Happy Holidays to one and all from eDraft and the NHL! We’re less than a week from the 2014 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium and the two teams facing off in Ann Arbor could not be more mediocre.
HBO’s 24/7 series following Detroit and Toronto has been lackluster at best for the everyday fan, but must-see-TV for the puck junkies. If anything we’ve learned that every NHL coach swears like an angry, angry sailor and that Leafs coach Randy Carlyle has difficulty operating a toaster.
The eDraft power rankings this week look strikingly similar to last week, with only some minor shuffling among the masses. A three-day NHL hiatus over Christmas certainly has a lot to do with that but there was still some notable activity in the NHL this week. Here is how the top (if you’re Buffalo), or bottom (if you’re Anaheim) 30 teams line up.
30. Buffalo Sabres-The Sabres found themselves on many a highlight reel across this land with their overtime sorcery against the Phoenix Coyotes. With goals at an all time low in northwestern New York, Mark Pysyk fired an overtime shot that deflected off of Martin Hanzal and went up into the air. The wayward puck eventually nestled itself into the back of Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith’s jersey. With Smith retreating back into his net instinctively, his backside carried the tricky biscuit across the goal line, completing the Sabres unlikely victory. Sound unbelievable? Here’s a clip for your enjoyment. Fun fact: The Sabres are 4-0 in shootouts.
29. New York Islanders-Still terrible. Still trying to figure it all out. If they could play the Detroit Red Wings every night, the Isles would be hurtling towards the Stanley Cup. Instead they are racing towards a lottery pick in the NHL draft next summer.
28. Edmonton Oilers-Equally terrible in Edmonton, I’m still waiting to get the phone call for my plans for the Oilers. I’ve got time on my hands Craig MacTavish, and you still have my number.
27. Nashville Predators-Mired in a four-game slide, the Predators can find a silver lining knowing that rookie Seth Jones wasn’t badly injured after taking an Andrei Markov slapshot to his melon. Pekka Rinne’s return has been pushed back two more weeks in a season that is getting dangerously close to slipping away from Nashville.
26. Winnipeg Jets-A 6-2 whoopin’ at the hands of the putrid Oilers has to make the Jets feel pretty bad about themselves.
25. Calgary Flames-With a shootout win over the powerful St. Louis Blues, the Flames gave Calgary-ans an early Christmas present. The Flames are creeping towards .500 and could be in danger of playing themselves out of an early draft pick. Consider this, the Flames and their 36 points would be two points out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
24. Carolina Hurricanes-Four consecutive losses and punchless Carolina is back to looking like sellers as we inch closer to the trade deadline.
23. Ottawa Senators-After three straight losses to average teams the Senators smoked the red-hot Penguins 5-0 on Monday. Could Ottawa be turning the corner and righting their season? The Boston Bruins said “No” on Friday with an equally dominant 5-0 pasting of their own.
22. Florida Panthers-The pesky Panthers came back to earth with consecutive losses to Winnipeg and Tampa. They are playing some good hockey all things considered, so hopefully they can bounce back after the break.
21. Detroit Red Wings-It’s really hard to judge the Wings given the list of All Stars out with injury. Most come back on Saturday night, just in time for their showcase against Toronto next Wednesday.
20. Toronto Maple Leafs-If you have caught any of the 24/7 series, coach Carlyle nailed it when he called Toronto “lazy and entitled”. Toronto is playing like it is in cruise control, which is dangerous if Ottawa and Detroit start playing well.
19. New Jersey Devils-Given the quality of opponents that New Jersey faced in the last five games, 3-2-1 is a record they can be proud of. Middle of the road at best is about where the Devils sit though.
18. New York Rangers-It seems that we can’t understate Ryan Callahan’s importance enough. The Rangers can’t get out of their own way some nights. Two wins against winning teams (Minnesota and Toronto) come after an awful home loss to the Islanders. A close loss to the Caps drops the blue shirts back to a game under .500 on the year.
