Weekly NHL Power Rankings: April 5th, 2010

The final playoff matchups are almost set as the last two weeks of the regular season wind down.

The eighth seed is at stake in the West, with the Avs and Flames battling it out. While in the East, three spots remain and the race is extremely tight.

In the West, there will be at least three new teams in the playoffs (four if Colorado pulls through) compared to last year. The turnaround is one of the most dramatic in years.

The most significant risers this week are the Ducks and Predators who improve only three spots each, while the Thrashers and Flyers each take a four spot tumble. The Edmonton Oilers haven’t budged from 30th, as they’ve held that spot since the end of January.

1. Washington Capitals (no movement)
Record: 51-15-12
Last Week: 2-0-1
Alex Ovechkin may not take home the Maurice Richard trophy, but he has a firm grasp on the lead for best plus/minus rating with an astounding plus-41. His previous best in that category was plus-28.

2. Chicago Blackhawks (+2 spots)
Record: 49-22-7
Last Week: 3-1-0
The Blackhawks are just one win away from reaching 50 wins for the first time in franchise history. If Chicago can hoist the Cup, captain Jonathan Toews will just miss breaking Sidney Crosby’s record as being the youngest captain to win a Stanley Cup.

3. San Jose Sharks (-1 spot)
Record: 48-20-11
Last Week: 1-1-1
San Jose is on track to win their 3rd straight Pacific Division title. In the almost two full seasons under Todd McLellan, the Sharks have gone an incredible 101-38-21. In order to get over the 2nd-round hump, San Jose will need its Big Three to be a force throughout the playoffs.

4. Phoenix Coyotes (-1 spot)
Record: 48-25-6
Last Week: 1-2-0
The city of Glendale will host a playoff game for the first time in 8 years and the Coyotes will be happy to be home to start their first round matchup. Phoenix has been a terrific 28-10-2 at home this year, outscoring opponents 117 to 97.

5. Vancouver Canucks (+1 spot)
Record: 48-27-4
Last Week: 3-1-0
Roberto Luongo seems to be slumping at the worst possible time. His poor play since the Olympics have seen his stats diminish — 2.55 GAA and a .913 SV% are well below his career numbers.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins (-1 spot)
Record: 45-26-7
Last Week: 1-1-0
Since Oct.5.2007, the Pittsburgh Penguins have played 287 games, which is far more than any other team (except Detroit). If the Pens make a third straight appearance in the Stanley Cup, it will take incredible determination and endurance. The last team to appear in 3 straight Stanley Cup Finals was the Edmonton Oilers who did it from 1982 to 1985.

7. Nashville Predators (+3 spots)
Record: 46-28-6
Last Week: 3-1-0
Despite a low-payroll and expectations to match, the Preds have had a terrific season and will play post-season hockey after a one year absence. In their four previous appearances, they have not moved past the first round.

8. New Jersey Devils (-1 spot)
Record: 45-26-7
Last Week: 1-0-2
The acquisition of Ilya Kovalchuk has been successful so far, as the Russian star has scored at a point-per-game clip with the Devils. However, having only four playoff games under his belt (all losses), the Devils don’t quite know if they have a playoff performer in Kovie.

9. Detroit Red Wings (-1 spot)
Record: 41-24-14
Last Week: 2-1-1
Many suspected Detroit to surge when they got healthy, and they have with emphasis. The Wings are 14-3-3 in their last 20 games and are arguably the most feared team going into the playoffs. If they are unable to secure 4th place by the end of the season, it will be the first time in 10 years that Detroit doesn’t hold home ice advantage in the Conference Quarter-Finals.

10. Buffalo Sabres (-1 spot)
Record: 43-25-10
Last Week: 2-2-0
It looks all but certain, barring a massive collapse, that the Sabres will win the Northeast Division for the first time in three years. Last time around, they reached the Conference Finals, only to lose to the Sens in five games.





MIDDLE 10

11. Los Angeles Kings (+2 spots)
Record: 44-27-7
Last Week: 2-1-1
The Kings’ terrific early-season play has allowed them to play cold for a stretch while remaining in the playoffs. LA has made the playoffs for the first time since 2002, when Jason Allison, Adam Deadmarsh and Ziggy Palffy led the franchise offensively.

12. Ottawa Senators (-1 spot)
Record: 43-31-5
Last Week: 2-1-0
Ottawa clinched a spot in the playoffs and will return to the post-season after a one year absence. Jason Spezza has torn it up, recording 16 points in his last 10 games, including a four point effort against the Caps.

13. Montreal Canadiens (+2 spots)
Record: 39-32-8
Last Week: 2-1-0
Jaroslav Halak is the clear starter in Montreal heading into the playoffs. The stingy Slovak recorded back-to-back shutouts against the Flyers and Sabres this week, stopping 64 shots in total. His .927 save percentage ranks 3rd in the league behind Tuukka Rask and Ryan Miller.

14. Colorado Avalanche (-2 spots)
Record: 42-29-7
Last Week: 1-2-0
Colorado breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday as they beat the Sharks in OT to push 2 points ahead of the Flames for 8th spot in the West. Calder candidate Matt Duchene leads the Avs in power-play goals with 10.

15. Calgary Flames (+2 spots)
Record: 40-30-9
Last Week: 2-1-0
The Flames lost a crucial game to the Blackhawks on Sunday and failed to keep pace with the Avs. They now sit two points back with just three games remaining. Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2002-2003, when Roman Turek was their starting goalie.

