Power Rankings - March 17
The Sharks are circling in San Jose. (Photo by Nick Didlick Getty Images)
Mike Brophy
2008-03-17 13:27:43
The Dallas Stars’ stay atop The Hockey News’ Power Rankings didn’t last long.
With five wins and five losses in their past 10 games, the Stars have slipped to seventh overall in the NHL and are showing serious signs of slowing down and not becoming the powerhouse team they appeared to be at the trade deadline.
With that said, the San Jose Sharks are the flavor of the week.
Before dropping a 2-1 shootout decision to red-hot Edmonton, the Sharks had rattled off 11 wins in a row and are looking like the real deal.
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RK.
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TEAM
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LW
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OVERALL
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L10
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THE SCOOP
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1
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 |
4
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42-21-9
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9-0-1 | Want to know why the Sharks are the NHL’s best team now? Take a look at their road record – just eight regulation losses in 36 games. |
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2
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3
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41-25-8
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7-2-1
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There is no question the Ducks have what it takes to win back-to-back Stanley Cups. The only question is, do they have the discipline to do it? Stompin’ Chris Pronger will miss eight of the good old hockey games with a suspension. |
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3
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5
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42-24-6
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6-3-1
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Could this be the year goalie Martin Brodeur finally wins the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player? With no clear-cut candidate, he has as good a shot as anybody. |
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4
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2
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47-20-6
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5-4-1
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Center Pavel Datsyuk was two points away from making it three straight seasons of 87 points. The reality is, with nine games remaining he’ll easily top his career-best mark of 87. |
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5
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1
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42-27-5
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5-5-0
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One win in their past six games has the Stars moving in the wrong direction at the wrong time of year. Rather than gearing up for a long playoff run, Dallas is trying to find its game. Leading scorer Mike Ribeiro has suddenly gone cold with no goals in five games and just one in his past seven. |
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6
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6
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41-24-7
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6-3-1
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Thank heavens for Evgeni Malkin. With Sidney Crosby sitting out 23 games with an ankle injury, Malkin has scored 17 goals and 40 points in that span to lead the Penguins to a 13-6-4 record. That included two goals and four points in a 7-1 thrashing of the Flyers Sunday. |
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7
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7
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40-24-9
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7-3-0
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All shutouts all the time. The Habs shut out New Jersey 4-0 March 11, were blanked 3-0 by Ottawa March 15 and then shut out the Islanders 3-0 Saturday. |
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8
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11
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40-26-7
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4-5-1
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That had to hurt – having former defenseman Joe Corvo, now with Carolina, light the Senators up for three goals in a 5-1 Hurricanes victory. And just for fun, ex-Sen Patrick Eaves chipped in his first goal for the Canes. |
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9
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12
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39-28-6
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8-2-0
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Injuries to significant players aside, the Avalanche remains a very competitive team and look very much like it’ll grab one of the eight playoff spots in the West. And if the Avs do, coach Joel Quenneville gets a lot of credit for guiding his team through so much adversity. |
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10
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8
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37-26-9
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7-2-1
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Nothing like a little swing through the state of Florida to supply a team with a reality check. The Rangers were flying along nicely until they lost 3-2 to the Panthers and 3-0 to the Lightning. |
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11
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9
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37-25-10
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5-3-2
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Jarome Iginla’s 45th goal of the season was the game-winner for the Flames who broke a mini two-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over Chicago. |
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12
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10
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38-26-8
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4-3-3
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A 2-0 win over last-place Los Angeles brought the Wild back to life after suffering five straight defeats. Niklas Backstrom recorded his first shutout since Oct. 10. |
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13
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13
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39-30-5
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8-2-0
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Keep an eye on these guys. The Hurricanes, who have some of the best young (and experienced!) talent in the league are getting hot at the right time of year. A 7-1 loss to Buffalo was downright embarrassing, but the Canes bounced back with a convincing 5-1 statement win over Ottawa. |
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14
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14
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36-26-10
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4-4-2
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Brendan Morrison’s ninth goal of the season (to go with a pair of assists) lifted the Canucks to a 4-3 win over Dallas. If Morrison can stay healthy and contribute on offense, it would take some of the heat off the Sedin twins and Markus Naslund. |
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15
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15
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37-27-9
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3-4-3
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Beating the Flyers 2-1 in overtime Saturday and then picking up a point in a shootout loss to Washington Sunday is huge for the Bruins, who are now looking pretty secure for a playoff spot. |
