Power Rankings: Ovie-Sid rivalry inspires this week's list

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ESPN.com

Let's play the feud!

Whether you like the Capitals or the Penguins, hockey fans must be happy to see superstars Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby expressing their opinions about each other after Washington's 5-2 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday on national TV.

Now it's up to Crosby and the Penguins to pull themselves together and make the playoffs and match up against the Caps so the rivalry can reach the perfect intensity level.

So, have at it Caps fans, Pens fans and the rest of you. Like Alex and Sid, don't hold back and feel free to comment here.

-- By Jim Wilkie; posted Feb. 23

2008-2009 Power Rankings: Week 18
	RK (PV)	TEAM	REC.	COMMENT
	1 (2)	Capitals	38-17-5	Now Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals can wave down at the rest of the league below.
	2 (5)	Sharks	40-8-9	The Sharks can prove they're back on track this week with four games on the road, where they struggled to a 1-1-3 mark on their last trip east.
	3 (3)	Red Wings	39-13-8	Detroit tries to even the season series with San Jose (which leads 2-1) on Wednesday and make its case for supremacy in the Western Conference.
	4 (1)	Devils	38-19-3	Never fear, Devils fans, Martin Brodeur should be back by the weekend.
	5 (4)	Bruins	40-12-8	Boston has just one regulation victory in its past eight games and has gone 2-4-2 in that span. The Bruins will be happy to see the end of February, as well (4-4-2 so far with games against the Panthers, Ducks and Capitals remaining this week).
	6 (6)	Flames	35-18-6	Miikka Kiprusoff channels Johnny Bower to poke-check his way to improving his all-time shootout record to 9-16.
	7 (7)	Blackhawks	34-16-8	Chicago forward Patrick Kane has four goals and four assists in four games (all victories) against the Stars this season.
	8 (8)	Flyers	31-17-9	Daniel Briere might be back Wednesday from his latest groin and abdominal problems, but the Flyers have to make some creative roster moves to fit his big contract under the cap. Joffrey Lupul, anyone?
	9 (11)	Canucks	30-21-8	Mats Sundin's storybook shootout-winning-goal finish gives Toronto fans at least one more memory, and his new team a big victory.
	10 (10)	Sabres	31-23-6	Patrick Lalime has to carry the load while No. 1 goalie Ryan Miller is out with a sprained ankle. Another tough injury for the Sabres.
	11 (12)	Stars	29-22-7	Rookie call-up Ray Sawada, 24, got a goal in his NHL debut Thursday as he tries to follow the paths of capable Stars youngsters James Neal and Loui Eriksson.
	12 (13)	Hurricanes	31-25-5	Matt Cullen's line with Chad LaRose and Ray Whitney powers Carolina's playoff push with balanced scoring to help the top line of Eric Staal, Sergei Samsonov and Tuomo Ruutu.
	13 (15)	Wild	30-24-4	Tough to see Wild forward Andrew Brunette's consecutive games streak end at 509, but wouldn't it be nice if Marian Gaborik could string together 10 or 20 someday?
	14 (16)	Blue Jackets	30-24-6	Columbus rescues center Chris Gratton from his minor league exile, so it's up to him to repay the Blue Jackets with some inspired play that helps them reach the playoffs for the first time.
	15 (19)	Panthers	30-21-8	Florida goalie Tomas Vokoun has three shutouts in his past six games, in which he has gone 4-2 with a 1.16 goals-against average and a .969 save percentage.
	16 (14)	Canadiens	31-22-7	Montreal should give Alexei Kovalev a two-game rest more often.
	17 (9)	Ducks	29-27-5	Anaheim will freeze prices for tickets, food, beverages and parking for next season, but the roster will look drastically different by then.
	18 (17)	Rangers	31-23-7	Now that Tom Renney has been relieved of his misery, pity his poor replacement, John Tortorella, who inherits the Rangers (0-7-1 in their past eight road games), who soon will likely add Sean Avery to the underachieving mess.
	19 (18)	Oilers	29-25-5	Injuries have led to the Oilers' skating a tougher lineup. "They definitely have a physical presence over there," Stars forward Steve Ott, no stranger to physical battles, told The Edmonton Sun.
	20 (21)	Penguins	29-26-6	The Penguins get one final regular-season crack at the Capitals on March 8, but will GM Ray Shero get them some scoring help on the wing for Sidney Crosby four days before the trading deadline?
	21 (20)	Kings	25-24-9	Kings center Anze Kopitar has eight goals and 17 points, but is minus-6, in his past 15 games.
	22 (23)	Coyotes	27-28-5	Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes says he's reviewing expressions of interest from potential investors in the team. Apparently, P.T. Barnum was right.
	23 (22)	Predators	28-28-4	Nashville's 68 goals at home are the lowest in the league.
	24 (27)	Blues	25-26-8	St. Louis needs about 36 points in its final 23 games to make the playoffs. Not too likely, so start the fire sale and look to next season.
	25 (24)	Lightning	20-28-12	The Lightning have the worst winning percentage (.267) in one-goal games (8-10-12).
	26 (25)	Maple Leafs	22-26-12	Coaches, watch out when Toronto is on the schedule. The Maple Leafs have delivered the final nails in the coffins of Tom Renney (fired by Rangers after losing Sunday to the Leafs) and Michel Therrien (fired by Penguins after losing Feb. 14 to the Leafs).
	27 (28)	Avalanche	28-31-1	Trade Ryan Smyth? Only if Colorado wants a better shot at John Tavares.
	28 (26)	Senators	22-27-9	Maybe Senators GM Bryan Murray is trying to negotiate a Hilary Duff-Carrie Underwood duet by bringing back center Mike Comrie.
	29 (29)	Thrashers	21-33-6	The Thrashers have the NHL's worst winning percentage (5-9-0, .357) when outshooting opponents.
	30 (30)	Islanders	18-35-6	The Islanders are 1-0-0 in the Dean McAmmond era.