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NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 20

February 15th, 2010

Welcome to the final Classy Power Rankings prior to the Olympics! This week, the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators move up, while the Tampa Bay Lightning and Minnesota Wild take a slide downwards.

Scroll down to see how your favourite teams measure up at the break. Please note this will be the last Power Rankings for a few weeks – the Classy Power Rankings will return on Monday March 8th, once the NHL season resumes.

NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 20

30.  Edmonton Oilers (last week: 30)
29.  Toronto Maple Leafs (last week: 28)
28.  New York Islanders (last week: 27)
27.  Carolina Hurricanes (last week: 29)
26.  Florida Panthers (last week: 26)

The Carolina Hurricanes have been playing their best hockey of the season recently, going 8-2 in their last 10 games. All this while the Toronto Maple Leafs lost both of their games this week. In other news, the Florida Panthers management recently sent out a letter to all season ticket holders explaining large changes will be made to their roster soon. Hmmmm…

25.  Columbus Blue Jackets (last week: 25)
24.  Atlanta Thrashers (last week: 23)
23.  Tampa Bay Lightning (last week: 17)
22.  New York Rangers (last week: 22)
21.  Montreal Canadiens (last week: 18)

The Tampa Bay Lightning keep bouncing in and out of playoff contention with inconsistent play. The New York Rangers have won two straight games and are just outside of the 8th spot in the East. The Montreal Canadiens, who are holding down the 8th position in the Conference, traded a second round draft pick for Dominic Moore (of the Panthers)… why do teams keep trading second round draft picks for Moore?

20.  Minnesota Wild (last week: 16)
19.  St. Louis Blues (last week: 21)
18.  Boston Bruins (last week: 24)
17.  Anaheim Ducks (last week: 19)
16.  Detroit Red Wings (last week: 14)

The Boston Bruins seem to have found their stride, having won their last four games, while the Anaheim Ducks continue to move closer to the playoffs. Ryan Getzlaf appears to be OK after having a sprained ankle scare earlier this week. At this point in the Western Conference, I’m starting to believe the Ducks are the only team outside of the playoffs who can make the post-season.

15.  Philadelphia Flyers (last week: 20)
14.  Dallas Stars (last week: 15)
13.  Calgary Flames (last week: 12)
12.  Nashville Predators (last week: 13)
11.  Buffalo Sabres (last week: 11)

This is where it gets tight. The Philadelphia Flyers have done a nice job moving up, thanks to four straight wins.  The Dallas Stars, Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames all remain in the top 15 going into the Olympic break.

10.  Pittsburgh Penguins (last week: 9)
9.  Ottawa Senators (last week: 10)
8.  Colorado Avalanche (last week: 8)
7.  Vancouver Canucks (last week: 7)
6.  New Jersey Devils (last week: 6)

The Ottawa Senators move up one spot this week thanks to big wins over the Capitals and Islanders. The New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils stay pat in their respective positions.

5.  Phoenix Coyotes (last week: 5)
4.  Los Angeles Kings (last week: 3)
3.  Chicago Blackhawks (last week: 4)
2.  San Jose Sharks (last week: 2)
1.  Washington Capitals (last week: 1)

The Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks swap positions this week, while the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals hold down the top two positions in the Classy Power Rankings. The Blackhawks, Sharks and Capitals are starting to pull away from the pack in the NHL points race. They are the class of the league.

Stay classy, NHL Power Rankings.

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NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 19

February 8th, 2010

In a week that saw the Ottawa Senators and Phoenix Coyotes win streaks snapped, the Los Angeles Kings and Washington Capitals continued theirs with come from behind victories over the weekend! This past week also saw a few trades made between the Flyers/Red Wings, Rangers/Flames and Hurricanes/Sharks. Read below to find out who was dealt.

This week, the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers suffer drops while the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings all move up in the Classy Rankings.

NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 19

30.  Edmonton Oilers (last week: 30)
29.  Carolina Hurricanes (last week: 28)
28.  Toronto Maple Leafs (last week: 29)
27.  New York Islanders (last week: 26)
26.  Florida Panthers (last week: 17)

It was a busy week for this group of teams last week. The Toronto Maple Leafs ushered in a few new faces (with immediate impact) and the Carolina Hurricanes traded Nicolas Wallin to the San Jose Sharks. The Edmonton Oilers won two games and Sheldon Souray has reportedly given the team a list of trade destinations he’d lift his no trade clause for. There are some other reports that indicate the Oilers could be close to dealing captain Ethan Moreau.

