Hull-a-Balo in St. Louis

NHL Power Rankings

To say that the St. Louis Blues — currently last in the Sun's Power Rankings — are a work in progress would be an understatement. But with former Madison Square Garden president Dave Checketts now the team's owner, and with former Rangers color commentator John Davidson the team's president, there is good reason for hope in St. Louis.

The team's base of prospects is quite impressive, led by 2006 first-overall pick Erik Johnson, a tremendously talented defenseman who is cutting his teeth with the University of Minnesota. Also in the pipeline are two very highly regarded goaltending prospects, Marek Schwarz and Ben Bishop. Schwarz is dominating for the Peoria Rivermen (AHL) in his first season in North America, while the 6–foot–7–inch Bishop has emerged as a Hobey Baker candidate for the University of Maine.

But on Tuesday night, the Blues looked backward rather than forward, paying homage to Brett Hull by raising his no. 16 to the rafters of the Scottrade Center and naming a street ("Brett Hull Way") after him. With 741 goals in 1,269 career games (527 scored for the Blues), Hull finished his career third all time (behind only Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe).

Without question, Hull enjoyed his finest seasons in St. Louis, scoring an improbable 228 goals during the three seasons he played alongside playmaking center Adam Oates with the Blues. The tandem was nicknamed "Hull and Oates," and rivaled the greatest forward combos in NHL history.

Hull and his father, Bobby, finished with 1,351 goals combined, and on Tuesday became the only father-son tandem ever to have their NHL sweaters retired (Hull's no. 9 was previously retired by the Chicago Blackhawks).

So here's how the teams line up this week. Statistically, teams are measured from left to right by W–L–OTL, standings points, goals scored, goals allowed, power play success, and penalty–killing success. Please note that the data are up to and including games played on Tuesday night, and that our statistics for special teams effectiveness also take shorthanded goals into account. Each team's ranking from last week appears in parentheses.

1 BUFFALO SABRES (1): Goaltender Ryan Miller is proving that his tremendous rookie season was no fluke. Picking up right where he left off, Miller is without question already one of the NHL's best netminders.
21–4–2 44 112 81 16.9% 87.6%

2 ANAHEIM DUCKS (4): With 30 points in 29 games and a gaudy plus-17 rating, it is abundantly clear that life in Southern California agrees with perennial Norris Trophy candidate Chris Pronger.
20–3–6 46 100 67 22.2% 86.8%

3 SAN JOSE SHARKS (2): The Sharks' potent offense has cooled off dramatically in recent weeks, largely because of diminished production from "Jumbo" Joe Thornton (pointless in his last four games).
20–8–0 40 85 59 23.0% 89.0%

4 NASHVILLE PREDATORS (5): With Tomas Vokoun out of the lineup (torn left thumb ligament), back-up Chris Mason has stepped up in a huge way. He's stopped 172 of 187 shots (.920%) since Vokoun went down and kept the Preds atop the Central Division.
17–6–3 37 89 71 16.5% 88.1%

5 ATLANTA THRASHERS (7): The supercharged Thrashers looked dead in the water on Tuesday, down 2–0 to the Maple Leafs after two periods. But led by Glen Metropolit and Slava Kozlov, they shocked Toronto and stormed back to win 5–2.
18–7–4 40 99 79 17.1% 83.6%

6 DALLAS STARS (3): Mike Modano scored the only goal in the Stars' 1–0 victory over the Sharks on Monday, but left the game with a hip flexor injury. The Stars' underpowered offense will need a healthy Modano if they're to compete for the Pacific Division crown.
18–9–0 36 73 58 13.3% 89.2%

7 DETROIT RED WINGS (8): That the Wings are ranked this high despite having mediocre-to-horrendous special teams is a testament to their tenacious defense. If Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg break out of their slumps, watch out for the Wings this spring.
15–7–4 34 70 56 11.1% 86.0%

8 MONTREAL CANADIENS (6): If the overachieving Canadiens are going to go anywhere come playoff time, they must acquire a second-line center who can get more out of underachiever wingers Sergei Samsonov and Alexei Kovalev.
15–8–3 33 76 71 18.2% 94.6%

9 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (12): Once again, the Devils find themselves in a cap conundrum; this time, they must figure out how to fit recently healed blueliner Richard Matvichuk under the payroll limit. Can GM Lou Lamoriello work his magic yet again?
14–9–2 30 58 64 11.5% 87.8%

10 EDMONTON OILERS (9): The losses of Ryan Smyth (broken finger) and Ales Hemsky (injured right shoulder) will hurt. But goaltender Dwayne Roloson (.920 SV%, 2.45 GAA) should be able to hold the fort until they return.
14–10–2 30 74 69 14.6% 90.2%

11 NEW YORK ISLANDERS (11): It's no surprise that the Isles are proving to be a very tough opponent. Ted Nolan's teams are always very hard working, and alternate captain Brendan Witt has developed into one of the league's finest, shutdown defensemen.
14–10–3 31 79 73 13.9% 80.5%

