Power Rankings: Three-headed monster leads halfway charge

Updated Jan. 12

The NHL has crossed that great divide known as the mid-way point in its schedule, and several things have become clear. Among them: the Boston Bruins are not a fluke; the Red Wings don't understand the concept of Stanley Cup hangover and the San Jose Sharks really are built to win in the playoffs.

Not coincidently these three teams share a few things in common like getting it done at both ends of the ice and standing out from the pack during the first half of the season. In fact, each has taken a turn as the NHL's best at different moments through their first 41 games.

The Sharks were the fastest out of the gate and have run away with the Pacific Division, but what once seemed like an insurmountable lead for them in the overall league standings is almost gone. Boston took a couple of weeks to get cranked up and has been nearly unbeatable since, while Detroit has found a way to expend just enough energy to control the Central Division and fine tune its game for the postseason, and both are now nearly tied with San Jose in points.

But while all three are obviously serious Stanley Cup contenders, they are not the only ones in a league that now has more parity than ever before.

From the East, the Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers have all demonstrated championship qualities and the ability to get into a winning run at various times through the first half, while in the West, it seems imprudent to overlook the veteran Anaheim Ducks or the Calgary Flames, who have been building momentum with key men Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff leading the way.

Any of those teams could be lifting the Cup this spring, but under the right circumstances, so could dark horses like the Rangers, Devils, Blackhawks or Vancouver Canucks, who all have goalies capable of carrying a team through a long playoff run.

Now the fun begins.

This week's rankings:

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Sharks · Trends	1
	Thornton, Heatley and Marleau make a pretty good line, don't they? All are among the top five scorers.
	2	Blackhawks · Trends	5
	A Thanksgiving treat is coming for the Blackhawks, who are about to get Marian Hossa in the lineup for the first time this season.
	3	Devils · Trends	2
	Suddenly the road isn't as friendly to the depleted Devils, who have added Dainius Zubrus to the long injured list.
	4	Flyers · Trends	4
	Philly's power play is struggling and the penalty killers have been burned five times in the past three games, twice in a 3-1 loss at Phoenix.
	5	Flames · Trends	6
	Jarome Iginla keeps lighting it up for the Flames, with nine goals in his past 11 games.
	6	Capitals · Trends	7
	Mike Green has been on fire lately and has taken over the scoring lead among D-men.
	7	Penguins · Trends	8
	After a blazing start, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has cooled off in November. He's 3-5 and has been pulled twice.
	8	Sabres · Trends	3
	Good starts weren't enough to overcome less than impressive play at even strength for the Sabres and resulted in an 0-2-1 mark last week.
	9	Predators · Trends	15
	Even if Nashville still isn't scoring much, the power play has been timely lately. And the Preds have nine wins in 11 games, including five in a row.
	10	Senators · Trends	23
	The Sens offense showed some life with 14 goals in wins over Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Toronto last week.
	11	Bruins · Trends	20
	The B's got a boost from Milan Lucic's return and have another one coming with Marc Savard set to go.
	12	Panthers · Trends	22
	Panthers seem to like playing in front of crowds because they swept their trip to Buffalo, Detroit and MSG. Tomas Vokoun has been outstanding in goal, and Florida has won eight of 11.
	13	Red Wings · Trends	9
	Detroit's offense ranks seventh, but the numbers are deceiving because 19 goals came in three games. The Wings have scored two or fewer nine times.
	14	Kings · Trends	10
	Call this gut-check time for the young Kings and particularly Anze Kopitar, with veteran Ryan Smyth on the shelf for a month.
	15	Blue Jackets · Trends	14
	Derick Brassard has been a disappointment this season, with only three goals a minus-8 rating through 20 games.
	16	Canucks · Trends	12
	Slowly but surely getting the key pieces back, with Luongo a couple of weeks ago and now Daniel Sedin.
	17	Coyotes · Trends	18
	Still winning games on the ice, but losing at the box office. Bankruptcy court filings show the 'Yotes could be $50 million in the red from this season.
	18	Avalanche · Trends	13
	Reality may be setting in for the slumping Avs, who have blown two-goal leads to lose the last two games and are 1-4-1 in the last six.
	19	Lightning · Trends	16
	Doing things the hard way. Tampa Bay has been outshot in 10 of the past 11 games, yet the Bolts have managed to get 14 points by going 5-2-4.
	20	Stars · Trends	21
	Brad Richards and linemates James Neal and Loui Eriksson have accounted for nearly half of the Stars' goal-scoring so far.
	21	Thrashers · Trends	11
	Atlanta is struggling at home but tough when it gets a lead. The Thrashers are 7-0 when scoring first and 6-0 when ahead after the first period.
	22	Rangers · Trends	17
	Marian Gaborik and Vinnie Prospal are carrying the offense, but it isn't enough for the free-falling Rangers.
	23	Islanders · Trends	19
	Trent Hunter has been on a roll since returning from the IR with a point in all six of his games.
	24	Blues · Trends	27
	After a quick start, Paul Kariya has picked up only one assist in his past 12 games.
	25	Canadiens · Trends	24
	Carey Price has been a lot better of late, allowing no more than two goals in each of his last five starts.
	26	Oilers · Trends	25
	Coach Pat Quinn, whose Oilers have lost five of six and eight of 10: "There is some intelligence needed in this game, some IQ. We have some skill, but skill hasn't done squat for us yet."
	27	Ducks · Trends	26
	Corey Perry is riding a 14-game point streak, but the Ducks need better work from both of their goalies.
	28	Wild · Trends	28
	Andrew Brunette has stopped scoring with only one goal in 11 games after getting seven in his first 11.
	29	Hurricanes · Trends	30
	Unlike the rest of the 'Canes, Tuomo Ruutu has been on fire lately with four goals and five assists in the last six games.
	30	Maple Leafs · Trends	29
	At least now Vesa Toskala doesn't have to worry about going winless this season.