25.  Columbus Blue Jackets (last week: 27)
24.  Boston Bruins (last week: 25)
23.  Atlanta Thrashers (last week: 21)
22.  New York Rangers (last week: 24)
21.  St. Louis Blues (last week: 20)

Obviously, the Boston Bruins are the standout club in this group of under achieving teams. It’s looking more and more possible that Boston will have two top 10 draft picks this summer at the NHL Entry Draft. The Columbus Blue Jackets finally fired coach Ken Hitchcock – a decision that seemed like it had been coming since week two of the season. Oh, and Glen Sather traded for Olli Jokinen… another sound move by the GM Mark Messier will eventually replace.

20.  Philadelphia Flyers (last week: 18)
19.  Anaheim Ducks (last week: 19)
18.  Montreal Canadiens (last week: 22)
17.  Tampa Bay Lightning (last week: 23)
16.  Minnesota Wild (last week: 16)

The Philadelphia Flyers added more forward depth trading for Red Wings forward Ville Leino (yeah – that’s exactly what they needed, more forwards!). One has to wonder if they have any trades up their sleeves prior to the March 3rd NHL trade deadline. The Tampa Bay Lightning jump up this week with three straight wins and a terrific home record. Don’t look now, but Rich Tocchet has the Lightning sitting 7th in the Eastern Conference. In other Lightning news, they appear to have a new owner who’s almost guaranteed to “not suck as much” as the previous ownership group, OK Hockey.

15.  Dallas Stars (last week: 15)
14.  Detroit Red Wings (last week: 13)
13.  Nashville Predators (last week: 12)
12.  Calgary Flames (last week: 14)
11.  Buffalo Sabres (last week: 5)

The Calgary Flames have started to turn things around a bit, following a big time roster shake up. As of writing this, they find themselves back in the playoffs. The Buffalo Sabres suffer a big drop this week after losing their last four games. Also, the Detroit Red Wings traded Ville Leino to Philadelphia on Saturday as a way to clear cap space for Johan Franzen.

10.  Ottawa Senators (last week: 10)
The Ottawa Senators won two of three games last week, keeping them in the Weekly top 10. The Sens managed to set a franchise best 11 game winning streak… and then blew it to the Leafs on Saturday night. When you consider all the strong rosters the Senators have had over the last decade, did you ever think this year’s club was the one who could win 11 straight games? Ottawa’s previous best was eight straight wins. And a day after the disastrous 5-0 loss to the Leafs, Jonathan Cheechoo won the shooting accuracy event at the Sens skills competition on Sunday hitting four targets in four shots. By the way, Cheechoo has five goals all year… with only 111 shots taken. OK, I’ll stop.

9.  Pittsburgh Penguins (last week: 9)
It was a rough weekend for the Pittsburgh Penguins after laying an egg in Montreal on Saturday afternoon, enduring a very rough journey to Washington for a second straight afternoon game and blowing a two goal lead to the Capitals. It’s not all bad news though. Defenseman Alex Goligoski is getting better and better for the Penguins while Sidney Crosby is only three goals shy of the NHL scoring lead.

8.  Colorado Avalanche (last week: 11)
The Colorado Avalanche seem to have a pretty steady supply of rookies who can step in on a whim and do some damage. The Avs continue to play great hockey and Matt Duchene is now the leading goals and points scorer among all NHL rookies. Fun fact: Duchene has scored more times than any Boston Bruin player. In other Avalanche news, apparently Marek Svatos is available with the Leafs and Senators having inquired about him recently.

7.  Vancouver Canucks (last week: 4)
So far, the Vancouver Canucks are 2-2 on their massive road trip. Given how long this road trip is (basically two full weeks prior to the Olympics and one week after the Olympics), if the Canucks can come out of it with a .500 record or better, it should be considered a success. So far, so good. Although it should be noted the Eastern Conference teams are significantly weaker than some of the Western Conference teams they’ll play the week following the Olympics (Hawks, Predators, Red Wings, Avalanche, and Coyotes to name a few).

6.  New Jersey Devils (last week: 8)
Although the New Jersey Devils only won one of three games this week, they acquired one of the top hockey players in the world, Ilya Kovalchuk (albeit for a maximum of five months, for now). As a result, that moves them up the rankings this week. Clearly Devils President Lou Lamoriello believes his club can win the Stanley Cup this year, although the jury is still undecided about Kovalchuk as a playoff performer (Kovalchuk has played just four playoff games in his career).

5.  Phoenix Coyotes (last week: 6)
The Phoenix Coyotes had their six game winning streak snapped on Saturday in a 4-0 loss to the Stars… the running joke being the Coyotes didn’t want to “make it Seven”. And in case you still aren’t sold on the idea of pro hockey in Phoenix, Fox Sports Arizona is reporting TV ratings are up 50 percent this year versus last. I’m sold… a 50 percent increase of a very low number is still, wait… nevermind.

