Power Rankings

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POWER RANKINGS
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1 Ottawa Senators 1
They are becoming more dominant with each passing week. During their current five-game winning streak, they've outscored opponents 24-12 and averaged a shot-on-goal advantage of more than 10 per night.
2 Detroit Red Wings 4
They struggled to end the month over .500, but ended on an up note, showing they can come up big when necessary with their effort in goalie Jimmy Howard's NHL debut.
3 New York Rangers 5
November is done and to a great deal of amazement, they're still leading the Atlantic Division. This could turn into the sports story of the year in the Big Apple.
4 Calgary Flames 3
An interesting and tough road trip is now on tap for Calgary, who got back in the Western Conference mix this month with some great play at home.
5 Nashville Predators 9
Newcomer Yanic Perreault says he's impressed with the team's ability to find ways to win, a necessary trait for a team that gives up more shots than it takes 70 percent of the time.
6 Los Angeles Kings 6
Joe Corvo, one of the league leaders in plus-minus, has been an important cog alongside blue-line partner Lubomir Visnovsky. Corvo handles things in the Kings' end, allowing Visnovsky, with 25 points already, to use his offensive skills.
7 Dallas Stars 8
Scheduling is compressed this year because of the Olympics, but they seem to be handling it better than most with a 5-0-0 record in the second of back-to-back games.
8 Toronto Maple Leafs 11
Better and much smarter hockey has accounted for their steady climb in the standings over the past month, but the story of Toronto's season so far has been the stunning production of defenseman Bryan McCabe.
9 Carolina Hurricanes 7
Goaltender Martin Gerber is turning in an MVP-caliber year, but Carolina has been having a tough time lately against some of the league's top teams.
10 Philadelphia Flyers 2
They keep insisting that Peter Forsberg's groin injury isn't too severe. They'd better hope not.
11 Tampa Bay Lightning 13
Tampa Bay has finally started looking like the defending Stanley Cup champs in the past few weeks, in spite of the stinker the Lightning turned in at home against New Jersey.
12 Vancouver Canucks 10
The defense can't rest here because it does so much to help out the offense. Vancouver blueliners have picked up 58 points, including 18 goals, the second-best total in the league.
13 Colorado Avalanche 12
While they figure out why a sniper like Milan Hejduk can't score in the new NHL, they're taking comfort in rookie Marek Svatos, who has been scoring a lot of big goals in a limited amount of action.
14 Buffalo Sabres 17
The Sabres have struggled with consistency at times this season, but at the quarter pole, they continue to be an unexpected success story. Captain Daniel Briere has been a great leader.
15 Montreal Canadiens 14
Generating offense has been a challenge since Alexei Kovalev got hurt. With Andrei Markov's suspension and a couple of other blue-line issues, defense could be as well.
16 Edmonton Oilers 16
Few leads have been safe this year in the NHL, but the Oilers have managed to hold most of theirs, posting an 11-2 record when scoring first.
17 Phoenix Coyotes 18
The Coyotes are improving steadily under Wayne Gretzky and got two games over .500 for the first time this weekend, beating two good teams -– Dallas and Vancouver -– in as many nights to do so.
18 New York Islanders 15
They have looked very good some times and not nearly as good at others, but one constant has been team captain Alexei Yashin, who leads the team with 26 points, and has been on the scoresheet 20 times in New York's 24 games.
19 New Jersey Devils 20
A week in the Florida sunshine energized the Devils' offense, which might make things easier for GM Lou Lamoriello, who has to do some salary shuffling quickly as Patrik Elias nears his return from Hepatitis B.
20 Minnesota Wild 19
Manny Fernandez's play this season is his clear statement about wanting to be the No. 1 goalie, not part of a tandem.
21 Atlanta Thrashers 22
There are so many offensive weapons on this team, but with Atlanta's NHL-caliber goaltenders having spent most of the season on the injured list, it doesn't make much difference.
22 Anaheim Mighty Ducks 25
Offense has been the big problem for Anaheim. The Mighty Ducks have scored more than two goals only three times in the past 12 games, losing nine.
23 Boston Bruins 23
Owner Jeremy Jacobs' blast had an immediate impact on his badly underachieving team, but it didn't last long for the Bruins, who are fading fast.
24 San Jose Sharks 21
Injuries have hampered goalie Evgeni Nabokov, but even when healthy this year he has struggled mightily. Unfortunately for the Sharks, he's not the only one not living up to high expectations.
25 Pittsburgh Penguins 26
Sidney Crosby continues to live up to the hype, but he's the only one of the big 'names' the team picked up this summer doing so.
26 Chicago Blackhawks 24
Nikolai Khabibulin's game has improved in the past two weeks, but Chicago's fleeting playoff hopes might already be gone because of a miserable start by the goalie and everyone else on the team.
27 Washington Capitals 27
The Capitals are six games under .500, but 6-7-2 against the eight teams that would make up the Eastern Conference playoff field if the season ended today.
28 Florida Panthers 29
Whether goalie Roberto Luongo is still bothered by being taken to arbitration last summer or by the repeated trade rumors, he has not played anywhere near his ability and has hurt the Panthers badly.
29 St. Louis Blues 28
Whatever flicker of light the Blues saw after winning a couple went dark quickly. St. Louis lost its next three, getting outscored 8-0 in the third period after being ahead or tied after 40 minutes each time.
30 Columbus Blue Jackets 30
Here's all you need to know about the Blue Jackets: They'll head into December without a double-digit goal scorer.