The Flames go for their 11th win in a row on Wednesday night, and have already jumped to No. 1 in the THN power rankings.
The last time the Flames won 10 games in a row, they were in Atlanta. Seriously. Hard to believe the Atlanta Flames were ever good enough to win 10 straight.
The Flames have not lost since Feb. 18 and haven’t lost in regulation since Feb. 13, a span of 12 games. In fact, since the calendar turned to February, the Flames are a sizzling 14-2-1 and have a chance to establish a franchise mark for consecutive victories if they can pick up their 11th in a row Wednesday night against the Boston Bruins.
So it should come as no surprise that the Flames sit atop THN.com’s weekly Power Rankings. (Last week’s rankings in parentheses.):
THE CREAM OF THE CROP
1. Calgary Flames (2)
2. Chicago Blackhawks (1)
3. Ottawa Senators (8)
4. St. Louis Blues (13)
5. Tampa Bay Lightning (17)
6. Washington Capitals (4)
7. Pittsburgh Penguins (6)
8. Columbus Blue Jackets (7)
9. San Jose Sharks (10)
10. Boston Bruins (11)
Johnny Hockey is back. Gaudreau has four goals and 14 points during Calgary’s 10-game winning streak…Corey Crawford has never allowed more than two goals in nine career starts against Montreal…Craig Anderson’s undisclosed injury isn’t serious, but the way Mike Condon has played, the Senators can afford to take their time with it…Once in one of the league’s worst slumps, Blues goalie Jake Allen is 4-0-0 with a 1.25 goals-against average and .960 save percentage in his past four starts…The four-month mark for Steven Stamkos’ injury is today. He’s practicing and travelling with the team, but has not been cleared for contact…When Alex Ovechkin scored in a 4-2 win over Minnesota Tuesday night, it was his first even-strength goal in 19 games and it came one second after a power play had expired…The Penguins scored a coup with the signing of college free agent Zach Aston-Reese, but what made it even more impressive is that the NHL contract doesn’t kick in until next season…Columbus’ 5-3 win over Philadelphia Monday gave the Jackets franchise records for wins (44) and points (94) with 14 games remaining…NHL player of the week Joe Pavelski has seven goals in his past five games…Brad Marchand, 2016-17 Rocket Richard Trophy winner. Sounds really strange, but it could very well happen. Start practicing it now.
THE MUSHY MIDDLE
11. Minnesota Wild (9)
12. Nashville Predators (19)
13. Montreal Canadiens (3)
14. New York Rangers (5)
15. Anaheim Ducks (15)
16. Edmonton Oilers (14)
17. New York Islanders (12)
18. Florida Panthers (21)
19. Arizona Coyotes (25)
20. Toronto Maple Leafs (18)
The Wild ceded first place in the Central Division and Western Conference to Chicago Tuesday night and have lost three times to the Blackhawks in the past five weeks…Preds defenseman Roman Josi is hot, with 6-14-20 totals in his past 17 games…It was a bit of a head scratcher that Nathan Beaulieu was a healthy scratch for Montreal’s 4-2 loss to Chicago Tuesday night, while the struggling Alexei Emelin was on the ice for three Chicago goals…The Rangers are hoping to get Dan Girardi (who has missed eight games) and Jesper Fast (who has missed seven) back by this weekend…In the midst of a miserable season, Corey Perry has three goals in the Ducks past three games…Oilers coach Todd McLellan on his team ending a three-game losing streak with a 7-1 win over Dallas Tuesday night: “This takes a little pressure off the group. They can relax a little.”…Say what you will about Garth Snow, but they way the Islanders drafted and developed Josh Ho-Sang is a huge feather in the Islander GM’s cap…The Panthers’ 7-2 thrashing of Toronto Tuesday night marked the first time in six tries Florida has won with trade deadline acquisition Thomas Vanek, who had a career-high four assists in the game…The Coyotes picked up just their second three-game win streak of the season in a 3-2 shootout win over Los Angeles Tuesday night…The Maple Leafs raised ticket prices for next season. Nothing unusual about that. But in a letter to subscribers, they actually tried to justify it by saying they were protecting ticket buyers by discouraging ticket brokers. It is to laugh.
VYING FOR THE PARTICIPATION BADGE
21. Los Angeles Kings (23)
22. Winnipeg Jets (22)
23. Carolina Hurricanes (29)
24. Philadelphia Flyers (16)
25. Buffalo Sabres (26)
26. Detroit Red Wings (28)
27. Dallas Stars (20)
28. Vancouver Canucks (24)
29. Colorado Avalanche (27)
30. New Jersey Devils (30)
Kings coach Darryl Sutter after his team suffered a devastating 3-2 shootout loss to Arizona Tuesday night: “Every game is a new game. I’m not going to let somebody in a basement decide where he thinks we’re going to finish.” No, the Kings have been doing that all by themselves with their play of late…After giving up 18 goals in their previous four games, perhaps it was best for the Jets that their Tuesday night game in New Jersey was scratched because of a blizzard…The Hurricanes have been a disappointment this season, but they’re 3-0-1 against the Islanders with 22 goals. The two teams play for the last time this season April 6 in Brooklyn…The Flyers can’t believe that the team that at one time this season was riding a 10-game winning streak has hit the skids so badly. “Nobody thought during that winning streak that we would be here,” Jakub Voracek said. “But we are here.”…Jack Eichel scored his 20th goal of the season in Buffalo’s 4-1 loss to San Jose Tuesday night. His 21st, however, was an own-goal in the second period that turned out to be the game winner…Anthony Mantha has been a healthy scratch for the Red Wings’ past two games, but is expected to be in the lineup Wednesday when they travel to Colorado…Stars coach Lindy Ruff called Tuesday’s 7-1 loss to Edmonton the worst game he’s been involved with as coach of the Stars…In the wake of his team’s 6-3 loss to Boston Monday night, Canucks coach Willie Desjardins had this to say about his team’s effort: “I didn’t see a team giving up. But I didn’t see a team obsessed with winning, either.”…Matt Duchene has gone 11 games without a point and was recently dropped to the third line by Avs coach Jared Bednar…This season can’t end quickly enough for the Devils. They’ve lost 10 in a row and have been outscored 33-19.
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