Power Rankings: Central surge

Steve Sullivan and the Nashville Predators toppled Derek Meech and the Detroit Red Wings 8-0 on Feb. 28, 2009. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)

Ryan Dixon
2009-03-02 15:02:00

As of Monday morning, four Central Division teams had identical 6-3-1 records in their past 10 games. The fifth team, St. Louis, really deviated from the pack with a 6-2-2 mark.

Talk about parity.

Long gone are the days of Detroit beating up on everybody in its division en route to the Presidents’ Trophy. The story of a strengthened Central goes well beyond the rise of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Columbus is poised to make the playoffs for the first time, Nashville is still sturdy under Barry Trotz and St. Louis has more or less decided to stop allowing goals of late.

It’s very conceivable all five Central clubs could make the post-season, solidifying its status as the toughest division in hockey.

THE HOCKEY NEWS POWER RANKINGS

RK.	TEAM	LW	OVERALL	L10	THE SCOOP
1		6	41-19-3	8-2-0	Hey Marty, how does that elbow feel?
2		8	42-12-9	3-4-3	Just can't see giving up a boatload for Chris Pronger when Boston already has Zdeno Chara
3		1	42-10-9	5-3-2	Ryane Clowe, who gets a bit lost among San Jose's stars, could still hit 30 goals with a strong finish
4		7	32-22-8	8-2-0	Just two losses in their past 12 contests
5		2	41-14-8	6-3-1	Could you imagine if they did land Niklas Backstrom from Minnesota? Goodbye goalie questions
6		5	37-19-6	7-1-2	Heading out for a seven-game road trip beginning Tuesday in Ottawa
7		3	40-19-5	6-3-1	Boy, Ovie sure took Don Cherry's criticism to heart
8		4	35-17-9	6-3-1	Antti Niemi made 22 saves to win his first NHL start last Sunday against the Kings
9		9	33-18-10	6-3-1	Doesn't feel like they can play with the East's true big boys yet, but more great goaltending from Martin Biron would help
10		12	31-26-6	6-3-1	Probably prudent not to give up too much in any deal for Olli Jokinen at this point
11		10	32-23-8	6-4-0	Takes a pretty good team to walk into Washington and hammer the Caps 6-2 as the Panthers did Sunday
12		17	34-22-7	5-4-1	Jaroslav Halak has been great, but he shouldn't have to make 40 saves a night
13		15	31-28-4	6-3-1	Finally broke through with 17 goals over their past three games.
14		24	28-26-8	6-2-2	Have allowed one goal or less in seven of their past eight games
15		20	32-26-6	6-3-1	Nobody would be crazy about seeing these guys in Round 1 if they sneak into the playoffs
16		21	32-24-8	3-4-3	I know Nikolai Zherdev had three points in John Tortorella's first win as Rangers coach, but why do I have this vision of Torts someday putting the Russian in a stranglehold similar to the one Homer clamps on Bart?
17		19	31-26-5	5-3-2	In the midst of a playoff battle, the Oilers play nine of their next 13 away from home
18		11	32-27-5	5-5-0	Blowing two-goal leads in the third period to Atlanta is not the way to lock down a playoff spot
19		16	31-28-5	5-5-0	New beginning will serve Ryan Whitney well
20		14	30-26-5	4-4-2	Can't lose both Backstrom and Marian Gaborik for nothing
21		18	31-25-7	3-5-2	Would anyone take Maxim Afinogenov at this point?
22		23	25-26-12	5-2-3	Tim Stapleton gets a shootout winner in his first NHL game and his first "real" goal in his second
23		27	26-27-9	2-6-2	Jack Johnson is going to make Carolina regret its odd decision to trade him to L.A.
24		26	23-28-10	5-3-2	GM Bryan Murray has said the Sens will be sellers, but who's wearing the 'For Sale' signs?
25		13	29-26-7	3-7-0	Have scored just six total goals in losing five straight
26		25	27-31-5	3-7-0	Just wait until next year - wherever that may be
27		28	23-34-6	5-4-1	It would be a coup if this team got a top prospect for Kari Lehtonen
28		29	21-30-12	3-6-1	Mark Recchi can still fill a role on a good team
29		30	19-36-7	3-5-2	Trading Bill Guerin can only help the prospects of drafting No. 1 next June
30		22	28-34-1	3-7-0	Hit the road and completely bottomed out, getting outscored 19-6 while losing four straight

The Hockey News ranks the teams 1-30 each Monday based on a combination of last week’s play and a squad’s overall outlook.

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