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16
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17
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36-29-8
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4-6-0
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Three straight losses to Detroit, San Jose and the Kings had the Predators reeling, but a 3-1 win over the Red Wings Saturday made life a little easier. That said, the Preds were still sitting in ninth place with nine games remaining. |
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17
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16
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35-28-10
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4-3-3
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Four straight losses had the Flyers clinging to playoff life with the Capitals hot on their trail. Leader Mike Richards is back, but was minus-3 in a 7-1 loss to Pittsburgh. |
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18
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22
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35-30-8
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7-3-0
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And on the ninth day, Alexander Ovechkin rested. The league’s top gunner was held off the score sheet in the Caps’ 2-1 win over Boston after producing points (nine goals and 17 points) in Washington’s previous eight games. |
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19
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24
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35-31-8
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7-2-1
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Although it seems highly unlikely the Panthers will make the playoffs, you have to give them credit for a solid stretch run with seven wins in a row. Hard to say if it’ll be enough for Jacques Martin to hold onto both his jobs as coach and GM of the team, however. |
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20
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19
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34-28-11
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4-4-2
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The Sabres outscored the Hurricanes and Maple Leafs by a combined score of 13-3 in back-to-back wins. Leading scorer Jason Pominville contributed a goal and five points in the two victories. |
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21
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23
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36-32-5
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8-2-0
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A 2-1 shootout win over the surging San Jose Sharks proves the Oilers are for real. With eight wins in 10 games, Edmonton is making a shocking run at the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. They’ve probably left it too late, but what the heck – they are certainly fun to watch. |
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22
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20
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36-31-5
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5-5-0
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The Coyotes scored huge wins over Anaheim and Vancouver before suffering a 5-2 loss to the Oilers. Veteran defender Ed Jovanovski has played well, but the Coyotes would like a little more offense (one goal in his past 12 games) out of him. |
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23
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25
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32-31-10
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6-3-1
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With captain Mats Sundin sidelined, the Leafs dropped a 6-2 decision to Buffalo Saturday and were, for all intents and purposes, eliminated from playoff contention. They have not been mathematically eliminated, however. |
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24
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21
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32-29-11
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5-3-2
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The Blue Jackets have been in a win-one, lose-one mode for too long to be considered a serious playoff contender. That said, a 4-3 win over league-leading Detroit was sweet. |
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25
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18
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34-32-7
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4-5-1
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Rookie Jonathan Toews scored his 20th goal of the season in a 4-2 loss to Calgary. He continues to assert himself as a likely Calder Trophy candidate along with teammate Patrick Kane. |
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26
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26
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32-34-7
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2-8-0
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A great coach can carry a team only so far. The Islanders have dropped five straight and with the losing streak, all hopes of a playoff spot went out the window. |
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27
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28
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31-35-8
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2-4-4
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With eight games remaining, Ilya Kovalchuk looks like a lock to record his second 50-goal season. He had 49 in 71 games. |
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28
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29
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29-35-8
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4-5-1
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After scoring five goals in three games, Vinny Lecavalier was held off the board in a 3-0 win over the Rangers Saturday. |
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29
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27
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29-32-11
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1-8-1
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What a lousy ending to what had been a pretty good year. Now all we hear is bitching and whining about coach Andy Murray. If the Blues are smart, they keep Murray and ship out the complainers. |
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30
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30
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28-39-6
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2-5-3
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After falling behind 1-0 in the second period, the Kings scored four straight to hand Nashville a 4-1 defeat. |
The Hockey News ranks the teams 1-30 on Mondays. Changes in rankings reflect each team’s play from the previous seven days.
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DMJ (Posted 2008-03-24 10:35:30)
Power rankings are suspect. By my calculations if the Leafs beat Boston twice, Ott beats MTL,PHX upsets SJ at home and Car beats Wash at home and LA upsets SJ the best team for the last 33 games will be, wait for it, ...... the Toronto Maple Leafs.
J Dumaine (Posted 2008-03-23 17:47:41)
Montreal, will you please tell me what having 7 fifty point scorers is so great, some sort of milestone. Fifty points, so what. How about a couple of 100 point scorers, you havent had one since dinosaurs roamed. Too small, Gainey cant draft, sign free agents, pretenders.
Gman (Posted 2008-03-21 14:06:46)
Why are the Ottawa Senators going up in all the power ranking polls...they are not even playing 500 hockey their last 10! The Canes absolutely spanked them last game and they don't move hardly a bit. I don't get it! Someone please explain how this can happen...my whole concept of reality is collapsing even as I write.
