PLUS/MINUS - 12/15/08

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

PLUS/MINUS

The San Jose Sharks are STILL unbeaten at home in regulation (16-0-2)

1) San Jose Sharks {24-3-2} (EVEN)
2-0-0week (won vs. ANA, STL)
The Sharks reached 50 points in the standings before Christmas...wow.

2) Boston Bruins {21-5-4} (EVEN)
3-1-0 week (won vs. TB, lost @ WAS, won @ ATL, vs. ATL)
If the Sharks weren't playing ridiculous hockey, everyone would be giving Boston the San Jose love.

3) Detroit Red Wings {20-5-4} (EVEN)
2-1-0 week (won vs. CAL, lost @ DAL, won @ PHO)
Detroit is taking care of business game in and game out and are still playing at the level everyone expected them to. Anyone else pumped for Thursday night's Sharks-Red Wings game in Hockeytown?

4) Washington Capitals {18-10-3} (+4)
3-0-0 week (won vs. BOS, OTT, @ MON)
Washington's win over Boston was very impressive. It looks like the Caps have finally settled in to the groove that vaulted them in to the playoffs last season.

5) New York Rangers {18-10-2} (EVEN)
2-0-1 week (won @ ATL, lost @ NJ, won vs. CAR)
The Rangers are treading water right now. The 3 game California road trip could either get this team back on track or derail it even further. The Rangers traditionally slump around the holidays, but they are quickly erasing the point lead they had from all of the wins from early in the season.

6) Anaheim Ducks {15-7-4} (+3)
2-0-1week (won vs. STL, lost @ SJ, won vs. MIN)
Anaheim might be the most consistent team in the league right now. They beat who they are supposed to beat. It will be interesting to see how Anaheim handles their upcoming five-game road trip.

7) Chicago Blackhawks {15-6-7} (+3)
3-0-0 week (won vs. OTT, @ COL, vs. CLB)
Chicago took advantage of some easy teams and have won four in a row. Being in 4th place in the conference and only trailing Detroit by 7 points for the division has Chicago buzzing about their Blackhawks again.

8) Philadelphia Flyers {16-7-6} (+6)
3-0-0 week (won vs. NYI, CAR, PIT)
The Flyers are back and on a roll. They've won four in row and five of their past six.

9) Montreal Canadiens {16-8-5} (-5)
1-2-0 week (won vs. CAL, lost vs. TB and WAS
The Canadiens haven't had a great December. They haven't looked good on the ice in the past few weeks. That being said, it's good to get these slumps out of the way early.

10) Vancouver Canucks {17-11-3} (+1)
2-0-1 week (won @ NAS, lost @ EDM, won vs. FLA)
The Canucks are the best team in the division and are doing it by winning games within the division (6-3-2 this season)

11) New Jersey Devils {16-9-2} (+2)
2-1-0 week (won vs. PIT, NYR, lost vs. BUF)
If Anaheim is the most consistent team in the West, this is the most consistent team in the East right now. Who would have thought Scott Clemmensen would keep the Devils sailing smoothly.

12) Calgary Flames {16-11-3} (-5)
0-1-2 week (lost @ MON, OTL @ DET, SOL vs. FLA)
We've seen this pattern from Calgary all season. Win a bunch in a row, drop a bunch in a row. They're lucky Minnesota is skidding in the standings right now.

13) Pittsburgh Penguins {16-10-4} (-7)
1-3-0 week (lost vs. BUF, lost @ NJ, won vs. NYI, lost @ PHI)
It looks like Dany Sabourin's hot streak has worn down (he's lost his last four starts). Pittsburgh has lost 5 of its last 7. I wouldn't be too worried about their recent play if I was a Penguins fan because they have too much talent to stay in this funk for long.

14) Buffalo Sabres {15-12-3} (+3)
3-1-0 week (won @ PIT, vs. TB, lost vs. TOR, won @ NJ)
It looks like the Sabres are finding the groove again, winning 4 of their past 5. Ryan Miller hasn't surrendered more than three goals in a start since a 7-4 shellacking at the hands of the Bruins on 11/19.

15) Nashville Predators {15-12-3} (EVEN)
1-2-1 week (lost @ STL, lost vs. VAN, SOL @ CLB, won vs. DAL)
Nashville struggled this week but is still playing solid hockey. Other than a game against the Red Wings, Nashville has a chance to gain some points in the standings with the rest of their December schedule.