16. Boston Bruins (no movement)
Record: 36-30-12
Last Week: 2-2-0
Some stats about the Bruins: 1) Boston is 2nd in the league in goals-against per game at 2.33. 2) Tuukka Rask has the best save percentage (.931) and goals-against average (1.97) of any goalie in the NHL. 3) Boston is still fighting for their playoff lives thanks to their league-worst 184 goals-for.

17. St. Louis Blues (+2 spots)
Record: 38-31-9
Last Week: 3-1-0
Brad Boyes has been a colossal disappointment this season. After scoring a total of 76 goals in the previous two years, Boyes has gone on to score only 13 this year on a team that desperately needed a scoring punch all season long. His projected goal tally of 14 will be a career low.

18. Philadelphia Flyers (-4 spots)
Record: 39-34-6
Last Week: 1-2-0
Many experts had assumed that the Chirs Pronger acquisition would tip the scales in Philadelphia’s favour and make them the team to beat in 2010. Those experts scratched their heads all year long and continue to do so as the Flyers sit in 8th without a true No.1 goalie (Ray Emery on the IR).

19. Anaheim Ducks (+3 spots)
Record: 38-31-9
Last Week: 3-0-1
Lubomir Visnovsky, who was acquired by the Ducks on deadline day, has been key in the Ducks chase for the playoffs, keeping them in the race to this point with his superb power-play ability. Visnovsky has 11 points in 15 games with the Ducks and gets a great deal of power-play time with Scott Niedermayer.

20. Dallas Stars (no movement)
Record: 35-30-14
Last Week: 2-2-0
Dallas will miss the post-season for the 2nd straight year, but they are not far off from becoming a contending team again. Their strong youthful core includes Jamie Benn (20), James Neal (22), and Loui Eriksson (24), with Scott Glennie on the way. These 3 young guns have combined to score 76 goals for the Stars this year and have been an integral part of their offense.

BOTTOM 10

21. New York Rangers (+2 spots)
Record: 36-32-10
Last Week: 3-0-0
Last week the Rangers were merely an afterthought in New York-area sports coverage, as their playoff hopes waned, but a strong run has returned them to playoff contention as they 2 points back of 8th with a game in hand. Henrik Lundqvist has been a force, recording 5 wins in his last 6 games, including two shutouts.

22. Atlanta Thrashers (-4 spots)
Record: 34-32-13
Last Week: 1-1-1
Atlanta let an important point slip away when they lost a heart-breaker in Pittsburgh this week. A bad penalty by Jim Slater led to the tying Pens’ goal in the final minute of regulation on the powerplay, while a softie on Johan Hedberg in OT sealed the Thrashers’ fate. Their playoff chances are slim now as they sit 3 points back of 8th with remaining games against the Caps, Devils, and Pens.

23. Minnesota Wild (-2 spots)
Record: 37-35-7
Last Week: 1-2-1
Currently sitting at 80 points witha few games left, the Wild are on pace for their worst-season since the lockout. This can most likely be attributed to personnel changes, including losing Marian Gaborik to free agency and the resignation of their only coach in franchise history, Jacques Lemaire.

24. Columbus Blue Jackets (no movement)
Record: 32-34-13
Last Week: 2-2-0
Although Columbus’ season didn’t go as well as they had expected, Rick Nash still had a great year statistically. Nash hit the 30-goal plateau for the 5th time in his career. His 6 game winning goals also put him in the top-10 in the NHL in that category.

25. Carolina Hurricanes (+1 spots)
Record: 33-36-10
Last Week: 2-1-1
The Canes deserve some credit for not throwing away the season when they sat deep in the league basement. On December 31st, 2009, Carolina had an abysmal record of 10-23-7, but have since gone 23-13-3 to avoid last-place and actually come fairly close to challenging for the 8th seed in the East.

26. New York Islanders (+2 spots)
Record: 33-35-10
Last Week: 2-1-0
As John Tavares is nearing then end of his rookie campaign, most will see it as a solid season for a young star in the making. His current stat line of 22-27-49 is not a far cry from Steven Stamkos’ rookie season, where his stats were 23-23-46.

27. Toronto Maple Leafs (-2 spots)
Record: 29-36-14
Last Week: 1-1-1
The Leafs were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention this week, although they’ve been out of the playoff discussion since november. College signee Brayden Irwin made his debut as well, in perhaps an audition for next season’s roster.

28. Tampa Bay Lightning (-1 spot)
Record: 31-35-12
Last Week: 1-2-0
After a promising start to the season, the Lightning are once again in line to land a top-5 pick at the NHL draft in June. In the five seasons since their Stanley Cup win, Tampa Bay has crawled into the playoffs twice, and been in the basement of the league the other three years.

29. Florida Panthers (no movement)
Record: 31-35-12
Last Week: 1-2-1
The Florida Panthers will miss the playoffs yet again this season. Their last appearance in the post-season took place in 1999-2000 and since then they have only recorded more than 90 points in a season once, which was last year.

30. Edmonton Oilers (no movement)
Record: 24-46-8
Last Week: 0-3-1
While Oilers fans would like to forget this season and look forward to the next, they can take solace in the fact that Edmonton will amass a staggering 500+ man games lost to injury, a figure not seen since the 2005-2006 LA Kings had over 600 man games lost to injury.

This website uses IntenseDebate comments, but they are not currently loaded because either your browser doesn't support JavaScript, or they didn't load fast enough.