PLUS/MINUS is my weekly Power Rankings Column. The + or – is based on the previous weeks rankings
PLUS/MINUS
Who wouldn't love a Stanley Cup Finals between San Jose and Boston with Joe Thornton right in the middle of things
1) San Jose Sharks {22-3-1} (EVEN)
2-0-1 week (won vs. TOR, vs. CLB, OTL vs. EDM)
The red hot Sharks kept up their great play to stay atop P/M for the 6th straight week. The overtime loss to Edmonton snapped their 9 game winning streak. Their only back to back losses came before that streak (one of them was in OT as well). The Sharks have yet to lose in regulation at home. They have the 5th best power play (23%) in the league and the 8th best penalty kill (83.5%) in the league backing them up.
2) Boston Bruins {18-4-4} (EVEN)
2-0-0 week (won @ TB, won @ FLA)
Meet San Jose-East. The Bruins are beating up on the bad teams and they are taking care of business against the good teams. Both Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez are at the top of their games right now between the pipes. It will be interesting to see if Boston decides to make any moves to improve the team even more or stand pat.
3) Detroit Red Wings {18-4-4} (+2)
3-0-0 week (won vs. ANA, won vs. VAN, won vs. CHI)
The Red Wings are having a ridiculous season (as expected), but it's being overshadowed by San Jose's dominance. The Red Wings won three, tough one-goal games this week and their momentum is starting to build more and more. The Red Wings PP is still tops in the league at 30.3%.
4) Montreal Canadiens {15-6-5} (+2)
2-0-1 week (won vs. ATL, vs. NYR, OTL vs. NJ)
It's amazing that the Northeast Division has two of the top five records in the NHL right now. Montreal is doing exactly what was expected of them so far this season. They still need one more piece to the puzzle to compete with the three teams above them in P/M. Their one flaw is their 25th ranked power play. Alexei Kovalev needs to find some of that magic he had with the man-advantage from last season.
5) New York Rangers {18-10-2} (-2)
1-0-2 week (win vs. PIT, lost @ MON, lost vs. CAL)
This easily was the worst week of the season by the Rangers. With five of their next six on the road, they need to take advantage of Atlanta on Wednesday night to right the ship. I've said this numerous times in this blog, but the Rangers need to play three periods of hockey, not just the 3rd period. Their awful 22nd ranked power play (15.4%) needs to stop going for the highlight-reel goal and start banging home garbage goals. Their one saving grace right now is they own the top penalty kill (90.1%) in the league.
6) Pittsburgh Penguins {15-7-4} (-2)
1-1-1 week (SOL @ NYR, win @ CAR, lost @ OTT)
The Penguins could have easily had a 3-0-0 week, but they blew a two goal lead @ MSG (for the 2nd time this season) and couldn't find a way to beat a scrappy Senators team. Pittsburgh can't afford too many weeks like that with their struggles against the Rangers combined with the Devils and Flyers gaining on them in points.
7) Calgary Flames {16-10-1} (+3)
2-1-0 week (lost vs. DAL, won @ STL, won @ NYR)
Discount the Dallas loss right away because you could tell the team was so relieved to play without Sean Avery in the lineup that they probably could have beaten San Jose that night. Miikka Kiprusoff is beginning to find his All-World form that we all know him for. They have won 7 of their past 10, 5 of their past 6, and have surged to the top of the Northwest Division.
8) Washington Capitals {15-10-3} (+1)
2-2-0 week (lost vs. FLA, won vs. NYI, won @ TOR, lost @ CAR)
They moved up only because so many other teams moved down. They took care of business against bad teams, but lost two divisional games they probably should have won. The Caps have the 8th best power play (22.3%) but must improve their 24th ranked penalty kill if they want all of those goals they score to count more (78.4%)
9) Anaheim Ducks {15-10-3} (-1)
1-2-0 week (lost @ DET, lost @ CHI, won vs. CLB)
Anaheim had two tough road games to close out their trip 1-2, but rebounded nicely against a mediocre Blue Jackets team. I'd like to see G Jean-Sebastian Giguere buckle down and start racking up some more wins. The rest of the December schedule has Anaheim playing only two sub-.500 teams. If they can survive this stretch, they should be in the running for the 4th spot in the West the rest of the way (yes that means I've already handed the Pacific to San Jose).
