Every day I shake my head at how different the Eastern and Western Conferences are. If the NHL playoffs started today, only four of the Eastern Conference teams would qualify for the playoffs in the Western Conference. And aside from the Calgary Flames, all the playoff seeded teams in the Western Conference are on winning steaks.

This week the NHL Classy Power Rankings features jumps from the Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, and, St. Louis Blues while the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens dropped a few notches with poor play and bad losses.

NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 16

30.  Carolina Hurricanes (14-26-7, 35 pts; last week: 30)
29.  Edmonton Oilers (16-26-5, 37 pts; last week: 29)
28.  Toronto Maple Leafs (16-24-9, 41 pts; last week: 28)
27.  Columbus Blue Jackets (18-23-9, 45 pts; last week: 23)
26.  Tampa Bay Lightning (18-19-10, 46 pts; last week: 27)

For the first time in what feels like forever, the Edmonton Oilers might just knock Carolina out of 30th in the league. The Hurricanes are playing a bit better while the Oilers seem to lose every game, regardless of what the score may be after two periods. Of course, the Maple Leafs 28th position doesn’t seem to change and Tampa/Columbus aren’t going to make the playoffs this year. The only redeeming quality for these teams at this point is the upcoming draft. Ooops, sorry Leafs, I forgot you don’t have a #1 pick this year.

25.  Atlanta Thrashers (21-19-7, 49 pts; last week: 23)
24.  Florida Panthers (20-20-8, 48 pts; last week: 24)
23.  Anaheim Ducks (22-20-7, 51 pts; last week: 21)
22.  Philadelphia Flyers (23-21-3, 49 pts; last week: 18)
21.  St. Louis Blues (21-19-7, 49 pts; last week: 25)

Just when I thought the Flyers had their problems figured out, they lose two in a row. Not the worst slide ever, but they need all the wins they can get right now. They still aren’t back in the playoffs yet. The two notable teams in this category are the Ducks and Blues who’ve both started playing much better recently. I’m not sure if the Blues can reproduce a similar run to last season, but for some reason, I believe the Ducks aren’t out of it (they are six points back of 8th)… yet.

20.  Montreal Canadiens (23-23-4, 50 pts; last week: 16)
19.  Minnesota Wild (24-22-3, 51 pts; last week: 20)
18.  Dallas Stars (20-17-11, 51 pts; last week: 17)
17.  New York Islanders (21-19-8, 50 pts; last week: 19)
16.  New York Rangers (23-19-7, 52 pts; last week: 14)

Both New York teams have played pretty well lately and are sitting in playoffs spots, while the Canadiens, Wild, and Stars are all challenging for playoff spots. Honestly, I don’t like the odds of the Wild or Stars (at this point, they are six points back of 8th), however, Montreal are on the fringe (with the same number of points as the Islanders). In order for the Habs to get serious about flirting with the playoffs, they need to start winning games against Northeast teams. They are 7-7 against their own division and are losing critical points at an important part of the season.

15.  Ottawa Senators (24-21-4, 52 pts; last week: 21)
14.  Boston Bruins (23-16-8, 54 pts; last week: 15)
13.  Detroit Red Wings (24-16-8, 56 pts; last week: 13)
12.  Calgary Flames (26-17-6, 58 pts; last week: 6) ** playing
11.  Los Angeles Kings (27-18-3, 57 pts; last week: 11)

All five of these teams are in playoff positions, and its worth noting that the Bruins, Senators, and Red Wings have all battled heavy injuries all season. The Flames don’t have the same excuse but they’ve lost three straight games. The Kings have been better of late with two straight wins in an extremely tight Western Conference.

10.  Vancouver Canucks (28-18-2, 58 pts; last week: 8)
The Vancouver Canucks ended a three game winless streak with a win on Saturday against the Penguins and are 3-1-1 at GM Place this month. That’s good since four of their next six games are at home. The only regulation loss this month was against the Predators… yes… that game that featured Burrows vs Auger. The Canucks play the Oilers, Stars, and Blackhawks this week, hopefully without any more controversies or drama.