16) Minnesota Wild {15-13-1} (-4)
0-3-0 week (lost @ PHO, @ LA, @ ANA)
Minnesota has lost five in a row and went 0-4 on their road trip. Minnesota will get a chance to get going again with upcoming games vs. CAL, vs. NYI, @ STL, vs. CAR

17) Phoenix Coyotes {14-13-3} (+7)
2-0-1 week (won @ DAL, vs. MIN, SOL vs. DET)
Wayne Gretzky has the Coyotes playing solid, consistent hockey right now. The rest of their December schedule gives them a chance to to really build on their good play and get them in the top 8 in the West.

18) Edmonton Oilers {14-12-2} (EVEN)
1-1-0 week (lost vs. FLA, won vs. CAN)
Beating Florida at home would have gone a long way, but they are playing at the level they should be right now.

19) Carolina Hurricanes {13-12-5} (-3)
0-0-2 week (SOL @ PHI, SOL @ NYR)
Carolina's season is circling the drain and they need to do something quickly. Maybe Peter Laviolette wasn't the problem

20) Los Angeles Kings {13-12-4} (EVEN)
2-1-0 week (lost @ COL, won vs. STL, MIN)
Los Angeles has won three of four after losing three straight. It looks a few games off for G Erik Ersberg is exactly what he needed to get back on track (he was responsible for both wins this week)

21) Florida Panthers {14-13-3} (+2)
3-1-0 week (won @ OTT, @ EDM, @ CAL, lost @ VAN)
The 4 game Canadian road trip went very well for Florida. They've won six of their past eight and are only two points out of 8th in the East. It might be a good idea to hold on to D Jay Bouwmeester for a while to see if Florida can get some momentum.

22) Columbus Blue Jackets {13-14-3} (EVEN)
2-1-0 week (won vs. NAS, NYI, lost @ CHI)
Blue Jackets fans are waiting to see if Steve Mason can carry the load as the #1 goalie. If he can, there should be a market for Pascal Leclaire to bring back a scorer to Columbus.

23) Colorado Avalanche {14-14-1} (-4)
1-1-0 week (won vs. LA, lost vs. CHI)
They didn't drop four spots so much as other teams passed them. If they split their four game road trip (DET, PHI, TB, FLA), they should be happy.

24) Toronto Maple Leafs {11-12-6} (+4)
2-0 week (won vs. NYI, @ BUF)
Toronto took care of business against two beatable teams this week. No matter what their record says, they can put up a fight against almost any team in the league.

25) Ottawa Senators {11-12-5} (EVEN)
1-2-0 week (lost @ CHI, @ WAS, won vs. TB)
Ottawa didn't play well at all on the road this week but Tampa was the right medicine to right the ship. The jury is still out on whether this is the Ottawa team we should expect for the rest of the season or if they're a lion waiting in the weeds.

26) St. Louis Blues {12-14-3} (-5)
0-3-0 week (lost @ ANA, @ LA, @ SJ)
The California road swing was brutal on St. Louis. St. Louis has constitently continuted their pattern of win a few, lose a few, win one, lose one throughout the season.

27) Dallas Stars {11-14-4} (-1)
1-2-0 week (lost vs. PHO, won vs. DET, lost @ NAS)
Now that the Stars have officially parted ways with Sean Avery, it will be interesting to see how the dynamic of this team changes. Their next four games are PHO, CLB, @ OTT and @ TOR so they'll get a chance to build some momentum.

28) Atlanta Thrashers {9-16-4} (+1)
0-2-1 week (OTL vs. NYR, lost vs. BOS, @ BOS)
The only reason they moved up a spot is because the Islanders played so bad this week. Surprsingly, they are 4-1-2 in the Southeast Division. If they could only play Southeast teams and the Islanders, they'd have a record that rivaled the Bruins.

29) New York Islanders {10-18-2} (-2)
0-4-0 week (lost @ TOR, @ PHI, @ PIT, @ CLB)
The Islanders were happy to end that four game road trip. They have now lost six in a row. When you look at the Isles roster, you can understand the bad play, unlike...

30) Tampa Bay Lightning {7-15-8} (EVEN)
1-3-0 week (lost @ BOS, @ BUF, won @ MON, lost @ OTT)
The sad part about the Lightning is that they aren't getting beaten badly. All of their losses have been within two goals since they were crushed by the Devils 7-3 on 11/23. That being said, they have lost 10 of their past 11.

BIGGEST GAINER = Phoenix Coyotes (+7)
BIGGEST LOSER = Pittsburgh Penguins (-7)
-11 Teams Moved Up
-9 Teams Moved Down
-10 Teams Remained Even