Article Written By: Adam Wible
As Thanksgiving comes to a close, and the Christmas season upon us, it is time to power rank the league.
Here’s our Top 10:
1. Chicago Blackhawks (44pts)- Goalie Cory Crawford picked up win number 100, in a stunning 11 round shootout on Friday. While on Saturday, goalie Antti Raanta earned his 2nd win, and improves to 2-0 on the year. (DAL,@MIN,ANA,FLA)
2. San Jose Sharks (41pts)- The Sharks are the hottest team as of late (8-1-1) in their last 10 games. They’ll have their hands full this week, as they begin their east coast road trip. (@STL,@PIT,@CAR,@MIN)
3. Anaheim “Mighty” (at least in my eyes) Ducks (40pts) The coldest of the Top 5 teams. (3-4-3) in their last 10. They look to continue to stay near the top, but another week like this and they’ll fall dramatically. (LAK,@CHI,@STL)
4. Boston Bruins (38pts)- These next 3 teams are so close statically, it’s basically a coin flip. I give Boston the nod with their comeback wins, and they took down Pittsburgh. (@MTL,PIT,@TOR)
5. Colorado Avalanche (38pts)- First year head coach, Patrick Roy has his team skating on all cylinders. Staying competitive in the Central Division is tough to do, but Roy has them prepared. (@EDM,@CGY,@VAN) If there’s a dark horse out west… Watch out for the Avalanche!
6. Los Angeles Kings (38pts)- They should get more love than they are getting. Without world class goaltender Jonathan Quick, the Kings thought all was lost. Ben Scrivens, leading goalie in save percentage (.943), has answered the call. He’s kept the Kings in contention to win the Pacific Division, even without Quick. (@ANA,NYI)
7. Pittsburgh Penguins (37pts)- Having the lead leading scorer, and assist man, the Pens are atop the newly Metropolitan Division. Though they have a dominating lead in the Division, they have a tough week ahead. (@NYI,SJS,@BOS) Saturday 12/7 should be a good one, as they head back to Boston.
8. Montreal Canadians (35pts) Yes, it took this far for a Canadian team to crack the top 10. The Canadians are coming off a win at home against the devils, and have a decent week coming up. (@NJD,BOS,BUF)
9. Minnesota Wild (37pts) They’ll need to keep their solid home record up this week. With the likes of Chicago and San Jose coming to town, it’s moving week for the wild. (whether if its up or down) (CHI,@CBJ,SJS)
10. Vancouver Canucks (33pts)- If there was any time for this team to move up now is the time. All but 1 road game for the next two weeks, they need these wins, and I think they’ll get them. (@NSH,PHX,COL)
My picks for the night:
Pittsburgh 4-1, Blackhawks 3-1, Capitals 2-0 and my upset pick Oilers 2-1
