NHL Power Rankings: Down Goes Detroit
OH MY GOODNESS! Detroit lost a home game!
After 23 consecutive wins in hockeytown the Wings finally lost a home game; however, it was in a shoot out and against one of the best teams in the league, Vancouver. In other news, the trade deadline is 3pm on Monday, and there have been a few notable trades, those along with the Rick Nash saga will be covered a little later. First here are this week’s power rankings.
The first few times with this I used many different pieces of data for the rankings, and a lot had been based on the season long play of the team. That factor is still a major part of my rankings, but a team’s last 10 games should have the most weight in my opinion. I mean you can find the NHL standings on many websites, and I felt my rankings were almost a carbon copy of that. The teams may not change too much, but their positions will. There’s a new #1 this week so here we go….
#1- Vancouver Canucks: As mentioned above, the Canucks beat the Red Wings at home this week. They now sit one point behind DET for tops in the NHL. As I’m writing this, they are getting ready for another tough road test this evening, the New Jersey Devils. They’ve scored points in 9 of their last 10 games and are hitting their stride at the critical point of the season.. After the trade deadline there is only a little more than a month left in the regular season and the Canucks will be looking for redemption after last years’ finals loss. With balanced team and great goaltending it’s hard not to like this team, and they have Swedish twins. Who doesn’t like Swedish twins?
#2- Phoenix Coyotes: In the month of February the team has lost only one game, a shootout against Vancouver. They’ve scored 19 out of a possible 20 points this month and they are now the 7th seed in the west and are tied with San Jose for the division lead. Early season talk of UFA to be and team captain Shane Doan getting moved at the deadline doesn’t appear to be likely; not with the way this team has been playiog. The team has ownership problems, because when the NHL is owner that’s not good for anyone. They can’t seem to find a buyer to stay in Arizona, but that arena project in Seattle is looking like a nice landing spot in my opinion. Off the ice issues aside the Coyotes have been on a tear and they look to challenge San Jose for the 3rd seed and division title.
#3- New Jersey Devils: It’s been just over two years since Lou Lamoriello made the deal to acquire Ilya Kovalchuck from the Atlanta Thrashers. It’s taken some time but he finally seems comfortable with his role. In the 10 games played so far this month Kovy has 18 points. He’s playing on as high a level as ever and if the Devs are going to make any noise in the playoffs he’ll be a huge factor. There’s also Zach Parise and Patrik Elias tallying up the score sheet as well. Rookie of the year candidate Adam Henrique just returned recently from injury and defensemen Henrik Tallinder and Adam Larson appear to be getting closer. That, along with the return of Travis Zajac sometime in mid-march should give the Devils tremendous depth, especially up front. Early season moves to acquire Kurtis Foster and, more importantly, Alex Ponikarovsky, have proven more than beneficial to the team and when the team gets healthy they’ll be as deep as anyone in the league. The Devs, 9-1-1 since the all-star break, play Vancouver tonight, Tampa on Sunday, and have a showdown in the Garden Monday night against the Rangers. If the Rangers stumble against the Islanders and Sabres and NJ keeps up their winning ways they could only be trailing NY by 3 points going into Monday’s game.
#4- New York Rangers- Sitting atop the east the Rangers have been strong this month, just not as strong as the 3 teams above them. The Rangers trial DET by 4 points for tops in the NHL, but they do have 4 games in hand. The asking price seems like it’ll be high, but the Rangers are on the short list to land rick Nash, if anyone does. Chants of “We don’t want you” were heard at the Garden last Sunday, but I’m sure that’s more of a cry for support for Brandon Dubinsky than anything else. How could you not want Rick Nash? I feel Dubinsky, minor leaguers and draft picks won’t be enough to land Nash, but if it is, Sather should execute that trade ASAP. The Rangers face the Islanders and Sabres before a home match up with the Devils Monday night that is must see TV.
#5- Detroit Red Wings- The home win streak is over, but an NHL record 23 straight in front of your hometown fans is a tremendous accomplishment. I promise that no team is looking forward to playing in Detroit anytime soon and especially in the playoffs. To be honest, I really miss the octopi flying onto the ice, and hopefully one fan is brave enough to do that in the playoffs. Detroit’s biggest achilles heal is their 15-16-1 road record but if they can retain the #1 seed out West they won’t have to travel much. Getting Jimmy Howard back from injury has and will continue to be a big boost for the Wings. Howard and Lunqvist (NY Rangers), along with Rinne(NSH) are the leading candidates for the Vezina trophy. This could be Nick Lidstrom’s last year, and I’m sure there’s nothing more he would like than going out as a champion. Let’s see if the Wings make a move by Monday to help them ion the chase for the cup.
