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NHL

NHL Power Rankings

Posted Nov 14, 2008 12:00PM By Ted Starkey (RSS feed)

Filed Under: NHL Power Rankings

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The Red Wings and Penguins followed up last year's Stanley Cup Finals with a tremendous rematch this week, as the Penguins earned a bit of revenge on Detroit by erasing a three-goal deficit and earning a 7-6 overtime win.

The top two teams of last season have proven to be strong this year, combining for 20-6-5 marks between them, and luckily for hockey fans, the two teams will meet once more this year, a rarity for opponents outside their conference. Despite their setback, the Wings still earned a pair of wins to go 2-0-1, while Pittsburgh capped an unbeaten week against another of last year's playoff opponents, the Flyers.

Some other teams had strong weeks to move up in the latest edition of the power rankings, as Washington has now won four straight as Alex Ovechkin snapped his career-worst nine-game slump against the Lightning to put the Caps atop the Southeast Division, while the Bruins made a statement of their own by beating the Sabres and Canadiens to wrest control of the Northeast Division.

Check out the latest rankings after the jump.

  • 1. Red Wings (Last Week: 3)
    Although the Red Wings did blow a three-goal lead to lose in overtime in their Stanley Cup rematch against the Penguins, Detroit still managed to pick up five points in three games and moves back to the top of the class in the NHL.
  • 2. Sharks (Last Week: 1)
    San Jose's seven-game win streak is snapped by the Coyotes and there was also an overtime setback in Nashville, but the Sharks still have picked up points in all but three of their 18 games played so far this season.
  • 3. Capitals (Last Week: 5)
    The scary part about the Capitals right now is despite their four-game win streak, there's still a lot of room for growth with this team. If Brent Johnson and Jose Theodore can provide the goaltending they have in the last couple of games, this team can be very dangerous.
  • 4. Canadiens (Last Week: 2)
    While Habs fans were apparently stuffing the ballot box to make the early leaders to be this year's All-Star starters be exclusively Canadiens, two of Montreal's big rivals stuffed the team, with ugly losses to Toronto and Boston leading to a sub-par 1-2-1 week.
  • 5. Penguins (Last Week: 8)
    The Penguins certainly don't mind working overtime, earning three wins for the week, two coming in a shootout and the other a very memorable comeback win against the Red Wings team that beat them for the Stanley Cup last spring.
  • 6. Rangers (Last Week: 6)
    New York hits a bump in the road by losing three of its last four four, but at least picks up a point against the Oilers at home and then manages to head across the Hudson and keep their New Jersey rivals reeling with a 5-2 win in Newark.
  • 7. Sabres (Last Week: 7)
    After a perfect week the week before, Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller proves he's human, allowing 10 goals in three games. However, Buffalo still is playing well overall, picking up at least one point in four of five games so far this month.
  • 8. Ducks (Last Week: 4)
    Not a great week for the team in Orange County, as while the Ducks drop a pair of games to the Stars and Panthers, Anaheim also loses the architect of their Stanley Cup winning team, as Brian Burke is out as the team's GM, leaving the team in a bit of disarray.
  • 9. Wild (Last Week: 9)
    The Wild trade shutouts with their opponents, getting blanked by the red-hot Roberto Luongo and the Canucks, but then Nicklas Backstrom turns the trick on the Coyotes with his second shutout of the year for Minnesota.
  • 10. Bruins (Last Week: 13)
    The Bruins make a statement over the week with three straight wins to move seven games above the .500 mark this season, with two of the victories this week coming with convincing decisions over Northeast Division rivals from Buffalo and Montreal.
  • 11. Blackhawks (Last Week: 16)
    Chicago's goaltending tandem of Cristobal Huet and Nikolai Khabibulin earns three points in two games, delivering a convincing drubbing of the Flames Sunday, then falling just short in an Original Six clash against the Bruins.
  • 12. Hurricanes (Last Week: 12)
    Carolina's big guns aren't firing right on all cylinders right now, and it costs the Hurricanes dearly as they get outscored 10-3 by Atlanta and Washington in a pair of home losses that left the crowd at RBC Center grumbling.
  • 13. Flames (Last Week: 11)
