Power Rankings: Caps, Rangers struggle, while Penguins stay at No. 1
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Well, we're back again to try to fix the mess that my friend Pierre LeBrun left a week ago.
Despite Pittsburgh's wobble against Minnesota, it's hard to argue that the Penguins are at the top of the heap again even without Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar in the lineup.
Are the Colorado Avalanche wilting? And what about the noises being made at the bottom of the rankings? Read on, faithful reader.
(As usual, you puckheads can weigh in with your deep thoughts here.)
-- By Scott Burnside; posted Nov. 2
| 2009-2010 Power Rankings: Week 6 | ||||
| RK (PV) | TEAM | REC. | COMMENT | |
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The Pens did drop a home date to struggling Minnesota but provided a memorable comeback against Columbus the night before as they make do without Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar. | |||
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Look out, league! The Sharks are starting to hit on all cylinders, winning five games in a row and seven of their past eight. | |||
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The 10-3-2 Avs continue to be the story of this NHL season, and Craig Anderson is the player of the first month. | |||
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The Sabres are the real deal, as their balanced scoring and terrific netminding remind us of the dominant Buffalo teams during the first two post-lockout seasons. | |||
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The Caps endured a minor hiccup against the New York Islanders and Columbus in which they blew late leads. Alex Ovechkin continues to lead the league in points (23) and goals (14), but he missed the last two periods of Sunday's loss with an upper-body injury. | |||
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The Coyotes continue to prove they are for real with three straight wins, and Ilya Bryzgalov continues to shine in goal. (He's allowed just 25 goals in 13 games.) | |||
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Captain Jonathan Toews is still out after getting his bell rung against Vancouver nearly two weeks ago. Doesn't seem to matter to the Hawks, who can win with defense or by lighting it up. They are 7-3-0 in their past 10 games and getting better goaltending from Cristobal Huet. | |||
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The Kings have gathered points in six straight games, but two straight shootout losses allowed San Jose to edge past them in the Pacific Division standings. | |||
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The Devils continue to soldier on without Paul Martin and others. Spectacular on the road (7-0-0) but less than ordinary (1-4-0) in Newark. | |||
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It's simple: When Marian Gaborik is in the lineup, as he was in Sunday's 1-0 victory, the Rangers are contenders. When he's not, they're just another bunch of guys in skates. | |||
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After winning three in a row during a recent homestand, the Flames have dropped two straight at the Saddledome and scored just three times during that span. | |||
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The Flyers, without Daniel Briere (out with another groin injury) and Simon Gagne, are coming off a rout against woeful Carolina. | |||
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Backup netminder (at least in theory) Alex Auld drew back-to-back starts in losses to Florida and Nashville as the Stars continue underwhelming (2-2-2) play at home. | |||
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Up-and-down season continues for the Canucks, as they bounce back from a 7-2 loss to the Ducks to blank Colorado on Sunday at home. Andrew Raycroft continues to hold the fort in the absence of injured netminder Roberto Luongo. | |||
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The Bruins are turning their defensive game around but still struggle to find the back of the net. (They've scored just three goals in their past three games.) | |||
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Big win over Calgary for Chris Osgood and the Wings to close an up-and-down western Canada trip. | |||
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Their offense exploded for one night against Detroit, but they've lost four of five and been shut out three times during that period. | |||
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The Habs are strong at home (5-2-0) and lousy on the road (2-5-0) and rank 23rd in goals allowed per game. They epitomize mediocrity. | |||
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The Sens were stymied by Atlanta's Ondrej Pavelec on Saturday after being pounded by Tampa Bay earlier in the week. Their power play still is tied for 26th in the league, and they've lost four of five. | |||
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Three straight wins over quality opponents for the improving Islanders, but still only one home victory. | |||
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The Preds have inexplicably reeled off three straight wins and have won four of five, outscoring opponents 18-12 during that period. | |||
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Superlative performance by netminder Ondrej Pavelec in Ottawa on Saturday gave the Thrashers their first win without Ilya Kovalchuk. They need to keep putting points in the bank and have played a league-low 10 games. | |||
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Still undefeated in regulation at home, but need to find some traction. Interesting situation developing in goal with Antero Niittymaki putting up strong numbers behind Mike Smith. | |||
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The Jackets have lost three of four and five of seven and are tied for 26th in goals allowed per game. That's not Ken Hitchcock hockey. | |||
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Broke a four-game losing streak with a huge win over Vancouver but are still a rugged 2-5-0 at home. | |||
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Their offense erupted on the road in two straight wins. Still can't win at home, though. | |||
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The Blues are starting to look like the Blues who lurched out of the gate last season. Just 2-5-0 at home, and the offense has gone south. | |||
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First road win of the season is a big one in Pittsburgh. Two wins in a row now. Have the Wild turned a corner after a miserable start? | |||
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There is life in the old blue and white, as the Leafs have managed to collect points in four straight games. Bottom line is, they still can't get the job done where it counts -- in the win column. | |||
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The wheels have come off completely, as the Hurricanes have lost nine straight and looked positively ugly in doing so. The Canes were embarrassed 6-1 by Philadelphia on Saturday and followed that up with a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of San Jose on Sunday. Ouch. | |||
