(Ric Tapia/Icon SMI)
I am going to try and continue to call these the Power Rankings, but someone in the Sunbelt needs to show some power and take over. Most of the teams in the southern United States had losing records this week, so the bottom half of this list got a bit muddled. For now here is this week’s edition of the “power” rankings.
(Remember, this is based on how these teams fared over the past week; not the entire season).
1)Los Angeles Kings (3-0-0) (last week 3) Go undefeated and chances are you will end up atop the rankings. Kings had a great week, so they move up two spots
2)Anaheim Ducks (1-0-0) (last week 1) The Ducks easily could have remained at the top of the rankings, but they had a quite week only playing once and the Kings are the defending champs so that gave them the edge.
3)Tampa bay Lightning (2-1-0) (last week 7) The Lightning were the big winners this week, they moved up the most spots, not because they had the best of weeks but because everyone else played worse. They moved back into first place though so that is at least some kind of power move.
4)Phoenix Coyotes (1-1-0) (last week 4) The Coyotes stay put this week because they were .500 and at least didn’t have a losing record.
(Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
5)Dallas Stars (1-2-0) (last week 5) Dallas also stays put because they played better than the other teams in the Sunbelt this week. Even if they didn’t do much to really earn the ranking.
6)Nashville Predators (1-3-0) (last week 6) The Preds keep their spot even though a 1-3 mark should’ve moved them down, but they played tough losing 2 of three games by a goal. They played more than anyone this week, so I’m giving them some credit for that.
7)Florida Panthers (1-2-0) (last week 8) The Panthers had another difficult week, and it appears the momentum they built up with last season’s playoff run has withered away. While their younger players like Jonathan Huberdeau and Drew Shore are producing at an impressive level, Florida’s veterans — including Stephen Weiss — have, in general, been disappointing.
8)San Jose Sharks (1-2-0) (last week 9) Both teams got a win this week, but both teams also couldn’t sustain anything for more than a day. But I get getting a win and not being last is better than nothing.
9)Carolina Hurricanes (0-3-0) (last week 2) It’s amazing how quickly a week can change an outlook. The Hurricanes looked poised to take out everyone. They were clicking on all cylinders, and then the storm died out completely.
