2011-12 NHL Power Rankings: Third Installment (Jan. 4, 2012)

Why read my power rankings? While it may be an overused article topic, I feel like I bring a unique approach to my rankings. Rather than simply ranking the teams 1-30, I break them up into six categories:

Cup Favorites: Teams that should surprise no one when they to go all the way. The class of the league.

Cup Contenders: Teams that will surprise many if they go all the way, but shouldn't. Conference powers that are expected to at least make it out of the first round.

Sleepers: Teams that should make the playoffs and are equipped to pull off a surprising playoff run. Last year, the Tampa Bay Lightning dominated this section of my rankings.

Bubble Teams: Teams that may or may not make the playoffs. A bubble team is talented enough to make the playoffs, but is not (or is not playing like) a legitimate threat.

Long Shots: Teams that are not likely to make the playoffs. If they get hot, they could squeeze in as a No. 7 or 8 seed, but are fringe teams at best.

Bottom Feeders: Teams that are nowhere near contention and almost guaranteed a high draft pick. Even early in the season, landing in this category means that the playoffs are very unlikely.

Given this system, my rankings may not exactly reflect how a team has played to this point. A team may be playing over their heads and land in the Cup Contenders category even though they have more points than a Cup Favorite. A team may be placed in the Sleepers category even if they are barely in playoff position because, in my opinion, that team has underachieved to this point.

In the end, these rankings are more subjective than many, as there is no formula. But I believe that the only point of this type of writing is to stir up a discussion (formulaic power rankings lull most to sleep, as I'm probably doing right now).

Cup Favorites

1. Boston Bruins: The Bruins have the league's best offense, best defense and best faceoff percentage. They are simply the most complete team in the NHL, and they have been since last April.

2. New York Rangers: If it weren't for the Bruins, the Rangers would be the talk of the league. Tortorella's boys have been great at keeping the puck out of the net for years, but a big top line and point production from key players have this team clicking on all cylinders.

Cup Contenders

3. Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings are only cup contenders (and not cup favorites) because of their 9-11 road record. If the west wasn't so tight, it may not matter, but since the Wings aren't running away with a top seed, their 15-2-1 home record isn't all they need.

4. Chicago Blackhawks: The Blackhawks are the best team in the west, and it's because they score first, hold leads, win face-offs and win in OT. But this still isn't quite the 2009-10 team. They struggle to keep the puck out of their net. 

5. Vancouver Canucks: The Canucks plus-32 goal differential is second to Detroit out west, but their road record, special teams and faceoff percentage are all better. We already know they can eliminate San Jose and Chicago, but the Wings should be scared as well.

6. Philadelphia Flyers: They have the NHL's best road record, which is good because they've played the second most road games so far. If they can get in a groove at home down the stretch, they would be in position to win the all-important, ultra-tight Atlantic Division.

7. San Jose Sharks: The Sharks are in ninth place in the west, but are fourth in point percentage. Although games in hand are nice to have, it also means that San Jose will play more games than anyone else from here on out, which could have a tiring effect.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins: Crosby's injury last year motivated other guys to step up and carry the team, and that continued all the way until his return this year. But after he went out again, there is more frustration and worry than motivation and optimism for the future in Pittsburgh, and the team's play is reflecting that.

Sleepers

9. St. Louis Blues: Ken Hitchcock deserves a lot of credit for what he's done in St. Louis, but people shouldn't act like it was the hardest job in the world. The fact is that on paper, the Blues are stacked. Hitchcock isn't squeezing every last ounce of success out of his roster, he's simply getting them to play the way they should have been all year.

10. Washington Capitals: The Capitals have won three straight, and it's hard not to expect them to end up on top of the Southeast Division. And if they do make the playoffs and finish with the No. 3 seed, don't forget that coming into this season, this looked to many like the best Capitals team ever.

11. Los Angeles Kings: Darryl Sutter has the Kings in business. They are still below .500, still the worst offensive team in the league and still not the cup contenders that they looked like before the season. But in a suddenly weak Pacific Division, they could, like the Capitals, end up in the top three and take off from there.

12. Florida Panthers: This year's Panthers look a lot like last year's Anaheim Ducks. They don't do anything particularly well, but are decent enough everywhere to allow their dynamite top line to carry them into the playoffs. Also like last year's Ducks, Florida's blue line is simply vicious offensively.

Bubble Teams

13. Nashville Predators: The Predators are one of many teams out west that looks to be of playoff caliber but does not seem to possess enough talent for a playoff run. Pekka, Shea and Ryan should secure them into a low seed, but less depth on their roster and greater strength at the top of the west this year means Nashville is heading back to their one-and-done years.

