It may not seem like it, but a month has come and gone in this hockey season, which is already 1/3 done with. Nobody could have predicted the directions that some of these teams have taken, nor the positions a lot of them are in now. Here are the power rankings for the end of week 4. The first three numbers indicate previous week's rankings.
1/2/1/1. Chicago Blackhawks . . . 12-0-3
The Hawks are 1 win away from tying the record for best start in league history. If that's not deserving of the top spot again, I don't know what is.
12/8/3/2. Anaheim Ducks . . . 11-2-1
The Ducks have been almost unbeatable themselves, having lost only once over the course of their last 8 games. They cleaned up well on a recent road trip, winning 5 of 6 games away from the Pond. 42 year old Teemu Selanne leads the team in points, while in net, rookie sensation Viktor Fasth is undefeated.
6/9/2/3. New Jersey Devils . . . 9-3-3
New Jersey only picked up 1 win this week, but still find themselves in great position. Age clearly has not caught up with the tandem in net, and up front, Elias, Clarkson and Kovalchuk are still putting up point-per-game numbers. The schedule gets considerably lighter in the coming days for the Devils.
5/7/4/4. Boston Bruins . . . 9-2-2
Boston only had 1 win last week, but are still winning far more often than losing. What's been most impressive about this team is their penalty kill, which is operating at a mind-blowing 94.1%.
10/6/7/5. Pittsburgh Penguins . . . 11-5-0
Since those 2 straight losses to New Jersey, the Penguins have won 3 in a row. They've got one of the best powerplays in the league, and Crosby is now just 1 point behind Thomas Vanek for the NHL lead.
3/4/9/6. St. Louis Blues . . . 9-5-1
The ship appears to have been righted for the Blues after a 5 game losing streak. They've won 3 in a row and are still the most balanced team in the league. Proof? Their 2nd highest point scorer only has 1 goal, while their leading goal scorer is 10th on the team in terms of points.
19/10/5/7. Vancouver Canucks . . . 8-3-3
Vancouver lost a couple close ones last week, but still has points in 8 of their last 9 games. Ryan Kesler returned to the lineup, and already has a goal and an assist in 2 games. Roberto Luongo's been excellent between the pipes.
8/5/14/8. Montreal Canadiens . . . 9-4-1
Montreal's out to prove that the 6-0 loss to Toronto was just a fluke. After going 3-0 last week, I'd say they're doing a good job of that. Lots of players have stepped up offensively, and Carey Price has been the bright spot of this team.
24/18/10/9. Toronto Maple Leafs . . . 9-6-0
They've got wins in 5 of their last 6 games including 2 shutouts against division rivals. Toronto's been one of the best teams in the league lately thanks to balanced offensive contributions and consistent goaltending from a relatively inexperienced tandem. Still, the poor special teams may be cause for some concern.
17/12/11/10. New York Rangers . . . 8-5-1
The Blueshirts have points in each of their last 5 games. They haven't been scoring a lot of goals, but they're not giving them up either. Everything's clicking on this team except for their league-worst powerplay.
14/21/16/11. Carolina Hurricanes . . . 8-4-1
3 wins last week for one of the best offensive teams in the league. The negatives for this team are Cam Ward's struggles in net and an awful penalty kill. 29th in the league. However, they're still averaging the most shots per game in the league.
21/20/18/12. Nashville Predators . . . 7-3-5
The Predators picked up points in all 3 of their games last week, including two shutout wins. Pekka Rinne's brilliance has the worst offensive team in the NHL in playoff position.
11/24/15/13. Dallas Stars . . . 8-7-1
The Stars have been playing well lately, but don't seem to have an answer to the Flames. Two losses to them last week. Luckily, they only have to play them 1 more time this season. Jaromir Jagr leads the way for a balanced group of forwards.
29/19/17/14. Phoenix Coyotes . . . 7-6-2
Phoenix won 2 of 3 games last week and have points in 8 of their last 10 games. Nobody's been stealing the show offensively, but small contributions from all over the line-up have been providing the Yotes enough goals to remain in the playoff race.
20/14/8/15. Detroit Red Wings . . . 7-6-2
Only 1 point in 6 games last week. Detroit's not been scoring many goals past their top 6, and poor special teams have been hurting them lately.
