Habs reclaim No. 1 spot in NHL Power Rankings

Returning the Habs to top spot -- it's not such a big move between No. 1 and No. 2, believe it or not -- still comes with reservations, because G Mike Condon has been great (.940 SV%) in seven starts, but it's seven starts. On the plus side, the way the Habs are scoring -- nine players with at least 11 points -- they're usually giving the goaltender some wiggle room.

Key Injuries: G Carey Price (lower body).

It's not as if the Stars collapsed to fall out of first place, though losing at Toronto last Monday was not the way to respond to such a lofty ranking, but it's looking like Kari Lehtonen may be pushing back in the goaltending competition, and has a .921 save percentage in seven starts.

Key Injuries: RW Patrick Eaves (lower body).

The Capitals are rolling out their Tre Kronor second line, with Nicklas Backstrom centering Marcus Johansson and Andre Burakovsky on an All-Swedish unit. The Capitals also have three of the forwards (minimum 100 minutes) that have been on the ice for at least 60% of even-strength shot attempts.

Key Injuries: None.

7-0-2 in the past nine games, the Rangers are riding great goaltending, as well as offensive contributions from forwards that don't play very much -- rookie Oscar Lindberg is tied for the team lead with 11 points (7 G, 4 A) while playing 12:29 per game, and Kevin Hayes is one point behind (4 G, 6 A) while playing 13:57. 

Key Injuries: None.

It's not getting a lot of play, but the Blues have made out all right with their pro tryouts -- Scottie Upshall has chipped in three goals in 10 games, and Scott Gomez has six points (1 G, 5 A) in nine games. Now, due to injuries, Martin Havlat has been signed and will likely get an opportunity to contribute too.

Key Injuries: LW Patrik Berglund (shoulder), C Paul Stastny (foot), LW Jaden Schwartz (ankle).

While the Kings wait for Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik to get going (on different lines), they can at least be thankful for Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli, who have combined to score 16 of L.A.'s 35 goals this season.

Key Injuries: LW Dwight King (foot), D Matt Greene (upper body).

One win in the past four games is a little bump in the road for the Predators. It does seem as though their production down the middle (Mike Ribeiro, Mike Fisher, Cody Hodgson, Paul Gaustad) needs to be better if they are going to hang with the league's better teams. 

Key Injuries: None.

Losing leading goal-scorer Zach Parise for at least a few weeks does pose a challenge for the Wild, though they should be due to get some goals out of RW Jason Pominville, who has yet to score despite putting 32 shots on goal.

Key Injuries: LW Zach Parise (knee).

Even as the Penguins, in general, struggle to score, RW Phil Kessel has started to pick up the pace, with seven points (4 G, 3 A) in the past seven games, and has six goals in 14 games to lead the club.

Key Injuries: None.

The Islanders move up, not so much because of results, but getting C John Tavares back in the lineup is a big help, and it may not be the worst thing, right now, to be without RW Ryan Strome, who was demoted to the AHL after scoring one goal in 12 games.

Key Injuries: D Thomas Hickey (lower body).

Not an easy week, facing the Stars, Canadiens and Capitals -- the teams ranked in the top three. Note that C Patrice Bergeron already has a league-leading nine power play points; the last time he had more than 14 power play points in a season was 2006-2007, when he had 38.

Key Injuries: RW David Pastrnak (foot).

Goaltending has been a strength for the Jets thus far. Ondrej Pavelec has an above-average .918 save percentage in 10 games while Michael Hutchinson has been even better (.927 SV%) in six games.

Key Injuries: None.

While the Blackhawks have not been as consistent as they might like, a lot of their early shortcomings have been covered by RW Patrick Kane, who is tied for the league lead with 23 points (10 G, 13 A) in 15 games. He's generating a career-high 3.73 shots per game while playing a career-high 21:12 per game (insert Rush joke here).

Key Injuries: D Duncan Keith (knee).

8-2 in the past 10 games, the Devils are surprisingly competitive and, in some cases, offensive. Take C Travis Zajacm who has six goals already - he had 11 all of last season.

Key Injuries: LW Ryane Clowe (concussion), LW Patrik Elias (knee).

Two regulation wins in the past 10 games and a lineup that, strangely, is having trouble scoring goals, will now go without Ondrej Palat for a while after he suffered a knee injury on the weekend. 

Key Injuries: LW Ondrej Palat (lower body).

Losers of three straight, the Canucks could use some finish on the power play, where they rank fifth in shot attempts/60, yet are 23rd in efficiency.

Key Injuries: D Chris Tanev (upper body).

Those possession numbers have been cratering -- now 28th in score-adjusted shot attempt percentage -- which leads to an uphill fight most nights, and the Sens have managed one regulation win in the past 10 games.

Key Injuries: LW Clarke MacArthur (concussion).

Detroit's goaltending tandem of Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek, who have combined for a .930 save percentage, is helping to cover for terrible possession. That's no way to go through life, Red Wings.

Key Injuries: LW Johan Franzen (concussion), C Pavel Datsyuk (ankle), C Brad Richards (back), D Kyle Quincey (ankle).

As the Sharks start to stumble, trade rumours start to percolate around LW Patrick Marleau, the 36-year-old who has buried 460 goals for the Sharks. This is not the first time those rumours have picked up, and Marleau's still here.

Key Injuries: LW Raffi Torres (suspension), C Logan Couture (fibula).

The Panthers won the first couple of games after C Aleksander Barkov was hurt, but are winless in five since, scoring a total of seven goals in those five losses.

Key Injuries: C Aleksander Barkov (wrist).

If rookie G Linus Ullmark can give the Sabres adequate goaltending, they could be a competitive group. The possession numbers are improving and there are enough young players in key roles that further improvement should occur as the season progresses.

Key Injuries: D Zach Bogosian (lower body), G Robin Lehner (ankle), LW Evander Kane (knee).

The Oilers might be a bit more competitive, and they're fun to watch, but they also have two wins in the past eight games and are left trying to fit pieces together now that Connor McDavid is hurt. The good news is that RW Jordan Eberle has returned to action, which should help the attack, even if the attack is not the primary need for improvement.

Key Injuries: D Justin Schultz (undisclosed), C Connor McDavid (clavicle).

C Martin Hanzal is the Coyotes' leading scorer, with 12 points in 11 games, and has yet to score a goal this season. The trouble for the Coyotes is that G Mike Smith has fallen off dramatically after three good starts to open the year.

Key Injuries: C Antoine Vermette (lower body).

All the Ducks' problems haven't been solved, because they could stand to score more, but a four-game winning streak ought to ease the pressure on head coach Bruce Boudreau, who could have been victimized by a team-wide scoring slump.

Key Injuries: D Simon Despres (upper body).

Three overtime wins have helped boost Carolina's early record, though their special teams have undermined what should be more effective even-strength play from a team that ranks third in score-adjusted possession.

Key Injuries: D James Wisniewski (knee).

Saturday's win over Winnipeg snapped a six-game winless skid, and the shutout was courtesy of G Michal Neuvirth, who is forcing his way into more playing time at the expense of Steve Mason.

Key Injuries: D Evgeny Medvedev (upper body).

The Flames have back-to-back wins for the first time this season, and there is some reason for hope, not least of all because rookie LW Sam Bennett is starting to give Calgary a viable second scoring line, lifting the production of C Mikael Backlund in the process.

Key Injuries: LW Lance Bouma (fibula), G Jonas Hiller (lower body).

Two wins in the past 10 games leaves the Avs sinking fast, despite the best efforts of C Nathan MacKinnon, who has 15 points (6 G, 9 A) in 14 games.

Key Injuries: C John Mitchell (oblique).

On the whole, the Leafs aren't playing poorly, but their goaltending needs to be better and they don't have a lineup that is capable of finishing at a league-average level. Well, maybe they would if C Nazem Kadri wasn't stuck one goal on 60 shots, but that's where he sits right now.

Key Injuries: G Jonathan Bernier (lower body).

It's nice that the Blue Jackets have found the win column, winning four of the past seven games, but it's not very encouraging that they have the worst score-adjusted possession in the league since John Tortorella took over behind the bench.

Key Injuries: None.