PLUS/MINUS - 10/27/08

*PLUS/MINUS is my weekly Power Rankings Column. The + or – is based on the previous weeks rankings.

PLUS/MINUS

Ryan Miller is a big part of the Sabres early success

1) Buffalo Sabres {6-0-2} (+5)

– In the past week, the Sabres have won in a shootout (BOS), overtime (MIN), and lost in a shootout (COL). They have the 2nd best PK in the league, the 6th best PP, and have allowed the 2nd LEAST amount of goals in the league with 15. Ryan Miller has looked stellar between the pipes, posting a 1.60 GAA (best in the league) and .940 save percentage (2nd best in the league). LW Thomas Vanek is tied for the league-lead in goals scored with 8. It should be interesting to see Buffalo and Montreal battle it out for the division all year long.

2) New York Rangers {8-2-1} (+1)

– The Rangers started off the week with a weak loss to the Stars, but then rebounded with wins over Columbus and the Penguins. The comeback win against Pittsburgh really impressed me. It seems like RW Nikolai Zherdev is starting to heat up with 2 goals and 2 assists in the past 2 games (4G 5A on the season). G Henrik Lundqvist is posting a 1.99 GAA (4th best in the NHL).

3) San Jose Sharks {7-2-0} (-1)

– They only fall a spot because Buffalo moved up so far. They managed to hold in Philly for a SO win on Wednesday, a tough road loss to the Panthers, and then rebounded with a 3-0 shutout win in Tampa. The Sharks are undefeated at home this season (4-0-0)

4) Montreal Canadiens {5-1-1} (-3)

– Another example of a team falling only because other teams rose. They had a quiet week, opening with a 3-1 home win over Florida. They then lost to the Ducks 6-4 in their first home and regulation loss of the season. Montreal has a high-octane offense, but they are doing it with defense, only allowing 17 goals this season (3rd least in the league)

5) Detroit Red Wings {6-1-1} (+3)

– The Red Wings are on a four game winning streak and have had three of them come in the past week. They went in to St. Louis and won, took care of business at home against Atlanta, and managed to hang on in a wild SO win at Chicago. Detroit is tied with San Jose for most goals scored (31) and is a ridiculous 34.4% on the power play right now. RW Marian Hossa is beginning to heat up, with 4G and 4A in the last 4 games. They have yet to lose on the road. Losing Johan Franzen hurts.

6) Minnesota Wild {5-0-1} (+1)

– Minnesota only had two games in the past week and managed to get three points out of them (4-3 OT loss to BUF, 2-1 win over CBJ). The Wild are doing it the Jaques Lemaire way, and that’s with a whole lot of defense and protecting the puck. They have allowed the least amount of goals in the league with 12 and remain 100% on the PK. G Nicklas Backstrom has a 1.97GAA (3rd best) and 1 shutout on the season.

7) Pittsburgh Penguins {5-2-2} (+4)

– The Penguins were 8 seconds away from being on a four game winning streak. They opened up the week with a 2-1 SO win at Boston and a 4-1 win vs. Carolina, but couldn’t close the deal against the Rangers. C Evgeni Malkin has 14 points on the season and is tied for the league lead. Pittsburgh’s PP ranks 7th in the league (22%)

8) Colorado Avalanche {5-3-0} (+6)

– The Avs might be the hottest team in the NHL right now. They have won five straight (including a road win over LA and home wins over EDM and BUF). The Avs killed two birds with one stone after proving they could beat a quality opponent (BUF) and a low-scoring game (2-1 in the SO). Colorado has scored the 3rd most goals in the league (30), but need to improve their 3rd worst PK (72.7%)

9) New Jersey Devils {5-2-1} (Even)

– What began as a strong week with a 5-0 win over Dallas ended very badly when they were swept by Philly in a home and home. LW Zach Parise is off to a hot start with 6G and 5A in 8 games. G Martin Brodeur’s 1.95GAA is good for 2nd best in the league.

