NHL Power Rankings: All-Star Edition

NHL Power Rankings: All-Star Game Weekend Edition

The top 10 teams all have extra analysis, plus any others I have something to say about.

Example:

Rank. (Last Week's Rank) Team Name (Points, record)

1. (3) San Jose Sharks (73 pts, 34-6-5)

And so the Sharks are reunited with the top spot on the power rankings. They had fallen all the way to third last week, but came back strong this week. It started with their 6-5 victory over the Red Wings earlier this week and then the 2-1 victory over the Canucks in overtime last Tuesday.

The two home wins have extended the Shark's home record to an amazing 22-1-2, moved their last-ten record to an impressive 7-2-1, and given them a five-point lead over Detroit in the Western Conference Standings.

All-Star Game Representatives: Patrick Marleau (F), Dan Boyle (D) , Joe Thornton (F)

2. (1) Boston Bruins (73 pts, 34-8-5)

They've gone 1-1-1 since I have last published these power rankings, which is decent but probably not what they'd like to see. The Bruins started on Saturday with a 2-1 loss in Washington, then continued with a 5-4 overtime loss to the Blues, and finished their stretch before the All-Star Break with a 4-3 shootout win in Toronto.

Boston has, as you've probably noticed, fallen a spot in the rankings, but if they continue to play like this, they shouldn't have too much to worry about, given that their conference lead is 10 points. However, like I've mentioned before, look for this team to fall off down the stretch.

All-Star Representatives: Marc Savard (F), Zdeno Chara (D), Tim Thomas (G)

3. (2) Detroit Red Wings (68 pts, 31-9-6)

The Red Wings 0-2 record this week finishes out a disappointing overall finish heading into the All-Star Game by all "Big Three" teams. It started with a 6-5 road loss to San Jose on Saturday night, and then ended Tuesday in Phoenix with a 6-3 loss to the red-hot Coyotes.

However, this talented team is still 7-2-1 in their last ten games, despite missing several key players. With all of Detroit's experience, this team has nothing to worry about until the Conference finals.

All-Star Representatives: Pavel Datsyuk (F) **will not play**, Niklas Lidstrom (D) **will not play**.

4. (5) Washington Capitals (63 pts, 30-15-3)

2-1 this week for the Capitals, who posted 2-1 victories over both the Bruins (Saturday night) and Islanders (Monday night), and then fell to the Sharks 3-2 on Tuesday. The Capitals continue to form into one of the NHL's newest dynasties with their strong base of talented Russian players.

Despite an average 6-4 record in their last ten games, the Capitals will easily manage a top-three seed going into the playoffs, because their lead on the Hurricanes and Panthers in the division is 12-points, pretty insurmountable for two mediocre teams like Carolina and Florida.

All-Star Game Representative: Alexander Ovechkin (F)

5. (7) New Jersey Devils (61 pts, 29-15-3)

This team has been great recently. I have though a lot recently that this team was going to burst their bubble and shoot up the standings soon, and they just did. Despite having the first four of their five-game winning streak be on the road, New Jersey has won five games in a row and taken the lead in their division.

The Devils are also 3-0 since the last edition of these power rankings, having defeated the Islanders 3-1, the Predators 3-1, and the Canadiens 5-2.

All-Star Representative: Zach Parise (F)

6. (4) Calgary Flames (60 pts, 28-14-4)

The Flames were an unimpressive 1-2 this week, but are still 7-3 in their last ten games and are maintaining the third spot in the Western Conference standings. The Flames dropped both games of last weekend's back-to-back, 4-3 vs. Phoenix and then 6-2 @ Colorado.

Fortunately for Calgary, though, they ended their short slump with a 5-4 shootout victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

This team is looking red-hot right now, and seem to be quite a threat looking towards April and beyond.

All-Star Representative: Jarome Iginla (F)

7. (6) Montreal Canadiens (60 pts, 27-13-6)

Despite getting killed Wednesday by the fiery New Jersey Devils 5-2, this Canadiens team is talented, and maybe having four representatives in the All-Star game can spark this team away from a just mediocre 6-4 record in their last ten.

And one more thing: All-Star Game prediction: Kovalev, Markov, and Komisarek will combine for at least four goals.

