Another week, another new number one in the TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings.
Though the more dramatic moves happened further down the board, the St. Louis Blues nudged into top spot, largely on the strength of goaltending that has surrendered just 1.50 goals against per game.
Blues coach Davis Payne praised his tandem to the Canadian Press, saying, "Our goaltenders have bailed us out in real key situations, allowed us to play with a one-goal lead, and allowed us to either build upon it or solidify a victory. As much as it is a team performance, what they're bringing to the table is not going unnoticed."
Some others making big moves up include the Philadelphia Flyers, winning six of seven and getting Danny Briere back from suspension, jumping from 16 to eight.
Anaheim ripped through three home wins to move from 23 to 16, Columbus rode Mathieu Garon's hot streak from 25 to 17 and Peter Budaj's shutout win lifted the Avalanche from 26 to 18.
Intersecting with these risers, moving in the other, not so fortunate direction, the Penguins slipped from eight to 19. Until the goaltending and power play get sorted out, the Pens have problems.
Nashville's punchless power play is part of the reason for their fall from 15 to 23 and the Islanders, mired in a seven-game slide, dropped from 19 to 28.
Vancouver, ranked sixth, tops the Canadian teams, ahead of Montreal, at 11, while the remaining four are still in the bottom third.
Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@ctv.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy Sports on Facebook.
