My NHL Blog

Power Rankings …

Posted on December 29, 2009 by adminNo Comments

Blackhawks up one, Devils down two, Canuck’s move up seven spots …

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NHL Power Rankings – Week 10

Posted on November 30, 2009 by adminNo Comments

We are well into the season so it’s hard to dismiss the teams who were suppose to be at the bottom of my list but have managed to stay in or near the top 10 week in week out. The same goes for those underachievers who find themselves at the bottom. Are you ready fo My NHL Blog’s Power Rankings?

Once again I missed a few weeks but have actually watched more hockey in the last month than the previous month and a half. There are still a few teams I just can’t figure out but for the most part the top five are easy picks.

Here we go…and as always, you can weigh in here and tell me I’m full of it.

– By Leafs Fan (Yes…I know being a Leaf Fan is sad)
2009-2010 Power Rankings: Week 10

1. San Jose Sharks. Still at the top even after the debacle vs the Hawks. The top line keeps rolling.

2. Washington Capitals. Two wins this week. OV is the man!

3. Chicago Blackhawks. Hossa looked great in his debut as a Hawk. Two goals! Too bad the team had a let down vs the Ducks.

4. New Jersey Devils. Winners of three straight…Martin Brodeur breaks the all-time record for minutes played by a goalie.

5. Calgary Flames. Beating the Wings these days isn’t as hard as it used to be but the Flames did it in easy fashion with a shutout win on Saturday.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins. Still hurting but still finding a way.

7. Los Angeles Kings. One of the teams I was talking about in the intro. Nice to see a good team in LA.

8. Colorado Avalanche. On a bit of a slide but another one of the teams I was talking about in the intro.

9. Nashville Predators. On a tear! Eight wins in their last ten.

10. Buffalo Sabres. Hanging on to a top ten spot…barely! Hope they lose tomorrow to my Leafs

11. Dallas Stars. This team is a little under the radar and is silently building up a nice point total.

12. Boston Bruins. Things are looking up in B Town. Amassing 15 of a possible 20 pts in their last 10 games.

13. Phoenix Coyotes. Still playing solid hockey…who would have thought?

14. Ottawa Senators. It’s hard to have the Sens ranked 15th in the power rankings with my Leafs at the bottom but they deserve it.

15. Detroit Red Wings. In the thick of it. They will right the ship.

16. Atlanta Thrashers. A big win Saturday night against a tough Philadelphia club.

17. Philadelphia Flyers. Can you say up and down! Down right now.

18. Columbus Blue Jackets. Nash is amazing to watch. Too bad I have to watch him in a Jackets uniform.

19. New York Islanders. What a couple of weeks can do to a club!!! I wish my Leafs would take some notes.

20. Tampa Bay Lightning. Bolts have garnered points in nine of their past 10 games. Scoring balance is an issue, but Bolts’ defensive game is impressive.

21. Vancouver Canucks. Another up and down team.

22. New York Rangers. Going the wrong way despite Gaborik’s strong play.

23. Montreal Canadiens. Price still playing well and the rest of the team not so much. Cammalleri is the exception.

24. Minnesota Wild. The State of Hockey made a move…a lateral move when the they dealt forward Benoit Pouliot to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday in exchange for winger Guillaume Latendresse,

25. Florida Panthers. The offense is slowly coming alive but this team as a long way to go to be able to play with the big boys.

26. St. Louis Blues. Some nice play over the past couple of weeks. Maybe things aren’t hopeless.

27. Edmonton Oilers. The oil has run dry!

28. Anaheim Ducks.

29. Toronto Maple Leafs. A couple nice wins…nice work! Sting together a few more and I might be able to move you up another spot.

30Carolina Hurricanes. Things are not getting any better.

NHL Power Rankings – Week 7

Posted on November 18, 2009 by adminNo Comments

Are you ready for this week’s edition of the My NHL Blog’s Power Rankings?

It’s been a couple weeks since my last edition of the Power Rankings and as in my life…much has changed.

I know you don’t want to hear about my personal life so let’s get started with the Week 7 Edition of the NHL power rankings.

As always, you can weigh in here and tell me I’m full of it.

– By Leafs Fan (Yes…I know being a Leaf Fan is sad)
2009-2010 Power Rankings: Week 7

1. San Jose Sharks. The addition of Danny Heatley over the off season was huge. Even though Danny boy is a baby he’s still one of the best players in the league.

2 Pittsburgh Penguins. The injury bug has certainly hit the Pens harder than most teams.

3. Calgary Flames. Kiprusoff, Dion Phaneuf, Jay Bouwmeester, and Jarome Iginla … What more to say!!! I’m a Leafs fan but I know I’ll be jumping on this bandwagon when the rest of the Canadian teams are gone.

4 New Jersey Devils. At the moment unstoppable on the road the Devils look to break a record in Philly.

5 Colorado Avalanche. I was expecting to have something to say different this week but the Avs keep doing it. Too bad their fans aren’t appreciating the success.