Ben Dumaine (Posted 2008-03-19 14:15:10)
Yeah I agree with drishy, they totally dominated the Oilers the other night, we were lucky to win that game. Sharks had pressure the entire game and had 49 shots! Oilers had something like 23 but lots of them were just slapshots from just inside the blueline. And J. W have you seen how young our team is and our 8-4 victory last night... We aren't going down without a fight, imagine how good we'd do if our leading scorer(Horcoff before he got injured), our captain who provides much grit and Souray instead of a defense corps of pure rookies and sophmores minus pitkanen and staois . Last night everyone who scored was either a rookie or a sophmore except for Stoll's empty netter.
drishy (Posted 2008-03-19 02:41:17)
i totally agree with adreinne seriously all you eastern guys (by the way i live in ontario) who dont stay up to watch the games havent seen the game the sharks have put together recently.. serious playoff style 1 goal wins where it comes down to the last minute.. with the addition of campbell there defense corps are just as solid as anaheims.. oh and forget dallas.. i see sharks vs devils finals... goalies make the difference come playoff time just look at what luongo does for the canucks.. it will be brodeur vs nabby and its our year to shine... too bad the leafs wont be around.. go sharks!
J.W (Posted 2008-03-18 16:23:10)
No, Edmonton should be LOWER! they have stunk it up all season. they have no chance at the post season. where do you fans dream up this stuff about Edmonton? there Done! just accept the fact that Edmonton had a terrible season, instead of putting a positive spin on a burning bag of garbage.
Ben Dumaine (Posted 2008-03-18 15:59:35)
I think Edmonton should be higher up in the power rankings. 9-2 in their last 11... Just because they're tied for 11th in the West doesn't mean they aren't playing good hockey and making a huge push for the playoffs not to mention they are 9 points away from winning the division. Yeah its far and not going to be easy but edmonton can easily make the playoffs and there power ranking should be a bit higher than 21st I think
Adrienne Moch (Posted 2008-03-18 15:58:07)
Anyone who says the Sharks are not to feared has not watched this team over the past month. They have it all: great goaltending, stingy defense (buoyed offensively with Brian Campbell's addition), and balanced scoring, led by Thornton, Cheechoo, Marleau, Michalek and Pavelski and a great supporting cast. Do they have the chops to make it out of the ultra-competitive Western Conference? We'll see...
james boston (Posted 2008-03-18 12:12:31)
Brian,i agree with your eastern picks.Price is the real deal.So are the Devils.Detroits goalies are decent,but not good.That is their only weakness.If Detroit wants to have a chance,they'd better keep up on the 2-1 shot advantage they rountinely get.Western Final will be Calgary and Anaheim.Calgary...they have Kipper.They have Langkow and Huselius(playing for fat contracts.Plus they're good to boot).They have Iggy(the most complete player to date.MVP candidate to boot).Phaneuf patrolling the blue line.Experience in Tanguay.Anaheim.they have Giggy(possibly the 3rd best goalie come play-off time.You know what i'm talking about)They have the best group of d-man possibly ever assembled.Their scoring is balanced.I dont see any flaws.My humble opinions.
james boston (Posted 2008-03-18 12:01:26)
Hahahahahaha.....funny guys.Thornton does shrivel up when the pressures on.Would i like to see him pot some goals?Of course i would.BUT....history suggests no.I'd be very surprised if he was able to pot 5 goals.5 goals.I know he's good for assists.He's just predictable.He always dishes the puck and its easy for the opposition to read him.Which makes him less effective.If he would just SHOOT the puck more often,he wouldnt be so predictable.It would then make him more effective.Campbell is an excellent pick-up,but i'm not sold on Jumbo Joe.
Brian Kemp (Posted 2008-03-18 11:36:57)
Detroits weakness is in goal? Nice weakness to have, two goalies who have both won cups. Hasek might not be what he was in the late 90's, but he got the Wings to the conference final last year. Not bad for an obvious weakness. Kyles got it right, just because you have an opinion doesn't mean you have a clue. As to who will advance, I wouldn't be surprised to see some combination of Detroit/Anaheim/San Jose in the west and New Jersey/Montreal in the east, with Carolina or Pittsburgh having a shot there. I'd be real surprised if Pittsburgh made it to the conference final, though. I'm hoping for a Wings/Habs final, but the Ducks will be hard to beat. I think the Wings could take San Jose. Just my opinion, feel free to ridicule.
