Power Rankings: Youth, speed have Blackhawks flying early

Updated Oct. 22

At the beginning of the decade, the Chicago Blackhawks assembled a talented group of high draft picks they hoped would lead the floundering once-great Original Six franchise back to its glory days.

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane give Chicago reason to celebrate early on this season. (AP)

Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out when they pinned their rebuilding plans on the likes of Mark Bell, Kyle Calder and Steve McCarthy, players who are all long gone.

Still, being once bitten hasn't made Chicago twice shy. The Blackhawks are again using a similar formula in an attempt to get themselves back to respectability.

This time it seems to be working. The Blackhawks reinforced themselves by adding some quality veterans over the summer, but the story in the Windy City so far has been kids like teenage rookie forward sensations Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, and only slightly more experienced defensemen Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith.

Chicago suffered an early setback when top scorer Martin Havlat injured his shoulder. But there is enough overall depth on the roster, and more important, enough team speed to take advantage of the aggressive style coach Denis Savard has been trying to implement since he took over in midseason last year.

The Blackhawks have already beaten Central Division rival Detroit twice and scored 11 goals in winning consecutive games over the weekend, including four on penalties the Maple Leafs had to take because it was the only way to slow Chicago down. Looks like that could be a problem many other teams will face against the Blackhawks this season.

"You feel good, but we have a long way to go," Chicago general manager Dale Tallon told the Chicago Tribune. "We're trying to get the pieces of the puzzle to make us right for a long time. This is just the beginning, but we're excited."

They should be.

Here are this week's Power Rankings:

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Blackhawks · Trends	2
	Chicago had to have a letdown after that statement win in San Jose, just not enough to ruin a great 4-1-1 circus road trip.
	2	Sharks · Trends	1
	The Sharks are always among the best at home, but this season they already have 11 road wins to lead the league.
	3	Devils · Trends	3
	Marty's just being Marty. Devils goalie Brodeur has allowed two goals or less in 13 of his past 15 starts, and one or less in eight of those.
	4	Penguins · Trends	7
	Getting healthy and on a roll. The Pens are starting to fire on all cylinders and have won six of their past eight.
	5	Flames · Trends	5
	They are taking control of the Northwest Division mainly because of how well they are playing on the road.
	6	Capitals · Trends	6
	Semyon Varlamov has picked up where he left off in the playoffs, going 10-1-3 so far in his first full NHL season.
	7	Sabres · Trends	8
	Is there any doubt Ryan Miller has locked up the starting job for Team USA at the Olympics?
	8	Predators · Trends	9
	A very solid blue line and good work in goal from both Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis have the Predators in the thick of the West race.
	9	Bruins · Trends	11
	Playing a lot of hockey these days, with OTs in five of their past six, but Boston is picking up points and back in the division race.
	10	Thrashers · Trends	21
	In Ilya Kovalchuk's shadow, Rich Peverley remains an impact guy with a league-leading five game-winners among his 10 goals.
	11	Senators · Trends	10
	Mike Fisher is having a big-time turnaround season for the Sens and putting up the best numbers of his career.
	12	Flyers · Trends	4
	With the Flyers still falling short of expectations, coach John Stevens' future is being called into question.
	13	Coyotes · Trends	17
	Tough team to play against when ahead. Phoenix is 11-2-1 this season when scoring first.
	14	Red Wings · Trends	13
	You know things are rough offensively when the home folks are yelling "Let's go Lions."
	15	Lightning · Trends	19
	Steven Stamkos continues his remarkable sophomore season and drive toward Canada's Olympic team. He's on pace to score more than 50 goals.
	16	Kings · Trends	14
	Anze Kopitar's shootout winner against Chicago is the only time he has scored since Ryan Smyth went down.
	17	Avalanche · Trends	18
	Things continue to go downhill for the Avalanche, who now have their top two goal scorers on the shelf.
	18	Canucks · Trends	16
	The Canucks are in the playoff picture because of their record at home and in spite of their penalty killing so far.
	19	Stars · Trends	20
	Dallas has actually lost more games than it has won, but the loser points are keeping the Stars in the hunt.
	20	Rangers · Trends	22
	Little is going right these days, making the great start seem more like an illusion with each passing game.
	21	Panthers · Trends	12
	If only games lasted 40 minutes. Florida triggered four losses in the third period last week, and has won only four of nine times it has led after two.
	22	Canadiens · Trends	25
	Montreal finishes the season's second month like the first, as a .500 team that doesn't look playoff bound.
	23	Islanders · Trends	23
	Josh Bailey responded to being a healthy scratch with a nice offensive surge for the scrappy Isles.
	24	Ducks · Trends	27
	No one is shutting down Perry and Getzlaf these days, but Anaheim's hole is still pretty deep.
	25	Maple Leafs · Trends	30
	A trip down south was just what the doctor ordered for the Leafs, who are getting big-time production from Niklas Hagman and Phil Kessel.
	26	Blue Jackets · Trends	15
	Hard to imagine team defense would be the problem on a Ken Hitchcock coached team.
	27	Blues · Trends	24
	One reason for the Blues' 4-8-2 record in their own building is their inability to score there. St. Louis has only 28 goals in 14 games at home.
	28	Wild · Trends	28
	Still a long way to go, but at least the Wild has picked up points in 10 of their past 13 games.
	29	Oilers · Trends	26
	They can't win on the road lately, or anywhere for that matter. Edmonton's five-game road losing streak is part of a 4-11-3 mark over the past 18 games.
	30	Hurricanes · Trends	29
	The 'Canes allowed five third-period goals twice over the weekend and still haven't won on the road.