Power Rankings Week 2

With the season well underway, its time to do power rankings for each team. I will be doing them every 2 weeks and will have a description of the teams play for the past 2 weeks.

1.   San Jose: This is the best team in the NHL right now. The sharks are three teams that are still undefeated and they have played great hockey in their 5 games. The sharks have not allowed more than 2 goals in any of their games and in their last 4 games; they have scored 4 or more and scored 9 against the Rangers on October 8^th.

2.   Penguins: With Sidney Crosby leading the Penguins and Marc-Andre Fluery back in form, the Penguins are a team that could play great defense and put the puck in the net. They have scored more than 3 goals in all 5 games and lost only 1 game. This has happened without one of their best goal scorers, James Neal. Once Neal returns, this team will be very dangerous. 

3.   Colorado: Who would of thought that the Colorado Avalanche being 1 of the 3 teams still undefeated. The team with the 1^st overall pick in the 2013 Entry Level draft, and new youth, this team has played extremely well. They have beaten the Ducks 6-1, shutout my Stanley Cup champions, Boston 2-0 and beat the Capitals 5-1.

4.   St. Louis: The Blues are the 3^rd team that is still undefeated (Sharks and Aves). The difference is that the Blues have only played 4 games compared to 5. That still doesn’t change the fact that the Blues are one of the top teams in the league so far. They have defeated the Blackhawks in a very close playoff type game and then beat the Rangers a few days later. They have yet to play on the road but with the defensive depth they have, that shouldn’t be a problem.

5.  Calgary: Another surprising team in the early part of the season, the Flames have yet to have a regulation lost. All their games have been 1 goal decisions and they have scored more goals than thought. Sean Monahan, the flames 1^st round pick in the 2013 draft has played well and proved that he belongs in the NHL.

6.   Boston: The Bruins has played well in the past few weeks. They have defeated Tampa, Detroit and Columbus. Most of the top 6 has produced but the line of Bergeron, Marchand and Eriksson still has to produce and started to do so against the Blue Jackets. One that line gets going, the Bruins will be a very difficult team to contain and play against.

7.   Toronto: Toronto is tied for the most points in the NHL and the addition of Jonathan Bernier has been huge for the team. He has solidified his position as the starting goalie and has Joffrey Lupul and James Van Riemsdyk leading the team in goals scored (5). The addition of Mason Raymond, who was on a PTO, has added some depth scoring and the defensive unit has played well to start the season.

8.   Ducks: Since losing to the Avalanche in the 1^st game of the season, the Ducks have won 4 straight games. The play of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry has been good and the team’s depth has helped in the scoring. They shutout the Rangers in a 6-0 rout and the also beat one of the better eastern conference teams, the Senators yesterday 4-1.

9.   Chicago: The defending champs haven’t had a “Stanley Cup Hangover” as they have won 3 of their first 5 games and have gotten points in 4 of 5 games. The Hawks lost to the Blues in regulation and to Tampa in a shootout but has been able to score more than 3 in almost all their games. The Hawks will continue to win games and should be one of the favorites by season end.

10. Los Angeles: The Kings are 4-2 in their 6 games but they haven’t really played any good teams yet. They lost to Winnipeg and to the Rangers in their home opener due to a fluke goal allowed. After their loss to the Rangers, the Kings have won 3 straight and their play will improve and so should the wins.

11. Phoenix: The Coyotes have started the season on a very strong note. They lost 2 of their first 3 but have won 3 straight and against some good teams. Radim Vrbata has started well and recorded a hat trick in the Coyotes first game of the season and Mike Smith has played very well. If this play continues, the Coyotes might surprise teams and make the playoffs.

12. Winnipeg: After six games, the Jets are a .500 team and they will probably stay around this number for the rest of the season. They will be a bubble team for most of the season and will have trouble making the playoffs. They started the season well beating the struggling Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings but since then, they have lost 3 of 4.

13. Vancouver: With John Tortorella as the new head coach for the Canucks, the start of their season has been a mixture of ups and downs. They started well, winning 4 of their 1^st 5 games but since then, they have lost 4-1 to both San Jose and Montreal. The loss to Montreal was even worse as they scored on themselves on the power play.

14. Detroit: The Red Wings are in the same situation as the Canucks as the start of their season has had some mix results. They started well, winning their 1^st two games but lost against the Bruins and Phoenix. They beat the flyers on Saturday and their play has to improve if they wish to make the playoffs for another season. 

15. Montreal: Some shaky goaltending at the start of the season but after going 1-2, the Montreal Canadiens have played better and have won 2 in a row. The play of Carey Price has improved and he has allowed only 1 in the last 40 shots. Price is the back-bone for this team and if he can continue this strong play, they will be in the playoffs once again.

16. Minnesota: Minnesota has started slowly losing their first 2 games but have won 3 straight with the strong play of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. The Wild’s goaltending has been shaky and with the injury to Nicklas Backstrom, Josh Harding will be the starter for the time being. This team should be in the playoffs as they have a very good top 6 forwards and a young but good defensive group.

17. Columbus: The Blue Jackets have only played 4 games and they start the season at .500. Bobrovsky has played well enough to keep his team in the games so far but there has been no offensive support by the Blue Jackets. They have scored 11 goals and allowed 10. If the Blue Jackets want to make the playoffs, they will need more from players such as Marian Gaborik and Artem Anisimov.

18. Carolina: The Hurricanes might have the most difficult start of the season as they have played against the Red Wings, Penguins, Capitals and Kings in 4 of their first 6 games. They have won 2 games against the struggling Flyers and Capitals but have lost against teams that will be in the playoffs. This trend might continue due to other teams just being better than them.

19. Ottawa: The Senators started the season with a 1-0 win over Buffalo but since then, they have lost 4 straight. Goaltending has been the issue for the Senators as Craig Anderson has started the season a bit shaky after his amazing season last year. The Senators have too many options at forward to be unable to score and this bad start will end soon.

20. New York Islanders: The Islanders have started well this season going 2-2-1 but they have lost 2 straight. This team will go as far as Jonny Tavares will take them and right now he hasn’t really produced. If he can regain is MVP nominated form, the Islanders can be a playoff team come April.

21. Dallas: With only four games played, the Stars have been a .500 team. The addition of Seguin paid off during the Winnipeg game as he had 2 goals and 2 assist that game. The others on that team need to step up if they wish to return to the playoffs in April.

22. Florida: Still in a rebuilding phase, the Panthers will have to live with the “growing pains” of a young team. The Panthers were able to start off well with a win against Dallas but lost 3 straight. They were able to defeat the Penguins 6-3 but were then shutout by the kings two days later. The young team will probably be in the same position as last year with a high draft pick.

23. Tampa: With Steven Stamkos leading the offense, the Lightning will be able to score plenty of goals. This was the case last Thursday when the Lightning defeated the Panthers 7-2 and Stamkos had a hat trick. The Lightning will need Stamkos and St. Louis to continue their offensive surge if they wish to return to the playoffs. The defense and goaltending of the Lightning will struggle and because of that, they will be at the bottom of the pack.

24. Nashville: Nashville has played well during the first 5 games but has little to show for it. They won 2 games but most of the games have been close (both 3-2 wins). This is another team that will have trouble scoring as they don’t have a pure offensive player. Forsberg is still young and has the potential to be that type of player. The Predators will need to rely on Pekka Rinne and Shea Weber to keep them in games.

25. Edmonton: The Oilers have struggled to start the season and it’s because of their goaltending. Devin Dubnyk has been a different player from last year. Through four games played, Dubnyk has a .829 SV% and a 5.43 GAA. The office talent is there with RNH, Hall, Eberle and others but the defensive unit is weak and the bad start by Dubnyk had the Oilers struggling.

26. New Jersey: The only team in the NHL without a regulation wins; the Devils still have more points than most teams in the NHL. With the loss of Kovalchuk and Parise, the Devils will have a hard time scoring goals. Cory Schneider and Martin Broduer will have to play outstanding to keep the Devils in games.

27. Capitals: The Capitals have struggled and it has to do with goaltending and defense. Braden Holtby has struggled and the Capitals defense hasn’t played their best. Alexander Ovechkin will continue to score but the Capitals will only go as far as their goalies. That said, they had been able to get some points but only has 1 point in 5 games played. In the tough Metropolitan division, points will be hard to come by.

28. New York Rangers: The Rangers were a team who could contend for the Stanley Cup but their start of the season is one to forget. With new coach, Alian Vigneault, the Rangers have to learn a new system and that could be a reason for the slow start. The Rangers have been horrible the first 5 games with a 9-2 loss to the Sharks and a 6-0 loss to the Ducks. The loss of Rick Nash to a concussion doesn’t help but the defensive unit has been horrible and needs to improve.

29. Buffalo: The Sabres are a team that is in a rebuild phase. The start of the season has been bad for the team and they have yet to win a game in regulation. This team is still young and will make mistakes but the goaltending has also been shaky to start the season.

30. Philadelphia: The Flyers started the season without a win until their 4^th game. After the firing of Peter Laviolette, the Flyers beat the Panthers but have lost 2 games since then. They have not played well this season and with the talent they have, they should have more points.