9.  Pittsburgh Penguins (30-19-1, 61 pts; last week: 9)
Despite a good start to their Western road trip, the Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t end it well with an injury in Edmonton and a bad loss on Saturday in Vancouver. Marc-Andre Fleury fractured his finger during the Penguins-Oilers game and the team played Saturday’s game without an NHL goalie. The 6-2 loss shows that. Things don’t get any easier for the Penguins as they’ll play the Islanders and Capitals at home this week.

8.  Colorado Avalanche (27-15-6, 60 pts; last week: 10)
The Colorado Avalanche have put together a three game win streak against some pretty good teams recently. They’ve defeated the Sabres, Flames, and Devils over the last week. Not everything is perfect in Colorado though. Forward Milan Hejduk is out 2-4 weeks with a knee injury. Fortunately for the Avalanche, their schedule isn’t too bad, starting with games against the Oilers and Predators this week.

7.  Phoenix Coyotes (28-16-5, 61 pts; last week: 7)
The Phoenix Coyotes remain one of the surprise NHL teams this season with an impressive 61 points so far through 49 games. Ed Jovanovski missed a game this week due to suspension and Peter Mueller looked strong with a few nice goals. For a team who’s had great success this year without many of their young stars, it could get awfully scary for other Western Conference teams if players like Mueller can start to pick up their play.

6.  Nashville Predators (29-16-3, 61 pts; last week: 11)
The Nashville Predators tore through Western Canada last week with wins over the Canucks, Flames, and Oilers. Star players in Nashville typically fly under the radar, but one player who’s caught my eye recently is winger Patric Hornqvist. Hornqvist has 19 goals this season and six of them are game winners. This is his first full season in the NHL and he’s only 23 years old. This week, the Preds face the Leafs, Coyotes, and Avalanche.

5.  Buffalo Sabres (29-11-6, 64 pts; last week: 5)
The Buffalo Sabres haven’t lost a regulation game in their last 10 starts. In fact, their last regulation loss was December 23rd! I usually say this when talking about the Sabres, but they seem to get big wins with the least amount of goal scoring possible. Their leading goal scorer has 12 goals (although six players have 11 or 12 goals each) and Tim Connolly, their leading point scorer doesn’t even average a point per game (39 points in 46 games). The Sabres success this season can be centered around Ryan Miller’s terrific play and the tactics/coaching of Lindy Ruff. Kudos to the players for buying into a great system.

4.  New Jersey Devils (32-11-1, 65 pts; last week: 2)
This wasn’t the New Jersey Devils best week. The team dropped two road games that were probably measuring stick games (against the Coyotes and Avalanche) and lost Patrick Elias to injury for an unknown amount of time. The Devils will look to bounce back this week when playing the Islanders, Panthers, and Canadiens.

3.  Washington Capitals (30-12-6; last week: 4)
The Washington Capitals are hot, having lost only one of their last seven games. US World Junior Champion John Carlsson has recently been playing with the Capitals (and looked pretty good) and Alex Ovechkin is inching closer to the goals/point scoring lead with his hot play. It will be an interesting test this week for the Caps as they’ll play some pretty good teams in the Red Wings, Penguins, and Coyotes.

2.  San Jose Sharks (31-10-8, 70 pts; last week: 3)
I can’t help but marvel at the play of Patrick Marleau this year for the San Jose Sharks. Never in a million years did I think removing his captaincy would have such a positive impact on his play. Marleau leads the NHL in goals and hasn’t looked this confident in years (or perhaps ever). It hasn’t been talked about too much, but Marleau is a UFA after this season. It will be interesting to see how the Sharks handle him and other UFA/RFAs (Setoguchi, Pavelski, Blake, Nabokov) beyond the 09/10 season. This week, the Sharks play the Flames, Kings, Ducks, and Sabres.

1.  Chicago Blackhawks (34-11-4, 72 pts; last week: 1)
For two straight weeks, the Chicago Blackhawks are the top team in the NHL and in the Classy Power Rankings! This team doesn’t lose very often and it seems they always find ways to win. It’s impressive to watch, although for other Western Conference teams, it must be frustrating. By next week, I predict Chicago to have more wins than the Oilers have points. For that to happen, the Hawks must win their games against the Senators, Flames, and Canucks this week. The Hawks are in the middle of their eight game road trip and are 2-0 so far.

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The NHL Classy Power Rankings are back after taking off week 13 for the holiday season. You know the holidays are officially over when Stayclassy.net gets back to regularly scheduled features.