Kyle Miller (Posted 2008-03-18 08:50:29)
Hey james, a village idiot is able to let his opinion be known, doesn't make it any less poorly thought or incorrect. You are obviously biased against the Sharks with your anti-Thornton rants and bringing up his Boston-era playoff stats, which by the way changed to a nearly PPG pace in his first playoffs with the sharks to a true PPG pace last season. The Sharks have gotten mentally tougher with the additions of Roenick and Shelley, will get Clowe back by the time the playoffs roll around, and have added their only true weakness by trading for Cambell. They're headed to the finals this year, and that means a cup with the Leastern Conference being the way it is.
james boston (Posted 2008-03-17 22:44:47)
Ok,Larkin.Do you care to tell us which teams you think will advnce?I'm curious to what YOU think.
james boston (Posted 2008-03-17 22:16:36)
Ok,i will write real slow ok ,so you can get what i'm putting down.They wont be able to match up with the Preds because the Preds wont be in the play-offs!!!Thats the only team they've been able to beat!!!No more 1st round cake walk is what i meant!!!!Did i mention they also have Thornton on board A.K.A(the A-Rod of hockey)?My predictions may be weak,but at least i have an opinion and am not afraid to let it be known!!!
Larkin Castaneda (Posted 2008-03-17 21:59:45)
James Boston sounds like a true hater. The Sharks won't be able to match up against Nashville? Where have you been for the last two playoff series when San Jose played Nashville? Even when the Sharks haven't done what they were supposed to do in the playoffs they still advanced to the second round. I can't help but thinks they will advance past any 6 of 7 seed. As for your predictions about Dallas, you are probably right, but hey if they play Anaheim in the first round that not exactly going out on a limb. Pretty weak stuff from you overall, I not going to get into the Detroit thing.
james boston (Posted 2008-03-17 20:30:03)
The Sharks arent going anywhere.They wont be able to match up with Nashville!!!I see Calgary and Anaheim going to the Western Conference Finals.Sharks will get bounced in the 1st round.So will Dallas.So will Vancouver.So will Detroit.Detroits goalies are bad.If the teams can get 25 shots on the Wings,the goalies will fold.The goalies on the Wings arent meant to stand on their heads.They're meant not to blow it.Thats their only objective.Dont blow it.I've seen alot of games where their goalies rountinely get outclassed.Hasek and his 17 saves.Meanwhile the opposition scores 4 goals on him.Thats Detroits only weakness.Thats also the most important position in the play-offs.Sorry Detroit fans.
Valerie S. (Posted 2008-03-17 17:34:19)
I wish my coyotes get into the playoffs. But if we do I don't think we
can win against the Ducks. The play hard, and have so much talent on
their defense. The only trouble they will have is possibly gettin past the Sharks, but not sure if the Sharks can hold up against them for 7 playoff games. It sure will be interesting...
Ann Wilson (Posted 2008-03-17 17:30:19)
The Stars are going to lose in the 1st round, especially if they play the Ducks. They can't handle them for 7 games. They may win 2 but that will be it.
Same with the Sharks, they may win a few games but the Ducks will knock them out if they play them too.
So who's left?
Joe (Posted 2008-03-17 15:49:48)
I get a kick out of St. Louis. Faultering at the deadline, then sinking like a rock. I feel bad for them in a way, but the funny part is, they should keep Andy Murray and fire the complainers.
Peter (Posted 2008-03-17 15:38:21)
Im glad your honeymoon with Dallas is over... if i had to hear about brad richards having 5 points in his debut again...
Sean (Posted 2008-03-17 15:13:45)
Why have the habs been underrated all year, youre lucky theyre ranked ahead of Ottawa who has dominated them all year.Theyre barelya top 10 team, look at their recordsagainst the other top 12 teams pathetic.They beat who theyre supposed to beat teams that cant score more than 2 goals( NYI, New Jersey, Florida,Atlanta, etc..)Maybe you dont listen to Mike Brophy on the radio in montreal, hes the first to say he underated montreal this year but who didnt? you most likely barely peged them as a playoff team so save the hockey news bashing
Shak eee (Posted 2008-03-17 15:04:31)
why is vancouver getting this much respect? they have been playing pretty poorly in their last 10 ad should be lower. Team to watch: Carolina. Them heating up at this point of season reminds me of the year they won the cup. Especially with the additions of Samsonov and Corvo, looking much like the Weight and Recchi additions that year.
As always Go Habs, and this site obviously is not a fan of my team, as they have been underrating them the entire year...
Pat Stewart (Posted 2008-03-17 13:57:43)
Are you REALLY surprised that the Stars are tanking? A team who's goalie can't/doesn't win big games, and a leading scorer known for being a coward and disappearing when it matters most? Stars will be, once again, first round losers, depending on their matchup...their only saving grace may be Richards, but he can only do so much...
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