NHL Power Rankings: Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild Ravaged by Injury

Injuries have taken their toll on just about every team this year, but two franchises have struggled while their superstars spent time on the DL.

Dallas started the season as a force in the Pacific, even after losing Brad Richards to free agency.

However, with defensemen Mike Ribiero spending time on the DL and forward Jamie Benn undergoing an appendectomy, the team has lost five-straight.

Like the erstwhile North Stars, the Minnesota Wild got off to an unexpected start, but have seen just about everyone on their roster miss games due to injury.

The replacement goaltenders and defensemen have held their own with their extended ice time, but the team needs Mikko Koivu, Devin Setoguchi, Cal Clutterbuck, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Guillaume Latendresse on the ice if they are going to have offensive production.

Dallas has had ownership issues and the Wild have not made the playoffs since winning the Northwest Division in 2007-08.

A postseason berth would galvanize the fanbase in both cities.

If the Stars and Wild can get healthy, there’s no reason they will not be playing in June.

Tom Schreier is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report.

Follow him on Twitter @tschreier3.

30. Edmonton Oilers

Last week: 29

January has been ugly for the young Oilers.

Edmonton has two wins this month and have lost eight of their last nine.

29. Columbus Blue Jackets

Last week: 28

Columbus enters their six-game road trip with a 3-2 shootout loss in Detroit.

With a lot of travel (Columbus will go to Florida and California on this trip) and little momentum (three wins in January), the Jackets could be in for a brutal adventure away from Ohio.

28. Buffalo Sabres

Last week: 26

Entering this week on a five-game losing streak, the Sabres only have two wins in January and sit in the Northeast Division cellar.

The good news: the team is 2-0-1 in their three home games this month.

The bad: They are currently five games into a seven-game road trip.

27. Phoenix Coyotes

Last week: 24

With only two wins in January, the Coyotes are fading in the Pacific.

Rumors about whether Shane Doan will be moved at the deadline will heat up if this team cannot produce wins in February.

26. Carolina Hurricanes

Last week: 19

Losers of three of their last four, Carolina currently sits in the Southeast Division cellar.

Their final two games in January, against Winnipeg and the Islanders, come at home, giving the Canes an opportunity to end the month on a good note.

25. Florida Panthers

Last week: 18

The reeling Cats snapped a four-game losing streak with a win in Manitoba.

Florida cannot lose at this rate and maintain their place atop the Southeast Division.

Washington and Winnipeg will end the month within striking distance of the division lead.

24. Dallas Stars

Last week: 16

Injuries have taken their toll on this team.

The once-surging Stars have lost six of their last seven and, like Phoenix, are falling out of the race in the Pacific.

23. New York Islanders

Last week: 23

The Islanders have one of the best special teams in the league. They currently own the sixth-best power play and eighth-best penalty kill.

However, New York is in the Atlantic Division cellar and 10 points below the fourth-place Devils and eight points out of the playoff picture right now.

22. Montreal Canadiens

Last week: 25

The Habs are killing penalties…

And that’s about it.

They are dead last in the league with a 12.2 percent conversion rate on the power play and are only scoring two-and-a-half goals per game.

Montreal did pick up a win over the rival Leafs, however, easing the pain of their rabid fanbase for one night at least.

21. Winnipeg Jets

Last week: 21

The Jets only have three wins in January but are still within reach of the Southeast Division crown.

20. Tampa Bay Lightning

Last week: 30

There’s a spark of life in Tampa.

After losing seven-straight to start January, the Bolts have won three-straight, including a 5-3 win over the Bruins.

19. Minnesota Wild

Last week: 27

Minnesota picked up their second win this month against Dallas but have relinquished the No. 2 spot in the division to Colorado.

The Wild have a chance to change that with a contest against the Avs Tuesday on the NBC Sports Network.

18. Toronto Maple Leafs

Last week: 10

Toronto should probably play a little defense.

The Leafs have given up three goals in four of their last five contests.

Fittingly, they are 1-4 in their last five.

17. Anaheim Ducks

Last week: 20

After months of disappointment, the Ducks are all of a sudden playing exciting hockey.

They’ve won seven of their last eight with three games left to play in January.

16. Calgary Flames

Last week: 17

The resilient Flames took Pacific Division powers Los Angeles and San Jose to a shootout and walloped Edmonton 6-2 in the Rexall Place.

