The tenth edition of the NHL power rankings comes on the day that HBO premiers 24/7: The Road to the Winter Classic. While visions of sugarplums might dance in the heads of many during this time of year, every hockey fan will tell you that the real excitement late in December is the anticipation of the Winter Classic.
The NHL takes over New Year’s Day from college football which has chosen to milk their morbidly obese cash cow over the entire month of December and one quarter of January. Of course the Winter Classic is the centerpiece of the outdoor hockey series, there are six other “Stadium Series” games to spread the cheer and merriment of outdoor hockey.
This week in the NHL, the Los Angeles Kings continue to rise without their franchise goaltender, while the New York Islanders have embarked on another losing streak to challenge the Buffalo Sabres as the most inept team in the NHL. Here’s how the teams stack up.
30. Buffalo Sabres-The Sabres inability to score goals is severely crippling Ryan Miller’s chances to make the U. S. Olympic team. While he has had plenty of practice in the shooting gallery of the Buffalo defensive zone, it is hard to find a silver lining anywhere.
29. New York Islanders-For as good as the Islanders should be, they have been absolutely putrid over their last dozen games. An inexplicable win over the San Jose Sharks interrupted a 10-game slide, but the Isles will surely start another substantial streak to further infuriate their fans. The Ryan Strome era begins Saturday night. Too little, too late.
28. Calgary Flames-General Manager Jay Feaster was relieved of his duties this week, which will do absolutely nothing for the Flames chances of success this season. They are playing tough against good teams, which shows that there is some pride in that locker room.
27. Florida Panthers-Like Calgary, Florida is playing every game like it might be their last. The pesky Panthers have given opponents fits, and though their record may not show it, they have clearly not given up their season yet.
26. Edmonton Oilers-If Edmonton isn’t careful they could play themselves out of a lottery pick in the draft next summer. The Oilers aren’t exactly threatening to go on a playoff run, but they are playing some good hockey and showing just how dangerous they can be. They have taken points in six of 10 games, so baby steps are being taken.
25. New York Rangers-The Rangers look like they are in for a roller coaster ride all season long. Just when it looked like they were starting to put their season together, they drop four straight games. They are in the middle of a nine-game home stand and are 0-4-0 while being outscored 16-7.
24. New Jersey Devils-The Devils were starting to make believers out of me, but then they seem to crap the bed. After a brutal 0-3-3 start to the season the Devils had evened their record at 11-11-5. Since then they have gone 1-3-1 and slipped back down into the sludge of the Metropolitan Division basement.
23. Philadelphia Flyers-The Flyer’s rudderless season continues as Philadelphia just can’t seem to build any momentum in the win column. The good news is that they haven’t built any momentum in the loss column either. The goaltending has been solid, but the Flyers are having a much more difficult time on offense.
22. Winnipeg Jets-The Jets are also having trouble building any momentum to gain ground in the Central Division. They are average at home (7-7-4), average on the road (7-7-1) and plain mediocre overall.
21. Carolina Hurricanes-Just when I was ready to announce the Hurricanes arrival as the third (possibly second) team to contend in the Metro Division, they drop three in a row. The last two losses to Calgary and Edmonton were particularly uninspiring. The Canes wrap up their four-game trip in Phoenix and attempt to get back on track.
20. Columbus Blue Jackets-With top goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky out and Curtis McElhenny now injured, the Jackets will lean on their third string keeper to try and contend in the Northeast Division. Already without Marian Gaborik and James Wisniewski, Columbus has managed to stay in the middle of their division simply because everyone else has been worse.
19. Ottawa Senators-Ottawa has been loitering around the playoff picture despite mediocre play. Fortunately for the Senators, the parity after Boston has the Sens within striking distance whenever they are ready to play up to potential.
18. Nashville Predators-The Predators keep proving everyone, myself included, wrong by staying alive in the brutal Central Division. They might not muster enough offense to make the playoffs but they are finding a way to win.
17. Toronto Maple Leafs-As much as it seems like James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier don’t want to keep their starting job, the Leafs don’t want to make the playoffs. The Leafs have lost their last three and are hovering dangerously close to the playoff bubble.
16. Dallas Stars-As hard as Dallas has worked to get into the playoff picture the Stars’ recent mediocre run has them losing ground in the division. With only three wins in their last 10 games, Dallas is closer to the bottom of the Western Conference than the playoffs.