10) Chicago Blackhawks {12-6-7} (+3)
2-0-1 week (won vs. ANA, SOL @ DET, won vs. PHO)
An impressive week for a team that's really playing solid hockey right now. The Blackhawks are really gelling and are one more all-around forward away from being a really scary team to play in the West. Their 6th ranked power play (22.9%) is a big reason for their success this season. Is anyone else already looking forward to the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field in a few weeks?
11) Vancouver Canucks {15-10-3} (EVEN)
1-2-1 week (lost @ CLB, @ DET, won @ MIN, SOL @ COL)
The Canucks only win came against a team they own this year in the Minnesota Wild. Rookie G Cory Schneider is holding his own in net right now, going 1-2-1 this season in the absence of Roberto Luongo. The Canucks have a tolerable schedule for the month of December and should be right back in the thick of the Top 10 once Luongo comes back.
12) Minnesota Wild {15-10-1} (-5)
1-3-0 week (lost vs. COL, won vs. STL, lost vs. VAN, lost @ NAS)
Minnesota tried to run and gun with Colorado and it didn't work. They hammered St. Louis, but was beaten at their own game by Vancouver and Nashville. The loss to the Canucks was their 3rd of the season and they need to start taking care of busines against them in their remaining three games. Calgary getting hot wasn't a help to this team either. Minnesota still holds the 2nd best power play (25.4%) and penalty kill in the league at (88.7%)
13) New Jersey Devils {14-8-2} (+1)
2-0-0 week (won @ PHI, won @ MON)
A very impressive week for a team that people left for dead (including myself) when Brodeur went down. G Scott Clemmensen has really stepped his game up, going 6-3-0 since the Brodeur injury (poor Kevin Weekes). They finished their five game road trip at 4-1 and three of the wins came in OT. The Devils will get a good test at home this week with games against Pittsburgh, the Rangers, and Buffalo. They would be in even better shape if they can get their special teams out of the bottom 3rd of the league in both categories.
14) Philadelphia Flyers {13-7-6} (+2)
2-0-1 week (won vs TB, OTL vs. NJ, won @ CAR)
The Flyers played three games in OT this past week. Despite not having Daniel Briere in the lineup for most of the season, Philly is playing well. Head Coach John Stevens has both of his special teams units playing at the top of their games right now as well (PP is at 23.6% - 4th in the league; PK is at 85.8% - 5th in the league).
15) Nashville Predators {14-10-2} (+2)
3-0-0 week (won @ BUF, vs. COL, vs. MIN)
A 3-0-0 week usually gets you more than a two positon boost, but two of the wins came against bad teams. Also, I need to see more consistency out of this team before I move them too much higher. Backup goalie Pekka Rinne has been a blessing for the Predators while Dan Ellis has been dealing with nagging injuries on and off. He has gone 6-0-0 this season for Nashville.
16) Carolina Hurricanes {13-12-3} (-4)
1-1-1 week (lost vs. PIT, OTL vs., PHI, won vs. WAS)
The win over Washington saved Carolina from a really bad week. Peter Laviolette was fired and starting goalie Cam Ward was put on the IR. If Carolina could get their 29th ranked power play clicking (13.5%), it would make a world of difference for the them and get them competitive with the rest of the Eastern Conference.
17) Buffalo Sabres {12-11-3} (-2)
1-2-0 week (lost vs. NAS, lost @ FLA, won @ TB)
It's amazing how different a team can play from one half of the season to the next. Buffalo was 8-2-3 through their first 13, but are 4-9-0 since then. It seems like Buffalo plays hard against the better teams in the league, but can't get going against the teams at their level or below them. A brightspot is their penalty kill being 3rd in the league at 88.1%.
18) Edmonton Oilers {13-11-2} (+6)
3-0-0 week (won vs. DAL, won @ LA, won @ SJ)
Edmonton continued their streaky ways of the season, but this time it benefited them. Any time a team can knock off the mighty Sharks should come as a huge ego boost to the team. They've won three in a row and should be able to build on that momentum with three home games coming up in the next week. If they could improve their 29th ranked penalty kill (75.2%), they might be able to make the Norhtwest Divison a four-pony race.
19) Colorado Avalanche {13-13-1} (+6)
2-1-1 week (won @ MIN, lost @ NAS, SOL @ DAL, win vs. VAN)
The Avalanche showed flashes of the team we saw rattle off five wins in a row earlier in the season. G Peter Budaj has been playing better for the Avs than he was earlier in the season, but I would really like to see what type of team this would be if they had a better goalie.