17. Columbus Blue Jackets-The Blue Jackets are getting healthier and it shows in their play lately. They have taken points in eight out of 11 games despite losing Marian Gaborik for (essentially) the season with a broken collarbone.
16. Philadelphia Flyers-It looks like the Flyers have finally awakened from their goal scoring slumber, so now they just need to string some wins together.
15. Minnesota Wild-Josh Harding, please come back. Please come back healthy, with correct dosages of your new medication. The Wild are sliding in the wrong direction and need some scoring when Harding does return.
14. Phoenix Coyotes-Other than a “butt goal” and Shane Doan’s Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (yes, the Phoenix captain is infected with this), the Coyotes have some mediocre hockey to fix. On Thanksgiving the Coyotes were 15-6-4. Since then, they are 4-4-4.
13. San Jose Sharks-Speaking of sliding teams, the Sharks are about to get jumped by Vancouver in the standings if they don’t get back on track. On December 1st the Sharks sat in first place with an 18-3-5 record. Since then San Jose has slipped to third (barely), going 6-5-1 for the month.
12. Colorado Avalanche-The Avs got boat-raced against the high-scoring Blackhawks in Chicago Friday night, but we know they aren’t that bad. If not for Minnesota’s poor play the Avs would be looking at fourth place right now.
11. Dallas Stars-Going 3-0-1 in their games against Colorado, San Jose, Los Angeles and Vancouver are a not-so-subtle reminder that Dallas is a legitimate threat in the Western Conference. A win Friday brings them to within a point of fourth place Minnesota and five behind Colorado.
10. Montreal Canadiens-The Canadiens have cooled off a bit after climbing to second in the Atlantic Division. Scoring continues to be an issue and will need to be addressed if Montreal has designs on getting out of the first round of the playoffs.
9. Washington Capitals-The Capitals keep plugging along but are still 13 points behind division leading Pittsburgh. Michael Grubauer has been a revelation in the Washington goal and can hopefully bring some more consistent play from Braden Holtby
8. Vancouver Canucks-The Canucks are hitting their stride right now and are emerging as a dark-horse challenger in the Pacific. They can skate with anyone using four talented lines and Roberto Luongo seems to have rediscovered some swagger.
7. Boston Bruins-A 5-0 whitewash of the hot and cold Senators on Friday wasn’t so much more than an organized scrimmage for the talented Bruins. They are scoring with regularity, which is a bad thing for the Eastern Conference.
6. St. Louis Blues- The shootout loss in Calgary may have dampened the Blues’ holiday spirits a little, but they still sit among the elite teams in the NHL.
5. Tampa Bay Lightning-There is a great story unfolding in Tampa as the Lightning are now starting to surge back into playoff and possibly division title contention. Five consecutive wins and points in nine of ten put Tampa back in the mix for the Atlantic Division.
4. Pittsburgh Penguins-The Pens bounced back from their weird 5-0 loss to Ottawa with a road win in Carolina. Pittsburgh has jumped out in front of the Metropolitan Division and needs to stay focused to avoid cruising into the playoffs. Sidney Crosby is leading the league in scoring but the big surprise is the outstanding play of Marc-Andre Fleury.
3. Los Angeles Kings-Monday’s loss to Dallas was the Kings’ second loss for the month of December. They have been the hottest team in the NHL over the last three weeks and will look to end 2013 by closing the gap on Pacific leaders Anaheim.
2. Chicago Blackhawks-A birthday hat trick by Patrick Sharp helped Chicago start the post Christmas break with a 7-2 bang over Colorado. The Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews also had a big night with a deuce and two helpers. Chicago looks to be firing on all cylinders lately and will be a tough out when the playoffs start.
1. Anaheim Ducks-The hottest team in the NHL right now is from southern California, where Dr. Dre says “ya never find a dance floor empty”. Nine consecutive wins for the Ducks have them in the drivers’ seat in the Pacific Division; five points clear of Los Angeles. If there is a team that looks built to take out the defending champs, Anaheim looks tailor-made for the job.