15. Detroit Red Wings-It may seem hard to fathom, but the Red Wings are zero for their last twelve shootout games. With all the talent on the roster and the surplus of dangling in Hockeytown, Detroit has to be better. The only good thing about the inconsistent play and shootout futility is that they are taking points (12 points in 10 games).
14. Washington Capitals-Alexander Ovechkin is flirting with goal-scoring immortality with the pace he is setting this year. When the Capitals are in sync they can skate with anyone. However, they are just as capable of losing to any team on any given night.
13. Minnesota Wild-Not enough can be said about how good Josh Harding has been this year. The Wild seem to be a different team when Harding is in goal, though the offense has sputtered no matter who is in net. 11 goals in the last six games is an alarming trend for the Wild.
12. Tampa Bay Lightning-All credit to the job that John Cooper has done to keep his Lightning in the thick of things despite the glaring hole in their lineup. He has certainly gotten the most out of Ben Bishop in goal and has Tampa playing the best defense that they have in years. If they can continue to hold their place in the Eastern Conference, they will be a very dangerous team when Steven Stamkos returns to the lineup.
11. Colorado Avalanche-The Avs are clawing and scratching to stay relevant in the Central Division. With the Wild dipping in the standings, Colorado has picked up a couple key victories, holding strong to third place.
10. Phoenix Coyotes-The Coyotes have come back to earth a little bit. Their 41 points would be good for second place in either division in the east, but it leaves the Coyotes in fourth in the elite Pacific Division.
9. Montreal Canadiens-After a strong push to climb up to the grown ups table, Montreal has lost their last two games. Time will tell if the Habs just had a slip or if they will take a step back in the rankings. Offense has been an issue all year and that was brought to light in the last two losses.
8. San Jose Sharks-A loss to the awful Islanders cannot be ignored. Sure it was only one game, but the Sharks also dropped a home decision to Buffalo earlier this year. Maybe it’s over-analysis on my part, but these types of losses show a complete lack of focus from one of the most talented teams in the NHL. If they have trouble motivating themselves for perceived “lesser” opponents, the Sharks could have much bigger issues.
7. Vancouver Canucks-Possibly the hottest team in the NHL right now. John Tortorella has the Canucks firing on all cylinders, getting production from all four lines. The defense has really tightened up and Roberto Luongo has rediscovered his form. The Canucks are starting to take on the personality of Tortorella, which shows a commitment to defense. They look like the Rangers from the past few years, except the Canucks can actually score.
6. Pittsburgh Penguins-It seems unfair to drop the Penguins this far in the rankings, but it has more to do with what everyone else has done and what the Pens haven’t. A loss to Boston Saturday wasn’t terrible, but uninspired wins over bad opponents like New Jersey and Columbus were. A win is a win, but the Penguins too often seem content to play to the level of their opponent when they should really put lesser teams away.
5. St. Louis Blues-After a bad home loss to Anaheim, the Blues rebounded nicely with comfortable wins against Winnipeg and Toronto. The Blues look as good as anyone in the NHL right now, though their four games in hand have set them slightly behind in the standings.
4. Boston Bruins-In spite of all the drama surrounding last Saturday’s incidents, the Bruins have continued to roll along. They still look like the team to beat in the East, and there isn’t a better defense-goalie combination in hockey right now.
3. Chicago Blackhawks-The defending champs keep rolling, but now they will be without their starting goaltender Corey Crawford for the next three weeks with the dreaded “lower-body injury”. There is offense to spare in the windy city, but can they keep pucks out of their net with a third stringer getting the starts. Cough. Blessing in disguise. Cough, cough.
2. Los Angeles Kings-Hard to believe that I thought this team would tank a few weeks ago. Think about it though. All the signs were there: Starting goaltender out for about six weeks, sputtering offense, incredibly difficult schedule and division. I guess we all should have seen that Ben Scrivens and someone named Martin Jones would have us all forgetting about Jonathan Quick.
1. Anaheim Ducks-It could be argued that any of the previous three teams could own the top spot in the NHL right now, but I don’t think anyone is playing as well as Anaheim. They have taken points in 10 of their last 11 games and are still undefeated in regulation on their home ice. There is no better combination in hockey right now than Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf.