The NHL Power Rankings – Week 6
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
There is a bit of a shakeup at the top of this week’s power rankings, and some problems at home are the only thing keeping the Colorado Avalanche out of the top spot this week. A four-win week has the Pittsburgh Penguins at number one, while a lot of your usual suspects make up the cream of the crop. Unfortunately for the Buffalo Sabres and their fans, the team can’t seem to buy a win and it’s only going to get colder in upstate New York. At least the Bills gave the Chiefs a fight this week. If they could only get Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller on skates…Here are the Week 6 Power Rankings:
30. Buffalo Sabres: 2-13-1 Losses to the Rangers and the Ducks this past week are moving this year’s Sabres towards the record book. Things don’t get easier with a west coast trip that sees the Sharks, Kings, and Ducks all in the same week.
29. Edmonton Oilers: 3-10-2 The first of the 3 win teams, Edmonton was embarrassed by new conference foe Detroit in their last outing. Jodan Eberle’s play has been one of the lone bright spots and with a visit to Florida this week, Edmonton can climb a few spots up these rankings.
28. Florida Panthers: 3-8-3 Can we say that they are the Edmonton Oilers of Florida? A lack of consistent offense has doomed this team from the start of the season. The goaltending has been solid but with Tim Thomas not at 100 percent, I can see this team losing to Edmonton and struggling to keep up with their offensive minded opponents this week.
27. New Jersey Devils: 3-6-4 It is always refreshing to see Jaromir Jagr playing at a high level. It makes me feel young again, and with my birthday coming up this week (No cards without any checks, please), sometimes you can use some nostalgia. However, Jagr is likely to break down at some point this season and these Devils will need more offense to support the fine defense they seem to bring every year.
26. Ottawa Senators: 4-6-4 The Sens seem to have a problem somewhat unique to the lower level teams in the league. They can score, as they have shown in their close games with the Islanders and Stars this week, but they can’t seem to keep anyone out of the slot area. One positive sign is the play of Erik Karlsson who is coming off a scary Achilles injury from last year. I see the Sens picking it up this week as Jason Spezza and his linemates get into a groove. (Craig Anderson getting hurt in last night’s loss doesn’t help the Sens cause either).
25. Philadelphia Flyers: 4-9-0 We can talk about the fight. We can talk about the absurdity that is Ray Emery. But I think when looking at this Flyer’s team, we may want to look at the marginal improvement over the last two weeks. A few wins over some good teams and a schedule with some potential W’s can get the monkey off their backs. The team also moved Maxime Talbot this week for veteran Steve Downie, who when healthy, is a great veteran presence on the ice for a team that can use some stability.
24. Carolina Hurricanes: 4-7-3 To me, they are very difficult to watch because not only do they struggle to score the puck, but when they do, it happens very slowly. The Hurricanes are below league average in almost every significant category and I have to admit that I will not be watching their match with the Islanders this week, even though I tend to watch the Isles regularly.
23. Winnipeg Jets: 5-8-2 I am happy that our boy Dustin Byfuglien is getting paid because he won’t be getting any playoff bonuses this year and probably next either. Similar to the Hurricanes, the Jets don’t seem to do anything particularly well, until they are a man down. At least they have really cool jerseys and a city that loves them.
22. Calgary Flames: 5-6-2 Not a banner year for Canada. Though they have a lot of talent, led by Jiri Hudler, the Flames can’t prevent losing streaks because of issues on the defensive end. Missing Mark Giardano for the next two months isn’t going to make thing easier.
21. Columbus Blue Jackets: 5-8-0 They are struggling as of late, but they have endured a really tough schedule. The goaltending is just too good for this team too struggle for long periods of time. Marion Gaborik has been a revelation and if he stays off the IR, the Blue Jackets should be making a push into the top half of the league by the all-star break. (P.S. Congrats on the 2015 game! Journalists all over the Hemisphere are looking forward to the exotic sights!)
20. Dallas Stars: 6-6-2 So far the Tyler Seguin trade has paid dividends for the Stars. This young team has beaten the teams they’ve needed to and have kept games close against some of the league’s best. Also, as the weeks go on, fewer players want to get in Antoine Roussel’s way. Put his name into YouTube and you will only get fights and hits from the 23 year-old.
Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
19. Nashville Predators: 7-5-2 This team is close to being one of the top 10 teams in the league. They need to get better on offense in even strength scenarios to help support the back-end. An impressive win in LA this week shows what they are capable of, but until they figure out how to score against five opponents, they may be wasting this part of Pekka Rinne’s career.
18. New York Rangers: 6-7-0 East coast bias? Perhaps. The men in blue are getting better as the season rolls on as Rick Nash gets more comfortable with his teammates (Note: Rick Nash is out with a concussion, Timetable for his return is unknown). Back-to-back wins against the Sabres and the Hurricanes have fans in the Big Apple shying away from their cries of “Fire Vigneault.” My only question is, how good can Derek Stepan be?
17. Washington Capitals: 7-7-0 Nicklas Backstrom has been red hot the last three weeks and Braden Holtby is has experienced the one fight minimum for goalies in their careers. Alex Ovechkin is dealing with the dreaded upper body injury bug, but it will be interesting to see how the team responds to teams being physical with them from here on out.
16. Montreal Canadiens: 8-7-0 I really like this Canadiens team and even though they endured a tough week, their blue line play is exquisite. P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov had good weeks and it should only be a matter of time before the offense starts to do their part.
