NHL Power Rankings: Bleacher Report Experts' Week 11 Poll
We have no change at the top of the Bleacher Report NHL Power Rankings for the second week in a row.
But it was close.
By a saint's whisper, the Dallas Stars just did out-distance the Washington Capitals among the panel of B/R voters, who argued fiercely. By one point, in the adjusted voting, Dallas beat the Caps to stay on top.
The panel, which consisted of Jonathan Willis, Carol Schram, Lyle Richardson, Allan Mitchell and myself, felt a Saturday loss by the Stars to St. Louis was not enough of an alarm to drop them out of the driver's seat of cyber-rankings.
Does everyone agree? NO? WHAT???
OK then, tell us why not. If the Dallas Stars are not the best team in the league right now, go ahead and click comment, and...speak your mind!
30-26: Columbus Blue Jackets-Anaheim Ducks
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30. Columbus Blue Jackets (last week: 27)
The Blue Jackets captured only two of six points for the week, including a tough overtime loss Saturday night to the Islanders at home, a game in which Columbus outshot the visitors 32-22. Those kinds of nights figure to happen more often now for John Tortorella's club now that No. 1 goalie Sergei Bobrovsky will miss a few weeks with a groin strain.
29. Toronto Maple Leafs (last week: 28)
The Leafs had all of last week off. The quirk in the schedule has allowed everyone to rest up, but the Leafs had a two-game winning streak at the time of the break. They next play Tuesday at home against the Lightning.
The week off allowed many Leafs players to catch up on their TV shows, at least.
28. Colorado Avalanche (last week: 26)
Just when you're ready to count these guys out for the rest of the season, they do something like go on the road and beat two tough division teams. In the Avs' case, they went into Nashville Saturday night and got a nice 3-2 regulation win, then followed it up with a 3-1 win in St. Louis. Semyon Varlamov was the first star both nights. Yet the Avs dropped in our poll. Tough group.
The game before those, though, they had a 2-1 third-period lead at home over Pittsburgh and promptly collapsed in a 4-2 loss on national TV. For whatever reason, the Avs are one of those teams that seems to be better on the road compared to at home.
27. Buffalo Sabres (last week: 24)
Buffalo got a nice win Saturday over the Kings, stopping their six-game win streak. Ryan O'Reilly quietly is having a great year, with 10 goals and 27 points now. He scored the OT-winner against the Kings, the 100th of his career, with a great toe-drag move.
Rasmus Ristolainen scored the hat trick Friday, too, in a game at Calgary. Unfortunately for the Sabres, nobody else scored and they allowed four goals to the Flames.
26. Anaheim Ducks (last week: 20)
The Ducks could have gotten back to .500 (yes, we know, overtime losses technically mean it's not really .500, but we're calling it .500 anyway) with a win Friday night at home against Carolina. They were coming off four straight days off, too.
And then the Ducks came out and got smoked 5-1 by the 'Canes. Things are still better than they were after that disastrous start, but this team can't afford to lose too many more like that against teams they should beat.
25-21: San Jose Sharks-Edmonton Oilers
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25. San Jose Sharks (last week: 19)
Remember that 4-0 start by the Sharks? After Saturday's dismal 2-0 loss at home to Minnesota, the Sharks stood at 14-14-1, including a 3-6-1 mark in the last 10.
San Jose also got horrible news after Thursday's loss in Edmonton: Just two games into his return from missing almost two months with an ankle injury, forward Logan Couture suffered a serious leg injury that required surgery. His prognosis is uncertain.
24. Calgary Flames (last week: 30)
Hey, the Flames are playing a lot better and have gotten themselves back into the playoff hunt. Of course, they're still only a couple of points out of last place in the West, too. So they need to have another strong week, at least, before they start moving up the rankings more.
Johnny Gaudreau is starting to really heat up, entering Saturday's tilt against the Rangers with 28 points in 28 games, including an OT-winner against the Sabres. Johnny Hockey scored twice more in the 5-4 OT win over the Rangers, and the Flames rescued the two points after blowing a 4-1 third-period lead.
23. Vancouver Canucks (last week: 23)
Just when people were panicking in beautiful British Columbia, the Canucks got back to .500 with home wins over Buffalo and the Rangers before going on the road to Chicago for a Sunday matinee. Then they got shut out by the Blackhawks. This just isn't a very good team.
Radim Vrbata, who got off to a bad start, recorded a hat trick in the 5-2 win over Buffalo. He is capable of getting real hot, and coach Willie Desjardins needs more offense from people not named Henrik and Daniel Sedin.
22. Arizona Coyotes (last week: 22)
If the Coyotes want to be taken seriously, they can't be losing to the Carolina Hurricanes twice within the same week. While Arizona rallied to pull out a point with a big third-period comeback Saturday night, they still lost in 5-4 OT to the thoroughly mediocre Hurricanes at home.
