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NHL Power Rankings

Team (Current Period, Previous Period )Team Summary
1.  Boston (197),   1. (202)Rask coming on before 6-0 win over Philly with Thomas leading the way.
2.  Detroit (183),   2. (182) Surprisingly Wings are just fifth in West; 13-2-1 at home with Howard racking up the wins.
3.  Vancouver (175),   9. (149)Canucks big jump in rankings. Luongo back in front of Schneider, D. Sedin dealing with back.
4.  Philadelphia (173),   4. (178)Tied for first in East with Bruins but goaltending still not elite. Jagr's the healthy one?
5.  Pittsburgh (172),   3. (181)Malkin giving Pens chance even without healthy defensemen, James Neal continuing strong play.
6. San Jose (167),   5. (167)Seven teams in West with more points, but Sharks lead weak Pacific with Dallas.
7. Chicago (163),   7. (158) 8-1--1 last 10; Amazing comeback by Ray Emery who has 6-0-1 record in December.
8. NY Rangers (160),   6. (162)King Henrik with 12 wins but backup Biron 6-1 mark with 1.82 GAA, Del Zotto with plus-15 rating.
9. St. Louis (140),   8. (151)Hitchcock using both goalies well, Blues deserve to be ranked higher than ninth.
10. Minnesota (124),   15. (107)Wild has already used 10 rookies and 33 players, can team hold off Canucks in long run?
11. Edmonton (120),   10. (142) Oil 2-7-1 last 10, young team struggling on road with 5-10-1 mark. Hemsky, Gagner on market?
12. Phoenix (113),   11. (127)Coyotes winner in Turris trade. Tough loss to Rangers with 0.1 tick remaining in regulation.
13. Florida (111),   12. (125)Southeast Division flipped with Panthers running away from second-place Winnipeg.
14. Nashville (110),   24. (77) Five-game win streak putting Pekka back on track. Weber, Suter rank first and third in points.
15. Montreal (109),   14. (114)Coaching change can't make Andrei Markov healthy, Kaberle a fantasy bright spot since trade.
16. Toronto (100),   21. (86)Kessel averaging "only point" per game since October, Leafs clinging to final playoff spot.
17. Washington (99),   16. (101)Hunter hasn't jumpstarted team or rankings, $1 million Vokoun playing like $1 million player.
18. Buffalo (96),   13. (117)Preseason sleeper hasn't yet emerged from slumber, Lindy Ruff reign could be in jeopardy.
19. Ottawa (96),   18. (94)Unpredictable team with killer backline, Karlsson leads all blueliners with 29 points.
20. New Jersey (92),   27. (49)Devils make big move in rankings, 6th in East, Soon-to-be free agent Zach Parise coming on.
21. Winnipeg (90),   20. (91)Second place Jets get Enstrom back over weekend, 6-2 in December with win over Boston.
22. Colorado (82),   17. (95)Stastny showing signs of awakening, Ryan O'Reilly surprisingly leading with 23 points.
23. Calgary (81),   23. (81)Not much changing in Calgary, same ranking (23) with same number of ranking points (81).
24. Tampa Bay (80),   21. (86)St. Louis out and Roloson's clock striking midnight has left Tampa Bay in need of goalie trade.
25. Dallas (75),   19. (92)Richard Backman 3-1 start gives Stars breath of fresh air after Lehtonen injury.
26. Columbus (54),   26. (56)Remember when Steve Mason had 10 shutouts as rookie in 08-9? Jackets need to forget that.
27. Los Angeles (53),   25. (76)Kings have extensive Christmas wish starting with a goal scorer or three.
28. Carolina (41),   28. (39)Would the Canes consider trading Eric Staal? Might need to rebuild in Raleigh.
29. NY Islanders (29),   29. (24)Isles at .500 without 0-4 mark against Pens, 5-3-2 in last 10, Tavares rotting away.
30. Anaheim (21),   30. (23)Coach Boudreau unable to get most out of talented offensive team.
  
  

Teams are awarded points, with the top team receiving 30 points for a category and the bottom team getting one point. The seven categories used to determine rankings include team plus-minus, winning percentage when trailing after two periods, goals scored per game, 5-on-5 play, winning percentage in three-goal games, shots per game, and team goal differential.