Power Rankings Junel 30th 2003

FORM	RECORD	TEAM	RANK	PREVIOUS	THE SKINNY
12-2-1-0	48-20-5-1		1	2	The St.Louis Blues seems to have the timing down perfect, the playoffs are coming shortly and they are firing on all cylinders ... just 3 defeats in their last 27 games. With Jagr, Damphousse & Alfredsson they have 3 players with 83 or more points ... not to mention Peter Bondra with his 42 goals and 6-game goalscoring streak.
10-3-2-0	53-11-9-0		2	1	The Avalanche stopped rolling for a few seconds after they acquired Mario Lemieux, maybe it was the shock ... whatever it was it's over, the Avalanche is rolling stronger than ever and is easily the #1 favorite to the WCFHL crown. Loaded with the 1-2 scoring punch in the league with Mario and Forsberg ...
11-3-1-1	39-29-5-2		3	10	A few weeks ago the Habs were working hard to secure their playoff position, now after 7 straight wins they are starting to challenge the for the top position in the East. First obstacle though is the division rivalry with the Buffalo Sabres ... currently there's a 3 point gap to close ...
10-3-2-0	41-28-4-2		4	26	The Sabres has all season had their sights set on 1st seed in the East ... right now that spot is just 2 points away. The only difference is overtime loss points. Sabres have 2, Rangers 4. Responded to the Rangers acquiring Lindros, Leetch and Kovalev by acquiring Andrew Brunette
9-4-2-1	38-20-15-3		5	3	The Stars have overtaken the Sharks in the Pacific Division race and seems determined to end their rollercoaster regular season on a high note ... player of the season for the Stars must be goaltender Roman Cechmanek.
8-3-3-1	32-30-10-2		6	8	The Maple Leafs have continued their strong form and have raced into a relatively secure 7th position in the East. With a fairly soft schedule the rest of the way it seems like the Leafs have secured a playoff spot.
9-4-1-0	39-26-7-1		7	14	From looking at the roster you wouldn't really know it, but the Capitals has firmly established themselves as the best defensive team in the Eastern Conference ... they've allowed just 168 goals, 13 less than the second best and they are still in the race for first seed.
8-4-2-0	37-29-7-4		8	14	A whole lot of Vanilla from the Panthers. With a team like theirs the record is not satisfactory ... but it's a veteran team with Yzerman, Scott Stevens and friends, maybe they are saving themselves for the playoffs.
7-5-3-1	36-29-8-2		9	10	The Senators lost Mike Fisher for the season ... veteran Mark Messier will be taking on a bigger role to help the team. Everybody has to do more if the Sens want more than 1 round come playoff time ... but then again, there's always "Eddie Eddie Eddie"
8-7-0-0	33-33-6-2		10	9	The Canucks seems to have secured a playoff-berth sitting in 7th place and are about to take over 6th from the Blackhawks. Come playoff time the Canucks will face either the Blues, Stars or Sharks ... a daunting task ...
7-6-2-0	29-35-9-2		11	10	New Management in Detroit seems to have inspired the players to pick up the slack ... 9-6-2 in recent weeks and they've climbed to 10th place just 2 points behind the 8th placed Oilers. Have a tricky schedule the rest of the way though facing ONLY playoff-bound teams ... but ... on the last day of the season Detroit Red Wings at Edmonton Oilers - potentially a HUGE game.
6-6-2-1	31-36-5-2		12	23	The Predators are chasing the same 8th spot as the Red Wings - and they are 2 points out too ... they have a somewhat softer schedule the rest of the way though. Turek has been solid recently - except for a couple of games that were horrible.
5-6-3-2	37-23-12-4		13	14	The Rangers have hit all panic buttons they could find in recent months. Most recently Eric Lindros was added to the already high payroll, that has so far resultet in 2-0-1. Still sit first in the East ... despite playing .500 hockey since they reached 23-9-5 after 37 games (35 games ago). Hardly 1st seed quality.
