NHL Power Rankings: January 18th, 2011: Vol. 5
Hockey season is off and skating full speed ahead in 2011 and Cappers Picks is the place to look for the best NHL Handicapping advice all season long.
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Never underestimate the power of a superstar, especially one as head-and-shoulders above the rest as Sidney Crosby. Just look at how his absence shoots the Penguins down the power rankings!
(Previous rankings in brackets)
1. (1) Vancouver Canucks (29-10-6): Last year was Henrik Sedin’s coming out party. This year, it’s Daniel’s turn. Or is it Ryan Kesler’s? You get the idea. Everyone is playing well in Vancouver.
2. (4) Philadelphia Flyers (29-11-5): Danny Briere has worked hard to justify his salary and keep himself in Philadelphia this year.
3. (5) Detroit Red Wings (28-11-6): While other teams gear up at the trade deadline next month, the Wings will probably stand pat. The returning Pavel Datsyuk will be the best addition any team can make.
4. (6) Dallas Stars (27-13-5): As much as we could call the Stars’ 2010-11 season a surprise, they were a sexy Stanley Cup darkhorse last season. I guess they were just a year behind schedule? Still – the Brad Richards contract situation could get messy.
5. (16) Phoenix Coyotes (23-13-9): We keep waiting for the other shoe to drop – but didn’t we say that last season?
6. (2) Pittsburgh Penguins (28-14-4): Sid the Kid should be back soon – we think. You just never know with concussions. It’s up to Evgeni Malkin to carry the torch in his absence. So far, Geno doesn’t really seem up to the task.
7. (3) Tampa Bay Lightning (26-15-5): Steven Stamkos is playing hurt – but he’s still better than most players in the game at less than 100 per cent.
8. (8) Washington Capitals (25-14-7): It still bodes well that they’re staying afloat in the East despite Alex Ovechkin’s career-worst season and Alex Semin’s injury woes.
9. (9) Boston Bruins (24-13-7): We assume Tim Thomas is coming back to Earth, then we check his numbers again. Nope. Not yet.
10. (19) Anaheim Ducks (25-19-4): So much for Ryan Getzlaf’s injury sinking the Ducks. There hasn’t been a better goaltender than Jonas Hiller for the last two months.
11. (12) Nashville Predators (24-15-6): Let’s just rename the Jack Adams Award the Barry Trotz Award and get it over with.
12. (7) New York Rangers (26-18-3): Do the Marian Gaborik trade rumors make sense? The Rangers’ scoring is up but wouldn’t it just sink back to supbar levels if they shipped out their top sniper?
13. (21) Carolina Hurricanes (22-16-6): Tied with Phoenix for the league’s best record over their last 10 games. Eric Staal is on fire and Erik Cole has turned back the clock. 
14. (17) Chicago Blackhawks (25-18-4): They’re healthy and very much in the playoff hunt. Not too late to right this ship. Remember, the Red Wings struggled for much of last season and ended up fine.
15. (20) Montreal Canadiens (25-17-3): They’ll string together wins here and there but this overrated team should keep sinking.
16. (15) Minnesota Wild (22-18-5): Despite a minus-14 goal differential the Wild are hanging in the race. Martin Havlat’s resurgence continues and the Wild impressed by beating mighty Vancouver over the weekend.
17. (11) Colorado Avalanche (23-16-6): The Avs still have an excellent shot to make the playoffs. Matt Duchene’s breakout continues and Chris Stewart is back from injury. Now, if only Craig Anderson or Peter Budaj would step up in goal.
18. (26) Calgary Flames (20-20-5): Only two regulation losses in their last 10 games but this franchise is still hopeless.
19. (10) San Jose Sharks (22-19-5): Is it time for the Sharks to tear down this group and rebuild? Still a very talented team on paper but the chemistry just isn’t there this year.
20. (18) Los Angeles Kings (24-19-1): Maybe the Kings can blame the scheduler for their troubles? They went soft during a stretch of eight straight home games, winning just twice.
21. (11) Atlanta Thrashers (22-18-7)
22. (28) Toronto Maple Leafs (18-21-5)
23. (22) Florida Panthers (21-20-2)
24. (14) St. Louis Blues (21-17-6)
25. (27) Buffalo Sabres (19-20-5)
26. (23) Columbus Blue Jackets (21-20-4)
27. (24) New York Islanders (14-22-7)
28. (25) Ottawa Senators (17-23-6)
29. (29) Edmonton Oilers (14-23-7)
30. (30) New Jersey Devils (12-29-3)
