The finale

Jordan Staal's Pittsburgh Penguins take on Vincent Lecavalier's Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round. (Getty Images)

Adam Proteau
2011-04-11 15:25:00

The NHL’s regular season is over and, starting Wednesday night, the league’s playoffs begin. That means this is the final NHL power rankings for another season - and for an added bonus, we’re including THN’s exclusive Stanley Cup odds (found in the April 18th playoff edition of the magazine).

Be sure to also check out our Round 1 Preview to get our take on who will get past the first round.

And remember, for constant and in-depth coverage of the post-season, there’s no better place to be than THN.com.

THE HOCKEY NEWS POWER RANKINGS
RK.	TEAM	LW	OVERALL	THN Cup Odds	THE SCOOP
1		1	54-19-9	3-1	Dominant Canucks get shot at exorcising demons of recent playoffs past by facing Hawks
2		2	48-23-11	13-2	It’s Alex (Ovechkin) the Great vs. King Henrik (Lundqvist) in rematch of 2009 quarterfinal
3		5	49-25-8	17-1	What might have been high-scoring series against Lightning now more likely to be defensive showdown without Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
4		3	48-25-9	19-2	Sharks one of league’s hottest teams entering playoffs, need Big Three to come through against plucky Kings
5		6	47-23-12	6-1	Prolonged skid should come to halt with return of Chris Pronger in playoffs
6		4	47-25-10	11-2	Will Chris Osgood be an option for Wings? Doesn’t look good for first round, at least
7		8	46-25-11	9-1	Showdown with Canadiens will be the most-watched series of first round for many reasons
8		12	47-30-5	39-1	Ducks arguably the most dangerous of any team entering the playoffs
9		10	46-25-11	18-1	Bolts have won just three playoff games since 2004 Cup run
10		11	44-27-11	37-1	Predators will need to win games by low scores to outlast hot Ducks in first round
11		7	43-26-13	24-1	Coyotes still looking for their first playoff series win in franchise history
12		9	46-30-6	15-1	Few giving Kings a chance of beating California rivals in San Jose; that might be the way Los Angeles prefers it
13		16	43-29-10	45-1	Sabres have won three of past five first round series against Flyers
14		14	44-29-9	13-1	Hawks aren’t inspiring post-season confidence with late-season letdowns, but underestimate them and you’re toast
15		17	44-30-8	29-1	Canadiens have chance to avenge Max Pacioretty in best way possible - by eliminating Bruins
16		13	44-33-5	30-1	Backing into playoffs, benching Marian Gaborik not good omens for Blueshirts’ playoffs
17		19	41-29-12	N/A	Flames’ future tangled up in salary cap hell; dealing Jarome Iginla still a possibility
18		20	42-29-11	N/A	Will ugly end to Stars season be punctuated by departure of Brad Richards?
19		15	40-31-11	N/A	Last-day loss to Bolts will haunt Canes all off-season
20		21	38-33-11	N/A	Ownership issues mean Blues will need to improve from within next season
21		18	37-34-11	N/A	Lots to like for Leafs next season, but no shortage of question marks as well
22		26	39-35-8	N/A	Firing of coach Todd Richards a move many saw coming a mile away
23		23	38-39-5	N/A	Maybe Jacques Lemaire can coach by Skype next season?
24		22	34-36-12	N/A	Finding new owner as much of a priority as bolstering inconsistent on-ice attack
25		27	32-40-10	N/A	Firing coach Cory Clouston won’t improve Sens’ lack of organizational depth
26		24	30-39-13	N/A	Islanders need infusion of veterans this summer to help good collection of kids
27		25	34-35-13	N/A	Rick Nash has to be getting sick of this routine, no?
28		28	30-40-12	N/A	Whomever replaces Pete DeBoer as Panthers coach should be prepared for tough days ahead
29		29	30-44-8	N/A	Will Joe Sacco pay the price for disastrous season the way DeBoer, Richards and Clouston have?
30		30	25-45-12	N/A	Season of growing pains for Oilers must lead to tangible improvements next year