NHL Power Rankings: December 13th, 2010: Vol. 3
Hockey season is off and skating full speed ahead in 2010 and Cappers Picks is the place to look for the best NHL Handicapping advice all season long.
This week in the power rankings, the Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t just partying like it’s 2008-09. They’re partying like it’s 1992-93. Think about it.
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(Last week’s rankings in brackets)
1. (3) Pittsburgh Penguins (21-8-2): In 1992-93, the Pittsburgh Penguins won an NHL-record 17 straight games while Mario Lemieux had perhaps his greatest season ever. The current Pens are at 12 straight and counting with Sidney Crosby playing absolutely out of his mind.
2. (2) Detroit Red Wings (19-6-5): Nicklas Lidstrom discovered the fountain of youth years ago and shared its location with all its teammates. How else can we explain Detroit’s endless run of dominance with seemingly the same roster year after year?
3. (6) Atlanta Thrashers (16-11-3): Atlanta won’t remain an NHL powerhouse but the Thrashers’ deep lineup seems poised to be a competitive team all year. Dustin Byfuglien will run away with the Norris Trophy if he plays enough games on defense.
4. (4) Philadelphia Flyers (19-7-5): The Flyers’ lineup is dominant top-to-bottom but let’s not declare Sergei Bobrovsky the next Bernie Parent just yet. Remember Brian Boucher (as a rookie)? Roman Cechmanek? Robert Esche? The Flyers have had plenty of out-of-nowhere number-one goalies who turned into pumpkins in the playoffs.
5. (7) Vancouver Canucks (16-8-4): The Canucks were a notoriously streaky team over the last few seasons but have been consistently solid this year. That’s more like it. I expect a deep playoff run for them.
6. (8) Dallas Stars (17-10-2): You can bet other general managers around the NHL are irritated by the Stars’ surprising play. Brad Richards was on many wish lists but isn’t going anywhere now.
7. (5) Montreal Canadiens (18-10-2): Carey Price has been all-world but we shouldn’t confuse this team with its divisional rival, Boston. Once Price comes back to Earth, the Habs’ lack of overall roster talent will drag them down…
8. (17) Boston Bruins (16-8-4): …whereas a Tim Thomas slump won’t hurt Boston much. Tuukka Rask can step in and the Bruins’ army of big, bruising forwards can keep stomping on people.
9. (16) Tampa Bay Lightning (16-10-4): The Lightning keep filling the net but man, does this team ever surrender a ton of goals. More than anyone else in the NHL, actually.
10. (12) Chicago Blackhawks (16-12-3): Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa’s injuries should give us a good idea of how much or how little the Hawks’ offseason departures will hurt.
11. (20) Anaheim Ducks (16-13-4): When it’s on, you could make a case that Perry-Getzlaf-Ryan is the best line in hockey. Case in point: they combined for 11 points last night.
12. (11) New York Rangers (18-13-1): Remember when people were asking if Henrik Lundqvist’s starting job was in jeopardy? Me neither. Five shutouts for King Henrik in less than half a season. 
13. (1) Washington Capitals (18-11-3): Is this a sinking ship? After the Caps’ humiliating 7-0 loss to New York on Sunday night, it’s enough to wonder if Bruce Boudreau has lost the room.
14. (24) Nashville Predators (14-8-6): it doesn’t matter how many years the Preds field a competitive team. No matter how many times I look up and down that roster I still can’t see where the success comes from.
15. (13) Phoenix Coyotes (14-8-6): The Coyotes winning hockey games is a lot like the tree-falling-in-the-woods argument. If nobody sees it happen, does it matter?
16. (15) San Jose Sharks (15-10-4): Holy second line, Batman! Logan Couture looks like the real deal and Ryan Clowe is one of the league’s most underrated power forwards. For all the hype Milan Lucic gets, where’s the love for Clowe?
17. (14) Los Angeles Kings (16-10-1): The Kings will be fine. They’ve allowed the fewest goals in the Western Conference and Drew Doughty hasn’t even hit his stride yet. But their offense needs a shot in the arm. And Marco Sturm ain’t that. Buy, Mr. Lombardi. BUY!
18. (9) Columbus Blue Jackets (16-11-1): Rick Nash catches fire, they win; he slumps, they lose. If Saturday’s all-world performance means anything, the Jackets are about to get hot again.
19. (10) Colorado Avalanche (15-10-4): The Avs are the second-highest scoring team in the NHL. Seriously. But Craig Anderson has to play better in goal. If he doesn’t, will Colorado explore other options via trade?
20. (18) St.Louis Blues (14-9-5): I still think this team will be a force in the NHL soon enough. Any team would kill to build around Erik Johnson and Alex Pietrangelo on its blueline. But when will the scoring arrive from the forwards?
21. (29) Edmonton Oilers (11-13-5): Don’t look now but the kids are clicking. Taylor Hall looks poised for a quietly strong second-half run, kind of like what we saw from Steven Stamkos two years ago. And we all know what happened after that.
22. (19) Minnesota Wild (13-12-4)
23. (22) Buffalo Sabres (12-14-4)
24. (25) Calgary Flames (12-15-3)
25. (210 Carolina Hurricanes (12-12-4)
26. (28) Toronto Maple Leafs (11-14-4)
27. (26) Florida Panthers (13-15-0)
28. (23) Ottawa Senators (13-16-2)
29. (27) New Jersey Devils (8-19-2)
30. (30) New York Islanders (5-17-5)
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