12 CAROLINA HURRICANES (16): The Hurricanes get talented forward Cory Stillman (right shoulder surgery) back this week. The team's leading assistgetter in 2005–06, Stillman should provide the Canes' inconsistent offense with a tremendous boost.
15–11–3 33 93 89 11.6% 89.2%

13 CALGARY FLAMES (21): The Flames are 0–9–2 when giving up three or more goals. Which is to say that unless Miikka Kiprusoff delivers an immaculate performance, the Flames will struggle.
13–10–2 28 69 56 13.0% 82.5%

14 BOSTON BRUINS (17): The Bruins battled hard for their 6–5 victory over the Canadiens on Monday night, with Brad Stuart (two goals) finally starting to show signs of his Calder Trophy-winning form.
13–10–2 28 71 86 15.6% 80.6%

15 MINNESOTA WILD (10): Pavol Demitra (head injury) is expected back as soon as tonight's game against Calgary, but Marian Gaborik (groin strain) has been out for 20 games and counting.
14–11–2 30 71 70 16.8% 92.1%

16 NEW YORK RANGERS (13): The Blueshirts got some great news this week, as forward Jed Ortmeyer pulmonary embolism) has been cleared for contact and should soon return to the lineup.
13–10–4 30 85 86 19.5% 85.6%

17 OTTAWA SENATORS (18): The Sens have won four straight games and are rising quickly in the Eastern Conference standings, but a leg injury to captain Daniel Alfredsson could derail them if it proves serious.
15–12–1 31 99 75 11.4% 88.5%

18 WASHINGTON CAPITALS (23): After a red–hot start, Alexander Semin has shown no signs of slowing down. In 22 games, he's scored 21 points, and his presence (along with Alexander Ovechkin's) gives the Caps two dangerous scoring lines.
11–9–6 28 79 85 14.4% 84.5%

19 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (15): Andrew Raycroft was brilliant through the first two periods against Atlanta on Tuesday, stopping all 29 shots he faced. But he collapsed in the third, surrendering four goals on eight shots to squander the victory.
13–11–5 31 91 93 16.3% 84.8%

20 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (14): The NHL's all-time leader with 274 power play goals, former Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk was honored in a pre-game on-ice ceremony at the St. Petersburg Times Forum on Tuesday night.
13–13–2 28 84 90 11.9% 78.3%

21 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (20): Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has collapsed in recent weeks after a red-hot start, a huge reason why the Pens are 1–4–2 in their last seven games.
11–11–4 26 77 82 14.9% 83.8%

22 VANCOUVER CANUCKS (19): The injuries are starting to add up for the reeling Canucks, who will now be without Taylor Pyatt (shoulder injury), Sami Salo (nerve injury, shoulder) and Rick Rypien (groin tear).
13–14–1 27 58 72 10.1% 86.5%

23 COLORADO AVALANCHE (22): Defenseman Jordan Leopold returned to the lineup against Vancouver on Saturday night; the Avs will need for him to be an impact player if they're to battle for a playoff spot.
12–13–2 26 79 78 13.9% 81.1%

24 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (26): The long-awaited return of Martin Havlat (high ankle sprain) is fast approaching. The Western Conference's thirdleading vote getter amongst forwards for the All-Star Game, Havlat is the key to the Hawks' success.
10–12–3 23 61 73 12.3% 85.3%

25 LOS ANGELES KINGS (25): Led by Alexander Frolov and Lubomir Visnovsky, the Kings' dangerous power play is all that separates them from the bottom of the league standings.
10–15–4 24 80 97 17.8% 81.6%

26 PHOENIX COYOTES (24): Last week's benching of Ladislav Nagy had the desired effect, for it raised the level of accountability in the Coyotes' locker room; winners of three straight games, the Coyotes are finally rounding into form.
10–15–0 20 65 94 9.0% 77.9%

27 FLORIDA PANTHERS (27): Streaky power forward Nathan Horton needs to be far more consistent; he has endured pointless streaks of three, four, and five games already this season.
9–15–5 23 72 94 19.2% 82.6%

28 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (29) In their last 10 games, the Flyers are 5–3–2 and have shown signs of life since Mike Knuble returned to the lineup. But barring an unlikely resurgence, they'll be big sellers as the trade deadline approaches.
8–15–4 20 67 100 10.7% 88.8%

29 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (30): Winners of two consecutive shutouts, the Blue Jackets have quickly responded to Ken Hitchcock's direction, making life far easier for netminder Pascal Leclaire.
8–16–2 18 57 73 11.8% 85.4%

30 ST. LOUIS BLUES (28): Unfortunately, Brett Hull Night didn't seem to inspire the current edition of the Blues. They continued their losing ways after the ceremony, falling 5–1 to the rival Red Wings.
7–16–3 17 58 90 8.1% 82.2%

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com