4.  Chicago Blackhawks (last week: 3)
From all reports, it sounds like Antti Niemi has officially grabbed the number one goalie spot on the Chicago Blackhawks. In fact, he currently owns the top goals against average in the league. Although having said that, I’m not sure the Hawks allow the Niemi/Huet goalie tandem to go unchanged heading into the playoffs. Remember, it’s Cup or bust for this team this year.

3.  Los Angeles Kings (last week: 7)
The Los Angeles Kings have strung 10 nine straight wins together and are sitting comfortably in 4th place in the Western Conference. Why some Kings fans may be disappointed the team didn’t trade for Ilya Kovalchuk this week, I believe it was the right decision not to. This Kings team doesn’t need to panic or change anything they are doing at the moment. Fun fact: Drew Doughty is second on the team in scoring with 42 points in 58 games. Unreal.

2.  San Jose Sharks (last week: 2)
Only in the “parity filled” NHL can a team go 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and fly under the radar. Especially with the Capitals and Kings going on huge winning streaks. The San Jose Sharks lost only four times in January! The Niclas Wallin trade is now complete, following a few days worth of speculation. Wallin’s contract was not extended beyond this season (it was speculated this was the reason the deal had been held up for a few days).

1.  Washington Capitals (last week: 1)
As if their 14 game winning streak wasn’t enough, I’m still blown away by what had to the game of the year yesterday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Alex Ovechkin showed why he is the most exciting player in the world and the Capitals reminded the NHL to never count them out of a hockey game. Do you think the Capitals can make it to the Olympic break without losing? They have three more games remaining against the Canadiens, Senators, and Blues. Should they win each of these games, they’ll tie an NHL record for 17 straight wins with… the 92/93 Pittsburgh Penguins.

Stay classy, NHL Power Rankings.

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NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 18

February 1st, 2010

Here we go, week 18 of the NHL Classy Power Rankings! This week, there’s a new number one team with huge jumps from the red hot Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks, and the high flying Los Angeles Kings.

The result of the Senators, Canucks, and Kings pushing into the top 10 means a few slides for the Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators. The New York Islanders are among the week’s biggest drops with a current 5-game losing streak.

NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 18

30.  Edmonton Oilers (last week: 30)
29.  Toronto Maple Leafs (last week: 29)
28.  Carolina Hurricanes (last week: 28)
27.  Columbus Blue Jackets (last week: 27)
26.  New York Islanders (last week: 20)

Virtually the same bottom 5 as last week, with the addition of the New York Islanders, who slide 6 spots after dropping 5 straight games. Of these bottom teams, there’s a few things to note since last week. First of all, Sheldon Souray fractured his hand on Saturday night. The Oilers obviously won’t be able to trade Souray at the deadline. And of course, the big news from Sunday morning – The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired J.S. Giguere and Dion Phaneuf by swapping out 6 players.

25.  Boston Bruins (last week: 22)
24.  New York Rangers (last week: 19)
23.  Tampa Bay Lightning (last week: 25)
22.  Montreal Canadiens (last week: 17)
21.  Atlanta Thrashers (last week: 26)

Cue the Vincent Lecavalier rumours… it appears the Lightning are in the process of being sold to a new owner and whispers suggest the new owner may (I stress may) want to cut payroll. Instantly, Lecavalier to Montreal/Los Angeles stories are popping up. I highly doubt this. Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins continue to slump with bad goaltending and little scoring. They are 1-7-2 in their last 10 games. For the Rangers, they may (again, I stress may for multiple reasons) get a boost in scoring as a trade with the Calgary Flames has been reported but not yet completed (or may not happen at all).

20.  St. Louis Blues (last week: 24)
19.  Anaheim Ducks (last week: 15)
18.  Philadelphia Flyers (last week: 16)
17.  Florida Panthers (last week: 23)
16.  Minnesota Wild (last week: 21)

The Anaheim Ducks signed Jonas Hiller to a 4-year extension on Saturday and the Florida Panthers got a big boost to their lineup as David Booth returned in Sunday’s win against the Islanders (Booth recorded an assist in his return). The Minnesota Wild have reportedly terminated their 1-year contract with Peter Sykora after he didn’t report to the AHL.

15.  Dallas Stars (last week: 18)
14.  Calgary Flames (last week: 14)
13.  Detroit Red Wings (last week: 13)
12.  Nashville Predators (last week: 10)
11.  Colorado Avalanche (last week: 5)

The Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators slip out of the top 10 because of sub-par weeks and big winning streaks by other teams. It will be interesting to see how the Calgary Flames look with 4 new players in their line up. For the record, the Leafs/Flames don’t hook up again until next year… unless they meet in the Stanley Cup Fina… wait. Nevermind. I’ll stop there. They’ll next meet in the 2010-2011 season.

