The Tampa Bay Lightning are the new number one team in the TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings, with the return of Victor Hedman lifting them above the a trio of Central Division teams -- the Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks.
Moving up this week, New York Rangers, getting Ryan McDonagh back from injury, go from 22 to 17 and the Florida Panthers jump from 24 to 19 while the Colorado Avalanche rise from 25 to 21.
Teams from the Metropolitan Division are heading in the other direction. The Washington Capitals drop from 18 to 22 after Saturday's beatdown in Toronto, the slumping Philadelphia Flyers drop from 19 to 23 and the New Jersey Devils are down from 20 to 24.
As for Canadian clubs, the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks hold the last two spots of the Top 10, while the Calgary Flames are at 12. The Toronto Maple Leafs hold steady at 15, three spots ahead of the Winnipeg Jets, at 18 and the Ottawa Senators slide to 25.
The Edmonton Oilers, winless in nine, have taken up residence in the basement.
Columbus Blue Jackets
6-15-2 | This Week: 29 Last Week: 27
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GPG
2.26
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GAPG
3.56
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FENCLOSE%
47.5%
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PP%
22.5%
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PK%
75.9%
2-12-2 in the past 16 games, the Blue Jackets have just been crushed by injuries and are starting at a high lottery pick. If nothing else, at least Columbus' circumstances (as opposed to outright tanking) make them a more appealing lottery winner if this direction continues all season.
Key Injuries: RW Nathan Horton (back), C Brandon Dubinsky (abdominal), C Mark Letestu (groin), D Ryan Murray (knee), D Fedor Tyutin (lower body), C Artem Anisimov (triceps).
Notes: While all injuries are taken into account, those listed as key injuries include top nine forwards, top four defencemen and starting goaltenders.
GPG - Goals Per Game, GAPG - Goals Against Per Game
FENCLOSE% - Fenwick Close Percentage. The percentage of unblocked shot attempts, during 5-on-5 play, relative to the opposition.
PP% - Power Play%
PK% - Penalty Kill%
Much of the data included comes from great modern stats sites www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com
Follow Scott Cullen on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen and e-mail him at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca.