Last night, star defenseman Scott Niedermayer announced that he is returning to the Anaheim Ducks’ lineup, great news indeed for the foundering Stanley Cup champions. In Niedermayer, the Ducks are adding a perennial Norris Trophy winner, a stabilizing force in the defensive zone, and a shot of adrenaline for their underwhelming power play.

A winner at every level, Niedermayer is the only player to take home every major North American and International Championship in his career: He has won the Memorial Cup, World Junior Hockey Championship gold, World Hockey Championship gold, Olympic gold, the Stanley Cup, and the World Cup.

But can Niedermayer help the Ducks to successfully defend their Cup championship? At this point, it’s certainly far too early to make such projections. But it’s fair to say that the Ducks’ top four rearguards — Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Mathieu Schneider, and Francois Beauchemin — are superior to the top-four defensemen on any other team, by a significant margin. And if the old adage “defense wins championships” holds true, then the Ducks’ defense corps — combined with former Conn Smythe Trophy winning goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere — is more than good enough to win the Cup this year.

In particular, the offseason addition of Schneider could turn out to be quite critical, for it will enable Niedermayer to enter the lineup without taking on an onerous workload. Not only will Schneider’s ability to play in all game situations (even strength and special teams) take significant pressure off Niedermayer throughout the season, but it will enable him to get into game shape more slowly and methodically.

Unfortunately, one Ducks concern that Niedermayer won’t be able to resolve is the lack of production they’ve been getting from their forwards. Ryan Getzlaf has progressed tremendously, building upon his stellar playoff performance, but the rest of the Ducks’ forwards have underachieved to a surprising degree. Put simply, if Niedermayer’s return is to achieve the desired effect, the team’s supporting cast — starting with his brother Rob (only six points in 25 games) — will need to step up their game in dramatic fashion.

Here are this week’s power rankings. Statistically, teams are measured from left to right by won-loss record, 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 DETROIT RED WINGS (2): With 26 points in 27 games, grinder Tomas enjoying a breakout season for the Wings, on pace to set career highs in all major offensive categories.

REC PTS GS GA PP% PK%
19–6–2 40 89 62 18.66% 86.57%

2 OTTAWA SENATORS (1): Goaltender Martin Gerber has given up 17 goals in his last four appearances, but the good news for the Sens is that incumbent starter Ray Emery appears to be fully recovered from the wrist injury that sidelined him earlier this season.

16–7–3 35 82 68 17.54% 88.62%

3 ST. LOUIS BLUES (4): Their top line gets plenty of deserved credit, but the Blues’ success has more to do with their stingy defense than anything else. In particular, highly underrated goaltender Manny Legace has been a rock between the pipes.

15–9–1 31 62 56 10.28% 90.91%

4 M I N N ES OTA W I L D ( 1 5 ) : Though the Wild have fared pretty well without him, they are a far different team when explosive winger Marian Gaborik is in the lineup. The team’s leading goal-scorer, Gaborik is among the league’s most dangerous offensive catalysts.

15–9–2 32 69 63 14.53% 84.03%

5 DALLAS STARS (3): After a rough start, Finnish forward Jere Lehtinen has picked things up nicely. The perennial Selke Trophy candidate has tallied 19 points in 21 games while raising his plus-minus rating to a far more Lehtinen-like plus-5.

15–9–4 34 79 70 20.37% 91.94%

6 SAN JOSE SHARKS (12): One of the best surprise stories of the season thus far has been the play of Jeremy Roenick. Believed to be on the verge of retirement, Roenick has been a key contributor for the Sharks; five of his six goals thus far have been game-winners.

13–8–4 30 65 52 15.00% 92.08%

7 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (5): John Stevens’s Flyers are continuing their assault on the league, racking up five suspendable offenses in just over two months, and the NHL’s failure to take harsh punitive action will likely spell disaster in the form of brutal retaliation.

14–9–2 30 77 70 21.05% 84.30%

8 BOSTON BRUINS (9): The Bruins have been one of the NHL’s hottest teams of late, with goaltender Tim Thomas (2.09 GAA, .938 SV%) due much of the credit; he is continuing to prove his mettle as a bona fide NHL starter.

14–9–2 30 65 61 15.05% 76.70%

9 CAROLINA HURRICANES (7): The Hurricanes boast six 20-plus point scorers, led by Cory Stillman (33 points in 25 games); their potent offense is the NHL’s most prolific and is a key reason why they currently sit atop the Southeast Division.

15–10–3 33 90 85 18.37% 75.00%

10 VANCOUVER CANUCKS (10): Stellar play from superstar netminder Roberto Luongo (8–2–2 in his last 12 starts) is the main reason why the Canucks have surged to within two points of the Northwest Division-leading Wild.

14–10–2 30 69 60 16.18% 83.08%

11 NEW YORK RANGERS (11): He isn’t paid much attention, but ever-steady undrafted rearguard Daniel Girardi has been one of the most pleasant surprises this season, a prime example of just how easy it is for talented players to slip through the cracks.

15–10–2 32 59 53 13.14% 89.47%

12 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (14): Nikolai Khabibulin has gradually steadied his play, while the return of Martin Havlat gives the resurgent ‘Hawks yet another offensive weapon to complement standout rookies Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

14–10–2 30 77 71 17.24% 92.13%

13 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (20): The stars have come out for the Devils, who were riding a seven-game winning streak into last night’s match-up with the Bruins; Martin Brodeur gave up only nine goals and Zach Parise tallied 13 points in those seven games.

