Alright we made it to week two, one week longer than what most people said I can do, take that critics!!!
Okay, enough with the jokes let us get down to business. Also one more note, do not expect the rankings to be Sunday after Sunday, I might write them a day earlier or a day later depending on my schedule but you still get your rankings, do not worry.
This Week: 1 Last Week: 1 – New Jersey Devils (36-17-3) Three straight wins now for New Jersey with two of three being shutouts in typical New Jersey style hockey. Scott Clemmensen is still on fire as he has shutout two powerful teams in the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins.
This Week: 2 Last Week: 3 – Washington Capitals (35-16-5) Move up a spot due to circumstance but are now third place in the Eastern Conference. Capitals Defenseman Mike Green scored in his 8th straight game to break the NHL record for consecutive games a defenseman has scored. With that type of firepower, it is enough for the Capitals to get 2nd in the rankings.
This Week: 3 Last Week: 2 – Boston Bruins (39-10-8) Many sites will still have them as the first spot in their rankings since they are 1st place overall in the league. When a team loses four straight games, it does not matter if it is the first or last place team. The team needs improvement to stay 1st overall in the league as both the Sharks and Wings are close behind.
This Week: 4 Last Week: 5 – Detroit Red Wings (37-12-7) They have closed the gap to two points for the first seed in the Western Conference and if they keep this up, they will take it and run with it.
This Week: 5 Last Week: 6 – San Jose Sharks (37-7-9) They are losers of two straight but still hold first place in the Western Conference, but not for long.
This Week: 6 Last Week: 12 – Chicago Blackhawks (31-15-8) A great young team having a great year getting to the 4th spot in the Western Conference. The youth has a lot of offensive firepower with a 6-2 pounding of the Dallas Stars last night.
This Week: 7 Last Week: 4 – Dallas Stars (27-21-7) The team has made a great rebound now being 5th in the West and winning 7 of the last 10 games. The defensive falter to the team above them and the emergence of the Red Wings of old has made Dallas slip to what is more of a suitable ranking.
This Week: 8 Last Week: 9 – Philadelphia Flyers (29-16-9) A respectable week last week and going 6 wins over the last 10 games. They finally leap frog over the Canadiens for 4th in the East. The return of Mike Richards from the flu will keep this team high in the standings.
This Week: 9 Last Week: 20 – Florida Panthers (28-19-8) I was wrong about this team they definitely can make the playoffs. Winners of their last three games have pulled the Panthers from 1 point out of the playoffs sitting nice and cozy in the 7th spot in the East.
This Week: 10 Last Week: 24 – Columbus Blue Jackets (28-23-5) I could not have been more wrong about this team. Last week I spelled doomsday for them with Steve Mason sitting out with mononucleosis and Pascal LeClaire out for the season. Call-up Dan LaCosta did a great job with the time he got picking up a shutout in a Steve Mason like way. Steve Mason is back in between the pipes as the Blue Jackets are looking for more than just 6th in the West. Four straight wins overall make them the hottest team this week.
This Week: 11 Last Week: 13 – Calgary Flames (33-18-5) The Flames are starting to build a bigger league in their division as the losing funk from last week has turned into wins this week.
This Week: 12 Last Week: 11 – Anaheim Ducks (28-24-5) The Ducks have won their last two games but .500 over the last 10 games has teams starting to leap frog them in the standings amd rankings.
This Week: 13 Last Week: 8 – Buffalo Sabres (29-21-6) Picked up a key shootout win against the Sharks showing they can compete with the best. Other teams have done better than the Sabres recently, so they take a tumble down the rankings.
This Week: 14 Last Week: 15 – New York Rangers (30-21-6) They finally got themselves a win but are back to losing streak dropping the last 2 including today’s tilt with the Philly Flyers. The team is starting to enter the twilight zone.
This Week: 15 Last Week: 22 – Edmonton Oilers (28-23-4) If the season ended today the Oilers would be in the playoffs but the season does not end today. The Oil have won 2 straight games but the injuries on the defense have to catch up with them, right?
