For the third time in three weeks we have a new team on top of our power rankings, as the NHL-leading San Jose Sharks take over the top spot. The Devils take a fall thanks to their recent six-game losing streak, while Anaheim continues to climb the rankings.
- 2. Bruins (Last Week: 5)
The Bruins are all but locked into the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference and, after a brief slump in late February and early March, they've been back on track recently, winning five in a row. - 3. Red Wings (Last Week: 1)
Mike Babcock recently came out and said the defending Stanley Cup champions were not ready for the playoffs, while the team recently lost three in a row and four of five. Combine those two and it results in a slight drop for the Red Wings. - 4. Capitals (Last Week: 4)
Mike Green recently became just the eighth defenseman in NHL history to record 30 goals in a season, and the first since former Capital Kevin Hatcher did it back in 1992-93. With 70 points in just 63 games he's clearly the best offensive defenseman in the league right now. - 5. Penguins (Last Week: 6)
The Penguins continued their second-half surge with a 6-1 dismantling of New Jersey on Wednesday night. Earlier this season the concern around Pittsburgh was that the team lacked quality depth, especially at the forward positions. Those concerns have been quieted, as the Penguins now boast six 20-goal scorers. - 6. Canucks (Last Week: 7)
The Canucks recently took over the top spot in the Northwest Division, while they've been one of the best teams in the NHL since the All-Star break. Pierre Lebrun of ESPN.com writes about how Vancouver has gone from being a playoff dark horse to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. - 7. Devils (Last Week: 2)
A six-game losing streak, capped off with a dismal showing in Pittsburgh, drops the Devils five spots in this week's rankings. Head coach Brent Sutter accepted the blame for the slump, saying "I'm putting the heat on myself to get us through this. And we will." - 8. Hurricanes (Last Week: 9)
The Hurricanes continue their white-hot play with a seven-game winning streak, setting up a monster contest on Saturday night against Pittsburgh. - 9. Flyers (Last Week: 8)
The Flyers are still fighting for home-ice in the first-round, currently in a three-way battle with Pittsburgh and Carolina. Philadelphia has dropped three of its past four, but still has a game in hand on both teams. - 10. Blue Jackets (Last Week: 10)
Everyone associated with the Blue Jackets is filled with excitement over the possibility of the franchise's first playoff berth. Well, almost everyone. Those following the Syracuse Crunch, the team's AHL affailiate, were slightly annoyed the team called up top prospect Nikita Filatov. Just as a reminder: you're the minor league team and you're there to serve the parent club. Nothing more, nothing less. - 11. Flames (Last Week: 11)
Such a confusing team. The Flames have been terrible since loading up at the trade deadline in early March, failing to win back-to-back games since March 3-5. Calgary is now in danger of losing the division title to Vancouver, while also facing the possibility of losing home-ice advantage in the first round. - 12. Rangers (Last Week: 13)
The Rangers had some problems with the officiating in their 4-3 loss in Pittsburgh this past Saturday, but their criticisms were largely unfounded. New York rebounded on Monday with an impressive 3-0 win over the slumping Devils. - 13. Blackhawks (Last Week: 13)
Chicago finds itself in the battle for the No. 4 spot in the West, as the Blackhawks have struggled since late February, going 7-12 over their past 19 games. - 14. Ducks (Last Week: 16)
The Ducks have been on fire since the middle of March, winning eight of their past nine games, including a 6-5 shootout win over Vancouver on Thursday. Rookie Bobby Ryan is second on the team with 28 goals despite playing in just 60 games. - 15. Canadiens (Last Week: 15)
The Canadiens continue to cling to that final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and just when it appears they're about to let go, they manage to string together a few wins to stay in the hunt. - 16. Predators (Last Week: 14)
The Predators had won three in a row, including wins over Detroit and San Jose, before dropping an important game in Columbus. Nashville is in the free-for-all at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture with a brutal schedule the rest of the way -- two games with Chicago, one with Columbus, and one with Detroit. - 17. Panthers (Last Week: 19)
The Panthers nearly buried themselves with a slump during the month of March, but have recently started to dig themselves out with a three-game winning streak. Three of Florida's final five games are at home, including Sunday's game with Pittsburgh. - 18. Blues (Last Week: 20)
St. Louis continues to beat the odds by hanging around in the playoff race. The Blues' recent home-and-home sweep of Columbus was helpful, but a 3-1 loss in Chicago on Wednesday proved to be costly, though the Blues quickly made up for it with an impressive 5-4 win in Detroit. Bad news: three of the Blues final four games are on the road. Good news: two of them are against Colorado and Phoenix. - 19. Wild (Last Week: 18)
Inconsistent. Minnesota is still looking for its first winning streak of any kind -- even two games -- since February. - 20. Sabres(Last Week: 23)
Ryan Miller is back in net for the Sabres, but is it going to be enough to sneak Buffalo into the postseason? It's still a long shot, even with Buffalo's recent three-game winning streak. Getting a point in Atlanta on Wednesday was big, but a win in that situation was a must for the Sabres. - 21. Oilers (Last Week: 17)
Losing six of their past seven has put a huge dent in the Oilers playoff hopes. Random fact: Edmonton's goal-differential of -16 is the worst of any team still in contention for a playoff spot (we're assuming Dallas is not in serious playoff contention at this point). - 22. Stars (Last Week: 21)
Dallas' recent seven-game losing streak was probably enough to end its postseason dreams. Still, you have to give a tip of the cap to the Stars for managing to stay in the hunt as long as they did, seeing as how this team was absolutely decimated by injuries this season, including Brenden Morrow, Sergei Zubov and Brad Richards. Difficult to overcome that. - 23. Maple Leafs (Last Week: 24)