To clear any confusion, this week’s Power Rankings – the first of 2010 – when I say last week, I’m refering to the Week 12 Rankings from the week of December 21st.

This week in our Power Rankings, we note jumps from the Montreal Canadiens, San Jose Sharks, and Buffalo Sabres while the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs see big slides. Make your way down the charts to see who’s number one in our first Rankings of the New Year!

NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 14

30.  Carolina Hurricanes (11-23-7, 29 pts; last week: 29)
29.  Edmonton Oilers (16-22-4, 36 pts; last: 24)
28.  Toronto Maple Leafs (14-19-9, 37 pts; last week: 20)
27.  Columbus Blue Jackets (15-19-9, 39 pts; last week: 28)
26.  Anaheim Ducks (16-19-7, 39 pts; last week: 21)

The bottom of the NHL hasn’t changed much for what feels like a good month or two now. The Toronto Maple Leafs had a decent run but find themselves with injury problems and the Edmonton Oilers simply can’t buy a win with injury problems of their own. The Ducks and Jackets continue to hover around .500 hockey but never quite get over the hump. And of course, the Carolina Hurricanes are still the worst team in the NHL, but the Oilers are getting closer. The race for Taylor Hall is on! (except replace Toronto’s name with Boston).

25.  St. Louis Blues (17-18-6; 40 pts; last week: 25)
24.  Philadelphia Flyers (19-19-3, 41 pts; last week: 29)
23.  Florida Panthers (17-18-7, 41 pts; last week: 19)
22.  Atlanta Thrashers (18-17-6, 42 pts; last week: 17)
21.  Tampa Bay Lightning (16-15-10, 42 pts; last week: 26)

What’s interesting about this grouping is about a month ago, the Flyers, Lightning, and Thrashers all sat around the 15-20 mark in our rankings. It seems none of these teams can get on a good winning streak. The Flyers, who brought a four-game winning streak in the 2010 Winter Classic have since lost their last two games.

20.  New York Islanders (17-18-8, 42 pts; last week: 27)
19.  Minnesota Wild (20-19-3, 43 pts; last week: 16)
18.  New York Rangers (19-17-5, 43 pts; last week: 22)
17.  Montreal Canadiens (21-20-3, 45 pts; last week: 23)
16.  Dallas Stars (18-12-11, 47 pts; last week: 14)

Of this group of teams, the Montreal Canadiens have done a nice job of late to pull themselves up to .500 hockey with the return of Markov and the stellar play of Jaroslav Halak. The Dallas Stars have as many OT/SO loss points as the Hurricanes have wins. The Rangers and Islanders seem like they’ll be joined at the hip all season long with virtually the same record and point total. The only difference is the Rangers payroll is much higher and the Islanders have seven (yes, SEVEN) players playing in the World Junior Hockey Championships.

15.  Detroit Red Wings (21-14-6, 48 pts; last week: 13)
14.  Ottawa Senators (22-16-4, 48 pts; last week: 15)
13.  Boston Bruins (21-12-7, 49 pts; last week: 18)
12.  Los Angeles Kings (24-15-3, 51 pts; last week: 6)
11.  Vancouver Canucks (25-16-1, 51 pts; last week: 12)

The Los Angeles Kings have slipped out of the top 10 after having a sub-par last 10 games (they went 5-5) while the Canucks, Senators, and Red Wings seem to always find themselves around the 10-15 tier (for the Wings and Senators, that’s a big win considering the key injuries each club has faced).

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10.  Pittsburgh Penguins (26-16-1, 53 pts; last week: 2)
The Pittsburgh Penguins have lost five straight games and have won only four games in their last 10. This is probably the most the team has struggled all year. The most alarming thing about this stretch is the teams they are losing to – the Lightning, Panthers, and Maple Leafs. Could this be the Stanley Cup hangover? Probably not. Anyways, the Penguins will look to turn this streak around when the play the Thrashers, Flyers, and Leafs this week.

9.  Washington Capitals (24-11-6, 54 pts; last week: 4)
It’s interesting how the Washington Capitals and Penguins go through similar season stretches. Like the Pens, the Capitals have lost three straight games but with the exception to the Hurricanes, to strong teams like the Kings and Sharks. The Capitals recently got some good news at Semyon Varlamov is back from injury and in the AHL for a brief reconditioning stint. And while Mike Green didn’t make the cut for the Canadian Olympic team, the Capitals will still be sending five players to the Vancouver games (Semin, Ovechkin, Varlamov, Fleishmann, and Backstrom). And lastly, the Capitals traded Milan Jurcina and captain Chris Clark to the Blue Jackets last week in exchange for forward Jason Chimera.

8.  Nashville Predators (25-14-3, 53 pts; last week: 5)
This has to be the year Barry Trotz wins the coach of the year award. Get this, over the Nashville Predators last 16 games, the club has gone 10-4-2. Unfortunately for the Predators, the team stumbled a bit in their search for top seed in the Central division losing back to back games to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Preds find themselves eight points back of the Hawks, but that’s a hell of a lot better than most people figured the Predators to be doing this year. This week, the Predators host the Flames, Hurricanes, and Ducks.

7.  Phoenix Coyotes (25-14-4, 54 pts; last week: 10)
The Phoenix Coyotes have a busy month ahead. In January, the Coyotes have 14 games to play with only five of them on the road. That’s a really good thing considering the Coyotes are 16-6-1 when playing in front of no one… I mean playing at home. Although the Coyotes are enjoying a great year under Dave Tippett, they are only three points ahead of the Kings, who occupy the 8th and final playoff position in the Western Conference. How’s that for parity? This week, the Coyotes will face the Oilers, Sharks, and Islanders.

6.  Calgary Flames (24-12-5, 53 pts; last week: 11)
The Calgary Flames are hot! as they’ve won their last four games and have held the losing team to one goal in each game. That’s all well and good, but most people around Calgary are still pretty surprised Steve Yzerman didn’t pick any of Dion Phaneuf, Robyn Regher, or Jay Bouwmeester to the Canadian Olympic team. And to make matters worse, Dion Phaneuf left Saturday’s game against the Leafs with an injury – I have no idea how serious it is… or isn’t. But hey, the Flames have won four in a row!

5.  Colorado Avalanche (24-13-6, 54 pts; last week: 7)
The Colorado Avalanche are 3rd in the Western Conference and 7-3 in their last 10 games. Matt Duchene continues to impress and looks to be getting even more comfortable in the NHL (and stronger too). Considering he was left off last year’s Canadian Junior team, I’d say he’s progressed nicely over the last 12 months. In a bit of a surprise, Craig Anderson was left off the USA Olympic team roster this week. I’m still surprised at that. This week, the Avalanche will face off against the Islanders, Hurricanes, and Sabres.

4.  Buffalo Sabres (26-11-4, 56 pts; last week: 9)
The Buffalo Sabres are the second best team in the Eastern Conference, three points back of Pittsburgh for first in the East, yet have no player with more than 32 points this season. Tim Connolly (who has 32 points) is 49th in league scoring. It’s unbelievable how strong a season the Sabres have put together. They’ve only lost two of their last 10 games in regulation (6-2-2) and play two relatively easy games this week against the Lightning and Leafs before hooking up with the Avalanche on Saturday night.

3.  New Jersey Devils (29-10-1, 59 pts; last week: 1)
The New Jersey Devils are tops in the East and have allowed the least goals against in the entire league. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and Zach Parise continues to generate loads of offense for the team (he’s 14th in league scoring). The Devils play Stars and Lightning at home before heading out on a five game road trip starting in Montreal on Saturday.

2.  Chicago Blackhawks (29-10-3, 61 pts; last week: 3)
The Chicago Blackhawks (and Sharks) are tied for the most points in the NHL. They’ve won three straight games and will be well represented in the Olympics (Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa, and Tomas Kopecky). What more can you say about the Hawks? Everything’s rolling well and they are a fairly healthy club. The hit Patrick Sharp received was Saturday night versus the Blues was huge, but he was fine and even scored later in the game. The Hawks will play the Wild (twice) and Bruins later this week.

1.  San Jose Sharks (27-8-7, 61 pts; last week: 8)
Along with the Blackhawks, the San Jose Sharks are the best team in the NHL. They’ve lost eight times in regulation all year… Edmonton has lost more than that in their last 10 games! Their top forward line were all named to the Canadian Olympic team (as well as Dan Boyle) and the team appears to work harder this season over last. These are all good things for a team who’s season doesn’t really start until the Playoffs in April. They know this better than anyone, but you have to give it up to this team for how they continually dominate opponents. Probable Sharks victims this week may include the Kings, Blues, and Red Wings.

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Week 11 of the Classy Power Rankings features a few positive jumps from several Canadian teams (the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs) while a few other teams suffer notable slides (the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning, and New York Rangers).

On top of that, we have a new number 1 ranked team! It’s not San Jose or Washington – do you know who it is? Here’s a hint: They’ve won four straight games and sit atop of the Western Conference.

NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 11

30.  Carolina Hurricanes (7-19-6, 20 pts; last week: 30)
29.  Philadelphia Flyers (14-15-1, 29 pts; last week: 27)
28.  New York Rangers (14-15-2, 30 pts; last week: 22)
27.  Anaheim Ducks (12-13-7, 31 pts; last week: 28)
26.  Florida Panthers (12-14-7, 31 pts; last week: 26)

Once among the top 5 in the NHL Classy Power Rankings, the Philadelphia Flyers now find themselves 29th, stuffed between the Carolina Hurricanes and the always struggling New York Rangers. Neither the Florida Panthers or the Anaheim Ducks can find any kind of winning consistency, either. The Ducks are the most puzzling team in the bottom of the Classy Rankings as both Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf rank in the top 12 in league scoring.

25.  New York Islanders (12-13-7, 31 pts; last week: 23)
24.  Tampa Bay Lightning (11-12-9, 31 pts; lastweek: 19)
23.  Toronto Maple Leafs (11-14-7, 29 pts; last week: 29)
22.  Columbus Blue Jackets (14-12-6, 34 pts; last week: 17)
21.  Edmonton Oilers (15-13-4, 34 pts; last week: 24)

The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to move up the charts, going 7-3 in their last 10 games, while the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets continue to slide. In fact, the Lightning have lost 8 or their last 9 games. The Edmonton Oilers have played pretty well as of late, going 6-3-1 in their last 10 games (including five straight wins). However, the Oilers are in tough at home over the next four games playing the Kings, Predators, Capitals, and Blues.

20.  Montreal Canadiens (15-15-3, last week: 25)
19.  St. Louis Blues (13-12-5, 31 pts, last week: 20)
18.  Minnesota Wild (15-14-3, 33 pts, last week: 21)
17.  Atlanta Thrashers (16-11-3, 35 pts, last week: 13)
16.  Vancouver Canucks (18-14-0, 36 pts, last week: 16)

Of this crop of teams, only the Atlanta Thrashers and Montreal Canadiens are in playoff positions right now. The Vancouver Canucks are two points out of the 8th playoff spot and on a nice two game winning streak. The St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild are a bit farther out, but its worth noting the Wild really turned things around last month, going 12-5-3 in their last 20 games. Meanwhile, the Blues sit tied with Anaheim for 15th in the Western Conference.

15.  Ottawa Senators (16-11-4, 36 pts, last week: 18)
14.  Dallas Stars (14-8-10, 38 pts, last week: 14)
13.  Detroit Red Wings (16-11-5, 37 pts, last week: 15)
12.  Nashville Predators (18-11-3, 39 pts, last week: 13)
11.  Boston Bruins (16-9-6, 38 pts, last week: 10)

Each of these teams are in playoff positions right now, except the Detroit Red Wings. That said, the Red Wings have done pretty well for themselves considering the loss of depth (well documented) and substantial injuries they’ve faced this season. Of this group, I think the Nashville Predators and the Boston Bruins are teams on the cusp of being top teams in their conference – especially the Bruins who are just one win back of 3rd in the Eastern Conference (Buffalo Sabres).

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10.  Colorado Avalanche (19-10-6, 44 pts, last week: 9)
The Colorado Avalanche have won four of their last five games and are starting to get back on track following a minor slump after getting off to their hot start. Goaltender Craig Anderson is back in the Avalanche line up after a brief injury while with the Avalanche take over top spot in the Northwest division after a Sunday night win over the Flames.