15. New York Islanders: 6-5-3 A 3-1 victory over the Boston Bruins this weekend shows how good this young Islanders squad can be. They can score, they can control the puck, and they can even hit a little bit. Their biggest issues are keeping bigger players out of the crease. Their division has been weak, so I can see them snagging key wins against teams like the Capitals and the Hurricanes this week. Also, their acquisition of Thomas Vanek for Matt Moulson is a win-now move that Islander fans should become more accustomed to in the coming years.
14. Minnesota Wild: 7-4-3 I am not sure what to make of this Wild team. From an advanced statistics viewpoint, they would be the baseball equivalent of a “lucky” team. They don’t score much, but they don’t give up many goals, but they do score on the power play, but they do give up power play goals (that was a mouthful). Perhaps it helps that Josh Harding has been the best goalie in the league the past two weeks, and maybe even all season.
13. Vancouver Canucks: 10-5-1 The Sedin twins inked matching contract extensions this week to remind Canucks fans that being a consistent fringe contender isn’t that bad of a thing. Maybe bringing in a fiery coach like John Tortorella will help push this always talented roster to another level? Their 4-0 victory over the impressive Toronto Maple Leafs this past week shows just how good they can be.
12. Boston Bruins: 8-5-0 They didn’t need to play well this week because the city of Boston was a bit distracted. With losses in three of their last four, the Bruins are going to need to wake up a bit to not slip in the conference standings. Five straight games at home will help, and Tukka Rask continues to make his contract extension look like the right move by the Bruin front office.
11. Los Angeles Kings: 9-6-0 A rough week for the Kings has them in a similar position to the Boston Bruins. We know they have the talent, and more importantly, all-world goaltending (See. Jonathan Quick). But the entire team with perhaps the exception of Anze Kopitar (Four points in his last two games) has struggled and Quick’s poor week is hopefully just a blip on the radar screen.
10. Phoenix Coyotes: 10-3-2 A win over the Sharks starts a tough, but important stretch for the Coyotes this week. They can show that they are contender material with wins or good efforts against the Canucks and the Ducks this week. Also, since his early hat-trick, can Radim Vrbata find the net again. He only has two goals since his career day and if he gets going, this team is scarier than they already are on offense.
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
9. Detroit Red Wings: 9-4-2 Does anyone else miss the Red Wings? They shellacked the Oilers and continue to play at a high-level in the Atlantic Division. Did anyone think things would change? No. Does the prospect of a Red Wings v. ‘Hawks Stanley Cup excite me? Yes.
8. Toronto Maple Leafs: 10-5-0 The goaltending has been outstanding and the play of Phil Kessel is MVP worthy.They are going to miss former Blackhawk Dave Bolland, who is out from surgery on his leg. The best team in Canada title is worth something I am sure, but the Leafs are legitimate Cup threats.
7. St. Louis Blues: 8-2-2 My pick to make it to the Cup continues to play well on both sides of the puck. Alexander Steen has been a revelation and the power play is frightening to opponents. As of now I am sticking with my prediction and I think the duo of Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak continues to shut down the premiere offenses in the league.
6. Tampa Bay Lightning: 10-4-0 Who will finish the year with more goals? Steven Stamkos or the aforementioned Alexander Steen? I can bet that is a question no one thought they would be asking this year. The answer will be Stamkos, but I like the idea of Lightning and Blues fans getting into it with each other, because who thought that could ever happen!
5. Anaheim Ducks: 11-3-1 This core has been together for a few years now and seems to be a somewhat better version of the Vancouver Canucks. Corey Perry and Mathieu Perreault had good weeks and are having solid seasons as of today. The question is can they play that physical style that becomes more prevalent as the season wears on? And how is such a talented power play unit among the league’s worst at converting these chances?
4. Chicago Blackhawks: 9-2-3 They need to get better a man down, does that sound familiar? I have faith that the ‘Hawks will turn around their struggles on the penalty kill, much like they did in last year’s playoffs. Corey Crawford is getting healthier and will begin to play games on consecutive nights, which is a great sign considering how poorly the Bulin Wall has played this season. Maybe it was a mistake to sign a guy who is old enough to be my creepy uncle?
3. San Jose Sharks: 10-1-3 A two-loss week drops the Sharks down a few spots, but I don’t think they will be here for long. Close games against the Coyotes and the Kings didn’t go their way, but the balance of this roster is still very impressive. I think the play of Antti Niemi is often overlooked and if he wants some better PR, he should come back east. I have a small one bedroom in Manhattan but we can make it work! (PS I love Antti!)
2. Colorado Avalanche: 12-1-0 Semyon Varlamov is going to be very busy in the coming weeks, so it is interesting to see how much ice time he gets for the team with the most points in the NHL. If he is out for an extended period of time, I don’t see Jean-Sebastien Giguere continuing his cosmic play. Rookie Nathan MacKinnon has two straight games with a point and has been as good as advertised so far this season.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins: 11-4-0 Uh oh! Remember, this is more or less the same team that went on a winning streak that rivaled last year’s historic Blackhawks run. Four wins last week and the teams seems to be gelling at the right time. The key for them is health. Outside of an injured James Neal, everyone is in pretty good shape, making these Penguins a lot scarier than the ones in that awful James Carrey movie.
BONUS: Click here for some of the Top Goals from the last week in the NHL.