    Calgary has a rough week, allowing 18 goals in four games and scoring just six on their own as they drop all three of their road games away. The bright spot of the week was the Flames' lone win coming at home against Toronto.
  • 14. Devils (Last Week: 10)
    While the Devils have declared to have patience while Martin Brodeur recovers from his injury, the team's latest slump might force the team to speed things up. New Jersey has lost three straight games, and four of five since Kevin Weekes and Scott Clemmensen have taken over.
  • 15. Canucks (Last Week: 18)
    Roberto Luongo continues to try and carry Vancouver as far as he can, as he records his fifth shutout of the young season before Colorado finally snaps his shutout streak in its fourth contest. So far, over half of Vancouver's wins this year have been Luongo shutouts.
  • 16. Oilers (Last Week: 19)
    While Edmonton finishes its long six-game Eastern trip on a good note with wins in New Jersey and New York, the Oilers return home to fall flat against the Maple Leafs and hand Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers his first loss of the season.
  • 17. Flyers (Last Week: 17)
    After falling to Tampa Bay, Philadelphia earns a Veteran's Day matinee win on Long Island, then rallies from a three-goal deficit against their in-state rival Penguins to manage to earn a point at Pittsburgh before falling in overtime.
  • 18. Stars (Last Week: 14)
    Dallas has a rough week against their Pacific Division foes, losing three of four games. The Stars are able to win in Anaheim, then get nipped in San Jose and a home-and-home against the Kings.
  • 19. Senators (Last Week: 15)
    The Senators' offense is struggling, scoring just twice in three losses on the week. Even though their goaltending allows just three goals a game, scoring less than one per game doesn't cut it.
  • 20. Avalanche (Last Week: 22)
    The roller-coaster season for Colorado continues, as now the Avs have won two straight games after snapping their five-game losing streak. For those keeping track, the Avalanche have now alternated this year with three losses, five wins, five losses and now two wins.
  • 21. Predators (Last Week: 20)
    The Preds lose a shutout to the Avalanche, but manage to hand San Jose a rare 4-3 overtime loss as a very busy Dan Ellis records 54 saves against the Sharks to record a hard-earned victory for Nashville.
  • 22. Coyotes (Last Week: 24)
    Phoenix starts off the week strong with wins over the Panthers, Sharks and Jackets to move over the .500 mark, but then get slowed down in Minnesota as they are blanked in St. Paul by the Wild.
  • 23. Blue Jackets (Last Week: 25)
    Columbus' 5-2 loss to the Coyotes Wednesday marks the first time since Oct. 27 that the Jackets haven't picked up a single point in a game, with a very solid 4-1-2 stretch to bring the team to .the 500 mark.
  • 24. Thrashers (Last Week: 27)
    John Anderson's bunch puts together its first win streak of the season in grand style, extending its streak to four games with wins at Buffalo and Carolina to pull within a game of the .500 mark for a team expected to struggle mightily this year.
  • 25. Maple Leafs (Last Week: 26)
    The Leafs head out to western Canada for the first time in three years, and are playing decent hockey as of late. Toronto is 2-1 over the week, grabbing wins over the Habs and the Oilers, along with a close loss coming in Calgary.
  • 26. Blues (Last Week: 23)
    The Blues continue to struggle as of late, as they've gone since Oct. 25 without a win and now have just one victory in the team's last nine games to erase the nice start they had to the season to bring them back to Earth.
  • 27. Lightning (Last Week: 21)
    Coach Barry Melrose takes a day off after the team gets thumped by the Capitals in Washington, but it doesn't work as the team then turns in a no-show of its own in losses to Florida and Detroit.
  • 28. Kings (Last Week: 29)
    Break up the Kings! Los Angeles snaps a five-game losing streak win four straight wins to pull above .500 for the first time this year with a home-and-home sweep of the Stars.
  • 29. Panthers (Last Week: 30)
    The Panthers salvage the final game of a tough five-game road swing in Anaheim, then Florida returns home to shut out the in-state rival Lightning at home.
  • 30. Islanders (Last Week: 28)
    The Islanders finally are able to snap their three-game losing skid with a 3-1 win in Ottawa, as Joey MacDonald tries to keep the Isles afloat as Rick DiPietro still is sidelined.
Check out last week's rankings here.

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