Power Rankings-New years Edition!

1) First off, Happy New years to everyone out there in the blogosphere! Looking forward to contributing along with FR to yet another year of writing about our favourite subject, NHL hockey! We are long over due in compiling a Power Rankings so we figured what a great time to throw out our latest rankings as we head into the 1/2 way mark. As we always do we list each team's current rank, their previous ranking as well as our input about the team/why we ranked them where we did.

1. NY Rangers: (4) A couple of blips lately but overall playing the best hockey of any NHL team as they head into the Winter Classic. Scary to think how they will do once healthy, as Staal appears almost ready



2. Chicago: (2) Are pacing the entire NHL in points. Practically unbeatable at home. Is there any better all around player than Patrick Sharp? Getting quality starts from both Crawford and Emery the offensive power house looks ready to get back to the Finals.



3. Vancouver: (20) The Canucks very quietly have been vaulting up the standings. Starting to look much like last season's version with their dynamic offense. As a top 10 team in offense, defense and special teams they are a threat to win every night .



4. Boston: (12) Since their Cup coma wore off have been one of the best teams in the NHL. The B's lead the league in goals per game and goals allowed per game. Equally dangerous home or away, bodes well for Cup repeat



5. Philadelphia: (3) Suddenly there is a goalie controversy in Philly. Nothing new to them except this time they are on the hook for 50 million for their 'back up'! That said the Flyers night in and out are one of the tougher teams to play against. If they could win at home more frequently they'd be atop the NHL



6. Detroit: (9) Unbeatable at The Joe, but under .500 on the road. Uncharacteristic for them. Is Lidstrom really 41? Looks like he's ready to compete for another Norris! They are clearly one of the best West teams BUT right now appear to be a shade weaker than their divisional rivals in Chicago



7. Nashville: (15) The loss of Weber hurts as he was their leading scorer and a probable Norris finalist, but still the Preds just keep on staying competitive, winning their last couple without their super star captain.



8. Los Angeles: (19) The Daryl Sutter Kings are light years better than the Murray Kings! If they can start to score (and we believe they will) they will quickly rise in the West



9. St. Louis: (17) Another team that has greatly benefited from a coaching change. Hitchcock has the Blues playing great defensive/opportunistic hockey. Have stumbled a tad lately and also need to play better on the road to be taken seriously as a contender



10. Florida: (14) Has any coach done a better job? Dineen has quickly shaped a rebuilt roster with average goalies into a playoff contending squad. Recent injuries have hurt them lately though and we believe they are at a cross roads. Will they rebound, or fall back to old habits and miss the post season.... again!



11. New Jersey: (24) The past few eeks the Devils have put together a very solid record that has put them right in the middle of the tight East playoff race. However without lots of wins in extra time/shoot outs the Swamp things wouldn't be quite so well off



12. Minnesota: (5) Starting to tumble big time. Back to where most of us believed they belonged; Competitive, but not quite ready to make the playoffs. As seems to always be the case, have trouble scoring



13. Pittsburgh: (1) The slew of injuries seem to have finally had their toll on the pens as they have played .500 hockey the past couple of weeks. With the news on Crosby apparently bleak, the Pens are not looking Ike the cohesive unit that started the season. The loss at home to the Jagr-led Flyers signified who the better Pennsylvania team was



14. Winnipeg: (25) The Jets seemed to have found their after burners and are no longer the door-mat they were when in Atlanta. If they played .500 on the road they'd be firmly in first in the SE!



15. Colorado: (26) Bizarre season thus far. Started on fire, then fell quickly to the near bottom, and now are playing solid hockey again. As always it comes down to goaltending and Guigere has recently looked like his old self



16. Ottawa: (22) Just when you think the Sens are ready to pack it in they rebound. The past couple of weeks they have been solid despite having a porous defense/goaltending. We don't see them staying in the top 8 hunt all season



17. Washington: (10) Winners of 3 strait are the caps ready to get back to contention or is this just another 1 step forward to be followed by 2 back again? Inconsistent goaltending has plagued them all year



18. Dallas: (8) Similar to Minnesota the Stars have returned to the pack after a fast start. Surprise has been Richard Bachman who is in for injured(again) Lehtonen. hard to figure out a team that beats Boston and loses to Columbus in back to back games!



19. San Jose: (13)Have yet to put it all together. Hanging in there, but they should be better than this. Lets see if this most recent up-tick is for real or another mirage



20. Phoenix: (6) Have fallen off the map after an exciting/fast start. Not surprisingly are not a good home team as the desert is usually, well deserted. The loss of Mike Smith certainly has hurt their cause.



21. Tampa Bay: (21) As good as they have been in St Pete Times Forum, they have been bad away. 'Scar' can not be pleased with the poor goaltending that has been his team's number one issue thus far. Too much talent here for them to stay out of playoff contention. (Nabokhov coming?)



22. Toronto: (16) The Maple Leaves (we hate saying Leafs!) appear to be settling down to the ground after a nice start. Ron Wilson got his contract extended so I guess he's not going anywhere soon!



23. Calgary: (23) Just when it looked like the Flames were about to rise from the ash heap, their long road trip has tripped them up. This version doesn't seem to perform well away from Saddle Dome. If they wan to return to the playoffs they best start winning some road games



24. Buffalo: (7) After a nice start injuries have riddled and destroyed the team. Of course getting less than the usual spectacular goaltending from Miller hasn't helped. Still if they stay close and get healthy in the 2nd half we wouldn't yet count them out



25. NY Islanders: (30) have shown positive signs of life the past couple of weeks, but those times are few and too far between the bad outings. Will the endless rebuild ever show real fruit? WE don't want to hear crap about the arena being the reason!



26. Montreal: (18) In any language, they suck! Its not Cunneyworth's fault (nor was it Martin), its the moron in charge of assembling players(Gautier!) Winning 3 of their past 10 don't be shocked to see yet another coaching change with of course a French flavour.



27. Edmonton: The kids are no longer alright. Outside of Rexall they are as bad as ever (5-14). Thankfully they are decent at home. Exciting team to watch, but not quite ready for the prime time



28. Carolina: (27) New coach, similar results. Muller seems to have them playing better, and Staal appears to be back, but is it too little too late? Missing Skinner also not helping



29. Anaheim: (28) See above, only team WORSE with new 'Gluttonous" coach. Is it time to dismantle the Ducks? Bobby Ryan appears almost out the door and few except maybe recent Hart winner Cory Perry are safe. Might Getzlaf be available?



30. Columbus: (29) What a mess! Forging new levels of futility. The Jackets are equally bad home and on the road. Exactly what is keeping Howson's job secure other than ownership turmoil? A troubled franchise from top to bottom!