14–10–2 30 66 62 13.04% 80.19%

14 NASHVILLE PREDATORS ( 1 6 ) : Young Alexander Radulov is rapidly emerging as one of the Predators’ most important forwards; his plus-8 rating has him tied for the team lead, and the talented sophomore has also tallied an impressive 18 points in 25 games.

13–10–2 28 72 73 12.39% 83.04%

15 O LO RA D O AVA L A N C H E 13): After a slow start (he was held scoreless in 11 of his first 17 games, sniper Milan Hejduk is regaining his form; Hejduk is currently riding a four-game point-scoring streak (six points, plus-3 rating).

14–11–1 29 74 76 13.22% 83.81%

16 MONTREAL CANADIENS (6): Enigmatic Russian winger Alexei Kovalev is the Habs’ leading scorer, with 14 of his 23 points coming with the man advantage; the Habs’ fearsome power play is the primary reason why they remain in the playoff picture. 13–10–4 30 76 75 23.48% 82.91%

17 NEW YORK ISLANDERS (8): Mike Comrie’s contributions in the offensive zone are unquestionable, but his minus-10 rating is the worst on the Isles. The talented center’s offensive skills are undeniable, but he’s often overmatched as the first-line pivot.

13–11–1 27 56 68 13.89% 87.83%

18 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (17): Smooth-skating forward Nikolai Zherdev is starting to make good on his enormous promise; he’s scored nine points in his last nine games, and has emerged as a critical complement to Blue Jackets scoring leader Rick Nash.

12–10–5 29 67 62 13.77% 91.67%

19 BUFFALO SABRES (19): Thirty-three-year-old rearguard Jaroslav Spacek has taken over as the quarterback on the Sabres’ power-play; his 10 power play points are second-best on the team behind hard-shooting forward Ales Kotalik (13 PP points).

12–11–1 25 75 64 21.50% 89.42%

20 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (24): Veteran forward Mark Recchi cleared waivers on Wednesday. Look for the Pens to demote him to their AHL affiliate and then quickly recall him in the hopes that another NHL team will claim him and pick up half his salary.

12–12–2 26 75 74 18.60% 82.79%

21 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (27): Netminder Vesa Toskala has been white-hot of late, stopping 82 of 87 shots en route to a three-game winning streak that has the struggling Leafs back to NHL .500 despite their atrocious power play.

11–11–6 28 84 92 8.66% 82.58%

22 ANAHEIM DUCKS (21): It’s easy to point to the absences of Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne as the reason for the Ducks’ precipitous fall, but inadequate performances from the likes of Andy McDonald (only 14 points in 28 games) haven’t helped matters, either.

12–12–4 28 62 77 11.28% 81.53%

23 EDMONTON OILERS (28): Only the Coyotes and Thrashers have worse goal differentials than the Oilers (-0.57), and with both those teams on the upswing, it’s probable that the free-falling Oilers will drop to worst overall within the next week.

13–14–1 27 65 81 10.40% 87.40%

24 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (23): Paul Ranger has stepped up while Dan Boyle recovers from wrist surgery; he’s tallied 18 points in 26 games to go along with a stellar plus-10 rating, second-best on the team behind fellow rearguard Filip Kuba (plus-15).

12–13–2 26 84 83 18.87% 84.40%

25 ATLANTA THRASHERS (25): Ilya Kovalchuk was dominant for the Thrashers in November, tallying 14 goals and 22 points in 12 games. Not coincidentally, the resurgent Thrashers went a respectable 7–5 during his offensive onslaught.

12–13–1 25 67 84 13.51% 77.59%

26 CALGARY FLAMES (26): The Flames snapped an ugly 4–10–1 slide on Tuesday night with a hard-fought 3–1 victory over the Blues. Tonight, Penguins wunderkind Sidney Crosby will visit Calgary for the first time.

11–13–4 26 76 84 10.85% 78.03%

27 FLORIDA PANTHERS (22): His first season in South Florida got off to a rocky start, but Tomas Vokoun has been strong of late, stopping 219 of the last 232 shots he’s faced (.944 SV%) to provide the Panthers with some much-needed stability in goal.

12–14–1 25 66 76 20.56% 82.03%

28 PHOENIX COYOTES (18): But for one ugly performance (five goals against in 11 minutes against the Blackhawks), Ilya Bryzgalov has been a stabilizing force for the Coyotes, renewing the team’s confidence and helping them battle back toward respectability.

11–14–0 22 59 76 9.71% 82.30%

29 LOS ANGELES KINGS (29): A rib injury has temporarily sidelined goaltender Jason LaBarbera, bad news indeed for a Kings team that’s relied heavily upon him. Now, the team must rely upon the underwhelming J.S. Aubin (3.68 GAA, .874 SV%) to take over.

10–14–2 22 69 83 16.00% 82.52%

30 WASHINGTON CAPITALS (30): With five days off in advance of tonight’s battle with the Devils at the Prudential Center, new head coach Bruce Boudreau gets his first real opportunity to put his stamp on the Caps’ style. Clearly, drastic change is required.

9–16–2 20 63 78 15.83% 83.59%

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