Updated Dec. 1
Going-nowhere teams that hire a new GM generally rate only marginal attention, but when the deal involves an outsized personality like Brian Burke and the Toronto Maple Leafs, it tends to dominate the NHL's news.
Such is the way things were last week when the Maple Leafs hired Burke to fix their mess. Burke's coronation was the worst kept secret in the league, but it still managed to overshadow everything, including an interesting race that is developing in the Atlantic Division.
The New York Rangers looked like they would run away with the Atlantic after opening the season in Europe and winning their first five games. But despite the Vezina caliber work of goalie Henrik Lundqvist, New York is starting to feel the heat from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New Jersey. The three division rivals are all riding hot streaks these days, and have standings points to pick up because they've played at least four games less so far than New York.
The Rangers begin December leading the Atlantic by five points, but they are coming off a difficult and inconsistent month. It has raised questions about the team, most notably concerning its reliance on gaining points from shootouts. New York went 7-6-1 in November, but four of the wins required a skills competition to reach a decision, including two last week against bottom feeders Tampa Bay and Florida.
Meanwhile, the Penguins have gone 7-2-1 over their last 10 despite several key injuries, and the Flyers, sparked by Simon Gagne's superb comeback season, have done even better at 7-1-2. The Devils have managed to climb back into the picture without Martin Brodeur with five wins in six games, and even the Islanders are making their presence felt by closing in on the .500 mark.
It should be interesting from here on in around the only division that had four playoff teams last season.
This week's rankings:
| Power Rankings | ||||||||||
| Current | Team | Previous | ||||||||
![]() | 1 | Sharks · Trends | 2 | |||||||
| The Sharks started putting things together on their recent road trip and are firing on all cylinders right now. Not coincidentally, Evgeni Nabokov is much sharper in goal, too. | ||||||||||
![]() | 2 | Penguins · Trends | 1 | |||||||
| Any more questions about a hangover? The Pens finished October with Malkin and Gonchar on the shelf, and a league record-tying 11 wins. | ||||||||||
![]() | 3 | Sabres · Trends | 5 | |||||||
| The Sabres are looking for more from Derek Roy, but in the meantime, goalie Ryan Miller is sizzling with only one regulation loss in his 10 starts. | ||||||||||
![]() | 4 | Avalanche · Trends | 3 | |||||||
| Craig Anderson gets the NHL's October star of the month for leading the Avs to first place in the West and tying a league record for wins in a month. | ||||||||||
![]() | 5 | Blackhawks · Trends | 4 | |||||||
| The shots-per-game stat usually tells the story about which team controls games and Chicago is firing an average of 11 more than it is allowing. | ||||||||||
![]() | 6 | Capitals · Trends | 6 | |||||||
| Enough of an early division cushion for the league's best offense to withstand the absence of the league's most dangerous scorer for a while. | ||||||||||
![]() | 7 | Rangers · Trends | 8 | |||||||
| When you start thinking about MVPs, remember how the Rangers looked last week without Marian Gaborik in the lineup. | ||||||||||
![]() | 8 | Kings · Trends | 9 | |||||||
| Defenseman Drew Doughty is doing the job in his own end and on the scoreboard with a goal and seven assists in his last six games. | ||||||||||
![]() | 9 | Canucks · Trends | 10 | |||||||
| Lots of key injuries, little offense from the third and fourth lines and still Vancouver is keeping its head above water. | ||||||||||
![]() | 10 | Flyers · Trends | 11 | |||||||
| The Flyers are producing big offense these days, especially Scott Hartnell with seven points in his last three games. | ||||||||||
![]() | 11 | Red Wings · Trends | 17 | |||||||
| Only Tomas Holmstrom is scoring regularly, but Detroit is hanging tough after getting six of 10 possible points on its road trip. | ||||||||||
![]() | 12 | Devils · Trends | 14 | |||||||
| Happy trails so far this season for the Devils, one of only two unbeaten teams on the road. | ||||||||||
![]() | 13 | Coyotes · Trends | 20 | |||||||
| Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov continues to keep Phoenix in the playoff picture. He has allowed two or less goals in eight of his 11 starts. | ||||||||||
![]() | 14 | Flames · Trends | 7 | |||||||
| Still waiting for Olli Jokinen to break loose and to provide Jarome Iginla the kind of center he needs. | ||||||||||
![]() | 15 | Bruins · Trends | 13 | |||||||
| The Bruins aren't getting much offense because the power play isn't working. Boston has scored once with the man advantage in the last seven games. | ||||||||||
![]() | 16 | Senators · Trends | 15 | |||||||
| The Senators have a chance to put up some points in November with nine of the team's 12 games being at home. | ||||||||||
![]() | 17 | Canadiens · Trends | 12 | |||||||
| Interpret this any way you want: The Habs were .500 in October at 7-7, but six of the wins came in OT or shootouts. | ||||||||||
![]() | 18 | Stars · Trends | 16 | |||||||
| Rookie Jamie Benn is off to a strong start for the Stars, who have been a lot more effective on the road than at home so far. | ||||||||||
![]() | 19 | Blue Jackets · Trends | 18 | |||||||
| R.J. Umberger has started putting up points for the Jackets, who are actually scoring more per game than anyone in the Central Division. | ||||||||||
![]() | 20 | Oilers · Trends | 19 | |||||||
| The flu bug has slowed down a lot of the Oilers, just not Dustin Penner, who is among the league scoring leaders with 19 points. | ||||||||||
![]() | 21 | Lightning · Trends | 23 | |||||||
| Bolts coach Rick Tocchet is looking for something to shake Vincent Lecavalier out of his funk. Meanwhile, the Bolts have yet to lose at home in regulation. | ||||||||||
![]() | 22 | Thrashers · Trends | 22 | |||||||
| Still waiting for Nik Antropov to score his first goal, although his 10 assists have helped the Kovalchuk-less Thrashers. | ||||||||||
![]() | 23 | Ducks · Trends | 25 | |||||||
| A better effort defensively in the last couple of games, while Bobby Ryan's offense is starting to come around. | ||||||||||
![]() | 24 | Islanders · Trends | 30 | |||||||
| The Isles are giving their fans something to cheer about with a four-game winning streak and a winning record at home. | ||||||||||
![]() | 25 | Panthers · Trends | 26 | |||||||
| A couple of desperately-needed road wins were overshadowed only by the offensive exploits of Steven Reinprecht. | ||||||||||
![]() | 26 | Predators · Trends | 27 | |||||||
| Pekka Rinne is looking to regain his No. 1 job in goal, winning a player of the week honor to help make his case. | ||||||||||
![]() | 27 | Blues · Trends | 21 | |||||||
| The Blues are singing them at home, with a 1-5 record and only seven goals in their last six games at Scottrade Center. | ||||||||||
![]() | 28 | Wild · Trends | 28 | |||||||
| They've been the Wild at home and Minny on the road so far, but more telling about the problems is the minus-23 combined rating for the top four defensemen. | ||||||||||
![]() | 29 | Hurricanes · Trends | 24 | |||||||
| The way things are going, the 'Canes season will be done by the time Eric Staal gets back, regardless of how long it is. | ||||||||||
![]() | 30 | Maple Leafs · Trends | 29 | |||||||
| Weeks like this -- the season's first win and 12 points from Tomas Kaberle -- need to be remembered by the Leafs. | ||||||||||
































