NHL POWER RANKINGS

When the Ducks acquired Chris Pronger in the off-season, it became a foregone conclusion that their defense — which already featured perennial Norris Trophy candidate Scott Niedermayer — would be the NHL’s finest. What wasn’t certain was whether their offense and goaltending would be good enough to carry the Ducks into Cup contention.

But as it turns out, the tandem of Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov has been the NHL’s best through the first 15 games, and is a key reason why Anaheim has not yet lost a game in regulation. Meanwhile, only three NHL teams have scored more goals than the Ducks, whose offense is led by rejuvenated veteran Teemu Selanne and late bloomer Chris Kunitz.

Another important factor in the Ducks’ success thus far has been their ability to stay healthy. While key players across the league have suffered major injuries over the past few weeks, the Ducks’ players have escaped the injury bug unscathed, giving Anaheim a huge advantage over their battered opponents.

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 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 BUFFALO SABRES (1): Last season, injuries to Buffalo’s defense proved to be their undoing in the Eastern Conference Finals. If Nathan Paetch is their best option to replace Henrik Tallinder (broken arm), there could be rough waters ahead.
12–1–1 25 59 38 17.3% 86.8%

2 ANAHEIM DUCKS (4): That sophomore Corey Perry has managed to score 11 points in 15 games is quite impressive considering he’s averaging only 10:45 of ice time per game, least amongst Ducks regulars.
11–0–4 26 51 32 22.8% 89.7%

3 DALLAS STARS (2): A rejuvenated Eric Lindros has developed great chemistry with Mike Modano and Brenden Morrow on the Stars’ top line; he’s leading the team in scoring.
11–4–0 22 43 29 13.1% 91.7%

4 MINNESOTA WILD (3): Saku Koivu’s younger brother Mikko has been moved to the Wild’s top line. With 10 points in 14 games, he’s on the verge of a breakout season.
10–4–0 20 39 30 18.4% 94.4%

5 NASHVILLE PREDATORS (7): Martin Erat has quietly scored at a point-per-game pace for the speedy Predators, who are without question the class of the Central Division.
9–3–1 19 45 39 15.9% 82.0%

6 SAN JOSE SHARKS (5): Evgeni Nabokov is making a strong case for why the Sharks shouldn’t pull the trigger and trade him; he’s given up two goals or fewer in six of his eight appearances.
11–5–0 22 49 35 24.5% 89.7%

7 ATLANTA THRASHERS (9): Coach Bob Hartley likes what he sees from back-up netminder Johan Hedberg and has started him in four straight games.
11–3–3 25 60 45 17.8% 87.5%

8 DETROIT RED WINGS (11): After breaking out with an 85-point season last year, Henrik Zetterberg has started off in a deep slump, scoring only six points in the Wings’ first 14 games.
9–4–1 19 38 30 8.0% 81.2%

9 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (6): Lost amidst the hysteria surrounding Russian phenom Evgeni Malkin has been the play of blossoming defenseman Ryan Whitney, who has scored 10 points in 12 games.
7–4–1 15 41 33 20.0% 88.2%

10 MONTREAL CANADIENS (10): The loss of forward Chris Higgins is a huge one for the Habs; their leading goal scorer will be out of the lineup for approximately six weeks.
8–3–3 19 44 36 18.1% 98.9%

11 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (12): Playmaker Scott Gomez has missed the last two games with a groin injury, aggravated when he rushed back into the lineup too soon. Look for the Devils to exercise greater caution with their first-line center in the future.
8–5–1 17 33 39 10.3% 82.4%

12 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (14): The Leafs received some very bad news yesterday when they learned that captain Mats Sundin will miss the next 3–4 weeks with an elbow injury. Without him, they will rely even more heavily upon netminder Andrew Raycroft.
9–5–3 21 56 54 13.2% 89.9%

13 EDMONTON OILERS (8): Veteran netminder Dwayne Roloson has been a steadying influence in Pronger’s absence, stopping over 91% of the shots he’s faced this season.
7–6–1 15 40 38 14.8% 89.3%

14 NEW YORK RANGERS (19): Henrik Lundqvist (.878 SV%) is suffering through a sophomore slump, while Kevin Weekes (also .878) hasn’t been any better between the pipes for the floundering Rangers.
7–6–1 15 48 51 18.1% 84.5%

15 VANCOUVER CANUCKS (13): Blueliners Willie Mitchell (concussion) and Sami Salo (knee) are close to returning to the lineup, which should make life much easier for star goaltender Roberto Luongo.
8–7–1 17 39 37 9.8% 85.4%

16 COLORADO AVALANCHE (15): As the years roll on, the amazing Joe Sakic (17 points in 15 games) keeps adding to his first-ballot Hall of Fame credentials.
7–6–2 16 51 49 17.0% 83.3%

17 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (17): Brad Richards has fired 50 shots on goal thus far this season (second on the Lightning to Martin St. Louis), but has scored only three goals.
7–7–1 15 49 44 14.0% 79.2%

18 CAROLINA HURRICANES (20): Winger Erik Cole got off to a slow start, but is rapidly rediscovering his groove. In four November games, he’s scored six points.
7–6–3 17 50 54 11.6% 87.5%

19 WASHINGTON CAPITALS (21): Veteran forward Dainius Zubrus (13 points in 14 games) is on pace to shatter his career best of 57 points, set last season.
6–4–4 16 47 45 16.4% 84.8%

20 NEW YORK ISLANDERS (16): Hard-working winger Jason Blake has been the primary beneficiary of Alexei Yashin’s resurgence and is the Isles’ leading goal-scorer.
6–6–2 14 36 44 17.6% 78.2%

21 FLORIDA PANTHERS (22): Former Devils prospect Mike Van Ryn has been the Panthers’ most consistent offensive threat on the blue line, scoring nine points in 14 games.
6–7–2 14 41 47 20.6% 83.7%

22 OTTAWA SENATORS (18): After finishing last season with a gaudy +34 rating, defenseman Andrej Meszaros (-3) is one of only two Sens with a minus rating this year.
5–7–1 11 39 34 2.7% 88.2%

23 CALGARY FLAMES (27): A pinched nerve in his neck is hampering Alex Tanguay (eight points in 13 games), which helps explain why his production has been so disappointing.
5–7–2 12 37 39 9.8% 82.4%

24 BOSTON BRUINS (24): The Bruins demoted netminder Hannu Toivonen to their AHL affiliate in Providence on Tuesday, but it’s a lack of discipline that’s been their biggest problem.
4–6–2 10 32 46 19.4% 75.0%

25 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (23): Leading scorer David Vyborny is enjoying a breakout season, but he’ll need better support from Rick Nash if the Jackets are to contend for a franchise-first playoff appearance.
4–7–1 9 27 39 13.5% 83.1%

26 ST. LOUIS BLUES (26): Former Calder Trophy winner Barret Jackman has missed eight games with a knee injury; he’ll return to the Blues’ lineup tonight and provide some much-needed stability on the blue line.
4–6–3 11 33 43 11.6% 85.2%

27 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (25): Injuries have been the story of the ‘Hawks’ season; they have lost seven in a row since Martin Havlat, Michal Handzus, and Nikolai Khabibulin got hurt in mid-October. 4–9–0 8 35 47 15.4% 82.7%

28 LOS ANGELES KINGS (28): With six points in his last three games, speedy sophomore center Mike Cammalleri — the Kings’ goal-scoring leader — is on fire.
5–9–3 13 42 52 12.1% 85.1%

29 PHOENIX COYOTES (30): Forward Shane Doan is starting to heat up, which is good news for the Coyotes; they’ll be without leading scorer Mike Comrie (broken hand) for at least a month.
4–10–0 8 36 63 10.2% 76.2%

30 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (29): The wounded Flyers received another round of salt on Tuesday, when the learned that talented young forward Jeff Carter will miss the next six weeks with a broken ankle.
3–10–1 7 28 56 3.4% 89.0

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