In the 10-spot of the current standings behind division rivals Minnesota and Colorado, Calgary should exit January in position to make a postseason push in the second half of the season.

15. Los Angeles Kings

Last week: 14

The next few games will show hockey fans in LA what their team is made of.

The Kings will play two contests in the STAPLES Center, and then hit the road for six games.

Currently, Los Angeles is in position to overtake the Sharks for the Pacific Division lead.

14. New Jersey Devils

Last week: 8

The Devils are currently on a six-game homestand and need to take better advantage of their favorable scheduling.

After crushing Winnipeg 5-1, they were shellacked by Boston and Philadelphia—losing both contests by a score of 4-1.

The Devils are fourth in the mighty Atlantic Division, but hold the seven-seed in the East and have as many points as the Southeast Division leading Panthers.

13. Philadelphia Flyers

Last week: 9

A juggernaut in the beginning of the season, the Flyers have been grounded by recent losses to Nashville and the Islanders.

Philadelphia is still a force in the Atlantic, and their recent wins against Minnesota and New Jersey indicate that they’re still on track to compete with the hated Rangers for the Atlantic crown.

12. San Jose Sharks

Last week: 5

The Sharks started January on fire and looked like they were going to create separation in the Pacific.

With recent losses to Chicago, Ottawa and Vancouver, San Jose has Los Angeles nipping at their heels and need to take advantage of a favorable home stretch with games against Edmonton, Calgary and Columbus coming up.

11. Ottawa Senators

Last week: 13

The Sens have been hot lately, but recent losses to Winnipeg and Anaheim indicate there’s still some kinks to be worked out.

Fortunately, the team picked up wins over Toronto and San Jose on their road trip and will be rewarded with five home games in a row following their final three games in January.

10. Washington Capitals

Last week: 12

The Capitals have capitalized on the Panthers’ recent woes and are in position to overtake Florida in the Southeast.

Shutout losses to the Canes and Islanders are concerning, however.

9. Colorado Avalanche

Last week: 15

Winners of three of their last four, the Avalanche have passed the Wild for the second spot in the division and the eight-seed in the conference.

With a good February, this suddenly hot team has the potential to create separation in the division.

8. Vancouver Canucks

Last week: 2

The Canucks have created separation in the Northwest Division, but are not invulnerable.

Vancouver lost their first two contests in their recent six-game homestand before beating San Jose 4-3.

7. Pittsburgh Penguins

Last week: 22

With a miasma of injuries that led to a six-game losing streak, hockey fans outside of Pittsburgh speculated that the mighty Penguins were going to collapse.

How did Pittsburgh respond?

They won five games in a row.

Injuries are still a problem for this team, especially in a division like the Atlantic, but right now the Pens are sitting pretty.

6. Boston Bruins

Last week: 6

The Bruins suddenly look vulnerable.

In their last three games, the B’s lost 5-3 in Tampa and were nipped by the Rangers 3-2 in OT.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier, either.

Boston finishes January with contests in Philly, Washington and against Ottawa.

5. Chicago Blackhawks

Last week: 11

The Hawks had their three-game win streak snuffed by Nashville in Tennessee last week.

They’ve got a chance to get back at their division rivals this week with a Tuesday matchup against the Preds in Chi-town.

4. New York Rangers

Last week: 1

An OT win over the mighty Bruins is encouraging, but the Blueshirts have hit a rough patch recently.

New York was crushed 4-1 by lowly Montreal and injured Pittsburgh in recent contests.

3. Nashville Predators

Last week: 7

Save for a 3-0 shutout in the Garden, this resilient Nashville club has won seven of their last eight and remains competitive in the Central.

Following their big win over Chicago, the Preds have a warm-up game against Columbus before a three-game road trip.

2. St. Louis Blues

Last week: 3

Stingy D is the name of the game for this St. Louis club that will not send a skater to the All-Star Game in Ottawa.

The Blues have put themselves in position to overtake the Central by winning all but one game in January.

They have given up three goals twice this month. They beat Edmonton 4-3 in one of those contests and it took an overtime period for Vancouver to find the net a third time in the team’s only loss this month.

1. Detroit Red Wings

Last week: 4

The Wings have won 16-straight at home (16-straight!) and currently sit atop the mighty Central Division.

Detroit has won six-straight but cannot let off the gas pedal.

St. Louis and Chicago are ready to pounce at any sign of vulnerability.