Power Rankings - Desert Dogs?

Daniel Carcillo of the Phoenix Coyotes gives teammate Kyle Turris a face wash in celebration after his game-winning shootout goal against the Dallas Stars Saturday. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)

Ryan Dixon
2009-01-12 14:30:00

There’s an increasingly pronounced paradox in Phoenix with respect to the franchise’s off-ice direction and it’s on-ice product.

While more and more reports indicating the Coyotes are bleeding bucks surface, the young team has bound together and have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Captain Shane Doan is having a terrific year, while an assortment of high draft picks are gaining valuable experience and making noticeable contributions.

A key factor down the home stretch will be the play of Olli Jokinen. The big center missed six games with an upper-body injury earlier this season and hasn’t produced to his point-per-game potential while in the lineup.

A spike in his output and improved results on the power play would go a long way in helping Phoenix nail down a post-season berth.

THE HOCKEY NEWS POWER RANKINGS
RK.	TEAM	LW	OVERALL	L10	THE SCOOP
1		2	29-7-5	8-1-1	Have won six in a row to reclaim top spot in the power rankings
2		1	31-7-4	8-2-0	Reports indicate Patrice Bergeron's concussion isn't nearly as serious as the one he sustained last year
3		3	31-5-5	6-2-2	With a 1.87 GAA, .927 save percentage and a 9-1-1 record, Brian Boucher has to be the best goalie who's clearly No. 2 on his team
4		6	25-12-4	8-1-1	Daymond Langkow has picked up his play of late, notching 14 points in his past 10 games
5		8	25-10-6	8-1-1	Line of Maxim Lapierre, Guillaume Latendresse and Tom Kostopoulos has really stepped up with injured bodies out of the lineup
6		5	23-10-7	6-4-0	After signing Cristobal Huet away from Washington, do you think the Hawks could peddle Nikolai Khabibulin to the goalie-starved Caps? The veteran Russian has been awesome this year
7		9	23-10-9	5-2-3	Philly is getting a nice year from Scott Hartnell, who is on pace for a career-high 58 points
8		4	27-13-3	7-3-0	It's just hard to believe Brent Johnson and Jose Theodore can carry this team in the playoffs
9		11	22-17-5	4-4-2	Anaheim, along with Colorado, hasn't lost a game it led after two periods this season
10		10	25-15-4	4-4-2	Have to be excited by a potential 20-goal campaign from 23-year-old Ryan Callahan
11		7	24-15-3	5-5-0	Brendan Shanahan will be 40 before month's end, but his shot can still help a power play
12		13	21-17-5	5-4-1	Both Ilya Bryzgalov (.916) and Mikael Tellqvist (.913) have healthy save percentages
13		17	20-18-4	6-4-0	Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle, who'll be on the move at some point, would be a nice addition to the league's worst power play
14		20	20-16-6	5-3-2	Racking up some wins against soft teams, but need to prove they can beat the big boys, too
15		14	21-16-5	5-3-2	Ryan Miller has won four of his past five starts despite seeing an average of almost 37 shots per game over that span
16		12	21-17-5	6-4-0	Right now, Ray Whitney is the only Cane on pace to hit 70 points this season
17		15	22-14-5	3-5-2	Mats Sundin has watched two game-winners scored against the Canucks from the penalty box
18		16	20-19-4	2-8-0	It seemed Marc-Andre Fleury really turned a corner last spring, but he's fighting the puck once again
19		24	22-19-1	6-4-0	Andrew Raycroft's seven-game winning streak has Avs back in the playoff hunt
20		19	20-18-3	4-5-1	Special teams continue to be a strength, but Wild are being outscored in 5-on-5 situations
21		21	20-18-3	6-4-0	In his first game as an Oiler, Ryan Potulny picks up two assists in a 2-1 win over St. Louis
22		18	17-17-6	5-3-2	Team has improved, no doubt, but still hasn't fully clicked into gear
23		26	12-19-10	5-4-1	If Vincent Lecavalier goes on the block, the Bolts have to hit a home run on the deal
24		23	17-18-6	4-6-0	The Kings' winning percentage when falling behind after one period is .105
25		25	19-20-3	3-7-0	Great to see little Stevie Sullivan back playing after nearly two full years on the sidelines
26		28	16-22-3	4-6-0	Coach Andy Murray knows his team is short on talent, but isn't happy with inconsistent efforts
27		22	16-20-6	3-7-0	If the bottom is indeed falling out, it's the best thing that could happen to Toronto
28		29	14-24-5	3-6-1	Thrashers still don't know what to expect from Kari Lehtonen on a nightly basis
29		27	13-21-6	2-7-1	This season has left the coach looking like Craig 'Broken' Hartsburg
30		30	12-26-4	2-7-1	Rick DiPietro has missed three straight games with swelling in his knee; in other news, the sun is expected to rise tomorrow