NHL Power Rankings: Dressed to the nines

TW	LW	Team	Our Take
1	1	(48-14-10)	Alexander Ovechkin returns from his two-game suspension with a goal against the Lightning.
2	5	(46-22-5)	Lee Stempniak has nine goals in nine games since joining Phoenix at the trade deadline from Toronto and the Coyotes have won all nine of those games.
3	4	(42-24-6)	Evgeni Malkin misses two games with injury, but returns with a goal against Carolina.
4	2	(45-19-7)	Worried about their goaltending, the Hawks rolled the dice on Corey Crawford, but the move backfired.
5	3	(43-19-10)	With the black cloud of poor playoff performances in the past hanging over their heads, the Sharks are playing horribly and have lost five in a row.
6	6	(44-24-4)	Henrik Sedin looks like a good bet to finish second in league scoring behind Ovechkin.
7	10	(42-26-5)	Six straight wins has the Predators looking very much like a playoff team.
8	11	(39-22-10)	With 64 points in 71 games, Tim Connolly is having a career year and is taking some of the heat off goalie Ryan Miller.
9	7	(41-24-5)	With three goals in four games with the Kings, Fredrik Modin looks like a nice addition.
10	9	(42-25-4)	Still waiting for Ilya Kovalchuk to break out with the Devils, although it may not happen in Jacques Lemaire's defence-first system.
11	12	(35-23-13)	Jimmy Howard continues to be the one between the pipes for the healthy and surging Red Wings.
12	8	(40-25-6)	It's not that the bloom is completely off the rose, but the Avs are starting to slide a bit.
13	16	(36-29-7)	OK, so it's Jaroslav Halak's team now; let's see how far this guy can carry the club.
14	17	(34-29-9)	Alex Steen hits a career-high 21 goals and is a big reason why the Blues are hanging tight in the West.
15	14	(36-27-9)	Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild could be the final nail in the coffin for the Flames.
16	13	(37-30-5)	Five straight losses has the Senators sliding out of the playoffs in the East.
17	15	(37-30-5)	Back-to-back losses to the Atlanta Thrashers tells you all you need to know about the slumping Flyers.
18	18	(32-27-12)	Shawn Thornton stepped up to the plate as the team's enforcer in the return match against Matt Cooke and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
19	20	(35-31-6)	They likely won't make the playoffs, but the Wild won't go down without a fight.
20	22	(34-29-8)	Defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky has proven to be a valuable addition with five goals and seven points in eight games.
21	21	(31-27-14)	Poor goaltending and a weak defence has been the undoing of a Stars team that will need to regroup next year.
22	24	(32-29-11)	With four straight wins, the Thrashers still have hopes and dreams of sneaking into the playoffs.
23	19	(31-32-9)	Three straight losses pretty much spells the end for the inconsistent Rangers.
24	25	(30-34-8)	Youngsters Zach Boychuk, Bryan Rodney and Jamie McBain offer hope for the future.
25	26	(29-31-11)	Scott Clemmensen backstops the Panthers to a 5-2 win over their state rivals from Tampa Bay Sunday.
26	28	(29-31-12)	Rick Nash hits the 30-goal plateau for the fifth time in his young career.
27	23	(28-32-12)	Expect big changes in this organization in the off-season after a hugely disappointing year.
28	29	(26-34-12)	Tyler Bozak has been a very pleasant surprise for the Leafs after being recalled from the American League.
29	27	(29-33-10)	Seven points in two games put John Tavares back in the race for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie.
30	30	(23-42-7)	Good news: Jordan Eberle has three goals and six points in three games with Springfield of the American League.