NHL Power Rankings: Minnesota Tries to Stave off Vancouver in the Northwest

I’m out in Colorado on a ski trip with some college buddies, so I felt it was appropriate to give a little love to the Northwest Division.

To the natives:

It’s tough. The Avs have great young players (Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly), players with upside (Erik Johnson and Gabriel Landeskog) and proven veterans (Milan Hejduk and Paul Stastny), but they are clearly the weak link in the division.

Sacco needs to go.

The Flames are in need of a youth movement, but have shown signs of life recently. Nobody in Calgary is complaining about their recent winning.

Edmonton showed promise early in the season, but it looks like they’re still a few years out from reaping the benefits of years of high draft picks.

This division will come down to two teams, however:

Vancouver was expected to come out of the gates with a vengeance after the Game 7 fiasco last year. They started cold, but look like the Canucks of last year now.

They are dangerous in mid-season form.

If the Wild want to make the playoffs for the first time since winning the division in 2007-08, they will have to stave off the red-hot Canucks.

Mike Yeo has galvanized this team, however, and their defense looks impenetrable.

I’ll be honest; I like the Wild’s chances this year.

30. Carolina Hurricanes

Last week: 28

Things are bad in Carolina.

The Canes have only one win in their last nine games.

29. Anaheim Ducks

Last week: 29

Things aren’t getting better for the Ducks.

They have only one win in December. It did come against the crosstown rival Kings, however.

28. Edmonton Oilers

Last week: 21

After a great start, Edmonton has hit a roadblock.

Recent losses include Calgary (twice) and the lowly Canes.

27. Columbus Blue Jackets

Last week: 27

The Blue Jackets have lost three of the last four.

Their lone win came against the struggling Canadiens.

26. Tampa Bay Lightning

Last week: 24

This season has been a struggle for Tampa Bay.

They’ve had one win in their last seven games.

25. Ottawa Senators

Last week: 25

Owners of the league’s worst defense, the Senators have given up four-plus goals in their last three games.

All three have been losses.

Any semblance of defense would do wonders for this team.

24. Colorado Avalanche

Last week: 15

The Avalanche have lost three straight against Northwest Division rivals.

It’s going to be a long season in Denver.

23. Los Angeles Kings

Last week: 11

2.2 goals per game, last in NHL, the Kings are not going to cut it in the Pacific Division dogfight.

They’ve lost their last four games.

22. New Jersey Devils

Last week: 30

The Devils had something good going with wins over Toronto and Ottawa.

Then they lost to Montreal…

21. Montreal Canadiens

Last week: 26

The Canadiens continue to struggle, but things are looking better.

They had an impressive win over LA, clipped New Jersey and got a point in all three losses—which ended in a shootout.

20. Dallas Stars

Last week: 12

After losing to the Islanders and getting crushed by the Sharks, the Stars picked up a win in Los Angeles to temporarily vault to the top of the Pacific Division.

How long will it last?

It’s tough to tell. Everyone except the Ducks has a chance in this division.

19. Toronto Maple Leafs

Last week: 10

It’s all offense for the Leafs. Their lack of defense is costing them.

They have one win in their last five games.

18. New York Islanders

Last week: 17

The Islanders had a good stretch of games (by Islanders standards) before being routed by Pittsburgh on Saturday.

They picked up wins against Dallas and Tampa Bay and took Chicago into extra minutes twice.

(By the way, those third jerseys are ugly.)

17. Phoenix Coyotes

Last week: 19

A 10 percent scoring rate on the power play is abysmal, but the Coyotes remain in the hunt in the Pacific.

16. Nashville Predators

Last week: 18

Games against the lowly Blue Jackets and Ducks have done wonders for the Predators.

Nashville picked up two wins, getting things going in the right direction after a tough end to November.

15. San Jose Sharks

Last week: 14

The Sharks continue to struggle on the penalty kill and have lost three of their last four.

It’s not time to panic yet, though.

The Pacific Division race remains close and the Sharks are a few wins away from rising above Phoenix and Dallas.

14. Buffalo Sabres

Last week: 20

The Sabres have experienced ups and downs recently.

They took the juggernaut Flyers to overtime, beat the Panthers in extra time, but then were routed by the Rangers.

Buffalo needs to get healthy. The return of their superstars should bring stability.

13. Washington Capitals

Last week: 22

Scheduling should help the Capitals this month.

They’ve won three of four against mediocre teams and have only two daunting opponents, Philly and New York (maybe Buffalo, if they get healthy), for the rest of the month.

Washington can take advantage of a weak division and get back into the playoff race in December.

12. Winnipeg Jets

Last week: 23

The Jets haven’t lost in December.

That includes a win over Boston.

Not bad for a team in their first season.

11. Calgary Flames

Last week: 16

All of a sudden the Flames are hot; they’ve won four of five.

Granted, the only good team they beat was Edmonton (twice) and nobody’s sold on Edmonton yet.

Their lone loss was a rout by the Canucks.

10. St. Louis Blues

Last week: 13

Behind the league’s best defense, the Blues have won three straight.

They need to work on their power play, however. It is operating at a 10 percent rate.

9. New York Rangers

Last week: 3

Losses to Toronto and Tampa are tough to swallow—the Rangers are better than both teams.

The Blueshirts rallied, however, with a 4-1 win over Buffalo.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins

Last week: 5

Losses to Boston and Philadelphia indicate who’s who right now in the East.

The Penguins rebounded with a 6-3 win over the Islanders, however, and still remain a force in the Atlantic Division.

7. Chicago Blackhawks

Last week: 4

Strong offensively, the Blackhawks continue to lead the Central Division despite playing mediocre defense.

They’re playing well, having won three of their last four.

6. Detroit Red Wings

Last week: 2

The Wings are playing great hockey.

Their only weakness is the penalty kill.

Losses to Colorado and St. Louis indicate that there’s a chink in the armor, however.

5. Boston Bruins

Last week: 1

The Bruins may have taken the Winnipeg loss hard.

They were shut out by Florida the next day, but rebounded well with a 5-3 win over the hapless Blue Jackets.

4. Florida Panthers

Last week: 9

The Panthers look ready to join the NHL’s upper class.

They beat juggernauts in San Jose, Washington (a team that, admittedly, is struggling) and Boston before losing to Buffalo in overtime.

3. Vancouver Canucks

Last week: 8

The Canucks are playing great hockey.

They have the league’s second-best offense, a top-10 defense, the best power play and fourth-best penalty kill.

The result?

One loss in their last 10 games.

2. Philadelphia Flyers

Last week: 6

The Flyers continue to lead the league in goal scoring with 3.6 goals per game and have the league’s fourth-best power play.

The result:

Five straight wins and the Atlantic Division lead.

1. Minnesota Wild

Last week: 7

The Wild have won seven straight.

They may not be scoring, but they’re a juggernaut in the NHL.