6. Washington Capitals. No Ovechkin…EEK!!! No problemo…the Caps keep rolling without him.

7. Los Angeles Kings. Despite a 7-0 lost at the hands of Atlanta this team proved themselves worthy of 7th spot in our power rankings after bouncing back with an OT win over Tampa. The road trip is over.

8. Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres have bounced back to win three straight, including downing the Flyers on Saturday night. Ryan Miller leads the NHL in both goals-against average and save percentage.

9. Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks are getting healthy again and look to get Hossa back soon. Just in time as they go on the road.

10. Detroit Red Wings. After an embarrassing loss to Toronto during Hall of Fame weekend the wings have won three straight. Their pp unit ranks 4th in the league and Zetterberg is on fire.

11. New York Rangers. Things are not looking as rosy in NY these days. This team should bounce back with with a nice schedule after they face the Caps.

12. Dallas Stars. Well rounded team. Handled St. Louis easily in their last game.

13. Philadelphia Flyers. With the top power play unit in the league your going to win games as they did over the past couple of weeks.

14. Columbus Blue Jackets. How you lost 9-1 is beyond me but the Blue Jackets did win three of  their last four.

15. Phoenix Coyotes. The win over Dallas Saturday night was huge.

16 Atlanta Thrashers. The mighty Thrash have won four in a row and are getting great goaltending from both Ondrej Pavelec and Johan Hedberg. A traditionally weak penalty-killing unit is fifth, and Ilya Kovalchuk is lighting it up since an early return from his foot injury.

17. New York Islanders. What a couple of weeks can do to a club!!! I wish my Leafs would take some notes.

18. Tampa Bay Lightning. Bolts have garnered points in nine of their past 10 games. Scoring balance is an issue, but Bolts’ defensive game is impressive.

19. Vancouver Canucks. Deadly at home but can’t win on the road. I can’t figure this team out…can you?

20. Boston Bruins. They finally get the puck in the net but give up 6 in a hard lost to the Pens.

21. Ottawa Senators. This is not a playoff team at the moment. Ranked 24th on the power play isn’t going to cut it.

22. Montreal Canadiens. For the first time in awhile Price isn’t the issue. He’s actually played quite well but isn’t getting any offense.

23. Nashville Predators. Winning 7 of 10 the Preds are looking more like a team that will challenge for a playoff spot.

24. Florida Panthers. The offense is slowly coming alive but this team as a long way to go to be able to play with the big boys.

25. Minnesota Wild. Signs of life in the state of hockey, as the Wild have collected points in six of eight. Minnesota has the fifth-ranked penalty-killing unit.

26. St. Louis Blues. One win in their past 8 outings. EEK! Keep on playing the blues Mr. Checketts.

27. Edmonton Oilers. The hot start has turned colder than ice. Can you say Free Fall!

28. Anaheim Ducks. Giguere wants out and I don’t blame him. What happened to this team over the past couple of years?

29. Toronto Maple Leafs. Woohoo!!! I finally am able to bump the Leafs out of the last spot thanks to the Canes.

30Carolina Hurricanes. Thanks!!!

NHL Power Rankings – Week 5

Posted on October 28, 2009 by adminNo Comments

Are you ready for this week’s edition of the My NHL Blog’s Power Rankings?

It’s time to give more credit to a couple of teams who started off hot and despite everyone saying they’d cool off…haven’t.

Let’s get started.

As always, you can weigh in here and rank all 30 teams.

– By Leafs Fan
2009-2010 Power Rankings: Week 5

1 Pittsburgh Penguins. Gonchar is gone for a month but I’m not ready to drop the Pens down a spot. Let’s see how they hold up in the coming weeks.

2 Calgary Flames. The Flames are riding a three game winning streak and are second in the West standings right now. The Flames will be Canada’s team this year.

3. Los Angeles Kings. A hot start followed by an implosion and now four straight wins. Hard to predict where this team will be but for now I think they have all the ingredients for a nice run.Can you say…Kopitar

4. San Jose Sharks. The regular season hasn’t been a problem for the Sharks. They will continue to be in the top portion of the rankings baring some major injuries.

5 New York Rangers. The perfect start has faded but they are still 7-3-1. Not too worried about the 3 game losing streak.

6 Colorado Avalanche. This team keeps winning. I don’t know what to think but for now I have to give them their kudos.

7 Washington Capitals. Red hot with 4 straight wins. OV is the man!

8 Chicago Blackhawks. The injury bug has hit and it’ll be interesting to see if other players can pick up the slack.

9 Dallas Stars. Well rounded team. Handled St. Louis easily in their last game.

10 Detroit Red Wings. It’s looking like the Detroit dynasty is crumbling. It’s still early and way to early to bail on the Wings.

11 Columbus Blue Jackets. Who wouldn’t want Nash on their team. He needs some other players to step it up.

12 Edmonton Oilers. Slipping in the rankings but I think most expect that.

13 Buffalo Sabres. At the top of the Northeast with only 8 games played. Nice win Saturday night boys!

14 New Jersey Devils. Riding a three game win streat. Probably should have this team ranked higher.

15 Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks are having their character tested early with the current injuries. It’s going to be a tough road but if they can stay .500 and ride it out it might help them out in the second half of the season.