The Maple Leafs may have been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention, but that's not stopping them from playing the role of spoiler. Toronto can play a large role in the outcome of the Eastern Conference playoff race with games against Philadelphia, Montreal and Buffalo. - 24. Thrashers (Last Week: 25)
Ilya Kovalchuk hit the 40-goal mark once again, while Atlanta has won four of its past five, including overtime wins against playoff hopefuls New York and Buffalo. Zach Bogosian, the Thrashers' 18-year-old first-round pick this season, is quickly developing into quite a player for Atlanta. - 25. Senators (Last Week: 22)
After winning nine of 10 games, the Senators have now dropped four of five. Still, the Senators should some dramatic improvement under interim head coach Cory Clouston, and perhaps set the tone for next season. - 26. Coyotes (Last Week: 28)
Remember Al Montoya, former first-round pick of the New York Rangers? Of course you do. He recently made his NHL debut and posted a shutout in the process, stopping 23 shots in a 3-0 win over Colorado. That's how you enter the NHL. - 27. Kings (Last Week: 26)
It's going to be another season without the playoffs in Los Angeles, but you have to think better days are ahead. Just way too much young talent on this team, including exciting rookie defenseman Drew Doughty. The 18-year-old rookie is leading all rookie defensemen with 25 points. - 28. Lightning (Last Week: 27)
The Lightning have lost four in a row while they've also learned Vincent Lecavalier is going to miss the remainder of the season due to wrist surgery. Are you looking forward to the inevitable offseason trade rumors involving the Tampa Bay captain and a certain team based in Montreal? Neither are we. - 29. Islanders (Last Week: 29)
What a player Kyle Okposo is turning into. Not only is he leading the Islanders with 18 goals, but he's also fifth in the NHL with 76 takeaways, while only being credited with 28 giveaways. The young Islanders picked up an impressive 2-0 win over Detroit a week ago, while Joey MacDonald stopped 42 shots in the win. - 30. Avalanche (Last Week: 30)
Avalanche beat writer Aaron Dater made mention this past week of a Phoenix Coyotes official suggesting Colorado is going in the tank, as the Avalanche have been outscored 25-11 during their current eight-game losing streak. They're either going in the tank or they're simply a bad hockey team. We're leaning toward bad hockey team.
Latest NHL Images
VANCOUVER, CANADA - APRIL 2: Roberto Luongo #1 of the Vancouver Canucks sits in his crease as Mike Brown #13 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrates a goal during their game at General Motors Place April 2, 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Ducks won 6-5 in a shootout. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Roberto Luongo;Mike Brown
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VANCOUVER, CANADA - APRIL 2: Jonas Hiller #1 of the Anaheim Ducks makes a save off the shot of Pavol Demitra #38 of the Vancouver Canucks during their game at General Motors Place April 2, 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Ducks won 6-5 in a shootout. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Pavol Demitra;Jonas Hiller
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VANCOUVER, CANADA - APRIL 2: Roberto Luongo #1 of the Vancouver Canucks makes a save off Todd Marchant #22 of the Anaheim Ducks during their game at General Motors Place April 2, 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Ducks won 6-5 in a shootout. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Todd Marchant;Roberto Luongo
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VANCOUVER, CANADA - APRIL 2: Corey Perry #10 of the Anaheim Ducks scores the game-winning goal on Roberto Luongo #1 of the Vancouver Canucks in the shootout during their game at General Motors Place April 2, 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Ducks won 6-5. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Corey Perry;Roberto Luongo
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GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 02: Goaltender Jonathan Quick #32 of the Los Angeles Kings reacts after allowing a second period goal to the Phoenix Coyotes during the NHL game at Jobing.com Arena on April 2, 2009 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Kings 2-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jonathan Quick
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GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 02: Dustin Brown #23 of the Los Angeles Kings skates in on goaltender Al Montoya #35 and Ken Klee #2 of the Phoenix Coyotes during the NHL game at Jobing.com Arena on April 2, 2009 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Kings 2-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dustin Brown;Al Montoya;Ken Klee
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Anaheim Ducks' Corey Perry skates past cheering fans after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks during overtime shootout in an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Thursday, April 2, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)
AP
Anaheim Ducks' Jonas Hiller, of Switzerland, makes a glove save on a shot by Vancouver Canucks' Alex Burrows during overtime shootout in an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Thursday, April 2, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)
AP
Phoenix Coyotes goalie Al Montoya, right, makes a save as Los Angeles Kings center Michael Handzus, left, of Slovakia, sets a screen in front of him in the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 2, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. The Coyotes won 2-1. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)
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GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 02: Goaltender Jonathan Quick #32 of the Los Angeles Kings drinks water during a break from the NHL game against the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena on April 2, 2009 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Kings 2-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jonathan Quick
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