10) Carolina Hurricanes {4-2-1} (+3)

– The Southeast Division leaders had an up and down week. They opened it up with a win @ Anaheim before dropping to the Penguins 4-1. They rebounded with a 4-3 win over the Isles (all on the road). The loss of D Joni Pitkanen for a month will hurt them and they must improve their 5th worst PP (13.3%). D Niclas Wallin is tied for the league lead in plus/minus with a +9.

11) St. Louis Blues {5-3-0} (-6)

– Things could have been a lot worse for St. Louis this week if they end it with a 4-0 win over the Panthers. They lost 4-3 to the Red Wings and were also shutout by the Kings 4-0. They also lost goalies Manny Legace and Ben Bishop. Chris Mason will be the starter when he recovers from an appendectomy. They are in the midst of a 5 day break and it comes at a good time. LW Paul Kariya and C Andy McDonald are tied for 3rd most points in the league with 12. Winger Keith Tkachuk is tied for the league lead in scoring (8G) and Brad Boyes is tied for 3rd with 7.

12) Washington Capitals {4-3-1} (-2)

– The Capitals salvaged a rough week (2-1 losses at Phoenix and at Calgary) with a 6-5 PT win at Dallas. LW Alexander Semin is tied with Malkin for the league-lead in points and is tied for 3rd in goals scored (7). They will be without Alexander Ovechkin for at least one game this week as he tends to family health issues at home.

13) Chicago Blackhawks {3-2-3} (+5)

– While the Blackhawks are still resolving goaltending issues in net, they had a solid week. They almost pulled off three in a row before the dropped a heartbreaker to the Red Wings. Their PK has been impressive and is ranked 6th in the league (87.9%) Chicago seems to be adjusting to new HC Joel Quenneville.

14) Edmonton Oilers {4-3-0} (-10)

– I was duped by their early season dominance. After opening the season 4-0, they have dropped three straight (CHI, COL, VAN – all on the road). Edmonton’s special teams are an interesting juxtaposition. They have the 5th best PP (23.1%) but the league’s worst PK (62.5%)

15) Calgary Flames {4-3-1} (+13)

– The Flames sleepwalked through the first few games but have certainly warmed up this past week. They went 3-0 (WAS, @ NAS, @ PHO) and have outscored their opponents 11-5 in those 3 wins. Captain Jarome Iginla leads the team with 10 points (6G 4A). They still have a -2 goal differential on the season.

16) Boston Bruins {3-2-3} (-4)

– The Bruins had a rough week, dropping 3 straight (2 in the SO) before rebounding with a 5-4 win over the Thrashers. They haven’t lost a game by more than 2 goals this season and haven’t won a game by more than 2 either. They must improve their 2nd worst PK (68.6%) and winning more of these close games.

17) Anaheim Ducks {4-5-0} (+9)

– We now return you to the Anaheim Ducks we’ve all become accustomed to watching over the past few years. After losing 5 of 6 to open the season, the Ducks sweep the Eastern Conference Canadian road trip, including a 6 goal performance against Montreal. After finishing their road trip in Columbus tonight, they need to focus on getting back on track at the Honda Center (1-3-0).

18) Toronto Maple Leafs {3-2-3} (+9)

– The Leafs started the week with a tough 3-2 SO loss to Anaheim at home. They then rebounded with 2 straight division wins over Boston and Ottawa. Toronto would win more games and be potential contenders for a playoff spot if they can improve their 8th worst PP (15%). G Vesa Toskala has stepped his game up a notch this year with a 3-1 record so far with a 2.61 GAA.

19) Florida Panthers {4-4-0} (+3)

– The Panthers wrapped up the week with a 2-2 record (wins @ OTT and vs. SJ, losses @ MON and @ STL). They are in the midst of a 5 day break until they host Ottawa on Thursday. Florida will improve as soon as their league worst PP (8.6%) gets going. FA addition Cory Stillman is off to a good star t with 5G and 4A.