All-Star Representatives: Alexei Kovalev (F), Andrei Markov (D), Mike Komisarek (D), Carey Price (G)

8. (8) New York Rangers (60 pts, 28-16-4)

Lundqvist is definitely deserving of the All-Star spot he received, and the Rangers are also deserving of the fifth-place spot they currently hold. Earlier in the season, I doubted the Rangers quite a lot, but now they've proved me wrong.

New York is 1-1 since we last discussed them here, having suffered a 3-0 shutout by the struggling Penguins on NBC's Sunday "Game of the Week", and then rebounding with a 4-2 win over Anaheim on Monday night.

My feeling on this team: look for them to go far this season. Of course, that's just my gut feeling.

All-Star Representative: Henrik Lundqvist (G)

9. (10) Philadelphia Flyers (59 pts, 25-12-9)

The Flyers have another All-Star that is in their rightful spot in Montreal tomorrow in Jeff Carter, and the team has really improved since last Saturday.

6-2-2 in their last ten isn't bad at all, and they are undefeated since we last talked about them. Of course, the Flyers are just 1-0 in that span: a 5-3 win over the lowly Atlanta Thrashers.

All-Star Representative: Jeff Carter (F)

10. (9) Chicago Blackhawks (58 pts, 25-12-8)

The 5-4-1 record needs to improve, but they are 14-4-5 at home, or really 14-3-5 at home, and hopefully for Chicago their three all-stars can get this young, talented team going again.

Since last Saturday, the Blackhawks are 1-2 since Saturday, having defeated St. Louis 2-1 in OT, then losing at home to both the Wild and Blues, 4-1 and 2-0.

All-Star Representatives: Patrick Kane (F), Jonathan Teows (F), Brian Campbell (D)

11. (13) Phoenix Coyotes (53 pts, 24-19-5)

Wow, is this team ever playing great right now. They have an outright lead on 5th in the Western Conference, having just defeated the mighty Red Wings 6-3. I doubt they have the experience on the ice to keep it up, but Gretzky appears to be nearly as good at coaching than he was at playing.

All-Star Representative: Shane Doan (F)

12. (11) Buffalo Sabres (53 pts, 24-18-5)

Buffalo is stuck at seventh, having a large differential to climb if they want to move up only a single spot, but this team is 7-3 in their last ten games and 2-1 since we last discussed them. They should have more than just Vanek in the All-Star game, and even he barely got in.

Be watching next Tuesday for their showdown with red-hot Edmonton. I'm sure it'll be a good one.

All-Star Representative: Thomas Vanek (F) (Replacement)

13. (19) Edmonton Oilers (51 pts, 24-19-3)

This team is probably the hottest one in the league, partially because of a huge deal in their trade with the Penguins last weekend. I expected that to really surge this team forward, and it did.

They are 7-3 in their last 10 games, but that in itself isn't even as impressive as the 3-game win streak they've posted against with wins over the Avalanche, Coyotes, and Blue Jackets.

All-Star Representative: Sheldon Souray (D)

14. (15) Minnesota Wild (49 pts, 23-20-3)

All-Star Representative: Niklas Backstrom (G)

15. (16) Carolina Hurricanes (51 pts, 23-20-5)

After going on a dismal five-game losing streak, the Hurricanes came back and won both of their road back-to-back. It started in Toronto on Monday night, when Cam Ward played his best game of this season, having 35 saves on 35 shots and leading Carolina to a 2-0 victory.

The 'Canes then travelled to Pittsburgh, where, after giving up a power play goal to Malkin less than three minutes into the game, Whitney's last first-period tally and Staal's second-period goal gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 edge.

Staal was the first star of the All-Star game last year, having a hat trick that included the game-winning goal with 20 seconds remaining. Let's see if he can do it again.

All-Star Representative: Eric Staal (F)

16. (17) Florida Panthers (50 pts, 21-17-8)

All-Star Representative: Jay Bouwmeester (D)

17. (12) Anaheim Ducks (51 pts, 23-21-5)

All-Star Representatives: Ryan Getzlaf (F), Scott Neidermeyer (D), Jean-Sebastian Giguere (G)

18. (18) Pittsburgh Penguins (50 pts, 23-21-4)

The team is a mess, even though at one point they looked like they would get out of their slump. But then the Hurricanes' 2-1 win in Pittsburgh Tuesday ended all thoughts of getting back on the right track, and the Pens are stuck hoping for Malkin to put up big numbers tomorrow and bring this team out of their slump.

