The Colorado Avalanche, owners of the best record in hockey, take over the top spot for the week in our power rankings, but how long will their success continue? Also, the Maple Leafs continue to occupy the basement, while the Sharks make the biggest jump of the week.
- 1. Avalanche (Last Week: 2)
Best. Record. In. Hockey. There's something I didn't think I could say about the Colorado Avalanche this season, but here we are. No team in the league has more points than the Avs at this point, so we'll give them the top spot while we still can. How long will it last? That's anybody's guess, but James Mirtle at From The Rink had an interesting post earlier this week about the dangers of small sample sizes and hot starts. - 2. Penguins (1)
The injuries are mounting for the Penguins. First it was Max Talbot, then Sergei Gonchar, Tyler Kennedy is still day-to-day, and now Evgeni Malkin is out for a couple of weeks with a shoulder strain. They're still finding ways to win games, however, and have back-to-back games with Columbus and Minnesota this weekend. - 3. Capitals (4)
The Capitals are rolling again, having won six in a row, and their next seven games include: two meetings with the Islanders, two with Florida, and one with Minnesota. That looks like an opportunity to keep racking up the points. - 4. Sabres (8)
The Sabres have played just nine games this season, but they've still only lost two games overall, and only one in regulation. Ryan Miller continues to be one of the top goalies in the league. - 5. Kings (9)
The Kings haven't lost a game in regulation since October 17, and have earned points in six straight games. Anze Kopitar continues to show he's one of the top players in the game, as he trails only Alex Ovechkin with 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 14 games. - 6. Coyotes (6)
The Coyotes are off to one of their best starts ever, and Ilya Bryzgalov has been fantastic in net. He picked up another shutout, his third of the season, on Thursday. The only goaltenders that have been better this season are Ryan Miller and Craig Anderson. - 7. Rangers (3)
New York has hit its first slump of the season, losing four of five, including a pair of losses to its long-time rivals from the Island and New Jersey. Even more bad news: Marian Gaborik had his first injury scare as a member of the Rangers. - 8. Flames (5)
What's happened to Olli Jokinen this year? Once a lock for 35 goals every season, last year's big trade deadline acquisition has just two through his first 11 games. - 10. Devils (14)
Call them road warriors. The Devils, thanks to their 2-1 win in Boston on Thursday, are now 6-0 on the road to start the season. Martin Brodeur was 10 minutes from tying Terry Sawchuk's career shutout mark on Saturday night in Pittsburgh. - 11. Blackhawks (11)
Cristobal Huet is playing his best hockey of the season over his past three starts, while the 'Hawks continue to own the top spot in the Central Division. - 12. Stars (17)
Speaking of goalies playing well recently: Marty Turco has been outstanding over his past three starts, turning aside 84 of the 90 shots he's faced in wins over Anaheim, St. Louis and Toronto, helping the Stars put together consecutive wins for the first time this season. - 13. Oilers (7)
The Oilers take a bit of a fall thanks to three losses -- including two shutouts -- in the past week. Defense and goaltending has been a problem, but Dustin Penner's resurgence continues to be a huge story. He's currently third in the NHL's scoring race, trailing only Alex Ovechkin and Anze Kopitar. - 14. Canucks (20)
Even without his twin brother, Henrik Sedin is playing fantastic hockey for the Canucks with six goals and 10 assists. Roberto Luongo will be out of the lineup for about a week, which means Andrew Raycroft will have to step up in his absence over the next couple of games, much like he did in Thursday's 2-1 win over Los Angeles. - 15. Senators (10)
At 36, Daniel Alfredsson is still going strong in Ottawa. He has 15 points in 11 games, and has been held without a point just once all season. On the other hand, Jonathan Cheechoo, acquired in the Dany Heatley trade, has been dreadful with just two assists in 11 games. - 16. Blue Jackets (12)
Is it time to worry about Steve Mason yet? Well, no, no it's not, but the only goaltender that's been worse this season as far as goals against average and save percentage are concerned is Toronto's Vesa Toskala. Ouch. - 17. Canadiens (22)
Jaroslav Halak's four-game winning streak came to a dismal end when he surrendered four goals on 23 shots in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Carey Price returns to the lineup this weekend in Chicago. - 18. Flyers (15)
After a 3-0 start the Flyers have won just two of their next six. As expected, the goaltending has been mediocre at best, but rookie James vanRiemsdyk is averaging a point-per-game. - 19. Red Wings (18)
The Wings finally picked up a road win thanks to their come-from-behind effort in Vancouver, but the injuries and goaltending concerns are mounting. Valterri Filppula is the latest player to go down for Detroit, suffering a broken wrist. He's expected to miss 6-8 weeks. - 20. Bruins(19)
Still an up-and-down roller coaster of a season for a team that has yet to win back-to-back games (or lose back-to-back games). Patrice Bergeron already has four goals in 11 games for the Bruins. He scored 8 a season ago. - 21. Thrashers (13)
After a nice 4-1 start the Thrashers have now lost four straight games, along with their best player, Ilya Kovalchuk. - 22. Lightning (21)
Vincent Lecavalier finally scored his first goal of the season, while Ryan Malone and Steven Stamkos keep filling the net. Malone already has eight goals in 10 games, while Stamkos has nine goals and 14 points. Just as a quick comparison, through his first 10 games a year ago, Stamkos had two goals and two assists. - 23. Blues (24)
We have a David Perron sighting! Perron opened the season with zero points in his first seven games, and has since racked up three goals and three points in the next six contests. - 24. Predators (25)
After a sluggish start, especially offensively, the Predators are finally starting to earn some wins and score some goals. Pekka Rinne picked up his first shutout against Chicago on Thursday. - 25. Ducks (23)
One of the most disappointing teams in the league so far? With just three wins in 10 games the Ducks find themselves at the bottom of the Pacific Division. - 26. Islanders (28)
Sure, they're racking up a lot of Bettman points by losing in overtime and shootouts, but you have to give the young Islanders some credit for at least being competitive. Matt Moulson continues to be a pleasant surprise, leading the team with six goals and 10 points. - 27. Hurricanes (26)
Carolina closes out the week riding a seven-game losing streak. The Hurricanes have scored more than three goals just once during their current streak. - 28. Panthers (27)
Still recovering from the European trip to open the season? Or a team that's simply not very good? No team has scored fewer goals than the Panthers' 22, while Steven Reinprecht is the team's leading scorer with just seven points. - 29. Wild (29)
Minnesota has logged quite a few miles on the road this season, playing eight of its first 11 games away from the Xcel Energy Center. The problem? The Wild are 0-8 in away games. - 30. Maple Leafs (30)
Well, they're no longer winless, but Toronto still finds itself at the bottom of the pile with a 1-7-2 mark. Jonas Gustavsson has returned to the lineup and made some highlight reel saves, and it's possible that Phil Kessel could be making his debut within the week. So they've got that going for them.
