cammalleri trade destinations any day now.
27. Florida Panthers-The Panthers have done the win-loss-win-loss thing since the beginning of the New Year. They haven’t been able to gain too much ground in the Eastern Conference other than being consistently average. They are realistically still in the hunt because of the overall mediocrity in the east. With some of the other teams in front of them playing better, I wouldn’t make any playoff plans.
26. Nashville Predators-The Predators have won a couple games in a row and acquired Devan Dubnyk It will be interesting to see how well Dubnyk plays behind a defense that is half-decent. Possible sleeper fantasy pick up.
25. Winnipeg Jets-Hooray for Paul Maurice! The Jets decided to turn Dustin Byfuglien into a power forward (again) so that they won’t have to acquire anyone new. The Jets have won two games in a row, but are realistically going nowhere.
24. Detroit Red Wings-I’m not mad at you Detroit, I’m just disappointed. If only that worked as well with hockey teams as it did on us when we were kids. The injury situation has been brutal, but Detroit has been at the wrong end of so many bad bounces this year too. I don’t know if a healthy Detroit team is good enough to make the playoffs at this point.
23. Carolina Hurricanes-Those tricky Hurricanes had me thinking that they wanted to be a playoff team. When last they were ranked, they were riding a four game wave. Said wave has crashed into a two game slide returning them to “pretender” status.
22. New Jersey Devils-The Devils are teasing the playoff picture and are just gritty enough to sneak in. Great goaltending from ageless Martin Brodeur and Cory Schneider can’t get the Devils any goals in the offensive end which could be their undoing.
21. New York Islanders-I want to believe in the New York Islanders. I want to believe in the New York Islanders. I want to believe in the New York Islanders. If I say it enough times they might believe in themselves. They are seven points out of the playoffs and have won eight of ten. Come on you Isles!
20. Phoenix Coyotes-On Thursday January 16th, Mike Smith finally got his first shutout of the season. The Coyotes are currently on the outside of the playoff picture, four points behind both Minnesota and Vancouver. If Smith can stay hot, Phoenix can certainly catch them.
19. Washington Capitals-The goal scoring arc of Alexander Ovechkin is coming back to earth as the Capitals have now lost four straight. Looking at the stats for the Caps captain, he has only 14 assists, which is extremely low even for the “shoot first, shoot always”, Ovechkin. Then you consider that Ovechkin really doesn’t have anyone to pass to.
18. Vancouver Canucks-The Canucks aren’t as bad as the 9-1 whoopin’ that Anaheim put on them, are they? Roberto Luongo is resting up for the Olympics after getting nicked up, so poor Eddie “The Stork” Lack received the Anaheim record beat down in goal. Losers of three straight the Canucks are in a free fall back out of the playoff picture.
17. Columbus Blue Jackets-I said it last week. Bobrovsky! Five straight impressive wins have the Blue Jackets and Sergei Bobrovsky looking like a dark horse contender for the playoffs.
16. Dallas Stars- My refusal to believe that Dallas is as poor as they have played in their last 10 (2-7-1) probably has them over ranked at 16. I still think they can push Minnesota and/or Vancouver for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference
15. Minnesota Wild-The jury is still out on whether Josh Harding can return to the form he had in the first part of the season. With the Wild also missing Zach Parise it’s been tough sledding for Minnesota as they are clinging to the final playoff spot in the West.
14. Ottawa Senators-A tough home loss to the rival Canadiens dropped Ottawa to 7-1-2 in their last ten games. Taking points in nine out of ten games is the formula that has the Senators recovering from a wretched start.
13. New York Rangers-It finally looks like the Rangers and their franchise goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist are putting some wins together. A gritty 1-0 shutout of Detroit was the type of game that the Rangers will need to win in the latter half of the season to keep their push to the playoffs going.
12. Toronto Maple Leafs-Let’s be honest here, I have the Maple Leafs at number 12 but they aren’t significantly better than Washington at 18 or Detroit at 24. They have talent across the board, and if they start playing like a pissed off hockey team then they could easily be a top five club. Three wins in a row is a start.
11. Philadelphia Flyers-The Flyers have to keep playing with the type of intensity that has made them relevant in the Eastern Conference again. They are fast, young and physical and pose matchup problems for almost anyone. I won’t be sold on their goaltending till I see it in the playoffs, but Steve Mason and Ray Emery have been really, REALLY good this year.
10. Montreal Canadiens-Few players celebrate like P.K Subban and that’s just fine with me. Curmudgeonly old school pundits can go kick rocks because he is NOT DISRESPECTING THE GAME OR HIS OPPONENTS. Stop complaining and just appreciate how good Subban is. The Canadiens are sticking around Boston, so watch your back Bruins!
9. Colorado Avalanche-The Avalanche are starting to remind me of the Florida Panthers from a few seasons ago. The Panthers won a weak Southeast Division getting a lot of good bounces and beat the teams they were supposed to. There is really no way for me to sound less insulting to the Avalanche, but that’s the vibe I get from this team. They are pretty good, not great, but keep winning so I have to give them respect. Worst compliment ever.
8. Los Angeles Kings-Though I won’t declare that 2012 Jonathan Quick is back just yet, the Kings’ starting net minder has been lights out since his return in December. Seven goals allowed in six games. Good news for Team America (eff yeah!) and the Kings.
7. Tampa Bay Lightning-News of Steven Stamkos joining the Lightning during a morning skate has to have Tampa feeling giddy. Stamkos declared that he would like to play a couple of games for Tampa to prove his fitness for the Olympics. The Lightning has been strong in his absence and will gladly welcome back one of the most electrifying players in the league.
6. San Jose Sharks-The Sharks look like they have gotten their bite (hahaha) back and now have their sights set on Anaheim. They have plenty of talent on their roster top to bottom and better goaltending than the Ducks. They’ll need to put a nice streak together to catch the fast flying Ducks.
5. Boston Bruins-The Bruins seem like they are just riding out the season waiting to hit the switch for playoff mode and a game that actually matters. They have everything a team could want on their roster, but it would be nice to see better play from the reigning kings in the east.
4. St. Louis Blues-Before the embarrassing home loss to the Kings, St. Louis had won eight of nine games. We’ll consider the Wednesday night game the exception and keep the Blue notes ranked among the elite in the NHL.
3. Chicago Blackhawks-There is certainly some pride in the Windy City as the Blackhawks whacked Anaheim at their Madhouse Friday night. The Hawks are healthy and look hungry for a repeat. They are getting production from everyone on their roster and can only hope that Corey Crawford can be “good enough” in goal.
2. Pittsburgh Penguins-The Penguins have taken hold of the Eastern Conference, sitting eight points clear of Boston and 17 points of Philadelphia in their division. While there is the thought that the Pens could be peaking too early, they look more than ready to take on all comers in the playoffs.
1. Anaheim Ducks-The Ducks hold on to the top spot this week even after a rough go in Chicago Friday night. If anyone was going to end the streak, there is no shame in the defending champs doing the job. All that being said, Anaheim is the best team in the NHL right now. If I had to pick an area that the Ducks might have a weakness, it would have been in goal, but Jonas Hiller has been spectacular lately.