16 Philadelphia Flyers. A slightly higher then .500 team doing exactly what they will do for the rest of the season.

17 Boston Bruins. A win over a surprising Ottawa team on Saturday may just be what the doctor ordered. Unless that doctor can make Savard magically heal overnight.

18 Ottawa Senators. The additions over the summer are paying off. Too bad Kovalev isn’t a team player and will find a way to ruin them. OK…I admit I’m not a huge fan of his.

19 Phoenix Coyotes. Could the Yotes continue the strong play they’ve demonstrated. I hope so…and then maybe the NHL can find a buyer for this team.

20 Montreal Canadiens. Les Canadiens keep on finding a way to win.

21 Atlanta Thrashers. See last weeks comment. Kovalchuk out…ouch!!!

22 Anaheim Ducks. What’s going on in Disneyland?

23 St. Louis Blues. The Blues have the blues. Need to pick it up boys!

24 Carolina Hurricanes. Six straight loses…this is not the team of last year.

25 Tampa Bay Lightning. Shootouts continue to be a problem for the Bolts, who are 0-3 this season after losing 10 of 13 last year.

26 Nashville Predators. Steve Sullivan has only one goal and David Legwand none for the league’s worst offense.

27 New York Islanders. A win…a win!!! Nice work Tavares.

28 Minnesota Wild. Still not looking good for the State of Hockey. I think Pass The Pylons should take over. See www.ptpf.org

27 Florida Panthers. Challenging the Leafs for bottom spot.

30 Toronto Maple Leafs. Another day another lose.

NHL Power Rankings Week 4

Posted on October 18, 2009 by adminNo Comments

This is the first edition of the new My NHL Blog’s Power Rankings.

It’s amazing how things can change over the course of the summer. With all the free agent moves and trades many teams are barely recognizable.

Most teams have played 6-8 games at this point so it’s a pretty good indicator of what we’re going to see for the first quarter of the NHL hockey season.

Let’s get started.

As always, you can weigh in here and rank all 30 teams.

– By Leafs Fan
2009-2010 Power Rankings: Week 4

1 Pittsburgh Penguins. With Sidney Crosby finally contributing with a couple of assists last night it’s hard not to have the Pens at the top of this list.

2 New York Rangers. The Rangers handled my horrible, useless, underachieving Leafs last night which doesn’t mean much because my men’s adult hockey team could give them a run.

3 Calgary Flames. Love this blueline but they do need to tighten things up 30 GF vs 28 GA.

4 Chicago Blackhawks. Despite the lost last night this team should be near or at the top of this list for the entire season.

5 San Jose Sharks. Bounced back after a disappointing lose mind you it was against the hapless Islanders.

6 Washington Capitals. Ovechkin snaps mini-skid with pair in 28 seconds.

7 Detroit Red Wings. Even with a .500 record the Wings are a force to be reckon with.

8 Columbus Blue Jackets. This could be the year of the Jacket.

9 Colorado Avalanche. Yes I’m putting the Avs in the top 10. I know weird!!!

10 Edmonton Oilers. Another top 10 you wouldn’t expect.

11 Atlanta Thrashers. It’s obviously still very early but you have to like the 4 – 1 start. Hopefully for them Kovalchuk stays healthy.

12 Anaheim Ducks. Flying V. Undecided on which way this team will go.

13 Buffalo Sabres. I’m pretty sure the Sabres had the same type of start last year and then cooled off…way off.

14 Vancouver Canucks. One twin down they managed to beat the Wild. Wait…that doesn’t really mean much since I heard the Wild are scouting at our mens adult league at the Super Rink in Blaine.

15 St. Louis Blues. The team is improved from last year and should challenge for a playoff spot.

16 New Jersey Devils. Brodeur blanks ‘Canes and moves within one of Sawchuk.

17 Philadelphia Flyers. After a quick start the Flyers are putting up nothing but L in the lost column.

18 Boston Bruins. Not sure what’s going on with this team. It is still early but seems like something is missing. I read somewhere they should sign 9-year-old Oliver Wahlstrom for shootouts. Not a bad idea!

19 Los Angeles Kings. Quick wins four straight before running into Wings. (19)

20 Carolina Hurricanes. Need to get the offense going.

21 Dallas Stars. Very impressed with the win over the Hawks.

22 Ottawa Senators. They should probably be ranked higher but I’m still not sold.

23 Tampa Bay Lightning. Don’t think a replay of 2004 is anywhere in sight.

24 Montreal Canadiens. Cammalleri scores his first goal. Let the flood gates open…I have him on my fantasy team.

25 Phoenix Coyotes. Another win…don’t know where to put this team

26 Nashville Predators. They’re singing the blues in Nashville instead of country.

27 Florida Panthers. Do they still have a team?

28 Minnesota Wild. Looks like it a long year for the State of Hockey.

29 New York Islanders. Still no wins but what did you expect?

30 Toronto Maple Leafs. Leafs nation is calling for everyone’s head…the apocalypse is near.