6-8-2-2	27-37-9-4		14	24	The Minnesota Wild are closer to the playoffs than they are to the 1st overall pick in the Entry Draft. Most likely they wont reach either objective ... dont rule it out though, just 4 points behind the 8th placed Oilers. And to be clear to everybody - the Wild will NOT trade Mike Ratjhe to get a ECHL quality goaltender.
5-6-3-1	39-23-10-3		15	4	The Sharks continue their Laizze-Faire approach to team management. It's worked before, why not again. Looks like they are headed for 4th seed in the West and a tough road to the cup though.
5-6-4-0	30-32-11-0		16	22	The Oilers seem headed for a rebuilding phase, but hasn't found a lot of deal for their veterans yet ... but then again, a trip to the playoffs probably wont be a bad consolation price.
5-7-2-1	28-35-9-2		17	10	The Bolts are still trying to offload the 6-million dollar man Luc Robitaille ... no takers it seems now that the Rangers have used up most of their cap room. No takers at all ?
6-8-1-1	38-25-10-1		18	10	The Kings haven't been able to keep their strong early season form going ... and right now they look like an easy matchup in the first round when they most likely will have to deal with the San Jose Sharks. But you never know ...
6-7-1-0	30-37-5-0		19	14	The Islanders are on the verge of conceding that they will miss the playoffs yet again ... so they are trying to offload a few veterans to cut some cost - Brunette is gone ... Housley is being actively shopped.
6-8-1-0	30-29-14-1		20	14	The Hawks sent Eric Lindros out of town after his strong season that has as good as secured a spot in the playoffs for the Hawks ... but without him, how will they fare ? So far they've lost 4 straight since trading him.
5-8-3-1	32-33-9-1		21	10	The Penguins still have a lot of work to do before they clinch a playoff-berth ... but staying in the race is a huge achievement on its own. Have several key players up for renegotiations of their contracts ... but strong fiscal management has put them in a good position to keep the players.
6-8-1-0	24-40-9-1		22	24	Nothing new in Anaheim. Traded a couple of prospects for cash ... but will still finish the season in the red, nothing can change that.
4-7-4-0	24-35-14-1		23	27	One of the great unfortunate mysteries of the season. Strong team, lots of quality players ... yet far adrift of the playoffs. 8 points out with 9 games to go - doesn't sound realistic. At least there's always next season, but what will happen to Curtis Joseph ? Will he be invited back ?
3-6-5-0	25-34-13-0		24	14	The Carolina Hurricanes is in the same position they have been all season .... heck ... last season too. Barely scraping by with a lowbudget team.
3-7-4-0	22-36-14-1		25	10	The Philadelphia Flyers have new management ... and new management has the work cut out for them. A young inexpensive team ... few true quality players though. Good luck with it Chris.
5-9-2-0	15-49-9-1		26	30	The Blue Jackets seemed certain to finish dead last in the WCFHL and having the best chance for the 1st overall pick. However, an unwanted 4 game winning streak has seen them move within 4 points of the Boston Bruins.
5-10-0-1	17-49-7-3		27	28	The plan is in motion, the Bruins are putting together a great young team and will add a lot of quality in the upcoming draft ... could even slide into last place if things go well the rest of the season. Frolov leads all rookies, Henrik Tallinder is tied for 2nd.
4-9-1-1	32-35-5-3		28	14	The Atlanta Thrashers have 2 games in hand on the 8th placed Penguins and are trailing by 2 points. With 10 games remaining they are facing just ONE team they have a winning record against this season (Maple Leafs) ... but ... on the other hand, they're also only playing one playoffbound team.
4-10-2-0	29-36-8-3		29	14	The Flames still have a shot at the playoffs if they can pick up some wins the rest of the way ... but they have a nasty schedule with 3 games against the steaming hot Canadiens and 2 against the dominant Avalanche. Iginla where art thou ?
3-10-2-0	23-44-6-1		30	29	The New Jersey Devils are having a garagesale to cut payroll. So far 15 million ... more seems likely the way management is shopping the remaining veterans.