This Week: 16 Last Week: 16 – Nashville Predators (27-26-3) Nashville holds their spot this week being able to find a way to claw out victories in 7 of their last 10 games.
This Week: 17 Last Week: 14 – Vancouver Canucks (26-21-8) They are tied for the finally playoff spot but have made themselves slip out of contention a bit with this recent two game skid. Vancouver has room to make a move at the deadline, they will find a way to get back up.
This Week: 18 Last Week: 10 – Minnesota Wild (28-24-3) They had the final playoff spot last week, but have lost it this week. Losers of two straight make Minnesota fall one point out of the playoffs and being out of the playoffs makes Minnesota take a “wild” ride down the rankings (See what I did there?)
This Week: 19 Last Week: 27 – Ottawa Senators (21-25-8) Ottawa currently has a rare 4 game winning streak going for them. The offense showed life when it scored 5 unanswered goals against Minnesota. The team has the guys for a playoff team, the chemistry is not there. Ottawa is rolling high right now, but are still way out of the playoff picture.
This Week: 20 Last Week: 17 – Montreal Canadiens (30-20-6) Two straight shallackings at the hands of Calgary and Edmonton before FINALLY getting a win against Colorado. Carey Price has come back way too soon from injury and it will be up to Jaroslav Halak to carry the load until Price is feeling 100%.
This Week: 21 Last Week: 7 – Carolina Hurricanes (27-24-5) “Oh I had a Cam Ward and he couldn’t lay an egg so I poured some hot water up and down his leg and when I poured hot water up and down his leg, Cam Ward laid not one…but TWO rotten eggs.” The inconsistency of Cam Ward is starting to bite the Hurricanes as he allowed 9 goals over the last two games. Does not help when the offense is not doing anything either. I said they would drop hard if they fell out of their playoff spot, well they fell hard.
This Week: 22 Last Week: 21 – St. Louis Blues (23-25-7) They are finally out of the Western basement but need to remain hot or else they will be in the high twenties position for the rest of the season.
This Week: 23 Last Week: 18 – Los Angeles Kings (24-22-8) Losers of two straight and when you lose, you fall out of royalty (Ha ha, another pun).
This Week: 24 Last Week: 19 – Pittsburgh Penguins (27-25-5) A major slipup against the Leafs hurts their playoff chances but Sergei Gonchar has finally returned. For the Penguins, hopefully next week Gonchar can bring the team back to their winning ways.
This Week: 25 Last Week: 25 – Toronto Maple Leafs (21-25-10) Nice win against the Penguins, but they are not doing anything special enough to rise in the rankings. String a few wins in a row, then we can talk.
This Week: 26 Last Week: 30 – Phoenix Coyotes (25-27-5) Broke a dreadful 6 game losing streak but now in another 2 game losing skid. May I remind you that the Coyotes were at one point 5th in the Western Conference? Well, that is only a mirage now (Wow, I’m rolling today).
This Week: 27 Last Week: 23 – Tampa Bay Lightning (19-26-11) They are terrible, but luckily for them they look good compared to the other teams below them.
This Week: 28 Last Week: 28 – Atlanta Thrashers (19-32-5) Can the real Kari Lehtonen please stand up? It is starting to seem more likely that Ilya Kovalchuk will be gone after this season, not if he has not figured it out yet.
This Week: 29 Last Week: 26 – Colorado Avalanche (25-30-1) Welcome to the basement, we got fun and games. Not too fun for Colorado though. They have now lost 4 straight and could not even take advantage of the Habs who got utterly exposed in their two games previous. Stastny is back soon though if that is any consolation
This Week: 30 Last Week: 29 New York Islanders (16-33-6) Are we really that surprised?
Well that’s week 2 of my rankings for you, the SportsFullCircle faithful. Tune in next week for more rankings and pie, apple pie.