However, there is some good news. They have a 8-point lead at 12th place, so falling down any more spots doesn't seem likely to happen in the near future.

All-Star Representatives: Sidney Crosby (F) **Will not play**, Evgeni Malkin (F)

19. (14) Vancouver Canucks (51 pts, 22-19-7)

I thought they were finally establishing themselves with their December success, but apparently not. The Canucks have won just two games out of their last ten, and are 0-0-2 since last Saturday, having lost to Columbus 6-5 and San Jose 2-1. The Canucks haven't won a game since January the seventh, and are 0-4-2 since that date.

All-Star Representative: Roberto Luongo (G)

20. (20) Columbus Blue Jackets (49 pts, 22-20-5)

Columbus is currently ranked all the way down at 20th, but there is such a logjam in the standings here that if the Blue Jackets pick up one win they've moved into a tie for 13th with the Buffalo Sabres.

All-Star Representative: Rick Nash (F)

21. (22) Dallas Stars (47 pts, 20-18-7)

All-Star Representatives:Mike Modano (F), Stephane Robidas (D) (Replacement)

22. (21) Colorado Avalanche (47 pts, 23-23-1)

I have a little gut feeling that this team will burst their inconsistency soon and rise up the standings very quickly, very soon.

One of the main reasons isn't that they have a lot of talent or anything, but that just six points separate them, at 12th, from fifth place in the Western Conference standings.

All-Star Representative: Milan Hejduk (F)

23. (25) Los Angeles Kings (45 pts, 19-20-7)

The Kings are definitely doing better than last year's bitter campaign, but they still haven't yet found enough consistency to be a playoff team. However, they are 2-0-1 since the last edition of these power rankings, and recently won both of a back-to-back, 5-2 over Minnesota and 6-5 over Colorado.

All-Star Representative: Dustin Brown (F)

24. (23) Nashville Predators (43 pts, 20-23-3)

This team was a playoff team just last season, remember?! Not this year, at least! They are 3-7 in their last ten games, and have lost three straight.

Since we last talked about them, the Predators were routed by the dismal Thrashers 7-2 in Nashville, which may have been the worst game they've had all season. They then stayed in Tennessee to face the Devils, and were once again losers, this time 3-1.

Next Wednesday is a prime time to turn around the slump in struggling Vancouver. Should be quite an important and exciting game!

All-Star Representative: Shea Weber (D)

25. (29) St. Louis Blues (42 pts, 19-23-4)

All-Star Representative: Keith Tkachuk (F)

26. (24) Toronto Maple Leafs (42 pts, 17-22-8)

The bottom five teams in these power rankings are all from the Eastern Conference. It doesn't matter much, but it does say something for the struggling teams in the West.

This team needs to find consistency, and quickly. 2-6-2 isn't going to do you much good, and all of a sudden they are 8 points out of 10th, at 11th.

All-Star Representative: Tomas Kaberle (D)

27. (27) Tampa Bay Lightning (42 pts, 16-21-10)

6-4 in their last 10 isn't great, but it is progress for this rebuilding Tampa Bay team.

All-Star Representatives: Vincent Lecavalier (F), Martin St.Louis (F) (Replacement)

28. (26) Ottawa Senators (39 pts, 16-21-7)

This team has plenty of talent in Heatley and Co., but the team chemistry is terrible right now and the Senators are having much more trouble than they should have at winning games!

All-Star Representative: Dany Heatley (F)

29. (28) Atlanta Thrashers (39 pts, 17-26-5)

Hmm. They have some talent floating around, and have managed to go 5-5 in their last ten games, but are still 14th.

All-Star Representative: Ilya Kovalchuk (F)

30. (30) New York Islanders (31 pts, 13-29-5)

The NHL All-Star Game must have had a mighty tough time picking out an "All-Star" from this train-wreck of a team.

All-Star Representative: Mark Streit (D)