Feature Articles

Though we're still working on a way to set up some space on the site where we can incorporate our player rankings, we can still set up all of you puckheads with an opportunity to scout your player's opponents for favorable and unfavorable matchups with our first power rankings of the year.

 

Figures are calculated based on a handful of factors, including:

 

- Team win/loss performance to this point in the season

- Team win/loss performance over the past ten games

- Team goals for, against, and differential

- Recent injuries that may have an effect on their upcoming schedule

 

1. Anaheim Ducks – Sunday’s regulation loss to the Kings was the first time the Ducks failed to record at least a point in eleven games. Pronger and Niedermayer continue to carry the blue line, while Teemu Selanne has been rolling lately.

 

2. San Jose Sharks - The goaltending has come up big enough to mask the losses of key young stars Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek, as the Sharks have won ten of twelve.

 

3. Buffalo Sabres – They’ve finally looked human lately, losing four of their past nine. The offense continues to look stellar, though Ryan Miller has been a bit shaky between the pipes lately.

 

4. Nashville Predators – Even without Tomas Vokoun, the Preds figure to continue rolling. It helps that they’re averaging 4.1 goals per game in the past three weeks. Grab Alexander Radulov yesterday!

 

5. Ottawa Senators – Though the Sens just climbed above .500 in the past week, they’ve won eight of ten and have the fourth best goal differential in the league. They’re 8-2-0 in their last ten.

 

6. Montreal Canadiens – Habs have won seven of ten thanks to the fine goaltending of Cristobal Huet (7-1-0, 1.93 GAA, .948 Sv. % in last ten appearances) and Saku Koivu’s November hot streak.

 

7. Calgary Flames –Kipper’s back, and hasn’t allowed more than three in a game since October 17. The offense continues to improve, particularly as Jarome Iginla (15 points in November) and Alex Tanguay (16 points in November) develop some chemistry on the first line.

 

8. Atlanta Thrashers – Quickly putting a slow stretch in mid-November behind them, the Thrash have gone 5-0-1 in their past six. Kari Lehtonen (4-0-0, 1.23 GAA, .963 Sv. % , 2 SHO in Last Four) has given the team some stability in net, while Hossa and Kovalchuk continue to roll up front.

 

9. New York Islanders – Lost two of three since star Alexei Yashin went down, but still 6-3-1 in their last ten. Rick DiPietro continues to back up his monster contract with strong play (6-3-1, 1.99 GAA, .931 Sv. %, 1 SHO in November).

 

10. Detroit Red Wings – The offense is horrible (haven’t scored more than three in a game in a month), but the defense and goaltending continue to be magnificent (2.42 GA/Game in November). As long as Hasek’s healthy, it should stay this way.

 

11. Carolina Hurricanes – Won three of four in a stretch against the Northeast. Thankfully, they didn’t have to play Buffalo (who they’re 0-2-1 against this season) this time around.

 

12. Dallas Stars – Split their last ten to drop to a distant third in the Pacific, including a pair of losses to perennial doormats Chicago and Washington.

 

13. Edmonton Oilers – Life without Ales Hemsky for the next couple of weeks could be tough. The Oil have lost three in a row since their recent season-best five game winning streak.

 

14. New York Rangers – Offense continues to dazzle, but the goaltending keeps falling just a little bit short. The Rangers have allowed sixteen goals in their last three, all losses.

 

15. Boston Bruins – Another solid week (3-1-0) still saw a return to the cellar in one of the best divisions in hockey. The B’s continue to look like a different team over the past month, and had a key two-game sweep of the rival Maple Leafs last week.

 

16. Colorado Avalanche – Kids are maturing before their eyes, and it’s going to have to continue. Youngster Peter Budaj (referred to as the best goaltender not in the NHL as recently as two years ago) will have to carry the team in net with Jose Theodore nursing a hip flexor injury.

 

17. New Jersey Devils – Steady as she goes. Devs have won two straight divisional contests since suffering a season-worst four game losing streak to close out November.

 

18. Chicago Blackhawks – Hawks have won three in a row, including a pair of nice one-goal wins over the front-running Stars and Preds. The scary part? Martin Havlat should return from his ankle injury within the next week!

 

19. Pittsburgh Penguins – They got through a few games without Sid the Kid in late November, but they’re struggling in net in early December. Marc-Andre Fleury has allowed five in back-to-back starts to begin the month.

 

20. Washington Capitals – Big 7-4 win over the East’s best team on Saturday helps vault them forward. Their current three game win streak isn’t hurting either. Now, if only Alexander Ovechkin can avoid a suspension for his dirty hit on Danny Briere Saturday……

 

21. Toronto Maple Leafs – Feel-good story of the season’s first two months is taking a back seat to well… everyone in the division, after losing four straight.

 

22. Tampa Bay Lightning – The strong O continues to be there for the ‘Ning, but the goaltending has been as shaky as ever. They dealt a lot to pick up Marc Denis in the offseason, but now his name’s coming up in trade rumors the other way.

 

23. Vancouver Canucks – It doesn’t matter how good Roberto Luongo is if the ‘Nucks can’t score. Vancouver has netted five goals in their last five games… combined! Luongo has somehow played well enough to win two of them, at least.

 

24. Minnesota Wild – Finally dropped from their perch atop the Northwest, they desperately need Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra to return. They’ve lost four in a row and seven of eight (two in OT).

 

25. Los Angeles Kings – Kids just continue to get stronger on the first line, but there’s very little to back it up. If the first line can carry them (as they did in a win over top-ranked Anaheim Sunday, when Russian winger Alexander Frolov scored twice!), they can be scary. If not, they’re liable to get shut out.

 

26. Philadelphia Flyers – Whoddathunkit! The Flyers are 7-9-2 since firing Ken Hitchcock, and are looking much more like a real NHL team with a point in five of their past six games.

 

27. Phoenix Coyotes – The Geriatric One made his move when he called out Ladislav Nagy a couple of weeks ago, and the star has responded, with ten points in his last seven, including a goal and three assists in Thursday’s 7-4 win over the Kings.

 

28. Florida Panthers – On the verge of calling it a season after six straight losses.

 

29. St. Louis Blues – Highlight of the season coming up on Tuesday… when they retire Brett Hull’s number! The Blues have been outscored 14-7 during their five game losing streak.

 

30. Columbus Blue Jackets – Hiring of Ken Hitchcock was clearly a move in the right direction, as they’ve won two of five since he’s been behind the bench. However, they have a lot of ground to make up!