Power Rankings: Sabres, Kings, Sharks move into our top 10

Week: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

ESPN.com

It took a lot of begging, but I was able to wrestle away this week's Power Rankings from Scott Burnside. The man just loves doing these things. It's a real power trip for him. Get it? Power? Ha, ha!

Anyway, time to restore order in the NHL universe, and our biggest mover of the week is the red-hot Los Angeles Kings.

As usual, you puckheads can weigh in with your deep thoughts here.

-- By Pierre LeBrun; posted Oct. 26

2009-2010 Power Rankings: Week 5
	RK (PV)	TEAM	REC.	COMMENT
	1 (1)	Penguins	9-2-0	Let's see how they are without Mr. Gonchar in a month. So far, the Pens are 1-for-10 on the power play in two games without the veteran defenseman. Cause for concern?
	2 (7)	Flames	7-2-1	Not sure why Burnside had them so low last week. Maybe it's that anti-Canadian thing he's got going ever since he swore the oath of allegiance. (By the way, pet peeve of mine with Americans: We don't have box scores in hockey, we have game summaries.) Anyway, the Flames are riding the NHL's top-ranked power play at 32.3 percent.
	3 (11)	Sabres	6-1-1	Move on up, boys! They've played only eight games as of Monday morning, but it's enough of a sample size to realize that all of you who picked them to miss the playoffs will eat your words. And how impressive has rookie Tyler Myers been?
	4 (19)	Kings	8-4-0	And your NHL leading scorer is ... Anze Kopitar. The Slovenian ace led all NHLers with 21 points (10-11) through 12 games heading into this week as the Kings battle San Jose for the Pacific Division lead. Really, Burnside ... 19th last week? C'mon.
	5 (3)	Avalanche	8-1-2	Seems harsh for me to drop them two spots even though they did nothing to warrant it this week, including a win over the Red Wings. But I just can't shake the feeling that when we look back at the NHL standings in two months, they won't be top-five in the league. Still, a heck of a start by the kids in Denver.
	6 (14)	Sharks	7-4-1	A solid week on the road brings our perennial Cup contenders back up where they deserve to be. How about Patrick Marleau's reaction so far to losing the "C"? Try nine goals and 16 points in 12 games.
	7 (10)	Blackhawks	6-3-1	Remember the old Alka Seltzer ad? "Plop plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is." Well, we think Cristobal Huet was humming that tune after Saturday night's 2-0 shutout win over Nashville.
	8 (8)	Capitals	6-2-2	So explain this to me: How does a power-play unit that features Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green rank 20th in the NHL?
	9 (2)	Rangers	7-3-1	Losses to San Jose, New Jersey and Montreal during the past seven days remind us that the Blueshirts are indeed human. Hey guys, a little defense, eh?
	10 (15)	Devils	6-3-0	Lou's boys gradually rise in our rankings every week. One player to keep an eye on is Nicklas Bergfors. He has a nice touch around the net.
	11 (17)	Flyers	5-3-1	Nice to see Simon Gagne finally get on the board. Mike Richards? Methinks he was fortunate to escape punishment from the league for his vicious hit on David Booth.
	12 (22)	Canucks	6-5-0	Roberto Luongo back at the top of his game as he backstops wins over Chicago, Toronto and Edmonton.
	13 (21)	Bruins	5-4-1	You have to love the way they've responded to Marc Savard's and Milan Lucic's injuries. Patrice Bergeron, in particular, has really led the charge.
	14 (13)	Stars	5-2-4	Snubbed by Team Canada at its Olympic orientation camp this past summer, Brad Richards has roared out of the gates with 13 points (3-10) and a plus-5 rating in nine games.
	15 (4)	Blue Jackets	6-4-0	A bit of a tumble here in our rankings, kind of like Steve Mason's tumble in net. The reigning Calder Trophy winner is out of sorts right now -- 3.51 GAA and .883 save percentage.
	16 (5)	Coyotes	6-3-0	The Coyotes get docked in my rankings for poor home attendance. Veteran defenseman Ed Jovanovski looking terrific with seven points (3-4) and a plus-2 rating through nine games.
	17 (6)	Senators	5-2-2	We punish the Sens for unimpressive losses to Nashville and Boston this past week. Ottawa needs to improve its 29th-ranked power play. Luckily, the Sens have the best penalty kill in the NHL.
	18 (27)	Canadiens	5-5-0	Big jump this week for the firewagon Habs, winners of three straight with Jaroslav Halak in net.
	19 (9)	Thrashers	4-3-1	Losses to San Jose and Washington pale in comparison to what the loss of superstar captain Ilya Kovalchuk would be. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
	20 (12)	Oilers	6-4-1	Brutal weekend with losses to rivals Calgary and Vancouver. But a feel-good story is Dustin Penner, reborn after his first two brutal seasons in Edmonton.
	21 (16)	Red Wings	3-4-2	The road trip, which began with losses in Phoenix and Colorado, now heads to Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. Gut-check time for hockey's modern-day dynasty.
	22 (20)	Ducks	3-5-1	Here's a deadly combo: 24th in offense and 27th in defense. So far, the balanced scoring we were supposed to see this season hasn't materialized.
	23 (18)	Blues	4-4-1	They're 2-4-1 in North America this season. Sniper Brad Boyes has only two goals through nine games.
	24 (24)	Lightning	3-3-3	Vincent Lecavalier finally scores his first goal of the season after coach Rick Tocchet sends Martin St. Louis to the rescue on his line.
	25 (25)	Hurricanes	2-5-3	Olympic pressure? Star center Eric Staal off to slow start with only four points (1-3) in 10 games.
	26 (29)	Wild	3-7-0	They move up three spots in our rankings this week thanks to gritty wins over Colorado and Carolina.
	27 (23)	Panthers	2-6-1	A team that already can't score may lose its top offensive star for a while. How long depends on how David Booth recovers from that concussion.
	28 (26)	Predators	3-6-1	Speaking of teams that can't score, Nashville ranks dead last in the NHL in offense, averaging 1.70 goals per game. Alexander Radulov, come back from Russia already!
	29 (28)	Islanders	1-4-4	Strange that a team with three starting goalies, albeit only two healthy ones, would be 28th in goals-against (3.56). But don't blame Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron; they're not getting any help in front of them.
	30 (30)	Maple Leafs	0-7-1	The only reason Mr. LeBrun wants to see the Leafs get a few wins is out of fear his Toronto neighborhood might be soon set ablaze. The natives are restless, you know, with the team's worst start in franchise history and all. Does it help that the Buds deserved a better fate Saturday in Vancouver?