NHL Power Rankings

On Tuesday night, the Detroit Red Wings honored former captain Steve Yzerman with an emotional ceremony that culminated when his familiar no. 19 was raised to the rafters of the Joe Louis Arena.

Yzerman was named the Wings’ youngest–ever team captain back in October, 1986, at a time when the Joe Louis Arena was rarely sold out and interest in the Wings was at an alltime low. Under his stewardship, the team regained its fan base and its status amongst the NHL elite. During Tuesday night’s ceremony, Wings owner Mike Ilitch expressed his appreciation for what was perhaps the most impressive accomplishment of Yzerman’s Hall of Fame–caliber career.

“What you don’t see in the record books is how Stevie won the respect of his teammates by doing the right thing day after day,” Ilitch said. “He led without arrogance or self–indulgence. … Steve Yzerman, you helped build Hockeytown.”

The NHL’s sixth all–time leading scorer with 1,755 points, Yzerman would have without question finished second overall (behind Wayne Gretzky and ahead of Mark Messier) had he not completely transformed his game under legendary coach Scotty Bowman. Put simply, Yzerman sacrificed individual glory for the good of the team, and the results are undeniable: The Wings won the Stanley Cup three times following Yzerman’s dramatic transformation from offensive superstar to Selke Trophy winner.

“The one word that comes to my mind when it comes to Steve is ‘responsible,'” Bowman said. “Whether we needed a tying or winning goal, or an important face–off — or any kind of a big play, he was generally responsible for it.”

In typically classy fashion, Yzerman made a point to thank the Anaheim Ducks — the Wings’ Tuesday night opponents — for patiently sitting through the ceremony. “To have maybe the best hockey team in the league here makes it a special evening,” he said.

The Red Wings, however, were not quite so gracious. After the ceremony, the Wings delivered an inspired performance, defeating the Ducks 2–1 and rising into third place in The New York Sun’s Power Rankings.

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

1 BUFFALO SABRES (2): Sophomore forward Thomas Vanek has blossomed into a very complete player, scoring at better than a point-per-game pace while leading the Sabres with a gaudy plus-24 rating.
29–7–3 61 149 108 14.6% 86.0%

2 ANAHEIM DUCKS (1): Already without backup goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, the Ducks lost four more key players to injury in the past week, including star defenseman Chris Pronger and starting netminder J.S. Giguere.
28–8–6 62 142 97 22.2% 86.2%

3 DETROIT RED WINGS (5): His season got off to a slow start — one assist in his first 13 games — but forward Daniel Cleary has been a revelation ever since, scoring 17 goals to lead the Wings.
25–9–5 55 117 82 13.3% 87.0%

4 NASHVILLE PREDATORS (3): The Predators already boast what is perhaps the NHL’s finest young defense corps, and they’ve got two more future stars — Ryan Parent and Cody Franson — expected to make an impact as soon as next season.
26–11–3 55 129 103 17.5% 88.5%

5 MONTREAL CANADIENS (6): Captain Saku Koivu has been marvelous this season, scoring at a point-per-game pace and confirming that — when healthy — he’s one of the game’s top two-way forwards.
23–11–5 51 119 102 21.1% 93.5%

6 SAN JOSE SHARKS (4): Talented youngsters Matt Carle and Steve Bernier struggled badly throughout December and were demoted to the AHL affiliate in Worcester for a much needed wakeup call.
26–14–0 52 116 94 21.5% 87.0%

7 ATLANTA THRASHERS (7): Smooth–skating blueliner Niclas Havelid has quietly emerged as the stalwart of the Thrashers’ defense; his plus-10 rating leads the team
24–12–6 54 127 124 14.8% 82.1%

8 DALLAS STARS (8): With Brenden Morrow (wrist surgery) and Eric Lindros (lower body injury) out of the lineup, Joel Lundqvist (twin brother of the Rangers’ Henrik) is getting a shot at a permanent roster spot.
25–15–0 50 105 91 15.2% 85.5%

9 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (9): After a breakout sophomore season, it appeared as though defenseman Paul Martin was going to be a top-flight offensive defenseman. But this season (zero goals, minus-10 rating), he has regressed badly.
22–13–4 48 99 91 15.5% 88.2%

10 BOSTON BRUINS (12): It’s officially time to stop doubting Tim Thomas. Though his .906 save percentage isn’t stellar, he makes the big stops when it matters most and has compiled an impressive 17-9-3 record.
19–15–3 41 109 127 17.6% 82.2%

11 CALGARY FLAMES (13): Center Daymond Langkow’s breakout season has finally arrived, and he is on pace to set career highs in every meaningful offensive statistical category.
19–15–4 42 113 98 13.6% 83.6%

