NHL Power Rankings: Blueshirts red-hot

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At the rate they were steamrolling teams, it appeared that the Boston Bruins might have the No. 1 power seed locked up till April. But a Bruins’ loss to the Canucks on Saturday, combined with the consistency of the now-league-leading New York Rangers, has the Blueshirts wearing the yellow jacket. Under the glow of HBO and NBC spotlights, the big-market team has ripped off nine victories in its last 10 games, four of those wins coming on the road. You want dependability? In each of those victories, the Rangers have scored either three or four goals. They might not be embarrassing their opposition, but they’re playing solid on both ends of the ice, regardless of the refereeing. Here are this week's Sportsnet.ca Power Rankings:
TW	LW	Team	Our Take
1	3	(26-9-4)	Winning nine of their last 10, including four straight over Eastern Conference squads with designs on the playoffs, has the Blueshirts unseating Boston atop our ranks. Opposing teams are forced to fend off lines 1 and 1A, led by Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards, respectively.
2	1	(26-11-1)	We know, we know. The Bruins lost at home to Vancouver. So how could they possibly be graded as more powerful? Even with the one-goal loss to the Nucks (hardly a superior effort from the home team), the B’s have won nine of their last 11. And how. Their recent run includes a 6-0 smashing of Philly, an 8-0 embarrassing of Florida, and a 9-0 shellacking of Calgary. The last time Boston was held to under two goals was a month ago.
3	5	(26-13-3)	Last week we suspected Vancouver might rise to the top of the West by mid-January. They’re already there, back where they belong. The Canucks’ victory in Beantown was not just another two points; it was a huge confidence boost for everyone not named Luongo, and it also left an essential piece of the puzzle, Sami Salo, with a concussion.
4	4	(26-14-1)	Yes, they lost a close one in Toronto on Saturday, but the Red Wings defeated both the Blackhawks and Stars in tough one-goal games on the road last week, which means much more to them as they climb up the Western standings. The return of both Tomas Holmstrom and Darren Helm to the lineup on Sunday is huge.
5	11	(23-11-4)	With four fewer games played than the conference-leading Canucks, the Sharks are getting ferocious at the right time. They have the league’s fourth-best goal differential (+23) and are undefeated in 2012. On Tuesday they hit the road for four western matchups.
6	9	(24-12-5)	When the calendar flipped, so did the Blues’ fortunes. Rounding out 2011 with a three-game skid, the Blues kicked off 2012 with a perfect 3-0-0 homestand during which the offensively challenged team scored four goals each game, outscoring their visitors 12-4.
7	2	(24-13-5)	When it rains, it pours. Just as the Blues have a perfect four wins in 2012, the Hawks are still looking for their first victory of the year. Being on the business end of a 4-0 shutout at home to the average Colorado Avalanche was the low point of a week that ended with Patrick Sharp getting injured (upper body, 3-4 weeks) in a game in which he scored his 20th goal of the season.
8	6	(24-12-4)	Danny Briere has a wonderful hat trick this week, but the Flyers blew a third-period lead on Sunday in Ottawa, forcing them to settle for a split in back-to-back matches against the Senators.
9	8	(22-15-4)	A positive week for the Preds, who welcomed the return of their best player, Shea Webber, back from concussion and padded their record with victories over Carolina and Calgary.
10	16	(22-15-6)	While the All-Star Game host Senators will dress four of six sure starters for the midseason showcase, don’t let the backlash over fan voting hide the fact that this surprise team is only three points behind Boston in the standings and has won five of its last six.
11	10	(23-16-2)	Rookie Adam Henrique, who usurped Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as Rookie of the Month in December, could be headed for the All-Star Game. And the Devils, winners of two of three this week, could be headed to the postseason.
12	13	(23-16-1)	Forwards Jamie Benn (the NHL’s first star of the week) and Mike Ribiero have been playing amazing of late. Unfortunately for Dallas -- a team constantly hindered by injuries -- Ribiero (knee) collided with Oilers defenceman Theo Peckham and is out of the lineup.
