It's that time of week again. It's time for Week 9 of DGA's NHL Power Rankings. This week features a new #1 and a new #30. Yeah, be excited.
1. Detroit Red Wings (+1) - Now that's December, the Red Wings have decided to start humiliating their opposition again as a holiday present to their fans.
2. Pittsburgh Penguins (+2) - I was planning a Sidney Crosby joke, but I don't think that's appropriate...
3. Boston Bruins (-2) - Were recently shut out at home by the same Panthers team that allowed 6 goals last night. Boston is terrible.
4. Minnesota Wild (+1) - Matt Hackett will definitely win Vezina at his current pace.
5. New York Rangers (-1) - Did their best NFC East impression with Artem Anisimov getting an unsportsmanlike penalty on a celebration.
6. Philadelphia Flyers (+1) - Following the concussion he gave Chris Pronger, Chris Pronger has now injured every player in the NHL at least once.
7. Chicago Blackhawks (-1) - I had forgotten about Marian Hossa's existence until very recently.
8. St. Louis Blues (+2) - If they keep winning under Ken Hitchcock, they might accidentally make the playoffs.
9. Florida Panthers (-1) - Getting blown out at MSG last night was only because the coaches had no complaints with this team prior to last night.
10. San Jose Sharks (-1) - Someone tell the Sharks this isn't the playoffs yet...
11. Vancouver Canucks (+4) - Alain Vigneault would normally pull Roberto Luongo after allowing three quick goals, but the Montreal native stayed in the game and his team rallied to win against the Habs. He's making progress.
12. Dallas Stars (--) - Stars owner Tom Gaglardi says there's a huge fan base in Dallas. He wouldn't, however, specify which sport he was speaking about.
13. Toronto Maple Leafs (-2) - Time to let Phil Kessel start running the penalty kill...
14. Nashville Predators (+4) - The Preds are coming off of wins against Columbus and Anaheim. They face Calgary next. I guess they're enjoying the difficult part of their schedule...
15. Phoenix Coyotes (-1) - Falling behind 5-0 in the first period to the Red Wings isn't part of Dave Tippett's system, is it?
16. Buffalo Sabres (--) - The Sabres are really hurting from Ville Leino's suspension...
17. Washington Capitals (--) - Alex Ovechkin is back to being controversial, and thus, relevant.
18. Montreal Canadiens (+1) - Tomas Kaberle is averaging two points per game with the Habs through...one game.
19. Los Angeles Kings (-6) - As a team, they've collectively scored roughly as many goals as Phil Kessel this season. I wonder if that'll change under John Stevens...
20. Ottawa Senators (+2) - The Sens have gone from best third period team in the league to back-to-back blown third period leads, kind of like how Milan Michalek went from irrelevant to world-class sniper overnight.
21. Winnipeg Jets (-1) - *Bad Joke of the Week:* The Jets are preparing to celebrate the First Noël.
22. Calgary Flames (+4) - The Flames' recent hot streak, led by........well, I'm sure someone is playing well in Calgary.
23. Colorado Avalanche (-2) - It's a good thing the Avs have so many young forwards who can make the Avs' defense better.
24. Edmonton Oilers (-1) - Andy Sutton received his daily Shanaban today.
25. New Jersey Devils (--) - The Devils have to be considered Stanley Cup contenders with the addition of Kurtis Foster, no?
26. New York Islanders (+1) - The Islanders are picking up points lately, which has Charles Wang furious.
27. Tampa Bay Lightning (-3) - Martin St. Louis snapped his consecutive games played streak at 499. His shoes are big shoes to fill...although not literally.
28. Columbus Blue Jackets (+2) - Upon Steve Mason's return to the lineup, expect Columbus to fall back to #30 in everyone's power rankings.
29. Carolina Hurricanes (-1) - Tomas Kaberle left town, and somehow, nobody realized it...
30. Anaheim Ducks (-1) - Mark Fraser and Rod Pelley are the best ex-Devils to play in Anaheim since Sheldon Brookbank.
