Power Rankings: Red Wings, Sharks, Bruins climb this week

Week: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25

ESPN.com

Here we are, with less than three weeks left in the season, and only the New York Islanders have been officially eliminated from the playoff race.

Of course, a few others have only mathematical hopes and none based on reality, but that's what you get with the NHL's false parity with just six teams below .500. Geez, even the Maple Leafs have 73 points in 73 games.

As usual, you can let us know here from which perspective you view them.

-- By Jim Wilkie; posted March 23

2008-2009 Power Rankings: Week 22
	RK (PV)	TEAM	REC.	COMMENT
	1 (2)	Red Wings	48-15-9	Just in time to get warmed up for the playoffs, Chris Osgood has won four in a row, allowing seven goals and posting a .939 save percentage over that span.
	2 (4)	Sharks	48-14-10	If you believe those little "sponsored link" ads, Joe Thornton's IQ is 131 while the Sharks' average is 99. So who on the Sharks is at the bottom end of the scale, and will they avoid the mistakes that could cost them a playoff series?
	3 (1)	Devils	47-22-3	Martin Brodeur needs just two more shutouts in the final 10 games to tie Terry Sawchuk's NHL-record 103. We won't doubt it unless he's still two short and allows a goal in game No. 81.
	4 (5)	Bruins	46-17-10	He got a little help from Devils defenseman Mike Mottau, but Bruins tough guy Milan Lucic scored Sunday for the first time since Feb. 10.
	5 (3)	Capitals	45-23-6	Washington has the easiest schedule to close out the season among Eastern Conference teams (.478 opponent winning percentage).
	6 (6)	Canucks	38-24-9	The Canucks can't be beat at home, but they've lost four in a row on the road and now have to play five consecutive games away from GM Place to close out March.
	7 (9)	Flyers	39-22-10	The Flyers are 6-for-63 (9.5 percent) on the power play in their past 13 games against teams that are holding down a playoff spot.
	8 (10)	Blue Jackets	38-28-6	Columbus forward Antoine Vermette has five goals and three assists in the seven games since he was acquired from Ottawa.
	9 (8)	Flames	41-24-6	Olli Jokinen has eight goals and 12 points in eight games since joining the Flames at the trade deadline, but he's minus-3 and Calgary has gone just 3-5-0.
	10 (7)	Penguins	39-27-8	A bad sign for Pittsburgh in a likely first-round playoff preview Sunday against Philadelphia: The Flyers held Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin without a single shot on goal.
	11 (15)	Hurricanes	39-28-7	Carolina averages the fewest penalty minutes per game (9.9) in the league and we all know how big discipline is in the postseason.
	12 (11)	Blackhawks	38-22-11	On Sunday, Chicago goalie Nikolai Khabibulin finally got his first win since Feb. 11.
	13 (14)	Rangers	38-27-8	The Rangers and the NHL are reportedly close to settling their legal battle over the team's Web site. That will avoid an embarrassing court battle.
	14 (17)	Oilers	35-28-9	Edmonton center Sam Gagner is finally making up for his poor start with eight goals and six assists in his past 10 games. He needs 15 points in the final 10 games to match the 49 points he scored as a rookie last season.
	15 (12)	Canadiens	36-27-9	If the Habs miss the playoffs in their centennial season, they can lay part of the blame on three losses to the lowly Maple Leafs. Montreal (2-3 versus the Buds) has one game left against Toronto on April 4.
	16 (13)	Panthers	35-27-10	Florida, which allows the most shots per game (34.5) in the NHL, didn't look like a playoff team March 17 at home against Washington when the Panthers couldn't muster any shots on goal in the third period.
	17 (18)	Predators	35-30-7	Search YouTube for Brad Staubitz and Jordin Tootoo if you like that sort of thing.
	18 (22)	Ducks	35-31-6	Despite having to start the season in the AHL because of the salary cap, Ducks winger Bobby Ryan is second in points (45) among rookies, and he's played in 14 fewer games than Chicago's Kris Versteeg (49 points in 67 games).
	19 (19)	Blues	33-30-9	Andy McDonald has six goals and 18 points in the 20 games played since returning from an ankle injury Feb. 10.
	20 (20)	Wild	34-30-8	Like Marian Gaborik's production in his return to action Sunday, his season will be pointless if he can't help the Wild make the playoffs.
	21 (16)	Sabres	34-30-8	Buffalo, which is 3-7-2 since Ryan Miller went down with a high-ankle sprain, will have too big of a hole to dig itself out of whenever its No. 1 goalie is able to play again.
	22 (24)	Senators	32-30-10	Look out below: The Senators have won five in a row and nine out of their past 10 games. They'll need to win at least that many of their final 10 games and get a lot of help for a miracle finish to reach the playoffs.
	23 (21)	Stars	33-31-8	Dallas' playoff hopes look bleak after Brad Richards' unfortunate injury. In his first game back after missing 15 games with a broken hand, he broke his other hand and is out indefinitely.
	24 (23)	Maple Leafs	30-30-13	The Leafs have the worst winning percentage (.667) when leading after two periods.
	25 (26)	Thrashers	30-37-6	Imagine how much worse Atlanta's season would have been without its six points for losing in overtime or the shootout. On the positive side, the Thrashers are 6-1 in the shootout.
	26 (25)	Kings	30-32-10	The Kings lead the NHL in missed shots (1,002).
	27 (28)	Coyotes	30-36-7	Now 10 points out of a playoff spot, Phoenix is one of the five worst teams in the league and has a chance at getting the first selection in the 2009 draft. The Coyotes are 26th overall, three behind the 25th-place Kings.
	28 (27)	Lightning	23-33-16	Rookie center Steven Stamkos has four goals and two assists during a five-game points streak.
	29 (30)	Avalanche	31-40-2	It's a shame captain Joe Sakic has to come back to play for this sorry team in what is looking like the end of his wonderful career.
	30 (29)	Islanders	24-40-8	Recently released: "New York Islanders 10 Greatest Games." There's one sports DVD collection that won't be needing an update for a long time.