Top goalie Mike Smith currently is out with a lower-body injury. Backup Anders Lindback was not good against Carolina Saturday.
21. Edmonton Oilers (last week: 29)
Break up the Oilers.
Edmonton entered Monday's start of a four-game road swing in Boston winners of five in a row, including a 7-5 goal-fest Friday over the suddenly reeling Rangers. A year ago around this time, the Oilers had lost 15 of 16 and fired coach Dallas Eakins. Things are definitely on the upswing, and 18-year-old sensation Connor McDavid could be back by early next month.
20-16: Carolina Hurricanes-Tampa Bay Lightning
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20. Carolina Hurricanes (last week: 25)
It was a pretty nice week for the Hurricanes, who nearly upset Dallas on the road (losing 6-5) before beating Anaheim and Arizona on enemy ice. Carolina scored five goals each in the wins over the Ducks and Coyotes, with Justin Faulk now up to 12 goals. Amazingly, all of them have come on the power play.
Now if only Eric Staal would get going. The star forward still has only five goals through 30 games.
19. Philadelphia Flyers (last week: 20)
The Flyers dropped a game in Dallas Friday night after getting a strong win the night before in St. Louis.
They have home games Tuesday and Thursday against Carolina and Vancouver, respectively, and the Flyers really need to win them if they want to get serious about making a playoff run. Somebody needs to do some scoring besides Claude Giroux, too. He leads the Flyers with 28 points - 12 more than the two guys tied at No. 2 on the list, Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds.
18. Florida Panthers (last week: 15)
The Panthers have lost three of the last four, including an anemic 3-1 loss at Boston in which they managed only 13 shots in the first two periods. Youngster Jonathan Huberdeau has a perfectly respectable 14 assists through his first 30 games.
The problem is, he has only three goals. He possesses too much talent for such a short number as that. Good news for the franchise came last week, though, with the approval of more taxpayer financial support from the voters of Broward County. The Panthers have been a money pit, but not enough for the good folks around Sunrise to let them go.
17. Winnipeg Jets (last week: 18)
The Jets just continue to tread water, which isn't good enough in the brutal Central Division. Despite a respectable record, Winnipeg entered Sunday five points out of a playoff spot. That's the unfair nature of being in the Central, as Winnipeg was seventh overall in the Western Conference but five points back of Nashville for the final wild-card spot.
16. Tampa Bay Lightning (last week: 16)
The defending Eastern Conference champs played a pretty solid game at home Saturday against the Capitals, outshooting them 35-20. But Braden Holtby was the difference in a 2-1 Washington win.
Steven Stamkos has gone eight games without a goal, with 11 overall after 30 games. Not only that, he was caught "liking" a tweet by TSN's account linking to a video discussing the possibility he might sign a free-agent contract with Toronto next summer. Stamkos "un-liked" the tweet and told the Tampa Bay Times (h/t NHL.com) it was an "accident" he liked it in the first place.
Yeah, that should stop the rumors of his possible departure from spreading.
15-11: Pittsburgh Penguins-Boston Bruins
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15. Pittsburgh Penguins (last week: 14)
It's up to the players now. No more blaming the coach.
Despite a 15-10-3 record, Mike Johnston was shown the door Saturday by Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford and replaced by former Boston head coach Mike Sullivan.
"I felt with where we are right now and how we’ve played over the first part of the season that this team has more to give," Rutherford told reporters in a conference call (via the Penguins' website). Obviously, the Pens are hoping for the same kind of result that happened the last time Pittsburgh fired a coach mid-season—in 2009 when Michel Therrien was replaced by Dan Bylsma and a Stanley Cup happened.
Until Sidney Crosby (six goals first 28 games) starts playing like Sidney Crosby again, that is unlikely to happen.
14. Ottawa Senators (last week: 10)
Not a great week for the Sens, who have dropped three of the last four, including Saturday's 3-1 loss to Montreal. Ottawa allowed 27 shots on goal in the first period, which tied the team record for the Habs.
The game was Craig Anderson's 14th straight start, and even though he was relieved after three goals on 31 shots by Chris Driedger, you have to wonder if Anderson needs more rest than that moving forward.
13. Nashville Predators (last week: 12)
Something just isn't quite right anymore with the Predators. They fell to 15-10-5 after a subpar effort Saturday night in a home loss to Colorado and are only hanging on right now to the last wild-card spot in the West. It was a strange showing just one game after a strong 5-1 win over Chicago.
Pekka Rinne's play continues to falter of late in goal. His save percentage has fallen to a very pedestrian .907. He's usually much better than that.
12. New Jersey Devils (last week: 17)
It had been a nice week for the Devils, who picked up five of a possible six points, including a tough overtime win over Detroit Friday. The Devils entered Sunday's tilt with the Islanders with a 5-1 mark in overtime games. No need for OT in that one, though, as the Islanders won pretty easily, 4-0.
Goalie Cory Schneider had allowed two goals or fewer in 15 of his previous 17 starts entering Sunday, with a 9-5-3 record, 1.97 goals-against average and .932 save-percentage during that stretch.
11. Boston Bruins (last week: 13)
Boston is 7-1-2 in its last 10 and back in the playoff picture out East. Included in the Bruins' week was a strong 3-1 win at Montreal, against whom Boston had lost seven straight and 12 of 13.
Tuukka Rask's save percentage is starting to climb again, up to .912 after a slow start. Everybody made fun of the Bruins for their offseason moves, but not as many people are laughing anymore.
10. New York Rangers
5 of 14
Record: 18-9-4, 40 points
Last week: 6
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It was a lost week in Western Canada for the Rangers, who salvaged their only point of a three-game road swing Saturday night with a late third-period comeback to get to overtime in Calgary.
Things were so bad that even Henrik Lundqvist was pulled from their 7-5 loss in Edmonton and given the next game off. The Rangers' puck-possession numbers continue to be unimpressive, with a Corsi-for percentage of 46.9, fourth worst in the league, according to Puckalytics.com.
By the numbers
Keith Yandle's play continues to be something of a disappointment. The former All-Star defenseman had four straight seasons of double-figure goal scoring in Arizona, but in the 52 regular-season games he's played for the Rangers, he has just three goals—with only one this year. Not good enough.
This is Yandle's contract year, the year before he can become an unrestricted free agent. The numbers he's posted so far aren't going to land him the monster contract he probably wants.
9. Minnesota Wild
6 of 14
Record: 15-7-6 (36 points)
Last week: 7
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The Wild scored four goals in three games last week but still managed four of a possible six points. Saturday night in San Jose, Minnesota got a 2-0 win thanks to the goaltending of Darcy Kuemper, who figures to be the top guy while Devan Dubnyk remains out with a strained groin.
Obviously, the Wild need to get the offense going again, though.
By the numbers
Entering Sunday, the Wild's power-play percentage of 17.2 ranked just 25th in the league. Power-play stats go up and down, but that's too low for a team with a point guy like Ryan Suter and so many good forwards down low.
Jason Pominville, a three-time 30-plus goal scorer, has only three goals after his first 28 games.
8. St. Louis Blues
7 of 14
Record: 17-10-4, 38 points
Last week: 9
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David Backes had his best game of the season Saturday night, getting the Gordie Howe Hat Trick in a 3-0 win over league-leading Dallas. He needs to keep it up if the Blues are to challenge Dallas further for the division title—or just to stay a few steps ahead of the pack in the playoff chase in the West.
If Paul Stastny can get it going, that would help, too. After missing more than a month due to injury, Stastny entered Sunday's tilt against his old Avalanche squad with one goal, four points and a minus-five in the nine games he'd played since. Stastny did a whole lot of nothing in the 3-1 loss to the Avs, so add another game on to those previous totals.
By the numbers
Perhaps the biggest reason why the Blues are still relatively high up in the West is their penalty-killing. Entering the game against the Avs Sunday, St. Louis sat first in the league in the crucial department, at 87.5 percent.
Blues defenders are very good at pouncing on rebounds and getting the puck down the river.
7. Detroit Red Wings
8 of 14
Record: 16-8-6, 38 points
Last week: 8
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The Red Wings haven't lost in regulation since Nov. 14 in Boston. The problem, if it can be called one, is there have been some overtime/shootout losses of late, including two of the last three games. Detroit is 6-0-4 in its last 10. Points are points, though, and Detroit keeps getting them.
By the numbers
Rookie Dylan Larkin continues to make a strong case for the Calder Trophy. He leads the NHL in plus/minus at plus-20. He's been a plus-nine, with seven goals, since Detroit's last regulation loss in Boston.
The Michigan native and University of Michigan product is probably the next face of the franchise.
6. Chicago Blackhawks
9 of 14
Record: 17-10-4, 38 points
Last week: 11
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Patrick Kane keeps on scoring (a 26-game point streak), and the Blackhawks keep on playing good enough hockey to stay in the playoff pack of the brutal Central Division. Jonathan Toews' numbers continue to look a little too low (17 points in his first 30 games, plus-five), so the sooner he gets it going like he can, the better for coach Joel Quenneville's club.
By the way, for all you Hawks fans looking for that perfect last-minute Christmas gift: how about some literal home ice, in liquid form, from last year's championship?
By the numbers
Could we finally be seeing the decline of Marian Hossa? Though it's too soon to declare that, the fact is he had just five goals and 13 points through his first 27 games, well below his usual average of close to one point per game.
Hossa turns 37 next month, and age gets everyone in the end. Personally, I think he gets it going in the second half, but it won't be a shock if that doesn't happen either.
5. New York Islanders
10 of 14
Record: 18-8-5, 41 points
Last week: 4
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Kyle Okposo, pictured above, entered Sunday as the Isles' leading scorer, with 25 points in 30 games. He is one of the league's more underrated players, but people are starting to really notice him more.
After Sunday's win over the Devils, the Islanders' point streak stood at 10 games, a nice turnaround after a previous dip in play. The Isles have been pretty consistent all year, though, and interest is starting to pick up in the team around Brooklyn. Well, at least they aren't last in the league in home attendance anymore. That distinction belongs to Carolina, with New York at 29th.
By the numbers
The Islanders' special teams have been very good, a big key to their success. They entered Sunday with the league's seventh-best power play (21.5 percent) and fourth-best PK percentage (85.4).
The Isles move the puck crisply on the PP, which gets opponents running around out of position at times.
4. Montreal Canadiens
11 of 14
Record: 20-8-3, 43 points
Last week: 3
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After dropping four in a row, including home losses to Boston and Washington, the Habs got back to their winning ways Saturday with a victory over Ottawa.
Goalie Carey Price's absence certainly has had a negative effect on the record of late, though Mike Condon hasn't been the big problem. Dustin Tokarski actually has made the last two starts for coach Michel Therrien, and his 25 saves got the win over the Sens.
Scoring goals has been the bigger problem. The Habs have gone eight straight games with three goals or fewer.
By the numbers
The absence of Brendan Gallagher of late to a hand injury has had a bigger impact on the offense than maybe anyone thought it would. Gallagher, who hasn't played since Nov. 22, had 19 points in his first 22 games.
Gallagher suffered two broken fingers and needed surgery, and he figures to be out at least through the rest of this month.
3. Los Angeles Kings
12 of 14
Record: 19-8-2, 40 points
Last week: 5
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The Kings are playing great hockey, though their six-game win streak was snapped Saturday in Buffalo. Still, they got a point in the 2-1 OT loss.
Los Angeles is 7-1-2 in its last 10, and that bad start it had is now a distant memory. The Kings will be on the road the rest of this week in Eastern Canada, including what should be a good matchup Thursday in Montreal. The Kings have been getting it done with good defense and goaltending; they haven't allowed more than three goals in a game since Nov. 22 against Carolina, a nine-game stretch.
By the numbers
Anze Kopitar has yet to really break out offensively, though that part of his game has improved of late. Kopitar has been excellent defensively. His plus-15 leads the team.
He has taken only six minutes in penalties so far, too, though that number is well ahead of last season's clean pace. Kopitar had only 10 penalty minutes in 2014-15.
2. Washington Capitals
13 of 14
Record: 20-6-2, 42 points
Last week: 2
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After playing poorly in a 4-1 loss at Florida Thursday, the Caps rebounded to get a nice win Saturday in Tampa Bay. Braden Holtby looked great, making 34 saves. Evgeny Kuznetsov continues to have a great year, leading the team with 28 points in 28 games, with a plus-15.
Holtby's 1.90 GAA is the best in the league. He is probably your leader in the clubhouse at the moment for the Vezina Trophy, especially with Carey Price out for an extended time.
By the numbers
At 27.5, the Caps are the third-stingiest team in the league in terms of shots on net allowed per game. In coach Barry Trotz's first year behind the bench in Washington last season, the average finished at 28.9.
Let's face it, Trotz is one of the best coaches in modern history when it comes to getting his team to play in a sound defensive structure. Many doubted whether he could get a team like Washington to play like this, but it has happened.
1. Dallas Stars
14 of 14
Record: 22-6-2, 46 points
Last week: 1
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The Stars were shut out for the first time this season Saturday in St. Louis. Hey, it happens sometimes.
Dallas comes home for games this week against Columbus, Calgary and Montreal. If they're not at 50 points, at least, by the end of the week, it will be a disappointment. There haven't been many of those for coach Lindy Ruff's group this season, though.
Tyler Seguin leads the league in goals on the road with 12. At home, he has three. That number should go up some this week.
By the numbers
On a down note, it's starting to look like Ales Hemsky's days as a reliable scorer are over. He scored just 11 goals in 76 games last season and is stuck at three so far through 29 appearances this year. That's not the kind of return the Stars had in mind probably when they signed him to a three-year, $12 million contract.
Hemsky is still just 32, though it seems like he's been around forever. But if he doesn't prove he can score again, his time left in the league might start getting short.
