NHL Power Rankings: Rating All 30 NHL Squads

We're approaching Christmas, and that means the season is almost halfway through.

The Bruins still look unstoppable, but are they the No. 1 ranked team in this week's edition of the NHL Power Rankings?

This is the first installment of the weekly power rankings for the NHL which will be updated every Tuesday.

30. Anaheim Ducks

Imagine how much worse the Ducks would be if team leader in points, Teemu Selanne, had actually retired. Not only does he lead the team in points with 35, he's also a plus-1 on a team that's been absolutely horrendous. 

Never a good thing when your best player is north of 40. 

29. Columbus Blue Jackets

After a valiant win against the Canucks last week, the Jackets dropped their next three. At least Jeff Carter has finally somewhat come alive, scoring five points in his last six games. However, in his last game he was a minus-4 against St. Louis.

Seems like another long season of one step forward, three steps back for the Jackets. 

28. Carolina Hurricanes

Don't count out the Hurricanes just yet. They've recorded points in five of their last six games games, including a win against Vancouver and they play in a division led by the Florida Panthers of all teams.

If Eric Staal can expand on his solid December play and bounce back from his slump so that the Hurricanes go on a bit of a run, who knows what can happen?

27. New York Islanders

It's always a good thing for a struggling team to end a losing streak by heading on the road against a tough team and earning a big win. That's what the Isles did on Saturday, ending a four game skid at Minnesota by winning, 2-1.

Also, it seems like the Islanders have found their starting goalie while DiPietro is on the IR. Al Montoya has put up a solid 6-5-3 record with a save percentage of .918.

26. Edmonton Oilers

Ever since the young Oilers started off 8-3-2 in October, they hit a long road trip and have been reeling ever since then with a 6-14-1 record. 

Their youth has been their biggest strength and weakness. They have a bright future and started off well, but it seems like they're intimidated on the road. They're 9-6-2 at home compared to their dismal 5-10-1 road record.

25. Tampa Bay Lightning

Wasn't Tampa's goaltending supposed to be a strength after last year's postseason run? 

Dwayne Roloson is 6-8-1 this year with a 3.67 GAA and a .880 save percentage. That was bad enough to turn Mathieu Garon into the starter for the team. 

They've won two straight and three out of their last five without Martin St. Louis. Let's see if they can turn this into a winning streak and build on it to get back in the playoff hunt. 

24. Calgary Flames

Olli Jokinen put up six points, but the Flames still lost all four of their games on their four game road swing. That has to be a helpless feeling.

If the Flames continue to struggle, do they become sellers at the deadline and ship off Jarome Iginla?

23. Colorado Avalanche

Speaking of young teams like the Oilers that get intimidated on the road, the Avalanche have lost nine straight on the road but they've won six straight at home. 

The good news for the Avs is that they just won two big games against Eastern Conference powers Washington and Philadelphia and four of their next five games are at the Pepsi Center. 

22. Montreal Canadiens

Interim coach Randy Cunneyworth has dropped his first two games as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. 

Priorities for Habs fans are different. They're upset that Cunneyworth can't speak French. But if Cunneyworth can somehow wake up Scott Gomez when he returns, take the team to the playoffs and win a few series, what does it matter?

21. Los Angeles Kings

The Darryl Sutter era begins on Thursday. Interim coach John Stevens went 2-2-0 as bench boss. This included an ugly 8-2 loss at Detroit. That being said, the Kings capped off the road trip with a huge win against Toronto. 

However, the Kings' return to Staples Center cannot be a good one. Now that the Los Angeles Clippers have Chris Paul and look like an exciting team, the Kings are now the worst team that plays at Staples. 

20. Washington Capitals

So far Dale Hunter's Capitals are just 4-5-0. Hunter had stated that defense was the main priority. Other than the two games where they allowed five goals against Philadelphia and Florida, the Capitals have kept other teams at three goals or less. 

They're improving defensively, but when does Alexander Ovechkin wake up? He hasn't had a multi-point game since November 4. 

19. Winnipeg Jets

The Winnipeg Jets are loving the holiday homecoming in December. They are 6-2 this month and overall at home they're an 11-5 team. 

You can't say that they would've been able to win 11 of 16 at home in the cavernous and quiet Philips Arena in Atlanta. 

18. Ottawa Senators

After starting off the month with plenty of struggles, the Senators won two of three last week including a 6-4 tilt against the Penguins.

Jason Spezza has been on a tear, scoring a Crosby-like 11 points in the last five games. He's now in the top 10 in scoring with 36 points and if the Senators are going to make the playoffs, he needs to keep this up for as long as he can. 

17. Phoenix Coyotes

The Desert Dogs have lost four of their last five. Radim Vrbata and Ray Whitney are their leading scorers. 

One would think that those two sentences would mean that the Coyotes are buried in the cellar of the league, but they're only four points behind the Stars in the weak Pacific Division. 

That's the NHL for ya!

16. Buffalo Sabres

How does a team with Ryan Miller as their starting goalie have more goals allowed than goals scored? It just doesn't make much sense. 

Then you see that Ville Leino has become the most recent addition to the Sabres IR along with Nathan Gerbe, Patrick Kaleta, Brad Boyes and Tyler Myers, and it starts to make more sense.

As long as Miller is the netminder for this team, they'll stick around the playoff bubble. Once their guns return, they could make a resurgent move toward the end of the season. Keep an eye on this team. 