10.  Ottawa Senators (last week: 12)
The red hot Ottawa Senators have won 9 games in a row against some impressive teams. They’ve really set themselves apart from the 6th-13th seeded teams in the Eastern Conference and are 3 points back of Pittsburgh for 4th in the Conference. It’s not all great news for the Senators – Nick Foligno is out for 6-8 weeks with a broken leg after blocking a shot on Saturday.

9.  Pittsburgh Penguins (last week: 8)
It’s hard to knock the Pittsburgh Penguins. For the most part, they play like an experienced playoff team with a pretty deep roster. I’m interested to see what they do between now and the March 3rd trade deadline (some rumours suggest they are looking at Toronto’s Alexei Ponikarovsky).

8.  New Jersey Devils (last week: 4)
The New Jersey Devils have hit a bit of a rough patch lately – they are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games and Martin Brodeur has been showing some signs of shakey goaltending we saw during the conclusion of the Hurricanes/Devils playoff series from last year.

7.  Los Angeles Kings (last week: 11)
The Los Angeles Kings just wrapped up a road trip that saw them go 5-0. They’ve won 6 games in a row and are really starting to gel as a team. Rumours continue to name the Kings as one of the frontrunners for Ilya Kovalchuk, but as of now (Yeah – I sort of buy some of it), there doesn’t seem to be much to the stories.

6.  Phoenix Coyotes (last week: 9)
The Phoenix Coyotes had a nice week topped off by a win in Dallas on Sunday night. It was Dave Tippett’s first time in Dallas  since being fired by the Stars last year. The Coyotes have won 5 of their last 6 games and are starting to get contributions from a few of their young kids.

5.  Buffalo Sabres (last week: 6)
After going winless on their 4 game Western road trip, the Buffalo Sabres turned in 2 straight home victories against Eastern Conference teams. Good timing for the Sabres who now hold significantly reduce 5 point lead on the Northeast Division.

4.  Vancouver Canucks (last week: 7)
The Vancouver Canucks are one of the hottest 3 teams in the league! They’ve just set out on a NHL record 14 game road trip (making way for the Olympics) and are firing on all cylinders. The only question I have for the Canucks right now (beyond what, if any moves they may or may not make at the deadline) is if they are peaking too early in the season.

3.  Chicago Blackhawks (last week: 3)
With Dave Bolland scheduled to return to the line up this week (per Harken), the Chicago Blackhawks will be as close to 100% health as ever. It’s arguably the deepest roster in the NHL, so it will be interesting to see how the players and coach Joe Quennville handles it. Of course there is trade speculation, but we’ll have to see. The Hawks are 6-4 in their last 10 and currently hold a 15 point lead on the Central Division. The team is only 3 points back of the NHL lead in points.

2.  San Jose Sharks (last week: 1)
It’s pretty amazing a team (Capitals) can win 10 games in a row and still not lead the NHL in points. The reason for that is the 8-0-2 record of the San Jose Sharks over their last 10 games. The Sharks have quietly been winning nearly every game they play. In fact, they’ve only lost 10 games all year (in regulation). I’m pretty sure the Edmonton Oilers have dropped more games than that in 2010 alone…

1.  Washington Capitals (last week: 2)
The Washington Capitals are the hottest team in the league with 10 straight wins! The bad news is Mike Green was suspended for 3 games after a bad elbowing incident. In the same game Green suffered a knee injury, however, Capitals insider Tarik El-Bashir believes the injury isn’t too serious.

Stay classy, NHL Power Rankings.

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Whammy of the Week

January 30th, 2010

Afternoon sportsfans and happy Hockey Day in Canada!

The Whammy feature here on Stayclassy.net that you have all come to love is undergoing a bit of a change. There now be a Classy Whammy and Non-Classy Whammy each week for you all to compare, contrast, argue over, debate, rejoice and other fancy words Champ is not yet aware of. Enjoy!

This week’s Classy Whammy comes to us from Brian Elliott and the suddenly surging Ottawa Senators against the Chicago Blackhawks. Elliot scrambled to get back into the net and does his best Patrick Roy immitation to rob Marian Hossa of a sure goal. Great stuff.

This week’s Non-Classy Whammy comes courtesy of Alex Auld versus the Vancouver Canucks. Mr. Auld could clearly use a minor novice stick handling clinic because he just looked terrible out there. The Canucks ended up winning this game 4-2.

Until next week,

Stay classy, Stayclassy.net readers.

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NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 17

January 25th, 2010

Finally, week 17 of the Power Rankings are here! We have a new number one team and jumps from the Washington Capitals, Colorado Avalanche, and Ottawa Senators (each team are currently riding six game winning streaks).

As with any Ranking system, there were some notable falls this week. The Edmonton Oilers fell to the very bottom of the league (as I predicted… but seriously, who didn’t see this coming?) while the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins suffer drops in the Classy Rankings with their poor play, too.

NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 17

30.  Edmonton Oilers (last week: 29)
29.  Toronto Maple Leafs (last week: 28)
28.  Carolina Hurricanes (last week: 30)
27.  Columbus Blue Jackets (last week: 27)
26.  Atlanta Thrashers (last week: 25)

To no one’s surprise, the Edmonton Oilers have finally hit rock bottom. They are the worst team in the NHL. They haven’t won a single game in 2010. All this while the Carolina Hurricanes have started playing slightly better. Last week, the Hurricanes announced Eric Staal as the new team captain, with Rod Brind’Amour remaining an assistant captain. The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to lose ground on a decent finish to the season and the playoffs seem nearly impossible at this point. Right now, last year’s record looks pretty good to the Leafs. The Thrashers and Blue Jackets are still hovering around the bottom five positions in the league… or more importantly, the draft lottery sweepstakes.

25.  Tampa Bay Lightning (last week: 26)
24.  St. Louis Blues (last week: 21)
23.  Florida Panthers (last week: 24)
22.  Boston Bruins (last week: 14)
21.  Minnesota Wild (last week: 19)

The Boston Bruins suffer the week’s biggest drop from 14 to 22 following four straight losses. They are currently 9th in the Eastern Conference with the Islanders. For the St. Louis Blues, they are 5-2-1 in their last eight games and have some wondering if they can reproduce a similar late season run into the playoffs like they did last season. (If any team could do it this year, my money is on Anaheim). The Blues and Minnesota Wild are on the outside of the playoff race right now, but still in the mix. They’ll both need about two-three solid weeks of strong results to really have a shot at getting into the playoffs. I don’t like their chances though.

20.  New York Islanders (last week: 17)
19.  New York Rangers (last week: 16)
18.  Dallas Stars (last week: 18)
17.  Montreal Canadiens (last week: 20)
16.  Philadelphia Flyers (last week: 22)

Montreal, Philadelphia, and the New York Rangers are currently in playoff positions while the Stars and Islanders aren’t. In the case of the Islanders, they are one point back and the Stars are three points out of the last Western playoff spot. The Flyers inconsistency still bothers me and I’m impressed with the Islanders fight to stay in the playoff hunt. I find you can always tell when the Rangers are struggling as John Tortorella’s press conferences start becoming “can’t miss events“. Of course, with any anticipated Tortorella press conference comes a fantastic quote!

15.  Anaheim Ducks (last week: 23)
14.  Calgary Flames (last week: 12)
13.  Detroit Red Wings (last week: 13)
12.  Ottawa Senators (last week: 15)
11.  Los Angeles Kings (last week: 11)

The Calgary Flames could very well find themselves out of the playoffs by next week’s Power Rankings. They are on a five game losing streak and have only won two games of their last 10. A far cry from the “contender status” they started the season with. The Red Wings continue to get healthier in their drive for the playoffs. Looking at the Western Conference right now, the Wings are the one team not in the playoffs who I expect to make it come April. Finally, both the Ducks and Senators enjoy huge jumps this week with red hot play. The Ducks are 8-2 in their last 10 games and could be considered a dark horse team to make the Western Conference playoffs (to me, it’s between them and the Wings). The Ottawa Senators have won six straight games and are nearly 100% healthy again with big impact returns from Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Filip Kuba, and Milan Michalek. The Sens recent hot play means Melynk’s at it again. Urrrgh.

10.  Nashville Predators (29-19-3, 61 pts; last week: 6)
The Nashville Predators fall this week after losing three straight games, particularly because of a loss to the Leafs – a team they should beat. The Predators are in the middle of a four game home stand with games against the Red Wings and Blue Jackets this week.

9.  Phoenix Coyotes (29-18-5, 63 pts; last week: 7)
The Phoenix Coyotes also drop this week as a result of losing two of their last three games. The Coyotes were lit up 7-2 by the Sabres last Monday and lost a close one to Washington after taking too many penalties. This week, the ‘Yotes play the Red Wings, Flames, and Rangers.

8.  Pittsburgh Penguins (32-20-1, 65 pts; last week: 9)
The Pittsburgh Penguins move up in this week’s rankings largely because the Coyotes and Predators moved down. The Penguins still aren’t looking like the Stanley Cup Champions with a terrible powerplay and too many blown games. Sidney Crosby continues to score goals at a torrid pace and Marc-Andre Fleury is expected back from his finger injury this week.

7.  Vancouver Canucks (31-18-2, 64 pts; last week: 10)
The Vancouver Canucks are really starting to heat up. What’s impressed me most about the Canucks has been the firepower from their forwards. Sammuelson, Kesler, Burrows, Raymond, Sedins-squared make up a great top two lines and the Canucks are getting strong play out of Alex Edler and Christian Ehrhoff too. This week, the Canucks play the Sabres, Blues, and Maple Leafs.