14. New Jersey Devils: Compared to last season, the Devils are getting much more out of their talent. The problem is that their talent is a shell of what once was. They have enough pieces to make the playoffs, but a rebuild would suit this team better in the long term.

15. Minnesota Wild: After getting ridiculed for keeping Minnesota out of my "cup contenders" category in my last installment, the Wild have been the worst team in the NHL. I said that their inability to score would doom them come playoff time, but it may just end their season even sooner.

16. Dallas Stars: The Stars continue to win more often than they lose despite a lack of defense and a gaping hole up the middle. However, even the absence of Brad Richards hasn't slowed down Dallas' wingers, which is simply one of the best groups in the league. I've said it all year: As long as Kari keeps playing well, this team won't go away.

17. Winnipeg Jets: Who would've thought after last season that this would be a 5-on-5 plus-team? The Jets are suddenly playing together and playing solid defense, and with a rabid fan base, they may actually sustain their success at home (14-6-1). If they do, they should sneak in.

18. Colorado Avalanche: Like last season, the Avalanche are in the thick of the playoff race halfway through. Also like last season, there are signs that they may fade away. Their 7-0 shootout record has helped keep them afloat, as has J.S. Giguere's .927 save percentage, but history shows that both marks are likely unsustainable.

19. Ottawa Senators: Most people would agree that Ottawa doesn't deserve to have three starters on the All-Star team, but the fact is that Spezza, Alfredsson and Karlsson, along with Milan Michalek, give Ottawa a dominant leader at all four skater positions. That type of leadership is rare and explains why a team that gives up 3.32 goals per game is sitting at .500.

20. Phoenix Coyotes: With the way that Dave Tippett's boys have played the last two seasons, it's hard to think Phoenix might not make it in. But when you look at their miserable situation in Phoenix right now and the lack of star power on their roster, it's hard to think that they will defy the odds for a third straight season. Right now, it's a toss-up.

21. Toronto Maple Leafs: The Leafs would be so dangerous if their PK wasn't so terrible. The leafs give up PP goals on a league-worst 26.8 percent of their penalties, and they are the seventh most penalized team in the NHL. They have the league's third-best PP and are a 5-on-5 plus-team, but until something is done about their PK, they are wasting a potential-filled team.

22. Buffalo Sabres: Ryan Miller has been Buffalo's best player over the last few years, but he is simply having a terrible season. He deserves as long of a chance to get going as anyone, but the fact is that this team is too talented to miss the playoffs, and Enroth has given them a much better chance to win this year.

Long Shots

23. Tampa Bay Lightning: A year after the perfectly-timed Dwayne Roloson trade propelled the team to game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals, Roloson is out of gas and the team again lacks any net presence (their 3.34 GAA is an NHL-worst). Steven Stamkos is the best player in the NHL not named Sidney Crosby, but 11 goals in his past ten games is only enough to help the Lightning go 5-4-1.

24. Calgary Flames: The Flames continue to perplex me. They are and have been for some time now the NHL's only team that isn't good enough to contend but is not trying to get better either. No strength down the middle, forward depth or youth means that while this team will stay out of the cellar due to some star power, they will not get higher than the basement stairs.

25. Edmonton Oilers: The anti-Flames, Edmonton has been doing everything in their power to get better, and have done just that this season. While the team's hot start was (as expected) nothing more than that, the top six has remained one of the NHL's best units, and, given that this team is also the league's youngest, they could be in the playoffs as soon as next season.

26. Montreal Canadiens: The Habs are in the middle of a collapse that has them spiraling towards the bottom of the east. A 5-7-6 home record is scary, and a .421 winning percentage when scoring first is even more disturbing. Montreal is still a long shot due to Carey Price, a 1-5 shootout record that could turn around, and a respectable 5-on-5 ratio.

Bottom Feeders

27. New York Islanders: The Islanders are slowly making progress. They've put together a young, dangerous top line and PP unit, they've decided that Rick DiPietro is out of chances and they have won three games in a row.

28. Carolina Hurricanes: Many picked Carolina to make the playoffs this season. Instead, they are the Eastern Conference's worst team by a sizable margin. And although the problem's are widespread—from a terrible defense to inept special teams—the most inexcusable thing is their captain Eric Staal's league-worst minus-23 rating.

29. Anaheim Ducks: After so much blame for Anaheim's early season struggles was directed towards Bobby Ryan, the 24-year-old has been the best of the Ducks' underachieving top line. Getzlaf and Perry need to really step it up, as does a blue line that's underachieving even more than they overachieved last year. Not to save the season, but to save their jobs.

30. Columbus Blue Jackets: The Blue Jackets continue to lose as consistently as any team has in recent memory. As painful as it may be to do, this team simply must trade Rick Nash at the deadline. Not because losing their franchise player will help them, but because their captain has quit on the franchise.