2/1/6/16. San Jose Sharks . . . 7-4-3
After winning their first 7 games of the season, the Sharks are winless in all 7 of their games in February. The lack of depth in San Jose has resulted in just 3 goals for the bottom 6 forwards. Not good at all.
9/11/13/17. Ottawa Senators . . . 7-6-2
Ottawa's only got 2 wins in February, goal-scoring is quickly becoming an issue, and they just lost Erik Karlsson AND Jason Spezza likely for the season. Despite Craig Anderson's Vezina-worthy play, it's safe to say this team is in trouble.
4/3/12/18. Tampa Bay Lightning . . . 7-6-1
Tampa picked up just their second win of the month on Saturday. They're still very dangerous offensively, but the problem has been defense. This team's allowed at least 3 goals in each of their last 5 games.
16/16/22/19. Minnesota Wild . . . 7-6-2
The Wild went 2-1-1 last week. They've been finding ways to win games, but they're having problems scoring goals. 29th in the league when it comes to goals per game.
18/17/20/20. Edmonton Oilers . . . 6-5-3
The Oilers earned their first two wins of the month last week, but still struggle to find consistency. The lack of depth scoring continues to be the worst aspect of this team, and it's why they're dead last in 5v5 goal differential.
26/28/25/21. Calgary Flames . . . 5-5-3
These guys got points in 3 of 4 games last week, including two huge wins against Dallas. The problem has been keeping the puck out of the net in Calgary, and Jarome Iginla's slow start. Despite Iginla only having 1 goal this season, balanced scoring around the rest of the lineup has been producing enough goals for Calgary to earn points.
13/13/19/22. New York Islanders . . . 6-7-1
Two straight wins for Long Island against division rivals including a hat trick for John Tavares to snap a 5 game losing streak. Defensively the Isles have struggled, but they have some of the strongest special teams in the league so far.
23/27/28/23. Los Angeles Kings . . . 5-6-2
The Stanley Cup champs won 2 of 3 last week but weren't able to snap the Blackhawk's undefeated streak. They've improved defensively, but are still looking like the offensively challenged Kings of last season.
25/25/21/24. Philadelphia Flyers . . . 6-9-1
Only 1 win in 4 games to start their 6 game road trip. To put it simply, Philly's been average at best at all aspects of the game. Claude Giroux's slow start is hurting the team.
30/29/29/25. Florida Panthers . . . 4-6-4
Well the good news for Florida is that they have points in 6 of 7 games in February. The bad news is they only have 2 wins in that time. The worse news is that they have the worst goals against average in the league. Similar to last season, the overtime/shootout losses are beginning to pile up again. It worked for them last season, but the Southeast division is stronger this time around.
15/15/24/26. Colorado Avalanche . . . 5-7-1
A 1-1-1 record last week isn't helping the Avalanche out of the early hole they've dug themselves into. Semyon Varlamov isn't quite the goalie he was in the KHL, but then again, he hasn't had much help.
22/23/26/27. Buffalo Sabres . . . 6-9-1
Only 1 win last week for a Buffalo team that can't seem to find its rhythm. The offense, led by Thomas Vanek, is still top 10 in the league. Ryan Miller's played well in net too. The problem is the defense, which allows 33.8 shots against per game. That's the highest in the league.
27/30/27/28. Washington Capitals . . . 5-9-1
A 3 game winning streak for the Caps was snapped on Sunday by the Rangers. Struggles defensively continue to plague a team that's got one of the best powerplays in the league. The lone two games on the schedule this week are two huge home games against the Devils.
7/22/23/29. Winnipeg Jets . . . 5-8-1
The Jets lost all 3 games last week and have the worst penalty kill in the league. A number of their players continue to under-perform and the goalies have been shaky.
28/26/30/30. Columbus Blue Jackets . . . 4-9-2
The Blue Jackets are only picking up 1 win a week and as a result, have the fewest points in the league. Nobody on the team is having any kind of breakout year, and the only decent aspect of this team is the penalty kill. Things aren't looking good.
So that's it for week 4. Disagree with my list? Think your team is ranked too low? Leave a comment and let me know why. Be sure to check back in next week and check the updated rankings.
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