15. Toronto Maple Leafs

And so at last it seems like the Maple Leafs are finally coming back down to earth. They've lost five of their last six games. Joffrey Lupul has been playing well as of late but Phil Kessel has slowed down a bit.

Kessel just has four points this month, and it'll be interesting to see if he can get back at the level he was playing at earlier this season to boost the Leafs.

14. New Jersey Devils

The Devils won four straight this week, propelling them back into the Stanley Cup playoffs picture. Patrik Elias scored three goals and had two assists this past week, helping the Devils play great hockey.

They've received balanced scoring all around from Elias, Petr Sykora, Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise and the surprising Adam Henrique. 

Johan Hedberg has been stellar in net, showing with every start why he deserves the starting spot over legendary goaltender Martin Brodeur. He's won his last three starts and has a GAA of 2.41. 

13. Dallas Stars

Sure they're leading the division. But the Stars fall here because they've allowed more goals than they've actually scored. This is not a recipe for long-term success.

The Stars have also lost both games to the Sharks.

Richard Bachman has looked great in net replacing Kari Lehtonen after Andrew Raycroft struggled to back him up, but can he sustain this?

12. Florida Panthers

The Panthers have collected points in seven of their last eight games. The most glaring stat for the Panthers is that Kris Versteeg, Stephen Weiss and Tomas Fleischmann are a combined plus-51 and they all have over 30 points.

The rest of the team hasn't been anywhere close to that. The Panthers as a whole are a plus-6 in goal differential. Versteeg, Weiss and Fleischmann need to continue their dominance or start getting some help from their teammates. If they don't, this team's success is not going to be sustainable.

11. San Jose Sharks

Why can't everyday be Thursday for this team?

The Sharks are 6-0-0 on the fifth day of the week this season. 

They've recorded points in five of their last six games and have won the first two games of their six game homestand. Unfortunately for them, though, they don't play this Thursday. 

10. Nashville Predators

The Preds have won five straight heading into Tuesday night's tilt against the Caps. They are back on track after a rough November.

They've allowed two more goals than they've scored, but give them a break—they're competing in the toughest division this year. 

9. Pittsburgh Penguins

After a valiant five point effort against Buffalo, can we start considering Evgeni Malkin in MVP talks? The dude is doing his best by lifting an injury-depleted team. 

It's not just Crosby that's hurt. Zbynek Michalek, Paul Martin, Kris Letang and Jordan Staal are all missing. It's surprising the Penguins are where they are in the standings. 

8. St. Louis Blues

The Blues are easily the biggest surprise this year, and they continue to win hockey games. They've recorded points in 17 of their last 19 games by playing great shutdown Ken Hitchcock defense. 

Their offense isn't anything to write home about. They have the league's worst powerplay clicking at just 11 percent. That being said, the Blues have only allowed 69 goals this year, which is the third fewest in the league. Brian Elliot continues to be solid with his unreal 1.43 GAA.

The Blues continue to fly under the radar. Watch out for this team. 

7. New York Rangers

I don't know about you, but I was expecting a lot more "F" bombs from Torts during 24/7 and definitely was not expecting Ryan Callahan's cute grandmother to become an instant star.

That being said, the Rangers continue to play well. Marian Gaborik has recorded eight points and Ryan Callahan has recorded a point in every game but two in December. 

One of the few blips this month may be Henrik Lundqvist. After losing just one game in November, his record this month is 2-3-1 entering Tuesday. 

6. Vancouver Canucks

Memo to the rest of the NHL:

Don't get penalized against the Canucks. Their powerplay efficiency has been stunning. They've been converting on 26.1 percent of their opportunities. The next best powerplay is Toronto's, which is clicking at 21.4 percent. 

Henrik Sedin continues his stellar month by recording six points this week. He now has 15 this month. His twin Daniel is also stepping up on the scoresheet with a three-assist performance against Minnesota recently.

5. Minnesota Wild

After winning seven straight games, the Wild now have lost four in a row. 

The Wild have scored just five goals in their last four games. Are the Wild just in a minor slump or are these their true colors?

Stay tuned.

4. Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings have won five of their last six, led by Pavel Datsyuk recording nine points during that stretch. 

The Wings are 13-2-1 at home and haven't lost a game at Joe Louis Arena since early November. Most of their games in December were on the road though, and they played well. This team's scary.

3. Philadelphia Flyers

After winning seven straight, the Flyers faced the Bruins in a huge matchup. This was supposed to be a litmus test for Philadelphia. Instead, they fell flat and lost 6-0

Can't wait to see the 24/7 for that one.

2. Chicago Blackhawks

Coming into Tuesday night's tilt against the Penguins, the Blackhawks had recorded at least a point in every game this December.

Ray Emery's renaissance has had a lot to do with the Hawks' success. He has won his last five games coming into Tuesday. But are Corey Crawford and he the answers in goal for the Hawks?

Also, as great Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews have been playing, they haven't been getting much scoring help from secondary players. This could be a problem if injuries or slumps happen. 

That being said, the Hawks are well coached, explosive offensively and stout defensively. 

1. Boston Bruins

Balanced scoring.

Great goaltending.

Shutdown defense.

The Bruins are among the league leaders in goals scored. Think that's scary?

Well, they've also allowed the least goals in the NHL. They're just too good right now, and the gap between No. 1 and No. 2 is large.