NHL Power Rankings
December 18, 2006
By
James Meyerriecks
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 - Just can't wait to get on the road again... Ducks lost at San Jose Saturday, but won four of five on a recent five game trip.
2. Buffalo Sabres - Scoring rut? The highest-scoring team in the league has been held to just ten goals as they've gone 3-2 in their last five.
3. San Jose Sharks - Big win against Anaheim puts them back in the hunt in the Pacific. Unfortunately, it followed a bad loss to the Kings.
4. Nashville Predators - It's not how you win, but if you win. Preds swept home and home against league worst St. Louis to push their win streak to four games. Who cares if they needed OT in both of them?
5. Detroit Red Wings - The early December renaissance seems to be over as the Wings have scored just seven in their last three (2-1-0).
6. Montreal Canadiens - With points in their last five (4-0-1), they now have the second most points in the East. Unfortunately, they're still seven back in the division.
7. Calgary Flames - With Kipper, Iginla, and Tanguay, they're clearly the best bet in the logjam known as the Northwest. They're also the hottest right now (6-3-1 in their last ten).
8. Washington Capitals - 5-1-1 in December, including wins over division leaders Atlanta and Buffalo.
9. New Jersey Devils - Trailing in the division, but with two games at hand and a dominant 6-1 road beating of the Atlantic-leading Rangers Sunday, they're right where they want to be.
10. Chicago Blackhawks - They showed signs of heating up before, but could really get rolling now with Martin Havlat back in the fold.
11. Atlanta Thrashers - Their lead over Washington in the Southeast is suddenly tenuous thanks to five straight losses.
12. Ottawa Senators - Jekkyl/Hyde No. 1. Picked up terrific road wins against two of the top five (Detroit and Buffalo). Unfortunately, those W's sandwiched a 6-0 beating at the hand of the Predators.
13. Dallas Stars - Lost two of three this week, but they're holding steady in the West. They'd lead four of the six divisions, but they're stuck in the top division in hockey.
14. New York Rangers - Still holding the lead in the Atlantic, but they had a brutal weekend, getting outscored 15-3 by the Leafs and Devils.
15. Colorado Avalanche - It's a bird! It's a plane! Nah... it's just Peter Budaj. Budaj seems to be finally staking his claim to the number one job for the Avs, and allowed just four goals in going 3-0 this week.
16. New York Islanders - I applaud Ted Nolan for keeping this team within striking distance. They needed a little more of an offensive presence along the blue line, and should find that they were able to add it when they picked up Freddy Meyer from the Flyers the other day.
17. Pittsburgh Penguins - Sid the Kid just keeps racking it up, including six-point and four-point nights in two of his three games this week. They've won four of five, and they're still very dangerous in the East.
18. Columbus Blue Jackets - Ken Hitchcock for the Jack Adams! Jackets were thirtieth for all of the first two months, but have jumped twelve spots in the past two weeks!
19. Vancouver Canucks - Here they come? 'Nucks have won four of five. The kicker? They've actually scored more than two goals in three of their four wins!
20. Edmonton Oilers - Ales Hemsky returned Saturday night, and he's going to have to prove he can be an impact player. The Oilers have scored just nine goals in their last five without Hemsky and power winger Ryan Smyth.
21. Boston Bruins - Lost three of four, including a bad 6-3 loss to the offensively challenged Panthers Saturday night.
22. Carolina Hurricanes - Finally snapped a five-game losing skid with a 3-2 win in Tampa Saturday. Champs look like they may limp into the playoffs, just like the Lightning did last season.
23. Minnesota Wild - Three-game skid dropped them from tied for first to tied for last in the Northwest. They're still just two points off the division lead!
24. Toronto Maple Leafs - Had anyone else left these guys for dead? They're rebounding nicely from the seven-game losing streak to close out November and start December. They've now won three straight, including a dominant 9-2 win over the Rangers Saturday night.
25. Los Angeles Kings - The epitome of mediocre this week (1-1-1), though they did have a pretty nice win over the Sharks Thursday.
26. Tampa Bay Lightning - Looking for the real Jekkyl and Hyde? The Lightning have two four-game win streaks in their last nine games. Their only win in the last nine was an 8-0 bombing of the Thrashers!
27. Florida Panthers - At least they won the only game they were expected to even have a shot in this week. The Panthers lost their first two (to #1 Anaheim and #2 Buffalo), but put up a dominant showing against the Bruins to close out the week.
28. Phoenix Coyotes - Back to earth... lost five of seven after a season-best three game win streak in late November/early December.
29. Philadelphia Flyers - Alexei Zhitnik... just what one of the biggest, oldest, and slowest teams in the league needs!
30. St. Louis Blues - After falling twice to the Preds in OT this weekend, they've now lost eleven in a row. The best promotion owner Dave Checketts could run at this point is a free trip to Minnesota for all in attendance so they can watch Erik Johnson (last year's #1) and get a glimpse of the future.
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