13	19	(23-19-1)	Even though they closed out their road trip with a fruitless 0-4 effort in St. Louis, the Avalanche had shutout Chicago by the same score the night prior. They’ve won nine of their last 11, and will need Erik Johnson (hand) back in the lineup soon if they hope to maintain that pace.
14	21	(21-15-5)	Heck of a week to be a Leafs fan. The Buds followed up their dominance of Tampa Bay (7-3) and Winnipeg (4-0) by holding on for a 4-3 prime-time victory over the visiting Red Wings on Saturday. Who cares that Phil Kessel wasn’t voted into the All-Star Game? Toronto has returned to the top eight.
15	14	(20-15-7)	The Kings were shut out 1-0 by the NHL’s worst team on Saturday, and Dustin Penner injured his back eating pancakes. This is the kind of season L.A. is dealing with.
16	12	(20-16-5)	After being outscored 11-3 by Toronto and Montreal, the Jets salvaged some dignity on their eastern road swing by defeating Buffalo 2-1 in overtime.
17	15	(21-16-2)	Though the Caps trail both Florida and Winnipeg in the Southeast Division, they actually have more regulation victories (21) than both of those teams. If Ovechkin & Co. take advantage of a banged-up Penguins team this week, they could jump above the playoff fold.
18	20	(20-17-5)	Some things are just assumed. Like, the Bruins and Canucks won’t play a penalty-free game and 35-year-old Shane Doan has scored an NHL hat trick before. In fact, Doan didn’t score his first hat trick until Saturday night, at 19:59 of the third period of his 1,161st career game.
19	17	(20-13-8)	The Panthers should be relieved to return to sunnier climes after spending the week in the Tri-State area losing to the Devils and Rangers. Tough homestand on deck, though: The rat-throwing populace will get to see the Bruins, Penguins and Canucks.
20	7	(21-15-4)	Add recently returned Jordan Staal and the Pens’ leading goal-scorer, James Neal, to the list of injured starters Pittsburgh is missing. Decimated by an ever-growing IR, Pittsburgh has managed only five goals total during its four-game losing skid.
21	22	(19-19-5)	Jarome Iginla scored his magical 500th goal this week, overshadowing the fact that Curtis Glencross actually leads in the team in red lamps this season (with 17), but not quite erasing the memory of the team’s 9-0 beatdown at the hands of the Bruins.
22	18	(21-15-6)	If the playoffs were to start today, Minnesota would still qualify, but we might not be able to say the same next week. Having dropped 11 of 12, no one fears the Wild these days. Tough tests are on tap: San Jose, Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Toronto.
23	25	(16-18-7)	Great week for the league’s Frenchest team, who rang in 2012 with home victories over the Jets and Lightning.
24	23	(17-20-3)	Prior to the ball drop, the Lightning had won three straight and had gotten Martin St. Louis back in the lineup. Since then, the team travelled to Ontario and Quebec only to be outscored 14-3 and fly back to Florida with three more losses.
25	24	(18-18-5)	An injury to Derek Roy is exactly what struggling Buffalo, losers of eight of their last 10, didn’t need. They got it anyway.
26	26	(14-19-6)	The Islanders drew as favourable a road schedule a team could hope for last week – at Phoenix, Anaheim and Carolina – only to come back with one vicory. Don’t expect much more from the Isles this week, as the Red Wings and Flyers invade Long Island.
27	27	(16-22-3)	Jordan Eberle (knee) joins Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (shoulder), Ryan Whitney (ankle) and Tom Gilbert (knee) in the Edmonton injury ward. No shocker that the Oil has lost three straight.
28	28	(14-22-7)	Another losing week for the Hurricanes has trade talk swirling around Carolina. The team’s -34 goal differential is second-worst in the NHL.
29	30	(12-22-6)	While it would be an unprecedented move for the reigning Hart Trophy winner to be traded a half-season after winning the NHL’s most coveted individual award, the threat of Corey Perry (not to mention Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf) being on the trading block may have prompted the underachiever to finish the week with a hat trick, bringing his goal total to 18.
30	29	(11-25-5)	By losing 7-4 to the second-worst Ducks, the Blue Jackets asserted themselves as the worst team in the league. And then they woke up and fired their head coach. Bonus bad news: Jeff Carter was injured again (separated shoulder) in that same loss.

Power Rankings

Blueshirts scream to No. 1

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