Sorts of Sports

NHL Power Rankings Week ?

Steve is back with the NHL Power Rankings. But it has been awhile so I forget what week we are at. Maybe 30 games left? I'll be front row Bruins / Canadians tomorrow though.

	*	Vancouver continues to role behind the strong goaltending of Roberto Luongo, who recorded his third shutout of the season in a win this week against Phoenix.  Don’t look now, but Daniel Sedin is leading the NHL in points, too.
	*	Philly continues to roll atop the Eastern Conference.  With an 8-2-0 record in their last 10 they show no signs of stopping either.  A nice win over Dallas last night shows that the goaltending is strong enough to get them back to the finals.
	*	Tampa Bay is getting pretty solid goaltending from Dwayne Roloson and are 3 points ahead of Washington for the top spot in the Southeast Division.  Teddy Purcell’s 34 points to date has been a very pleasant surprise for Guy Boucher, a Jack Adams candidate for coach of the year.
	*	Pittsburgh has been strong (8-2) without Crosby, but they will now be without Evgeni Malkin too.  They’re second in the league in allowing goals so they should still be okay, but there will a lot more 2-1 losses than there were prior to losing both.
	*	Detroit is starting to show its lack of depth with injuries starting to creep up on them and having been shutout in their last two contests.  They have a 5 point cushion over Nashville and once Datsyuk comes back they should start to roll again, so it isn’t panic time yet in Hockeytown.
	*	Dallas had a wild loss to Boston the other night and followed it up with a loss last night to Philadelphia, their east coast swing isn’t going very well, and don’t look now but they are only three points ahead of surging San Jose and Anaheim.
	*	Boston has won 3 out of 4, and without Savard they can return to the lineup they had at the beginning of the season.  They are currently sitting atop the Northeast Division with a +42 goal differential, which is one of the best in the NHL.
	*	The Sharks are starting to play at the level everybody expected them too.  7-2-1, in their last ten games, the Sharks are starting to put pressure on Dallas for the top spot.
	*	Similar to San Jose, Anaheim is starting to roll and this is without top center, Ryan Getzlaf.  7-3 in their last 10 with Getlaf due to return this week, could put Anaheim in a really good spot come the end of the month and deadline day.
	*	The Caps got a big road win against Tampa Bay the other night, and are only 3 points behind the Bolts, but they are still playing too inconsistently.  They need Alexander Semin to get healthy in order to balance out the scoring.
	*	Nashville broke a 4 game losing streak with an impressive 2-0 home win over the Red Wings Saturday night.  Still sitting in 2nd in the Central, the Predators should look to get some offensive help at the deadline.
	*	Montreal is in a battle with Boston for the top spot in the Northeast Division, and has a 6-2-2 record including a 2-0 shutout over the 7th seeded New York Rangers.
	*	Calgary has been on fire, winning 6 of last 7 and 7 of 10.  Jarome Iginla has been doing a ton of scoring, and they have climbed back into the playoff picture, only one point behind Los Angeles for the final spot in the playoffs.
	*	They got Dubinsky, Callahan, and Prospal back this week after long injury battles, but it hasn’t helped.  They are 0-2-1 coming out of the all-star break.  It will take a while for the team to gel again.
	*	Phoenix broke a two game losing streak with a nice 1-0 win, Saturday vs. Minnesota, they were in the top 6 a week or so ago but now are only 2 points from falling out of the top 8 in the west.
	*	Los Angeles sits in last place in the Pacific Division, but for their sake, they currently hold the 8th spot, with a 6-3-1 over their last ten, including a 4-3 shootout win over 10th place Calgary last night.
	*	Minnesota has been quietly keeping themselves around the playoff hunt sitting ninth, one spot behind.  Winning 3 of last 4 and 6 of last 10, they are staying in the hunt.  The question is do they have enough offense to get them there?
	*	Carolina won an overtime game against Atlanta last night to take over the final the playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.  However, their schedule is rough over the rest of the month, with 7 of their 10 games against playoff teams, and the other 3 against the surging New Jersey Devils.
	*	Of the teams battling for a playoff spot in the East, they have the most promising schedule, and are 6-4 over their last ten.  Though still struggling with injuries, the Sabers could be the most likely candidate to make that last spot.
	*	Chicago has been playing better as of late, getting points in 7 of their last 10 games (6 wins), but they have lost 3 of 4.  However, like the rest of Western Conference they are close to last playoff spot, currently 2 points out.
	*	Atlanta has been in a funk, only winning 2 of their last 10.  They have surrendered sole possession of that last spot in the Eastern Conference, and have struggled to score with leading scorer Dustin Byfuglien who hasn’t registered a point in 13 contests, that’s a big concern.
	*	Colorado is sitting 4 points in back of LA, with only 4 wins in the last 10.  However, Peter Forsberg could be looming, but it won’t matter unless they start getting goaltending.
	*	The Devils are hot, with 8-1-2 record in their last 12.  They have crept from 27 points back down to 18 behind Carolina and Atlanta.  They have 3 games in hand on Atlanta and play Carolina three times in the next 14 days.
	*	Columbus has been playing better hockey as of late (5-3-2) and Steve Mason is been fairly strong in net, which they need.  It seems like, with them, they’ll stay near the playoff hunt through the rest of the year, but it just doesn’t seem like they will beat out a lot of the teams ahead of them.
	*	Florida continues to have the type of season they usually do.  They are currently six points out of the last spot, and have a very important 5 game homestead coming up.  The games though are tough.
	*	St. Louis is starting to drop back in the pack, in the midst of a road trip and a major slump.  The Blues have better turn things around quick as they are now 14th and 7 points behind the last spot.
	*	Toronto has also been falling with a 3-6-1 record in their last 10.  They do have some games with the teams surrounding them for the last playoff spot coming up, but if they don’t win those games; their hopes of a playoff chance will be done.  They will quickly be sellers at the deadline.
	*	Ottawa is the worst team in hockey right now with only one win in the last 10 and a fire sale looming at the deadline.
	*	The Islanders made the claim on Nabokov, who refused to come to the organization.  You can’t blame him since they won’t be contending for a cup for a few years, especially when their goalie is getting knocked out in fights.
	*	Edmonton has some pieces like Dustin Penner and Ales Hemsky that will probably be moved at the deadline.  Other than that, this is a young team with another top draft pick, and maybe even number one overall again coming up next season.