#6- Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks won’t listen to anyone that says they are out of the running for the playoffs. They’ve won 7 out of their last 10, and with the help of two of those losses being in OT/SO, sit only 4 points out of a crowded tie for 8th place (Dallas, Calgary, and LA are all tied with 66 points). They still have 5 teams to overtake to get into that 8th spot but with the way they’ve been playing this month it seems anything but impossible. The ageless wonder Teamu Selanne shows no signs of slowing down and perhaps he could be the driving force for the Ducks to be a sleeper candidate for the cup; that is if they can get into the show.
#7- St. Louis Blues: That tight central division race has been spread out a little bit more recently. However, St. Louis sits only 4 points behind DET with a game in hand. This team is thriving under Coach Ken Hitchcock and they have one of the top goaltending tandems in the league. They don’t score much (They rank 22nd in goals scored) but they play good defense and are about mid pack on the PK. They aren’t filled with household names either which could be beneficial come playoff time. No one expects much from an underdog but the players get motivated by it rather quickly. They are one of the best teams in the league, but it’s easy to get lost with the Detroits and Vancouvers of the world. I think they have the potential to “upset” some big names in the West if they make a deep playoff run, but the team will know along that they are upsetting nobody. It’s been an impressive season in St. Louis. The Cardinals just won, the Blues are killing it, and maybe the Rams can trade that 2nd pick in the draft for something really good and get back to winning next year.
#8- Winnipeg Jets: Where did these guys come from? The team that could do no right for all those years in Atlanta has found themselves 3rd in the east by virtue of leading the rather weak southeast division and going 6-3-1 in their last 10. The Panthers have been struggling of late and Washington, Carolina and Tampa have been struggling all season. The division is up for grabs but it’s hard to see any team advancing past round number 1. Still, the team that sits a few hours north of the Dakotas and Minnesota (let’s fix this southeast division thing NHL) is dominating the warm weather teams form the south right now and they could bring playoff hockey back to Winnipeg for the first time in a very, very long time. A big congrats to the fans up there, they’ve missed their team and by virtue of all the sell outs they are happy it’s back. It’s not like people in ATL are holding rallies begging for their hockey back either, so I’m not sure I can say I’m sorry to the city, but maybe the 4 or 5 thrasher fans that are there.
#9- Pittsburgh Penguins: No Crosby, no problem? I’m not quite sure fans and the team are willing to agree to that statement, but Evegeni Malkin is simply destroying it this season for the Pens. That along with the play of James Neal has really helped fill the Crosby void. Malkin’s always been great, but now he seems to be getting the credit he has always deserved; he’s elevated his play with Sid the Kid out of the lineup and is a serious contender (if not front runner) for the MVP of the league. Crosby’s been skating with the team this week, but his return is uncertain. He’s basically missed the last year and a half, but with head injuries (and also apparently spine/neck injuries) it is imperative to wait until the time is right for a return. That time may be this season, the playoffs, or maybe even into next year, but the Pens and Crosby know it’s better to careful than to be sorry.
#10- Ottawa Senators: After a horrendous run the Sens have won 4in a row and they’ve developed a nice 6 point cushion over the 8th place Florida Panthers. While in 7th place, they trail New Jersey by only 2 points for 4th. Everyone, except Winnipeg, has played fewer games than them so we’ll see if they can keep pace after the teams in front of, and behind them, catch up in games played. The Sens, along with NJ, have been a nice turn around story in the East this year and if Ottawa can keep playing well and make it into the playoffs they are going to be a dangerous team for the division winner that has to play them in the first round.
Trade Talk
Where’s Rick Nash going? That is the big story and nobody knows as of yet but the Blue Jackets did make a move yesterday, as Jeff Carter was traded to the LA Kings for Defenseman Jack Johnson (solid, solid player) and a 1st round draft pick. It looks like a nice win-win for both teams. The Kings desperately need some scoring help and a change in environment could be beneficial for Carter as his first season in Columbus has been a disaster. The Bluejackets get a much needed defenseman and 1st round pick to grab some talent in this year’s draft.
The thing about Nash is if Columbus doesn’t get the deal it wants they have Nash under contract for a number of years. If they don’t get blown away by an offer (Brandon Dubinsky isn’t blowing anyone away) Nash will likely stay put. Perhaps if there is more time in the summer to craft a deal it will get done yet but I’m not sure the Kings, Rangers, or any other team really has enough fire power to get the deal done right now. Maybe one GM just goes all out and makes a play for him, but we’ll know soon enough Monday at 3pm.
Next week will bring about new rankings and a break down of trades if any happen at all. That’s all until next week puck heads!
