Top of the Pops: Power Rankings - Week 8

by Matthew Dirt on Nov 24, 2009 8:18 PM CST Comment 15 comments

Edmonton Oilers' Dustin Penner, left, Patrick O'Sullvan (19) and Gilbert Brule, front, battle Chicago Blackhawks goalie Cristobal Huet (39), of France, Blackhawks' Patrick Sharp and Niklas Hjalmarsson, right, of Sweden, for a flying puck during third period NHL hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. The Blackhawks won 5-2. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Ulan)

2 months ago: Edmonton Oilers' Dustin Penner, left, Patrick O'Sullvan (19) and Gilbert Brule, front, battle Chicago Blackhawks goalie Cristobal Huet (39), of France, Blackhawks' Patrick Sharp and Niklas Hjalmarsson, right, of Sweden, for a flying puck during third period NHL hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. The Blackhawks won 5-2. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Ulan)

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I skipped this last week because it fell right at the same time as the hullabaloo over the announced possible maybe kinda sorta deals for The Big Three - I didn't want anything to detract from all of us playing GM - but with 7 in a row, the Hawks are big winners this week. So lets take a look at this week's rankings:

SBN Power Rankings: Last week, I was the only one of the SBN writers to put the Blackhawks at the top spot in the Western Conference... This week plenty more followed my lead. Not only are the Hawks the top in the West, they're top in the league.

The Hockey News: Still not enough for the Hawks to overtake the Sharks for the top spot - we'll see what happens tomorrow though.

TSN: Ranking behind the Sharks once again at 2nd overall - but jumped up 6 spots overall.

ESPN: The World Wide Leader knows what's what. The Sharks are rightfully in second place behind the Blackhawks.

NHL Fanhouse: 6th would be upsetting if you didn't notice that the post was published Friday, before the back-to-back victories over the Oil and the Nucks. Just unfortunate scheduling I suppose..

League Wide Stats:

The Hawks have actually dropped in shots per game - after putting up 61 shots in a single game, the Maple Leafs are up at number one for shots per game - but it's a positive gain in every aspect.

Points: At 32 points, the Hawks are tied Washington and Pittsburgh at second overall. The Sharks are at the top with 36. It's worth noting though that the Hawks have played 3 fewer games than the Sharks, and 2 less than the Penguins and Capitals.
Goals/Game: 6th Overall (3.09)
Goals Against/Game: 1st Overall (2.14) - goalie trouble?
Shots/Game: 6th Overall (32.0)
Shots Against/Game: Top of the Pops x5 (23.8)
Faceoff %: 2nd Overall (53.6) - only the Sharks are better at the dot.
Power Play: 9th Overall (22.5) - thanks Calgary!
Penalty Kill: 1st Overall (85.7)

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Comments

There must be some way to blame McDonough for not being 1st in every ranking…

"I fornicate and play hockey, cause ther're the 2 most fun things in cold weather"

by Johnny Lava on Nov 24, 2009 8:45 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

These jerks

better get their heads out of their asses and move the Hawks up soon or we’re not going to get into a BCS bowl game.

by Scott13 on Nov 24, 2009 9:21 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

The storylines for tomorrow night...

…are delicious.

by cliffkoroll on Nov 24, 2009 9:44 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

is being ranked 0 higher or lower than being ranked 1?

by SLoop on Nov 24, 2009 10:28 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I think

it’s like an ace – make it whatever the fuck you want at your desire

by PepeSilvia on Nov 25, 2009 2:11 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

A leather glove.

by Hi, I'm Bob LeDonne on Nov 25, 2009 12:13 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Continue.

I be on my green like Irish Spring.

by chrome on Nov 25, 2009 8:20 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The TSN rankings are humerous.

Why would you rank Vancouver over Detroit and Pittsburgh at this point?

They both have a far better record while missing significant players due to injury.

I be on my green like Irish Spring.

by chrome on Nov 25, 2009 8:24 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

On the TSN Ranking Methodoolgy

‘The premise, then, of my NHL Power Rankings is to determine the team that would be favoured to win a seven-game series on neutral ice. The movement between places has as much to do with the performance of other teams in a similar place in the rankings.’… ‘The rankings will tend to favour teams with strong goaltending. I have no problem with this since, at the very least, solid goaltending seems to be needed to win a series of any significance.’… ‘Teams that win by a larger margin of victory are rewarded. Again, I fully support this result, since it’s preposterous to me to reward a 2-1 win the same as a 10-1 win. The standings, which give two points for every victory, make this kind of evaluation and it’s why I am just as concerned, in the big picture, with goal differential as I am with points in the standings.’ —-Scott Cullen

That’s why a team like Vancouver would be ranked higher than Detroit and Pittsburgh at this moment due to, in large part, their 2 blowout victories over the Avalanche and narrow loss to the Hawks. He also factors in injuries and with Daniel (Thing 2) Sedin coming back into the line-up combined with Kronwall and Letang going on the IR just adds to his reasoning of having Vancouver ahead of both Detroit and Pittsburgh. It’s an interesting theory to say the least.

It's never about the eventual destination, but rather the long journey and its challenging obstacles that are presented and what it takes to overcome them, that makes the taste of success all the more worthwhile!!!

by hawks61 on Nov 25, 2009 9:29 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs