Power Rankings: Can one man make a difference? Ask the Wild

Updated March 27

Talk about a key player.

In the Minnesota Wild's case it's Marian Gaborik. He has played only 43 of the 77 games for the team this season because of injury, but far more often than not, his presence has resulted in wins. Gaborik has 28 goals -- including seven game winners -- and 50 points, and the Wild are 30-7-6 when he is in lineup and 18-1-2 when he scores.

Marian Gaborik has scored 28 goals in 43 games played this season. (Getty Images)

What's really important is that Gaborik is there now, and with 13 points in his last nine games, picking it up even more steam as the playoffs approach.

Minnesota has been all about defense under coach Jacques Lemaire since its 2000 NHL debut, and was counting on Gaborik to trigger a new offensive direction this season after adding skilled players like Pavol Demitra, Mark Parrish and Kim Johnsson to support him. But they didn't really get to strut their stuff until after New Year's because Gaborik, who has spent significant time on the shelf since Minnesota made him their first-ever draft pick in 1999, was out most of the time with a groin injury.

Gaborik returned Jan. 6 and since then everyone has switched into high gear. Minnesota has gone 24-6-6, keeping pace with an equally hot Vancouver team to turn the Northwest title race into one of the most compelling in the league.

The Wild have been getting some great goaltending from Niklas Backstrom, the 29-year-old rookie they signed from Finland last June, and lately from another freshman, Josh Harding. Their scoring is coming from several places in the lineup -- and they can still play defense, of course.

Minnesota is nearly unbeatable at home and much improved on the road in the last few months, and has flown under the radar most of this season. If the Wild keep playing like they have, they'll be hard to miss in the playoffs. Here are this week's rankings:

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Bruins · Trends	1
	Boston hit its stride early and rarely stumbled under the smart coaching of Claude Julien. The Bruins can score and enter the playoffs as the only team with fewer than 200 goals allowed.
	2	Sharks · Trends	2
	A first Presidents' Trophy will only mean something to the league's best home team if it turns out to be a stepping stone for a first deep playoff run.
	3	Red Wings · Trends	3
	Detroit often looked like the reigning Cup champs this season, but not lately. Maybe they can flip the switch, but both goalies have sub-.900 save percentages.
	4	Penguins · Trends	7
	Everything about Pittsburgh's season before the coaching change and the deadline acquisitions is irrelevant. These Penguins are a fine-tuned version of last spring's Stanley Cup finalists.
	5	Capitals · Trends	4
	Ovechkin and company will have to provide enough fireworks to overcome a defense that is vulnerable. Can a team run and gun its way to a Stanley Cup in this day and age?
	6	Canucks · Trends	10
	No one out West has played better over the past few months than the Canucks, who will ride a very hot Roberto Luongo into the playoffs. Vancouver won the Northwest after being 13 points back in January.
	7	Blackhawks · Trends	8
	Nikolai Khabibulin is playing like someone in his contract year should and the kids are alright again after going through a rough stretch last month. Starting the playoffs at home is a bonus.
	8	Ducks · Trends	6
	A strong finish got them to the playoffs, and with Francois Beauchemin back, they've got the best blue line in the business. This is the dark-horse team in the West.
	9	Hurricanes · Trends	5
	A sloppy finish cost Carolina a shot at the fourth seed, but the Hurricanes' late-season surge wasn't a fluke and Cam Ward is playing like a Conn Smythe winner again.
	10	Flyers · Trends	11
	At one point this season, the Flyers had a 13-1-3 stretch, but they've been a .500 team since the trade deadline. So they're an enigma heading to the playoffs, a team that could get to the Finals or get bounced in Round 1.
	11	Devils · Trends	9
	The wheels seemed to come off after Martin Brodeur set his wins record in March. A couple of meaningless late wins won't convince anyone the Devils have fixed things.
	12	Blue Jackets · Trends	14
	They have the league's worst power play and allowed more goals than they scored, yet the Jackets still found a way into the playoffs because rookie sensation Steve Mason always gives them a chance to win.
	13	Rangers · Trends	18
	The Rangers earned their playoff spot by winning the games they had to, mainly because Henrik Lundqvist came up very big. But he'll need help for New York to make any kind of run.
	14	Blues · Trends	15
	The Blues officially claimed the feel-good story of the year title last week by grabbing a playoff spot with their roster full of fuzzy-faced kids. St. Louis could be dangerous playing without the pressure of expectations.
	15	Flames · Trends	13
	The impact of Calgary's implosion hasn't muted because the Flames are in the playoffs. But the Flames have been borderline awful for the past six weeks and they are pretty banged up heading into the playoffs.
	16	Canadiens · Trends	12
	Montreal backed into the playoffs last week, which temporarily saved the organization from another major embarrassment in a season that has already gone down in flames.
	17	Sabres · Trends	19
	A second consecutive season without the playoffs. Buffalo was competitive but was done in by Ryan Miller's untimely injury.
	18	Panthers · Trends	17
	Much progress this season under rookie coach Peter DeBoer, but not enough to overcome a punchless offense and too many bad goals against Tomas Vokoun.
	19	Wild · Trends	20
	Things would have probably been different had Marian Gaborik been there all season. At least Minnesota got an idea about what it will be like next season.
	20	Predators · Trends	16
	The Predators stayed in the playoff race longer than they should have and seemed to have set themselves up in goal for the next few seasons with Pekka Rinne.
	21	Oilers · Trends	21
	Edmonton placed a lot of hope -- probably too much -- on several young players and it backfired this season. Long-time coach Craig MacTavish could pay the price.
	22	Senators · Trends	23
	Here is a microcosm of how Ottawa's season went: Sniper Dany Heatley scored four times in his first three games, stayed healthy and still finished one shy of a fourth straight 40-goal season.
	23	Thrashers · Trends	22
	A strong finish and some good young pieces give the Thrashers some hope, although that's getting a bid old for a franchise that has been in only four playoff games.
	24	Kings · Trends	25
	Their development process got a lot further than expected this season and the Kings have the cap space to add big pieces over this summer. They could produce a quick turnaround next year.
	25	Coyotes · Trends	26
	Can we say Phoenix took a step forward this season? Not really, but the bigger concern surrounds the team's future in the desert.
	26	Stars · Trends	24
	Too many key injuries to deal with, especially in a season that had off-ice distractions and Marty Turco far from his best.
	27	Maple Leafs · Trends	27
	Now that the season is over the Brian Burke era will really begin.
	28	Lightning · Trends	28
	All kinds of questions for the Bolts heading into the summer, but the biggest is whether Vincent Lecavalier will be back.
	29	Avalanche · Trends	29
	All signs are pointing to Patrick Roy becoming coach of the Avs after their worst season in Colorado.
	30	Islanders · Trends	30
	The prize for an awful season will come at the draft when New York gets either John Tavares or Victor Hedman.