NHL Power Rankings: Sharks sinking fast

The expectations are high in San Jose this season, no question about it. So it remains to be seen what GM Doug Wilson will do if his team doesn’t start winning soon. Wilson met with his players and let them know in no uncertain terms he is not happy with their inconsistency. San Jose has dropped four straight and currently sits in 11th place in the tough Western Conference. The GM is happy with the play of some of the team’s younger players, notably rookie Logan Couture, who leads the club with 19 goals, but is not thrilled with the play of some of his veterans who have been underachieving. Wilson says he doesn’t want to have to make changes, but you have to wonder if the Sharks don’t start swimming in the right direction soon, might he have to? Here are this week’s Sportsnet.ca Power Rankings:
TW	LW	Team	Our Take
1	1		Ryan Kessler hits the 20-goal mark as the Canucks continue to be the NHL's best and hottest team.
2	2		Good news: defenceman Chris Pronger has begun light skating although he still has a few screws in his broken foot.
3	4		Defenceman Brian Rafalski celebrates his 800th NHL game by scoring his first two goals of the season.
4	3		Sidney Crosby will sit (at least) a week suffering from concussion symptoms.
5	5		The Lightning thoughts its goaltending woes were over when newcomer Dwayne Roloson shut out the Caps, but alas he was pulled in his next start against Pittsburgh.
6	6		With one regulation loss in their last 10 starts the Caps are starting to kick it into gear even with Alex Ovechkin still in neutral.
7	12		Sean Avery's second goal of the season gives the Rangers a win in St. Louis.
8	7		The Stars blow two leads in dropping a 3-2 shootout decision to the surging Rangers.
9	8		Hot rumour is the Thrashers may be sold and could wind up in Winnipeg as early as next season.
10	13		A five-game losing streak is followed by a five-game winning streak as the Predators look to get themselves back into the playoff hunt.
11	10		Goaltender Tim Thomas continues to be one of the big stories of the year leading all stoppers in GAA and SP and is tied for tops with five shutouts.
12	11		Even without star centre Ryan Getzlaf, the Ducks pull off a huge 1-0 win over San Jose courtesy of 37 saves from Jonas Hiller.
13	17		The Habs are battling injuries to key personnel on the blueline, but still pull off two straight wins.
14	16		The Avs force overtime with four seconds remaining in the third period, but then lose to the Islanders on a John Tavares goal.
15	21		Jose Theodore makes 26 saves, blanking the Crosby-less Penguins Saturday.
16	14		After a great start, the Kings continue to try to find themselves, but at least have moved back into the playoff picture.
17	22		Scoring continues to be an issue for the Coyotes who are 5-5-0 in their last 10 outings.
18	20		The Balckhawks honour the 1961 championship team and then promptly lay a 5-0 beating on the upstart Islanders with Patrick Sharp's 25th of the season proving to be the game-winner.
19	15		The Blues managed just one shot on goal during a four-minute power play late in the game in a 2-1 loss to the visiting Rangers which was bad news for the 22nd straight sold-out crowd of the season.
20	9		GM Doug Wilson lays it on the line in a meeting with the players -- start winning, or else -- and yet the losing continues to the tune of four straight.
21	19		Two wins in a row has the Hurricanes primed to pull off yet another solid second half in an attempt to make it back to the playoffs after missing last season.
22	24		The Sabres collect five of a possible six points on a three-game Western road swing as winger Drew Stafford fires his ninth goal in 11 games against Phoenix.
23	23		Curtis Glenncross strikes twice after going goalless in 17, but the Flames still lose in overtime to Detroit.
24	18		The Jackets send veteran defenceman Mike Commodore to the minors after losing their fourth straight.
25	27		The Leafs erupt on offence in defeating the Thrashers 9-3 in Atlanta. Mikhail Grabovski has 12 goals in 14 games.
26	25		Tough times continue for the Senators who look primed to make a shakeup if the losses don't stop piling up soon.
27	26		The Panthers have dropped three straight and yet remain the only team among the NHL's bottom 11 to have scored more goals (three) than they have allowed.
28	28		With seven wins in 10 games, the Islanders seem to have taken to new coach Jack Capuano.
29	29		The Oilers were hanging close even in defeat until they ran into the No. 1 team in the league and were bombed 6-1 by Vancouver.
30	30		The sad-sack Devils explode for five third period goals to beat Tampa Bay and snap a four-game losing streak.

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