9.  Phoenix Coyotes (19-11-2, 40 pts, last week: 7)
The Phoenix Coyotes had a pretty solid last three games, losing only once but beating both the Wild and the Sharks. Off ice news last week confirmed the Canadian Ice Edge Holdings group is a few steps closer to purchasing the Coyotes. And back to their on ice play, Ilya Bryzgalov has been great for the Coyotes while a number of the young prospects continue to find difficulty making the big club (Mueller, Boedker, Turris, etc…).

8.  Buffalo Sabres (19-9-2, 40 pts, last week: 11)
Ryan Miller is arguably the best goalie in the NHL this season, boasting a league best 1.83 goals against average and a .939 save percentage. The Buffalo Sabres have won three straight games, yet don’t have one player with 10 or more goals this season. The Sabres are 7-3 in their last 10 games and they shouldn’t break what isn’t broken.

7.  Calgary Flames (19-9-4, 42 pts, last week: 6) **play tonight
The Calgary Flames have won two of six games in December and have only scored more than two goals once. Miikka Kiprusoff has been amazing for the Flames this year (many have him pegged as the early favourite as the NHL’s Hart trophy winner), but the team needs more goals in order to win hockey games.

6.  Chicago Blackhawks (20-8-3, 43 pts, last week: 4)
Did anyone catch Marian Hossa’s goal from Sunday night against the Lightning? Wow – just another display of skill the Chicago Blackhawks have in their roster. The Hawks have only lost two of their last six and are rolling. They are two points off the league lead and will play their next four games at home. Considering their home record (13-3-1), I’d say that’s a good thing for the Hawks. It should be noted Patrick Kane left Sunday’s game with an upper body injury. At this point, it’s not believed to be a serious injury.

5.  Pittsburgh Penguins (22-10-1, 45 pts, last week: 5)
The Pittsburgh Penguins are Stanley Cup contenders. I’m not sure how long that will last, but it seems like it will be for a while. I recently read the Penguins are 22-0 when they score three or more goals in a game (I’m guessing that stat dates back to last year). Marc-Andre Fleury looks so much more comfortable in goal this season and is a lock for the Canadian Olympic team. One interesting note about Sidney Crosby this year is his goal tally. He ranks 4th in the league and just two goals back of Marian Gaborik for the goalscoring lead.

4.  San Jose Sharks (19-8-7, 45 pts, last week: 2)
For the second time in as many weeks, the San Jose sharks have slipped down the Classy charts. Not necessarily because of their poor play, but because of the strong play of other teams. It doesn’t help they’ve lost four straight games dating back to two Saturday ago either. At the end of the day, none of this really matters. The Sharks remain one of the league’s top teams, but the season will be judged by their playoff performance.

3.  Washington Capitals (20-7-6, 46 pts, last week: 1)
While the Washington Capitals are the top team in the NHL (according to total points), I’m not yet convinced the team plays like it every night. They have the talent and depth required, but they have a tendency to let up and play too lose (see Saturday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs). Good teams play hard every night and don’t underestimate opponents. In other Capitals news, the club has finally (and I mean finally) moved Michael Nylander’s contract off their books. They’ve sent him and his $4.8 Million cap hit (approx) to the AHL, freeing up a ton of cap space to play with. It will be interesting to see what the club does between now and the March 3rd trade deadline.

2.  New Jersey Devils (22-8-1, 45 pts, last week: 3)
Although the New Jersey Devils won three of their four games last week, the 3-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres overshadows everything else. Martin Brodeur’s big shutout win over the Sabres tied Terry Sawchuk in all time shutouts (103). Congrats to Marty! I have a feeling it’s going to be a very long time until that record is broken (and yes, I do believe one day the all time shutout record will belong to someone else, other than Brodeur).

1.  Los Angeles Kings (21-10-3, 45 pts, last week: 8 )
For the second straight week, we have a new number one team on the NHL Classy Power Rankings: The Los Angeles Kings. Impressively, the Kings have put together four straight wins without Ryan Smyth (who is still injured). What’s more impressive is those wins have come against top Western teams (the Stars, Coyotes, Sharks, and Flames), each game being a 1-goal margin. More and more, I’m starting to believe the Kings have the pieces to go into the second or third round of the playoffs this year like the Blackhawks did last year. A very impressive team.

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