6.  Buffalo Sabres (30-13-7, 67 pts; last week: 5)
The Buffalo Sabres have dropped three of their last four games against Western Conference teams. Allowing 15 goals in four games against the Coyotes, Ducks, Kings, and Sharks makes me wonder if the Sabres are benefiting from a weak Division/Conference or if this is merely a slump against good teams. The Senators are now seven points back of the Buffalo for the Division lead and the Sabres will look to add some distance this week in games against the Canucks, Devils, and Bruins.

5.  Colorado Avalanche (30-15-6, 66 pts; last week: 8)
The Colorado Avalanche are the second team this week to have six straight wins. Last week, the Avalanche knocked off the Oilers and Stars and have two shutouts in their last three games. After a few days off, the Avs will play the Wild and Stars in back to back games this week.

4.  New Jersey Devils (34-15-1, 69 pts; last week: 4)
The New Jersey Devils have been very mediocre in their last 10 games (5-5) in comparison with the rest of their season. While recent losses against the Canadiens and Islanders are concerning, this is a very strong team that will challenge for a Division title and the Eastern Conference championship this Spring.

3.  Chicago Blackhawks (35-13-4, 74 pts; last week: 1)
I wasn’t terribly impressed with the Chicago Blackhawks last week. They came out flat against the Senators and Canucks and are 3-2 on their season long road trip so far. The Road trip wraps up this week against the Oilers, Sharks, and Hurricanes.

2.  Washington Capitals (33-12-6, 72 pts; last week: 3)
Along with the Senators and Avalanche, the Washington Capitals are among the hottest teams in the NHL, having posted six straight wins. The team are 9-1 in their last 10 games and have lost once since making Alex Ovechkin team captain. Not bad…

1.  San Jose Sharks (35-10-8, 78 pts; last week: 2)
The San Jose Sharks are back to the number one position in the Classy Rankings! We’ve talked a lot about the Capitals, Senators, and Avalanche having six games winning streaks, but the Sharks are no slouches either. They’ve won five straight games against good teams (including the Sabres, Kings, and Ducks). The Sharks have three games at home this week against the Hawks, Wild, and Red Wings.

Stay classy, NHL Power Rankings.

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Does Henrik Sedin’s breakout season make Sweden an Olympic gold medal threat?

January 25th, 2010

Watching the transformation of Henrik Sedin this season has been amazing. He’s always had an incredible chemistry with his brother Daniel but I never really saw Henrik as a true number 1 centre in the league. He had incredible talent, but I never really saw him as an incredible player. In fact, I always saw Henrik and Daniel as the best 2nd line in the NHL. Maybe that’s because I don’t watch the Canucks play as much as I should, and maybe it’s because I live in Toronto and there isn’t much Canuck coverage here. Or maybe they just seemed so comfortable in their role on the 2nd line back when the Bertuzzi-Naslund-Morrison line was ripping it up. Am I really getting that old? It’s hard to say.

Vancouver Canucks star Henrik Sedin leads the NHL in points this season, classy.

Vancouver Canucks star Henrik Sedin leads the NHL in points this season, classy.

Regardless, while I applauded Mike Gillis for resigning the Sedins to reasonable contracts this past summer (cap hit of $6.1M over 5 years, each), the lingering thought in my mind was that they would have to really earn that money now. Those new contracts meant first and foremost, that the Sedins had now absolutely become Vancouver’s top line. And they have definitely stepped up, especially Henrik.

Henrik currently leads the NHL with 74 points in only 51 games, including 23 goals. Assuming he stays healthy, that puts him on pace to score 36 goals and 118 points, both of which would be career highs. In fact, Hank has already achieved a career high in goals this season – as the 22 goals he scored last season was his best previous tally. You can attribute his goal scoring explosion this season, in part, to the fact that he’s simply shot the puck more. He’s taken 105 shots this season compared to 143 in all of last season. I think he’s also played a much stronger defensive game, which has made him a tougher player to shut down and play against. He’s +23 this year, which is a currently a career best as well. Finally, he’s done a lot of this while Vancouver have battled two significant injuries: Roberto Luongo was out for a couple weeks and brother Daniel missed 18 games – at the same time. Henrik’s emergence as one of the top players in the league has come from the simple fact that he’s become the go-to player for the Canucks and that’s kept them in a tight battle with Calgary and Colorado for the division lead. There’s a quiet argument out there that Hank should be a serious contender for the Hart Trophy this year and it’s an argument that’s quickly gaining momentum. At the very least, Henrik Sedin has been one of the best and most consistent players in the NHL this season.

