Power Rankings: Give the Devils Their Due

There are a couple of major changes at the top this week. The New Jersey Devils swept the season series from Pittsburgh, and they earned a jump in this week's rankings.

Meanwhile, Chicago moved ahead of San Jose in the West. We're still waiting for the middle of each conference to shake itself out, but we'll probably be waiting for a while on that.

1. Washington Capitals (Last week: 1) -- The Capitals split their two games without Alex Ovechkin this week, but are still an impressive 7-3 and have scored an average of 4.6 goals per game without their superstar captain. He returns from suspension Saturday, no doubt primed to keep the Caps atop the overall NHL standings.

2. Chicago Blackhawks (3) -- Chicago's been good on their swing to the West Coast, prompting a move ahead of the Sharks both in the standings and our rankings. It's going to be very interesting to watch this race continue to unfold, even though the President's Trophy isn't likely to be won by either of them.

3. San Jose Sharks (2) -- That 8-2 loss to Dallas might not have been fun to live through, but the Sharks get a chance to look in the mirror and fix some things before we get too close to the playoffs. You never want to have bad things happen, but better now than in April.

4. New Jersey Devils (6) -- A six-game series sweep of Pittsburgh leaves them in great position to win the Atlantic. New Jersey might trail the Penguins in the standings, but they have a game in hand and appear to be the better team.

5. Vancouver Canucks (5) -- The Canucks aren't as sexy as the Blackhawks and Sharks, but there will be a lot of smart money spent on them come playoff time. They should get the No. 3 seed and be a huge threat to pick one of them off in the conference semis.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins (4) -- Instead of playing the "Woe is me" card after getting beaten by New Jersey again, the Penguins went to Boston and whitewashed the fired-up Bruins in the second of back-to-back games.

7. Phoenix Coyotes (9) -- All the Coyotes have done is win seven in a row, set a franchise record for wins in a season (44), and pull within three points of San Jose in the Pacific Division. It could be argued that Ilya Bryzgalov gives them the best goaltending of any top team in the West, so look out.

8. Buffalo Sabres (7) -- After looking over their shoulders at Ottawa for a while, the Senators have slumped since the Olympic break. Instead, now Buffalo has to watch out for old-school rival Montreal, who's charging toward the water-treading Sabres in the Northeast.

9. Ottawa Senators (8) -- The hold on this top-ten spot is tenuous at best, as Ottawa can't seem to score anymore. Worse yet, their goaltending, which was great during their pre-break hot streak, is back to being inconsistent, and that means they're floundering toward a quick playoff exit.

10. Los Angeles Kings (10) -- Average play for a week or so has kept the Kings from holding the Coyotes' pace for the fourth spot. Now, they've also lost fifth, but that should be temporary. Los Angeles is a dangerous, talented team.

11. Philadelphia Flyers (12) -- The injury to Michael Leighton could be a monkey wrench for the Flyers, who are left with Brian Boucher and the ghost of Ron Hextall in goal until someone gets healthy. Given their somewhat inconsistent defensive play, this isn't a good thing.

12. Colorado Avalanche (11) -- We've waited all year long for the Avalanche to slide off the map. They won't cooperate, thanks in large part to goalie Craig Anderson. Who wouldn't enjoy watching Anderson and Bryzgalov duel in a best-of-seven?

13. Nashville Predators (13) -- At this point, it appears likely Nashville will hold on to a spot in the West race, but are they good enough to win a series? They won't make it easy on anyone, but they can also be quite inconsistent.

14. Montreal Canadiens (14) -- Winners of six straight, the Canadiens suddenly look like a threat to win the Northeast. Not bad for a team considered by many a darkhorse for a playoff spot as recently as the Olympic break.

15. Detroit Red Wings (17) -- Monday's win in Calgary was only one game, but it was significant. It showed the Wings can play some shutdown hockey, and they continue to grow trust in goalie Jimmy Howard.

16. Calgary Flames (15) -- When the chips are down, this team simply doesn't score enough goals to be a major factor moving forward. They can make the playoffs, but it's not likely that their offense will do enough to keep them there long.

17. Boston Bruins (16) -- The Bruins were all jacked up for Thursday's game against Pittsburgh. They got their revenge on Matt Cooke, and then were soundly beaten on the scoreboard. The offensive struggles could ruin a hard-working team's season.

18. St. Louis Blues (19) -- This team continues to struggle mightily on home ice for some reason, and it is going to kill them. Seven of their 12 remaining games are at home, so they need to figure it out if they are going to have a chance.

19. Atlanta Thrashers (24) -- Wins over two solid playoff teams (Buffalo and Ottawa) this week is hardly going to erase the six-game skid. As of this Saturday, the Atlanta will have played seven of eight at home and have so far won only twice. That's not how you make it back to the playoffs.

20. New York Rangers (18) -- Marian Gaborik can only do so much. The Rangers work hard most of the time, but they aren't even the best of this group of average teams fighting to make the East playoffs.

21. Minnesota Wild (21) -- The Wild won three straight, then got bombed at Nashville Thursday night. An 11-21-3 record away from home has relegated Minnesota to second-tier status in the West, and there isn't enough time left in the season to fix it.

22. Dallas Stars (20) -- So who are the real Dallas Stars? That 8-2 win over San Jose was nice, but they followed it up by losing to Philadelphia at home Thursday. Not crippling by itself, but it highlights their problems.

23. Anaheim Ducks (23) -- The Ducks aren't deep on defense, so losing James Wisniewski for eight games is going to really hurt them. Of course, it's not like they had much of a chance of making the playoffs anyway.

24. Carolina Hurricanes (22) -- There's still some fight left in the 'Canes, even if the playoffs are out of reach. A 4-3 OT victory over rival Washington was keyed by Ray Whitney, the elder statesman on a young team that could be a factor next season.

25. Tampa Bay Lightning (25) -- Outside of Steven Stamkos' solid play, the Lightning haven't made much news outside of Steve Downie's figure-eight wrestling move on Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby on Sunday. Tampa Bay has lost five of their last six entering play Friday and have failed more than two goals on a current three-game skid.

26. Florida Panthers (26) -- It was just a matter of time before Tomas Vokoun's shoulders got tired. He was pulled in a 7-3 loss to the Caps on Tuesday and gave up the decisive goal on what appeared to be more than a dump in against the Coyotes on Thursday.

27. Columbus Blue Jackets (27) -- They're playing a little better, but this is still not a team that will threaten for a playoff spot. Instead, Columbus will take their shot at a top pick in the draft with the lottery. It's the best they can hope for.

28. New York Islanders (28) -- A mini-streak has helped the Islanders hold on to 13th in the East, but Carolina continues to get better. About the only guarantee right now is that the Islanders won't finish last in the conference. They're not that bad.

29. Toronto Maple Leafs (29) -- It can be quite painful to watch this team play, but their fans are still enthusiastic. There was serious atmosphere in Ottawa as Toronto fans flocked to watch their team beat the Senators.

30. Edmonton Oilers (30) -- When you can't score, and you can't stop people from scoring, there isn't much hope of anything good happening. That's the state of the Oilers. Playing out the string, and little hope of anything good happening.