Aggregated NHL Power Rankings, Week 22:San Jose Sharks Push Into Top 5

The Vancouver Canucks claim the top spot in the NHL and the power rankings while the San Jose Sharks’ long surge finally pushes them into the top five. The rest of the league? See who’s up and who’s down as the push to the playoffs intensifies.

by Mike Chen

Mar 12, 2011, 11:02 PM UTC

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Did you hear the one about the hockey team from Northern California that was supposed to be pretty darn good and really wasn't? Yeah, we've all heard that tale too, though it seems like the San Jose Sharks have finally shaken off first-half-itis and become the team that they should be (on paper). Seems like everyone else agrees, as they've finally pushed their way into the top five of the Aggregated NHL Power Rankings. Things don't look too rosy for their Pacific Division mates, though.

Ho hum, another week and the Vancouver Canucks return to the top. To grab a line from Snake Plissken, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Here are your rankings for this week.

Rank	Team	Last	Diff
1	Vancouver Canucks	2	1
2	Boston Bruins	4	2
3	Philadelphia Flyers	1	-2
4 (tie)	Detroit Red Wings	3	-1
4 (tie)	San Jose Sharks	6	2
6	Chicago Blackhawks	9	3
7	Washington Capitals	11	4
8	Montreal Canadiens	12	4
9	Pittsburgh Penguins	9	0
10	Tampa Bay Lightning	5	-5
11	Calgary Flames	14	3
12	Los Angeles Kings	7	-5
13	Phoenix Coyotes	8	-5
14	Dallas Stars	13	-1
15	New Jersey Devils	19	4
16	New York Rangers	17	1
17	Minnesota Wild	15	-2
18 (tie)	Anaheim Ducks	20	2
18 (tie)	Nashville Predators	16	-2
20	Buffalo Sabres	21	1
21	Columbus Blue Jackets	18	-3
22	Carolina Hurricanes	21	-1
23	Toronto Maple Leafs	24	1
24	Atlanta Thrashers	25	1
25	New York Islanders	27	2
25	St. Louis Blues	23	-2
27 (tie)	Edmonton Oilers	29	2
27 (tie)	Florida Panthers	26	-1
29	Colorado Avalanche	28	-1
30	Ottawa Senators	30	0

While the Sharks and Blackhawks have made notable pushes as of late, watch out for those pesky Calgary Flames. Yes, the team we all laughed about in early January is now just outside of the top ten. Sorry to have ever doubted you, Jarome Iginla.

And only two teams didn’t move from last week’s spot: the winning-in-limbo Penguins and the booking-tee-times Senators. They just really want to be worse than the Avalanche and Oilers, huh?

Now here are your rankings by conference; first the Eastern Conference.

Rank	Team
1	Boston Bruins
2	Philadelphia Flyers
3	Washington Capitals
4	Montreal Canadiens
5	Pittsburgh Penguins
6	Tampa Bay Lightning
7	New Jersey Devils
8	New York Rangers
9	Buffalo Sabres
10	Carolina Hurricanes
11	Toronto Maple Leafs
12	Atlanta Thrashers
13	New York Islanders
14	Florida Panthers
15	Ottawa Senators

And now the Western Conference.

Rank	Team
1	Vancouver Canucks
2 (tie)	Detroit Red Wings
2 (tie)	San Jose Sharks
4	Chicago Blackhawks
5	Calgary Flames
6	Los Angeles Kings
7	Phoenix Coyotes
8	Dallas Stars
9	Minnesota Wild
10 (tie)	Anaheim Ducks
10 (tie)	Nashville Predators
12	Columbus Blue Jackets
13	St. Louis Blues
14	Edmonton Oilers
15	Colorado Avalanche

Here is your mega-spreadsheet, first sorted by average.