20) Nashville Predators {4-4-0} (-5)
– The Preds only played two games this week, but one of them was costly. After blowing a 3-0 1st period to lead to Calgary (they went on to lose 5-3), the rebounded with a nice 5-4 win at home to LA. Winger JP Dumont leads the team with 9 points (2G 7A). G Dan Ellis is playing well but needs to step his game up a bit

21) Vancouver Canucks {4-4-0} (-4)

– The Canucks salvaged a bad week (4-2 losses @ CHI & @ CLB) with a 6-3 home win over the Edmonton Oilers. The one bright spot is that they remain undefeated at General Motors Place so far. C Ryan Kesler leads the team with 9 points (3G 6A)

22) Dallas Stars {3-4-2} (-1)

– The Stars had a seesaw week, starting with a 2-1 win over the Rangers. They were then crushed by the Devils 5-0 before beating the Islanders 5-3 to wrap up their NYC-Metro road trip. They finished the week a 6-5 OT loss to Washington. Dallas NEEDS to improve their goal differential, which is an abysmal -10 right now. C’s Mike Modano (4G 6A) and Mike Ribiero (1G 9A) are tied for the team lead in points.

23) Columbus Blue Jackets {3-5-0} (-7)
– After opening the week with a 4-2 win over Vancouver; they dropped tough losses to the Rangers and Wild (both games had questionable goal calls that went against Columbus). The bright spot for Columbus is that they have the 10th best PK in the league (85.4%).

24) Phoenix Coyotes {3-4-0} (Even)

– The Coyotes only played two games this week and split. They opened it up with a 2-1 win over the Capitals, but followed that up with a 4-1 loss to Calgary. The Great One needs to focus on improving his team’s PP, which is 6th worst in the league at 14.3%. G Ilya Bryzgalov’s performance this year has been lackluster and if he continues to play like this, we could see more from Mikael Tellqvist.

25) Philadelphia Flyers {2-3-3} (+5)

– Things finally turned for the Flyers this week. After losing the back end of the home and home with San Jose, they got the team back on track by sweeping the home and home with the Devils. The 6-3 win @ NJ on Friday night looked like the Flyers team we saw last year. The Flyers could go on a roll as their next sox games are against struggling teams.

26) Los Angeles Kings {3-4-0} (-3)

– LA finished the week 1-2. Both losses came by one goal and impressed in the 4-0 shutout win at St. Louis. Their PK is 3rd best in the league at 93.3%. W Anze Kopitar leads the team with 5A (6 points), he needs to start putting the puck in the net more. The Kings begin a season-long 7 game home-stand tonight and don’t travel again until 11/13 at Dallas.

27) Atlanta Thrashers {2-4-2} (-7)

– The Thrashers went 0-2-1 on the week; including a SO loss to the Lightning to give them their lone win of the year. With the offensive firepower that Atlanta has, they need to gel on the PP soon (16.3% - 9th worst in the league). C Todd White should never lead your team in scoring (2G 6A).

28) Ottawa Senators {2-5-1} (-8)

– This may be the year when the Senators’ window finally shuts. Despite having the 4th best PP (23.7%) and 5th best PK (88.2%), they have lost 4 in a row and have only beaten the Phoenix Coyotes since returning to North America. D Filip Kuba leads the team in points with 11 assists and has at least a point in every game this season.

29) New York Islanders {2-5-0} (-4)

– The Isles have lost 3 in a row and things keep getting uglier out in Nassau. With Rick DiPietro’s health being an issue again, the Isles could be looking at Joey MacDonald as their starting goalie for a period of time unless they make a deal. NYI’s PP is the 3rd worst in the league at 12.5% and their leading point man, Doug Weight, only has 6 points (2G 4A). They are also tied for 3rd least goals scored with 17 (Edmonton).

30) Tampa Bay Lightning {1-3-3} (-1)

– As much as I love The Mullet, the game might have passed Barry Melrose by (think like Art Shell coming back to the Raiders last season in the NFL, only Melrose doesn’t look clueless on the bench with a constant blank stare). Tampa Bay has scored the least amount of goals (11) and owns the 2nd worst PP (9.4%). Their lone bright spot is their 8th best PK (86.7%). RW Martin St. Louis and C Vinny Lecavalier have combined for only 9 points this year.

BIGGEST GAINER = Calgary Flames (+13)
BIGGEST LOSER = Edmonton Oiler (-10)
-13 Teams Move Up
-15 Teams Moved Down
-2 Remained Even