The Minnesota Wild have taken another huge stride forward this season, emerging as one of the league’s best teams. And one of the key components to their success has been the strong play of young defenseman Brent Burns, who was drafted as a forward back in 2003. At the time, it appeared that Burns was selected too early, with many more high-profile players still available. But the Wild saw something special in him.

“I’ve learned a long time ago that if you like somebody, you’d better take them,” GM Doug Risebrough said. “If you want a player, take him when you can. Don’t try to out-think yourself. There was a lot of late development in Burns’s last year (before the draft). We knew that he’d played a little bit of defense, but we had no intentions of drafting him to play defense… we just wanted a big, strong guy who could play forward. I give (head coach) Jacques Lemaire tremendous credit. He’s the one who realized that Burns could play defense.”

By the time the playoffs arrived last spring, Burns was Minnesota’s best defenseman, seemingly improving by the game. Not only did he demonstrate an ability to contribute offensively on the power play, but his positional play was excellent.

“He could be the modern-day type of defenseman,” Risebrough said. “You need somebody who’s got skating ability, size, and range. You’ve got these new rules where you can’t grab onto opposing players, you have to be good positionally and you have to have lots of range. His size and skating ability are a big factor for him.”

Burns and the Wild slipped a bit in this week’s Power Rankings, to no. 6 from no. 2, but it’s clear that they’re on the right track, emerging as one of the teams to beat in the Western Conference. Statistically, teams are measured from left to right by won-loss record, goals scored, goals allowed, power play success, and penalty-killing success. Please note that the data is 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 OTTAWA SENATORS (1): Chris Phillips may not be a legitimate Norris Trophy candidate, but the former first-overall pick (1996) has developed into a stopper on the Sens’ blue line, posting a team-best plus-10 rating.

9–1–0 34 19 17.39% 93.48%

2 DETROIT RED WINGS (3): Netminder Chris Osgood has never really gotten the respect he deserves, not even after winning a Cup with the Wings back in 1998. This year, he’s outplaying Dominik Hasek … will he finally get an opportunity to take back the job?

10–2–1 44 29 15.00% 87.88%

3 CAROLINA HURRICANES (5): Their Stanley Cup hangover long behind them, the ‘Canes have re-emerged as a potent contender, led by — who else? — ageless center Rod Brind’Amour, who’s pacing the team with 18 points and a plus-9 rating.

7–2–3 47 30 22.86% 74.60%

4. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (4): Derian Hatcher appears to have gotten his game back on track this season (plus-7 rating), but he’ll miss the next 2–4 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair cartilage damage in his right knee.

7–3–0 35 22 20.51% 84.78%

5. MONTREAL CANADIENS (10): The exit of Sheldon Souray did absolutely nothing to derail the Habs’ lethal power play, making it abundantly clear that the key to their man-advantage success was actually the quarterbacking of the underrated Andrei Markov.

6–2–3 36 28 30.16% 84.62%

6. MINNESOTA WILD (2): He doesn’t get much attention outside of St. Paul, Minn., but former first-round pick Pierre-Marc Bouchard has quietly developed into a very valuable two-way playmaker for the Wild.

7–3–2 30 26 9.62% 87.50%

7. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (17): The play of Pascal Leclaire between the pipes has been nothing short of scintillating this season; with four shutouts in seven games, he leads the league, and is finally back on track to become a top-tier NHL netminder.

6–3–1 28 19 16.36% 98.04%

8. COLORADO AVALANCHE (14): Brittle rearguard Jordan Leopold keeps going down with injuries; the latest malady — wrist surgery — will keep him out of the Avs’ lineup for at least two months.

7–4–0 35 31 15.69% 85.71%

9. CALGARY FLAMES (12): Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf are prototypical Mike Keenan players, and it’s no surprise that they’re thriving with “Iron Mike” behind the bench. But the success of finesse forward Alex Tanguay (15 points, plus-8) was unexpected.

6–3–3 42 36 16.95% 77.14%

10. BOSTON BRUINS (16): Patrice Bergeron (Grade 3 concussion, broken nose) is expected to be out for at least a month, but there’s a silver lining in that dark . presents an opportunity Phil Kessel to step up and center the Bruins’ second scoring line.

6–4–0 24 24 16.67% 82.50%

11. ST. LOUIS BLUES (9): The Blues have been one of the NHL’s most pleasant surprises, and with former first-overall pick Erik Johnson (fractured foot, two points in two games) due back next week, they should get even better as the season progresses.

6–4–0 28 22 12.50% 89.80%

12. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (6): Forwards Jordan Staal (2 points, minus-4), and Erik Christensen (two points, minus-6) were expected to contribute much more prominently this year but are instead mired in deep slumps, a key reason for the Pens’ inconsistency.

6–4–1 33 34 22.81% 86.00%

13. NEW YORK ISLANDERS (13): The Isles don’t have a single plus player in their line-up, a trend that must change if they’re to have any hope of reaching the postseason; while their power play is solid, it’s not good enough to carry them.

5–4–0 26 33 26.19% 88.24%

14 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (11): Defenseman Paul Ranger has tallied nine points in 10 games, but only one point (an assist) came with the man advantage, paving the way for Dan Boyle (just returned from wrist surgery) to take over the quarterback’s role.

5–4–1 33 30 20.45% 86.05%

15 DALLAS STARS (7): Captain Brenden Morrow has been excellent thus far, producing at a point-per-game pace and playing with an edge, and is showing no ill effects from the severe wrist injury that caused him to miss 71 games last season.

5–4–2 29 28 19.57% 92.16%

16 SAN JOSE SHARKS (8): The Sharks got a huge energy boost on Monday night, when rookie Devin Setoguchi scored two goals in his NHL debut to lead the Sharks to a come-from-behind 4–2 victory over the Stars.

6–5–1 29 28 17.46% 89.83%

17. BUFFALO SABRES (25): The Sabres have impressively managed to play .500 hockey following the departures of Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, but they’ll need better goaltending from Ryan Miller (3.11 GAA, .896 SV%) if they’re to earn a playoff spot.

5–5–0 36 34 19.64% 87.04%

18. NEW YORK RANGERS (15): Agitator Sean Avery is expected as soon as tonight from his shoulder injury; when he does, head coach Tom Renney will need to find a way to keep young Nigel Dawes (three goals in six games) in the lineup.

4–6–1 19 21 11.48% 88.89%

19. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (21): With 48 shots on goal, former Islander Jason Blake is leading the Leafs, but he’s only connected twice, which explains his uncharacteristically assist-heavy stat line (two goals, 11 assists). Look for that to change as the season progresses.

5–5–3 47 51 6.78% 81.25%

20. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (18): The Blackhawks are showing signs of entering the 20th century with their plan to begin televising home games, a move that should coincide nicely with the emergence of young stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

5–6–0 28 32 16.67% 79.59%

21. WASHINGTON CAPITALS (20): Six different Capitals lit the lamp in Monday night’s 7–1 trouncing of the Maple Leafs, but rookie Nicklas Backstrom is still looking for his first NHL goal; he is not shooting the puck often enough (seven shots in 11 games).

5–6–0 31 30 14.29% 82.46%

22 VANCOUVER CANUCKS (22): Included as part of the Roberto Luongo trade, talented offensive defenseman Lukas Krajicek (five points in nine games) is proving to be a nice extra “bonus” for the Canucks.

5–7–0 32 37 17.46% 82.81%

23. LOS ANGELES KINGS (26): After an impressive sophomore season in which he scored 80 points in 81 games, 25-year-old forward Michael Cammalleri has burst out of the gate with 10 goals in his first 12 games this year, tying him for the league lead.

6–6–0 38 38 18.75% 83.64%

24. ANAHEIM DUCKS (19): Ryan Getzlaf (forearm injury) is expected to return to the lineup tonight, which is good news indeed for the Ducks. With 10 points in 11 games, Getzlaf is one of the few Ducks who has played to expectations thus far.

4–7–2 27 33 8.00% 85.29%

25. PHOENIX COYOTES (29): The NHL is expected to soon announce whether Rick Tocchet, currently suspended from the NHL due to his role in the “Operation Slapshot” gambling scandal, will be allowed to resume his role as Wayne Gretzky’s assistant coach.

4–6–0 22 29 2.17% 83.72%

26. EDMONTON OILERS (28): The Oilers paid a king’s ransom to procure restricted free agent Dustin Penner from the Ducks, but the early results (five points in 13 games, minus-3 rating) aren’t doing much to justify the expenditure.

5–8–0 27 42 3.92% 88.24%

27. FLORIDA PANTHERS (27): In a storyline closely paralleling that of Brian Rafalski, 29-year-old rookie defenseman Cory Murphy has successfully parlayed strong play in the Finnish Elite League into a late shot at the NHL, and he’s making the most of the opportunity (nine points in 11 games).

4–7–0 26 34 18.97% 84.21%

28 NASHVILLE PREDATORS (24): A roster littered with minus players and a severe drop-off in goaltender Chris Mason’s play following his ascension to the starter’s role have hamstrung the Preds, who may very well be playing their final season in Nashville.

4–7–0 26 38 8.33% 78.43%

29 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (23): If this does indeed turn out to be a transition season for the Devils, they’ve certainly earned it following a decade-plus of excellence. If captain Patrik Elias (team-worst minus-7 rating) continues to struggle, look for his name to appear prominently in trade rumors.

3–6–1 22 34 16.00% 69.05%

30. ATLANTA THRASHERS (30): After starting the season with six consecutive losses, the Thrashers are 4–2 in their last six games, a clear sign that since-terminated head coach Bob Hartley’s abrasive approach had lost its effectiveness.

4–8–0 25 47 7.69% 72.46%

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