Rank	Conference	Team	ESPN	CBS	THN	Sportsnet	SI	TSN	Ave	Std	Last	Diff
1	West	Vancouver Canucks	1	1	1	1	1	3	1.333	0.816	2	1
2	East	Boston Bruins	6	4	3	2	2	1	3	1.789	4	2
3	East	Philadelphia Flyers	5	6	2	4	3	5	4.167	1.472	1	-2
4	West	Detroit Red Wings	4	7	4	3	6	2	4.333	1.862	3	-1
4	West	San Jose Sharks	2	2	5	5	5	7	4.333	1.966	6	2
6	West	Chicago Blackhawks	3	3	7	8	8	4	5.5	2.429	9	3
7	East	Washington Capitals	7	10	6	6	4	12	7.5	2.95	11	4
8	East	Montreal Canadiens	11	9	10	10	7	10	9.5	1.378	12	4
9	East	Pittsburgh Penguins	9	13	9	7	10	11	9.833	2.041	9	0
10	East	Tampa Bay Lightning	12	11	8	9	9	13	10.33	1.966	5	-5
11	West	Calgary Flames	8	8	12	11	11	14	10.67	2.338	14	3
12	West	Los Angeles Kings	13	12	11	12	14	6	11.33	2.805	7	-5
13	West	Phoenix Coyotes	15	15	14	13	13	8	13	2.608	8	-5
14	West	Dallas Stars	14	14	13	14	12	15	13.67	1.033	13	-1
15	East	New Jersey Devils	10	5	22	17	22	18	15.67	6.831	19	4
16	East	New York Rangers	16	16	19	18	18	9	16	3.633	17	1
17	West	Minnesota Wild	18	19	16	15	17	19	17.33	1.633	15	-2
18	West	Anaheim Ducks	20	22	15	16	15	20	18	3.033	20	2
18	West	Nashville Predators	19	21	17	19	16	16	18	2	16	-2
20	East	Buffalo Sabres	17	17	18	20	19	21	18.67	1.633	21	1
21	West	Columbus Blue Jackets	22	20	20	22	23	17	20.67	2.16	18	-3
22	East	Carolina Hurricanes	21	18	21	23	20	22	20.83	1.722	21	-1
23	East	Toronto Maple Leafs	23	23	23	21	21	25	22.67	1.506	24	1
24	East	Atlanta Thrashers	26	25	25	25	25	23	24.83	0.983	25	1
25	East	New York Islanders	25	24	27	24	26	24	25	1.265	27	2
25	West	St. Louis Blues	24	26	24	26	24	26	25	1.095	23	-2
27	West	Edmonton Oilers	28	27	29	28	28	27	27.83	0.753	29	2
27	East	Florida Panthers	27	29	26	27	29	29	27.83	1.329	26	-1
29	West	Colorado Avalanche	30	30	28	29	27	28	28.67	1.211	28	-1
30	East	Ottawa Senators	29	28	30	30	30	30	29.5	0.837	30	0

And by standard deviation.

Rank	Conference	Team	ESPN	CBS	THN	Sportsnet	SI	TSN	Ave	Std	Last	Diff
27	West	Edmonton Oilers	28	27	29	28	28	27	27.83	0.753	29	2
1	West	Vancouver Canucks	1	1	1	1	1	3	1.333	0.816	2	1
30	East	Ottawa Senators	29	28	30	30	30	30	29.5	0.837	30	0
24	East	Atlanta Thrashers	26	25	25	25	25	23	24.83	0.983	25	1
14	West	Dallas Stars	14	14	13	14	12	15	13.67	1.033	13	-1
25	West	St. Louis Blues	24	26	24	26	24	26	25	1.095	23	-2
29	West	Colorado Avalanche	30	30	28	29	27	28	28.67	1.211	28	-1
25	East	New York Islanders	25	24	27	24	26	24	25	1.265	27	2
27	East	Florida Panthers	27	29	26	27	29	29	27.83	1.329	26	-1
8	East	Montreal Canadiens	11	9	10	10	7	10	9.5	1.378	12	4
3	East	Philadelphia Flyers	5	6	2	4	3	5	4.167	1.472	1	-2
23	East	Toronto Maple Leafs	23	23	23	21	21	25	22.67	1.506	24	1
17	West	Minnesota Wild	18	19	16	15	17	19	17.33	1.633	15	-2
20	East	Buffalo Sabres	17	17	18	20	19	21	18.67	1.633	21	1
22	East	Carolina Hurricanes	21	18	21	23	20	22	20.83	1.722	21	-1
2	East	Boston Bruins	6	4	3	2	2	1	3	1.789	4	2
4	West	Detroit Red Wings	4	7	4	3	6	2	4.333	1.862	3	-1
4	West	San Jose Sharks	2	2	5	5	5	7	4.333	1.966	6	2
10	East	Tampa Bay Lightning	12	11	8	9	9	13	10.33	1.966	5	-5
18	West	Nashville Predators	19	21	17	19	16	16	18	2	16	-2
9	East	Pittsburgh Penguins	9	13	9	7	10	11	9.833	2.041	9	0
21	West	Columbus Blue Jackets	22	20	20	22	23	17	20.67	2.16	18	-3
11	West	Calgary Flames	8	8	12	11	11	14	10.67	2.338	14	3
6	West	Chicago Blackhawks	3	3	7	8	8	4	5.5	2.429	9	3
13	West	Phoenix Coyotes	15	15	14	13	13	8	13	2.608	8	-5
12	West	Los Angeles Kings	13	12	11	12	14	6	11.33	2.805	7	-5
7	East	Washington Capitals	7	10	6	6	4	12	7.5	2.95	11	4
18	West	Anaheim Ducks	20	22	15	16	15	20	18	3.033	20	2
16	East	New York Rangers	16	16	19	18	18	9	16	3.633	17	1
15	East	New Jersey Devils	10	5	22	17	22	18	15.67	6.831	19	4

Most Consensus: Despite a difference of opinion from TSN -- and remember, they use a formula while the rest base it on their own judgment -- all subjective rankings have the Canucks at #1.

Biggest Outlier: I think the New Jersey Devils have made it into one of these categories for just about every week of this feature. There’s still no consensus about the Devils are doing -- remarkable push or too little, too late?

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