12 MINNESOTA WILD (17): The Wild survived a pretty rough stretch, and they have improved in recent weeks. With star winger Marian Gaborik expected to return soon, they could be a force in the second half.
21–17–2 44 108 107 16.6% 90.1%

13 CAROLINA HURRICANES (11): After breaking out with a 100-point season, Eric Staal is on pace to finish with only 66 points, a huge reason why the ‘Canes have slipped so far in the standings.
21–17–4 46 126 127 13.8% 86.7%

14 VANCOUVER CANUCKS (23): Ryan Kesler has shown flashes of brilliance, but needs to be far more consistent if he’s to emerge as a legitimate first- or second-line NHL forward.
21–18–1 43 97 104 13.3% 87.7%

15 OTTAWA SENATORS (22): The surging Senators acquired speedy center Mike Comrie from the Phoenix Coyotes yesterday, a shrewd pickup that should pay immediate dividends.
21–18–2 44 128 118 13.9% 85.4%

16 NEW YORK RANGERS (18): The Blueshirts did the little things well in recent victories over the Capitals and Devils and should soon find themselves back in a dogfight for the Atlantic Division crown.
20–17–4 44 117 125 17.9% 84.3%

17 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (19): Sidney Crosby was the NHL’s first player to reach the 60-point mark. If he keeps up his torrid pace, he’ll become the youngest player ever to win the Art Ross Trophy.
17–15–6 40 118 120 14.0% 83.8%

18 NEW YORK ISLANDERS (10): The Isles’ current goal scoring drought has coincided directly with Alexei Yashin’s first slump of the season. The sooner Yashin gets back on track, the sooner the Isles will start winning again.
19–17–3 41 109 106 13.3% 81.3%

19 COLORADO AVALANCHE (14):Rookie Wojtek Wolski was named the NHL’s rookie of the month for December. With 29 points in 38 games, he is third among NHL freshmen and is rapidly gaining ground on Evgeni Malkin and Anze Kopitar.
19–18–2 40 123 113 16.1% 79.9%

20 EDMONTON OILERS (15): The Oilers’ power play has been atrocious this season, in no small part because point men Jarret Stoll and Marc-Andre Bergeron aren’t firing enough shots on net.
19–18–2 40 109 112 13.5% 88.7%

21 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (21): Far more was expected of sophomore forward Alexander Steen. Were he building upon his impressive rookie season, the Leafs’ offensive would be in far better shape.
18–17–6 42 129 134 16.9% 81.5%

22 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (20): Top prospect Jonathan Toews delivered a stellar performance in the World Junior Championships semifinal yesterday, scoring the shootout goal that sealed Canada’s victory over Team USA.
17–17–5 39 99 106 10.6% 85.3%

23 WASHINGTON CAPITALS (16): Rangers enforcer Colton Orr’s fivegame suspension for cross-checking Alex Ovechkin on Saturday night was reasonable, but the Caps’ Donald Brashear deserved more than a onegame sentence for sucker-punching Aaron Ward.
16–17–7 39 120 135 14.9% 83.7%

24 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (24): He started the season with only two assists in eight games, but defenseman Dan Boyle has been on fire ever since, and is on pace to crack the 60-point mark for the first time in his career.
18–20–2 38 125 127 14.3% 78.8%

25 PHOENIX COYOTES (28): The dealing of Mike Comrie to Ottawa was only the first maneuver in what should be an extensive fire sale for the desert dogs.
16–20–2 34 99 131 10.5% 79.8%

26 FLORIDA PANTHERS (26): If the Panthers cannot battle their way back into playoff contention, dealing Gary Roberts to Calgary would enable him to finish his stellar career where it started, and in the heat of a thrilling playoff race to boot.
15–20–7 37 112 129 18.2% 83.9%

27 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (25): The initial impact of new head coach Ken Hitchcock has worn off, the Blue Jackets have again sunk out of the playoff picture, and trade speculation surrounding star center Sergei Fedorov has renewed.
15–20–4 34 101 117 13.9% 85.2%

28 LOS ANGELES KINGS (27): The Kings would be a .500 team but for the atrocious goaltending of Dan Cloutier, whose numbers (3.98 GAA, .860 SV%) are the worst in the NHL.
14–22–5 33 115 149 17.3% 77.8%

29 ST. LOUIS BLUES (29): Speculation that the Blues might climb back into the playoff hunt is misguided; this team — like the Coyotes — is ready to start unloading players.
12–20–7 31 89 123 11.3% 83.6%

30 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (30): In a season of bad news for the Flyers, the strong play of Canadian forward prospect Steve Downie at the WJC’s has provided some much-needed solace for the Philly faithful.
11–24–4 26 95 144 9.0% 87.1%

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