Power Rankings: Bruins move back into No. 1 spot

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ESPN.com

The Bruins are back atop the Power Rankings after a 2-0-1 week and some help from last week's leader New Jersey's 1-2-0 week, which included losses to the Capitals and Kings.

Meanwhile, the once-mighty Sharks have lost three in a row (0-1-2), and we'll see how they respond on the rest of their Eastern road swing through Boston, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and New Jersey.

Comment here on this week's Power Rankings.

-- By Jim Wilkie; posted Feb. 9

2008-2009 Power Rankings: Week 16
	RK (PV)	TEAM	REC.	COMMENT
	1 (2)	Bruins	39-8-7	We can't hype it enough: Don't miss the Sharks at Bruins on Tuesday night in the game of the season.
	2 (4)	Capitals	34-16-4	Mike Green has scored in six consecutive games, and his 19 goals top all NHL blueliners. "Practically everything he is touching is turning to gold, and I hope it doesn't end. He can play for 30 minutes and never look tired," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau told The Washington Times.
	3 (5)	Red Wings	35-11-7	Chris Osgood is feeling the heat because of his recent shaky play, acknowledging a Cup hangover. The Red Wings had better find a remedy by April, or they could face an early playoff exit.
	4 (1)	Devils	34-17-3	Brendan Shanahan gets to face the Rangers for the first time this season, although he tells The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger, "When you're playing games, you really get so focused on the present that it's not bigger because of the past. You can maybe reflect years later and say, 'It was bigger when we were playing for first place.' But I'm focused on [now]."
	5 (3)	Sharks	36-7-7	Did we mention the Western Conference leaders visit the East-leading Bruins on Tuesday?
	6 (7)	Blackhawks	29-14-8	Chicago's leading scorer Patrick Kane has just one goal in his past 18 games and three assists in his past 17.
	7 (8)	Flyers	28-15-9	Antero Niittymaki won't have the Thrashers to kick around for a while after improving to 4-0-0 this season and 13-0-0 in his career with Sunday's 3-2 victory.
	8 (9)	Ducks	27-24-5	Ducks forward Corey Perry has 10 goals in 13 games since serving a four-game suspension for elbowing Philadelphia's Claude Giroux in the head.
	9 (6)	Flames	30-18-4	Flames coach Mike Keenan explained his team's 1-for-14 stretch on the power play during its four-game losing streak to The Calgary Sun: "When you have the man advantage, you know penalty killers are going to work very hard ... When you have penalty-killing units that work that hard, then you have to work on your work."
	10 (12)	Sabres	28-20-6	Thomas Vanek's great season was derailed by a jaw injury, and it might knock Buffalo's season off track for the three to four weeks the NHL's second-leading goal scorer is out.
	11 (11)	Canadiens	29-18-6	Habs goalie Carey Price has lost six of his past eight starts, and his glove hand was particularly weak Saturday night against the Maple Leafs. "There's no excuse for letting in five goals every night. I've got to find a way to fix this," he said after Toronto beat Montreal 5-2.
	12 (17)	Stars	26-19-7	Marty Turco's 23rd consecutive start ties the franchise record held by Cesare Maniago in 1968-69. We just wanted a chance to say "Cesare Maniago."
	13 (10)	Rangers	29-19-5	I guess adding Sean Avery wouldn't hurt this bewildering lineup.
	14 (16)	Hurricanes	27-22-5	Lightning reject Jussi Jokinen is the latest to join the Island of Misfit Toys, but past reclamation projects Sergei Samsonov and Tuomo Ruutu have turned out pretty well.
	15 (18)	Wild	27-22-3	Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom is 3-0 in shootouts and has stopped all eight shots he's faced in the tiebreaker.
	16 (14)	Penguins	26-24-5	Defenseman Sergei Gonchar is getting closer to returning, and it can't come soon enough for Pittsburgh's 24th-ranked power play (16.5 percent).
	17 (21)	Canucks	24-20-8	Vancouver's second line of Mats Sundin, Ryan Kesler and Pavol Demitra has 15 points in the past two games and Kesler has five goals and eight points in his past three contests.
	18 (15)	Oilers	26-23-4	Dustin Penner (7-for-9 Sunday against the Wild) might be a temporary solution to the Oilers' faceoff woes (ranked 26th at 48.2 percent).
	19 (22)	Kings	23-21-7	Los Angeles has played its way back into the playoff picture with a 6-1-0 run in its past seven games.
	20 (13)	Coyotes	24-25-5	Phoenix has lost six consecutive games and the injuries are piling up, with forwards Martin Hanzal and Daniel Carcillo the latest to go down.
	21 (19)	Blue Jackets	25-23-5	Super rookie goalie Steve Mason's stint on injured reserve will be a good test for the rest of the Blue Jackets. So far, so good after Saturday's 3-2 overtime victory over the Sharks.
	22 (20)	Panthers	25-19-8	Florida's 36 goals from defensemen is the most in the NHL, and coincidentally, the Panthers allow the most shots (33.7) per game in the league.
	23 (24)	Predators	25-25-3	Only Columbus' power play (12 percent) is worse than Nashville's (13.5 percent).
	24 (23)	Lightning	18-24-11	Here's a deal from the Lightning's Web site: Two tickets, two beers, two hot dogs and a parking pass for $39.
	25 (29)	Blues	22-24-6	As the Blues chase a playoff spot, we'll see how Manny Legace plays in Peoria.
	26 (25)	Maple Leafs	20-24-9	Little hope for the Maple Leafs this season, but at least Niklas Hagman provided the shift of the year, if not the goal of the year. Check out "The Life" page on ESPN.com.
	27 (26)	Avalanche	25-27-1	The Avs dodge a bullet as Milan Hejduk's jaw injury, which he sustained on a hit against the Blues on Saturday, is just a bruise.
	28 (27)	Senators	18-25-8	The Senators have the worst winning percentage (.091) when their opponent scores first.
	29 (28)	Islanders	16-31-5	The Islanders have the second-worst winning percentage when scoring the first goal (.522) of the game, just ahead of the Lightning (.519).
	30 (30)	Thrashers	18-31-5	Atlanta is 28th in total hits (881), ranking ahead of only Edmonton (846) and Vancouver (826).