Power Rankings - Nov. 3
Hands up if you thought Todd Bertuzzi would have more goals than Jarome Iginla at any point this season.
Through 12 games with his new team, Bertuzzi had seven goals, one more than Iginla’s six.
Most importantly for Calgary, after years of being a one-line team the Flames seem to have struck a balance that allows the scoring to be spread out over the two top lines.
While combinations change, the top-six group of Bertuzzi, Iginla, Mike Cammalleri, Daymond Langkow, Craig Conroy and Rene Bourque is forcing teams to worry about more than just one trio.
As a result, the Flames have been showing off a bit of their high-end potential, winning six of their past seven games and climbing up our power rankings.
RK. | TEAM | LW | OVERALL | THE SCOOP |
1 |
| 3 | 10-2-0 | Dan Boyle and Christian Ehrhoff both kicking in points from the blueline |
2 |
| 1 | 8-2-2 | Lost an early season showdown to former assistant coach Todd McLellan and the Sharks |
3 |
| 5 | 8-1-1 | Don't be surprised when Andrei Markov is nominated for the Norris Trophy |
4 |
| 2 | 10-3-1 | Second-best team GAA, but 24th in goals per game with just 2.57 |
5 |
| 9 | 7-5-1 | Have won six of seven, starting to look like contenders again |
6 |
| 6 | 7-2-1 | Gaborik suffered a setback last week and it's still unclear when he'll return |
7 |
| 4 | 7-2-2 | Tim Connolly picks up an assist in his return; here's hoping he actually stays healthy |
8 |
| 19 | 7-4-1 | Kipper looks like he's coming to the end of his traditional slow start |
9 |
| 8 | 6-2-2 | Life will be miserable if Marty is gone for any real stretch of time |
10 |
| 18 | 6-3-3 | How 'bout a 1.83 GAA, .944 save percentage and two shutouts for Tim Thomas? |
11 |
| 7 | 6-4-2 | Win against sinking St. Louis salvaged an otherwise forgettable four-game road trip |
12 |
| 16 | 6-4-1 | Pekka Rinne getting a chance to show he's an NHL-caliber goalie |
13 |
| 15 | 4-4-3 | Lots of scoring, lots of being scored on |
14 |
| 14 | 5-3-3 | Patrick Sharp is quietly going about showing he's the real deal |
15 |
| 13 | 6-3-2 | Injuries just seem to follow this team around |
16 |
| 10 | 5-4-1 | So the real rivalries are Ovi-Malkin and Semin-Sid |
17 |
| 22 | 4-5-2 | When Alfredsson joined Sens they were bad, then they became an elite team, now they just keep sliding back the other way |
18 |
| 21 | 6-4-1 | Nice 2-1-0 start to a seven-game road swing |
19 |
| 20 | 6-6-0 | Need to rack some points up after losing first game of a six-game homestand |
20 |
| 24 | 5-4-3 | Should Leafs Nation be pleasantly surprised by results, or depressed team could finish 10th again? |
21 |
| 17 | 4-6-2 | Go ahead and end that early-season funk any time, Mr. Turco |
22 |
| 11 | 5-6-0 | Team Yo-Yo ripped off five straight wins, then dropped three in a row |
23 |
| 12 | 5-5-0 | Fast start beginning to come to a crumbling halt |
24 |
| 29 | 4-3-3 | Stamkos gets on the board with two goals versus Buffalo, things looking up for Bolts |
25 |
| 26 | 4-5-0 | Simply not generating enough goals to win consistently |
26 |
| 23 | 4-6-1 | Cats crippled by a slew of injuries on the back end |
27 |
| 27 | 4-6-1 | You know watching Zherdev's Broadway play must be killing these guys |
28 |
| 25 | 3-6-1 | Lots of talk about Doughty, but fellow rookie Oscar Moller has four goals and is staying with the big club |
29 |
| 28 | 3-7-2 | Time to tear it down and start again |
30 |
| 30 | 2-7-1 | If Isles bought out DiPietro, they'd be paying him until 2032 |
The Hockey News ranks the teams 1-30 each Monday based on a combination of last week’s play and a squad’s overall outlook.
For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, Subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.