NHL Western Conference Power Rankings

We're nearing the quarter season mark and the intrigue in the NHL's Western Conference is fantastic.

The Phoenix Coyotes have come out of nowhere to be a good team, while the Detroit Red Wings have fallen from the heights of the Finals to being an injury-plagued roster making waiver claims.

There are headlines and whispers floating all over the Western Conference, but print doesn't win games. Players do.

So, as we approach the quarter pole, let's rank the teams in the Western Conference.

15. Minnesota Tame

Oh, I'm sorry... they're actually the Minnesota Wild. Just don't ask their offense to back up the team's name.

Minnesota's 7-10-0 so far with just 14 points in 17 games. They made a few moves in the summer, including adding former Chicago Blackhawks win Marty Havlat, but nothing has clicked for them so far.

They've been outscored 41-51 in 17 games, and haven't been able to draw penalties. They're struggling with limited hope in sight. C'mon 2010 Draft!

14. Nashville Prey

They haven't earned the name "Predators" much this season, barely scoring two goals per game as they cement their place in last place in the Central Division.

Their goaltending hasn't been awful (under three goals allowed per game), but they just can't score. They're the worst in the league on the power play (11,9 percent) and are only killing 77.2 percent of opponents' power plays.

Frankly, the Preds are lucky to have a 7-8-1 record and 15 points after 16 games. It says a lot about how bad Minnesota has been that they're ranked lower than Nashville.

Maybe they're just trying to be bad enough for a county song to be written about their season...

13. Anaheim Ducks

I figured it would be appropriate to use a photo that looks down on a Ducks player... after all, that's what the rest of the Pacific Division is doing!

The Ducks haven't been a bad offense, but their defense doesn't exist. They've got a problem in the net, where Giggy thinks he should still be the man, but not many other people agree with him.

Anaheim has streaked out of the gate to a 6-8-2 record (14 points), and they're in a tough, high-scoring division. If they don't figure out how to play defense, they might be in for a long season.

12. St. Louis Blues

Finally a team that lives up to their name! The Blues have been bad to start the season, and a lot of it comes back to offense.

Their defense has only allowed 41 goals in in 16 games, but they've only scored 39. They have the second-worst power play in the West (15.9 percent), which isn't helping them win games.

They're 6-6-4 with 16 points in 16 games. A banged-up Detroit team has showed some resolve in the last couple weeks, and they have joined the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets as the top three teams in the Central, pulling away from Nashville and St. Louis.

11. Edmonton Oilers

They have already played 19 games, but that hasn't been a good thing for them. They're only 8-9-2 so far and have struggled to keep the puck out of the net.

Their defense has allowed 60 goals already, and they're 2-6-1 on the road. If you can't win on the road, you can't make the playoffs.

10. Dallas Stars

A lot of overtime losses early haven't helped the Stars get off to a good start, but they're in the weakest division in the conference (the Pacific). They've outscored their opponents, but there have been some lop-sided scores that have effected their gross production.

Dallas is already 7-4-6 with 20 points to show for their 17 games, a number that is likely indicative of their age and speed of competition as anything.

9. Vancouver Canucks

Name a Canucks player, any player, and odds are that he's either hurt or been hurt at some point this season. Because of that, they've struggled to put together consistency on either end of the ice.

The good news for the Canucks is that they're somehow staying competitive despite most of their top players being injured. They've been the second-best power play offense in the West to start the season (23.8 percent converstion), which has helped them stay in games. They're 3-7-0 on the road, though.

Vancouver's 10-9-0 on the season with 20 points in 19 games.

8. Detroit Red Wings

Detroit has been dealt a tough hand to open the season, losing many of their good veteran leaders to injury pretty quickly after losing a lot of their key players over the summer to other rosters.

But to their credit, the Red Wings have bounced back and played pretty good hockey the last week or so to stay relevant on the Central Division.

They're 8-5-3 on the young season with 19 points. They have struggled most on the PK, stopping only 76.8 percent of opponents' opportunities.

7. Los Angeles Kings

Their offense has been superb, led by the league's leading scorer Anze Kopitar. But their defense hasn't been very good, something that could become a concern as the season progresses.

Indeed, it is their defense that places them lower in the power rankings than the Coyotes, who are behind the Kings in the standings (albeit with two fewer games played).

The Kings showed on Monday night in Chicago that they can be shut down by a physical defense, as they only got 18 shots on net against a good Blackhwaks team.

Los Angeles has started the year 11-6-2, with 24 points in 19 games.

6. Columbus Blue Jackets

They've finally put some players around Rick Nash, and we're starting to see where the ceiling for this budding super star might be. He's been absolutely fabulous so far in Columbus, helping them jump to second place in the Central early.

They haven't played a lot of defense, though. In only 17 games, the Jackets have been outscored 52-63 and have only stopped 77.9 percent of opponents' power plays. That will need to improve to compete with Chicago and Detroit all season.

The Jackets are 9-6-2 with 20 points in 17 games and have a winning record on the road (5-4-0), something not many teams can claim in the West this season.

5. Phoenix Coyotes

They're rising in large part because they might have the best goaltender in the game right now. They've only allowed 39 goals in 17 games, but have only scored 43. They might be a player in the trade market for a scorer, because they're one or two forwards from challenging San Jose for the top of the Pacific Division.

The Coyotes are 10-7-0 with 20 points to begin their post-Gretzky era.

4. Calgary Flames

If this were a players' stock market, there isn't one hotter than Jerome Iginla right now. The trouble is, the Flames are an older roster that haven't played many games yet and have a busy schedule coming up.

Calgary is 11-4-1 with 23 points in 16 games, and they're outscoring opponents 53-43 to start the season.

3. Colorado Avalanche

Craig Anderson is certainly in the conversation for the best player between the pipes to begin this season, and he's been tested early this season. The Avalanche have played three epic games against Chicago, losing two of the three games as all of their contests have gone to the shootout.

They're 12-4-3 to start the year, and their 27 points are already nearly double the of last place Minnesota. They're a young roster, though, so how the kids handle a long season with a lot of games against guys like Iginla will tell a lot about the future in Denver.

2. Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago has dealt with a goalie controversy and some tough injuries and still kept their heads above water to be in first place. They've taken care of the Kings and Avalanche this week at home in two impressive performances, and Cristobal Huet seems to have figured it out in goal.

They, in my humble opinion, have the best team defense in the entire NHL and lead the league with a 87.1 percent PK.

The Hawks are 10-5-2 so far with 22 points in 17 games.

1. San Jose Sharks

They gambled on Dany Heatley, and so far it's paid off. They're among the league leaders in power play offense and kill, they're scoring more than a full goal per game more than opponents and haven't lost in regulation yet at home.

The Sharks are 13-4-2 with 28 points in 19 games.