20) Los Angeles Kings {11-11-4} (-2)
1-2-1 week (lost vs. TOR, lost @ PHO, SOL vs. EDM, won vs. CLB)
A shutout win by Jason LaBarbera was the only thing that kept the Kings from following up a very good week with a very bad week. What you're seeing from the Kings throuhgout the season is what you should continue to expect from them. I like the hustle on their 6th ranked PK (83.9%). It'll be interesting to see how rookie G Erik Ersberg responds to LaBarbera getting more of the playing time lately.
21) St. Louis Blues {11-11-3} (+1)
1-1-1 week (lost @ MIN, OTL vs. CAL, won vs. PHO)
The Blues are still finding their way, but they are slowly playing better hockey. If they can get their goaltending situation consistent between Chris Mason and Manny Legace, they might be able to string some wins together.
22) Columbus Blue Jackets {11-13-3} (-3)
1-3-0 week (won vs. VAN, lost @ SJ, LA, ANA)
Columbus is another one of those teams that has good up weeks and bad down weeks. They looked sharp against Vancouver but the California road trip wasn't kind to them at all. I was impressed with how well they played against San Jose and was in control of that game for the first half of it. You know your team has problems when their power play isn't even in the double digits (a league worst 9.6%).
23) Florida Panthers {11-12-3} (+3)
2-1 week (won @ WAS, vs. BUF, lost vs. BOS)
The Panthers have won three of their past four and have earned points in six of their past seven games. It's a shame this team is about to have a firesale because with the way Buffalo has played lately and the problems in Carolina, Florida could hang around in the 8-10 area in the conference throughout the season. They open up with a give game road trip (4 of the games in Canada) tonight in Ottawa.
24) Phoenix Coyotes {12-13-2} (-1)
2-2-0 week (won vs. LA, TOR, lost @ STL and CHI)
Just when it looked like the Coyotes were beginning to get a little bit of momentum and string something together, they lose a close one at St. Louis and then get smacked by the Blackhawks. Head Coach Wayne Gretzky HAS to figure out a way to improve their 26th ranked power play.
25) Ottawa Senators {10-10-4} (+4)
2-0 week (won vs. ATL and vs PIT)
Ottawa is an enigmatic team this year. They are playing up and down hockey, but have the tools to contend in the East. The fact that they appear to be looking to add talent to their lineup means they still think they can make a push in the East. The jury is still out on that for me, but their December schedule provides them with chances to get consistently above .500.
26) Dallas Stars {10-12-4} (+1)
2-1-0 week (won @ CAL, lost @ EDM, won vs. COL)
The Sean Avery suspension actually appeared to help this team instead of hurt it. They got their first back to back wins of the season and have now won three of their past four (Avery was in the lineup for the first win). Dallas has three more games (PHO, DET, @ NAS) before Avery's return and could easily take two of those games. Wouldn't it be funny if Avery's affect on the Rangers lineup (if you don't remember, they won a lot more with him in the lineup than without him) had the opposite affect on the Stars lineup.
27) New York Islanders {10-14-2} (-7)
0-2 week (lost @ WAS, lost vs. ATL)
There's not much to say about this Islanders team other than they are playing at the level everyone expected them to play at (not a good thing). Joey MacDonald has now started in 16 straight games for the Isles.
28) Toronto Maple Leafs {9-12-6} (-7)
1-3-0 week (won @ LA, lost @ SJ, @ PHO, vs. WAS)
There's not much to say about this team right now either except the fact that Vesa Toskala is playing better than his numbers show. The rest of Toronto's December schedule gives them a chance to get back to and hover around the .500 mark if they can take advantage of the right opponents.
29) Atlanta Thrashers {9-14-3} (EVEN)
1-2-0 week (lost @ MON, @ OTT, won @ NY)
The 3 game road trip went as expected for the Thrashers. The team needs to stick with Johan Hedberg in net and see what he can do for them throughout the season. I know they are trying to develop Ondrej Pavelec, but he is losing (2-5-0) a lot more than he's winning and that won't be good for his confidence.
30) Tampa Bay Lightning {6-12-8} (EVEN)
0-2-1 week (OTL @ PHI, lost vs. BOS, lost vs. BUF)
The Lightning have lost seven in a row and it doesn't appear like it will end any time soon. They have a four game Northwest road trip (everyone but Toronto), come home for one game, and hit the road again for three games befoe finishing 2008 with two home games. This could be an incredibly long season for Vinny Lecavalier and co.
BIGGEST GAINER = Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche (+6)
BIGGEST LOSER = NY Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs (-7)
-14 Teams Moved Up
-11 Teams Moved Down
-5 Teams Remained Even
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