All of this leads me to one question – Does Henrik’s emergence as one of the NHL’s best players make Sweden a real threat to win gold in Vancouver next month? I’ve believed all along that the fight for the gold medal will be a three-horse race between Canada, Russia and a dark horse American team. But like most, I hadn’t really considered Sweden a real threat, despite the fact that they took gold 4 years ago in Turin. To me, the thing that’s always separated the Canadians, Russians and Americans from the rest of the pack was the fact that they all have two, maybe even three lines capable of being their number 1 line. Their depth of high-end talent up front seemed to be too much for the teams from the Czech Republic, Finland and even Sweden.

Yet, when you look down at Sweden’s roster, their top 3 lines look like this:

Daniel Sedin –  Henrik Sedin –  Henrik Zetterberg

Daniel Alfredsson – Nicklas Backstrom – Loui Eriksson

Patric Hornqvist – Peter Forsberg – Tomas Holmstrom

That’s a pretty strong top 9 and I think they’ll be a very good team. I think they’ll be a much stronger and tougher team to play against than most people think. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them earn a position on the medal podium. They’ve got strong goaltending and pretty solid defense, so it could happen. And when you’ve got an emerging world-class player like Henrik Sedin riding a major hot streak, it could definitely happen.

Your Reporter in the Field,

Fantana

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NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 16

January 18th, 2010

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.

Stay classy, NHL rankings.

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Beam me up!

January 14th, 2010

Even my five year old could tell you that shining a laser pointer at someone’s eye is dangerous. And stupid. Health Canada would back that up:

“If you look directly into the beam from a laser pointer for more than a minute and a half in a very steady manner, or shine the beam into your eyes with binoculars, you could end up with permanent eye damage.”

Miikka Kiprusoff ignoring some idiot with a laser. Classy.

Miikka Kiprusoff ignoring some idiot with a laser. Classy.

So PowerPoint Boy must have found it somewhat amusing to zap Miikka Kiprusoff during the Calgary Flames recent visit to Vancouver, having decided that it would somehow affect Kiprusoff’s play. So far, investigators trying to track down PPT Boy know that he was in the season-ticket holder section, near the players’ bench.

Get yourself this military grade laser so you can blind someone from over 4 km away. Very handy if your seat is located in the nosebleeds instead of the season-ticket holder section.

Seriously, this is a major problem around the world for airline pilots. It’s low-grade terrorism by morons.

Whether or not Kipper was intentionally downplaying it (which would be smart), or was simply telling the truth, he said following the Flames shootout win over the Canucks on Saturday:

“To be honest, I didn’t notice anything. I didn’t have any clue. After the game, I saw it on TV and saw I had a huge green face, but it didn’t bother me. I didn’t notice.”
Miikka Kiprusoff, when asked about the laser pointing

What is really amazing is that apparently this sort of thing has happened in other NHL games, but never has it been captured so clearly on television. I’m not sure why it is taking so long to identify the guy. Most season ticket holders, by this point in the season, recognize each other and gain that familiarity of sitting next to the same people every game. When a stranger sits in the seat next to you instead of the regular guy, I would think you would notice. When he whips out a laser pointer, I think you might also take note. When he starts laughing and drooling as he lights up Kipper, surely it is time to introduce his head to your elbow.

Just make sure you don’t spill your beer in the process.

Stay classy, Kipper.

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Tips to how the NHL can avoid future Auger controversies

January 13th, 2010

Alright, we all know the Alex Burrows-Stephane Auger story. If you don’t, I wrote an amazing piece about it yesterday. By amazing, I mean a half-assed summary. But close enough, right?

Regardless of the severity of Burrows accusations, the reality is nothing will come of them. It’s a he said-she said battle… although I’m not sure who’s the girl is in this case (maybe Burrows?). One thing is for certain – the NHL won’t go against an official, so Burrows will lose and Auger will continue reffing in the NHL.

Because of this, I’ve put together a few serious suggestions for the NHL on how they can avoid future Stephane Auger controversies while allowing him to continue as an NHL referee:

  • Have Auger referee Ottawa Senators games. He’ll know to call zero-penalty games in advance, so there will be no threat of “fixing games”. Consider it a night off, Stephane.
  • Don’t tell Auger about a player named Claude Lemieux.
  • Have Hollywood make a movie about Auger’s life and career as an NHL referee. Have Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson star as Auger. Tobey McGuire could play Burrows too.
  • Have Auger referee games in Atlanta, Florida, Phoenix, Carolina, or Ottawa – no one even goes to those games anyways. It’s like that old saying goes, “if a bad call is made in an empty arena, does anyone notice?”
  • Allow EA Sports NHL11 to include an “Auger-mode” that basically only calls penalties on Alex Burrows. A few gamer tips: You can probably beat the game by not playing as the Vancouver Canucks. Try to pick a team in the Canucks division for the best and most advantages.
  • Don’t call Auger’s actions “transgressions” because of how badly he screwed Burrows and the Canucks.
  • Allow Auger to introduce a new “Pest penalty” to the league called “Burrows-ing”. The penalty signal used to tell timekeepers of the call will be to bury your head in your hands as if you are a 14 year old ‘emo kid’.
  • Don’t introduce Auger to any of those former-NBA refs. Things could get ugly.
  • Have Auger referee Toronto Maple Leafs games exclusively. Since Leafs fans are used to their team losing and taking undisciplined (truculent) penalties, no one will accuse Auger of “fixing the game”.
  • Don’t let Rick Tocchett or Janet Gretzky bet on what penalty Stephane Auger next awards Alex Burrows with.
  • Whatever you do NHL, remember not to overreact to any future Auger controversies. I can’t begin to tell you how crucial this is.
  • Don’t have Auger referee on April 1st for the remainder of his career. There’s a small chance no one will take him or his calls seriously after that.

Stay classy, Stephane Auger.

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Repercussions for Alex Burrows comments?

January 12th, 2010

By now, everyone and your mom has heard and read Alex Burrows comments about NHL referee Stephane Auger following Vancouver’s 3-2 loss to Nashville last night.

In case you aren’t caught up, allow me to help out.

  • According to Burrows, prior to the game starting, Auger approached him and said the following: “I made him look bad in Nashville on the (Jerred) Smithson hit and he said he was going to get me back tonight.” (via TSN)
  • Burrows was called for a diving penalty (which comes with a fine) in the 2nd period, an interference penalty in the 3rd period, and received a 10 minute misconduct in the final moments of the 3rd period.
  • The Canucks lose a close game 3-2 and are no longer 1st in the Northwest division.
  • Burrows goes off after the game, saying the following quote to anyone and everyone with a microphone, recorder, and ears:

“[Auger] did his job in the third, I think. He got me on a diving call I didn’t think was diving. He got me on an interference call that I had no idea how he could call that. It changed the game. It sucks right now for teammates who are battling 60 minutes to win a hockey game because every two points are so huge, are so important. And because of a guy’s ego, it just blows everything out of proportion and the refs – they’re making bad calls and the fans are paying for it and we’re paying for it.”
-Alex Burrows on referee Stephane Auger following a 3-2 loss to the Nashville Predators

  • A PR shit-storm has been created.

If you want to see highlights of the penalties Auger called on Burrows, KuklasKorner has a great video breakdown.

Some not-so-classy repercussions from Burrows comments…

  • Rightly or wrongly, Burrows is one of those pest type players who carry a reputation around the NHL. I think it’s safe to say Burrows probably won’t get any benefit of doubt calls from a lot more referee’s following the comments above.
  • This isn’t the first time Stephane Auger has been the center of controversy in the NHL. Seriously, did anyone really believe the Doan incident?
  • The NHL has seen a number of referee involved PR-disaster stories this season alone (Ottawa Senators/Bryan Murray commenting on no-penalty games, various blown calls on goals). The NHL needs to get a handle on this crap and soon.
  • Can the NHL have Auger as a referee in any more games for the foreseeable future or ever again? Whether this whole incident is true or not, allowing him to officiate vital down-the-stretch games won’t help the NHL’s credibility.
  • How does this affect Auger’s career? You can bet he won’t be asked to work any playoff games this season, or possibly ever again.
  • How do other NHL officials view Auger? Will they support him or not?
  • How do other NHL players view Burrows after his outburst? Will they support him or not? Will they take advantage of the lack of leniency Burrows will undoubtedly receieve from other referees?

Final thoughts

I can only begin to understand Alex Burrows frustration with this issue, however, I have a problem with him bringing it up to the media. Opening a can of worms like this makes hockey look stupid and brings yet another negative PR story to the surface. By now, this story has seen very heavy distribution across Canada and to a lesser extent, America. And it probably won’t go away any time soon with investigations being launched, subsequent fines to Burrows (I’m assuming he’ll be fined for his comments), and any additional discipline to Burrows/the Canucks organization/Auger. I would like to have seen (or not seen) Burrows go through the proper chain of command (ala Bryan Murray going to the head of officiating for his complaints) and keep this story away out of the limelight.

I understand if Burrows brought this up the way he did to have the issue seriously addressed. I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but I’m assuming he did this to avoid having the issue ’swept under the rug’. But still, it seems Mike Gillis has some pull with the NHL (ie- the Leafs tampering claims) and getting them to listen to the concerns of the Canucks. At any rate, this is going to get a lot messier before getting anywhere closer to being resolved. Let’s just hope the Canucks make the playoffs easily and don’t miss the post-season by one or two points…

What do you see as repercussions for Augers accusations/calls and Alex Burrows? Discuss.

Stay classy, Alex Burrows.

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