Power Rankings: Hot Devils keep adding to Lou's legacy

Updated Nov. 10

There are several reasons Lou Lamoriello was honored with a long-overdue induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame, including the role he played in opening the door for Russians to play in the NHL and the growth of the sport in the United States.

Yet Lamoriello's greatest legacy has to be the culture of winning he has created for the New Jersey Devils organization since becoming its general manager 22 years ago.

Lamoriello took over a team that had missed five consecutive playoffs and had been once famously been called a "Mickey Mouse" outfit by Wayne Gretzky, turning it into a conference finalist in his first season and a model franchise for the league ever since. New Jersey has won three Stanley Cups and eight division titles during Lamoriello's tenure, but more telling, has managed to remain among the elites consistently, regardless of the economic system or often-significant personnel changes.

This season has been no different, even if the Devils made only one notable move after being bounced in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year. And if turning to Jacques Lemaire to coach again suggested the Devils were going back to the future, well, that hasn't been a bad thing for the hottest team in the league right now. New Jersey has won five games in a row and remains the NHL's only unbeaten team on the road, despite a rash of injuries that has hindered Lemaire's effort to take on a more offensive style than he used in his first go-round with the Devils.

New Jersey is without its No. 1 defenseman Paul Martin and its best checking forward, Jay Pandolfo, until after Thanksgiving, but is getting stepped-up, two-way efforts from the top line anchored by Zach Parise to make up for it. And after a slow start, goalie Martin Brodeur is rounding his game into high gear.

As a result the Devils are charging hard toward the top of the Eastern Conference standings, as they usually do under Lou.

Here are the rankings through Monday night's games:

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Sharks · Trends	1
	The league's best home team last season is doing it again. San Jose is 5-0-1 at the Tank so far and has allowed only seven goals.
	2	Capitals · Trends	6
	Clearly the beasts of the Southeast. The Caps are perfect against division opponents so far and have the biggest standings lead in the league.
	3	Devils · Trends	12
	Niclas Bergfors is getting into the top rookie conversation this season with the offense he's contributing to a team that thinks defense first.
	4	Avalanche · Trends	4
	The Avs won't let the bottom fall out, even if doubters remain in Denver. Colorado has lost just one home game this season, but remains near the bottom in attendance.
	5	Flyers · Trends	10
	As Chris Pronger does everything that's expected of him, Matt Carle is quietly having a great season on defense for the Flyers as well.
	6	Sabres · Trends	3
	A little reality check on the weekend for the Sabres, who were outscored 9-4 while losing twice in a row for the first time this season.
	7	Flames · Trends	14
	Coach Brent Sutter read the riot act and the Flames responded with three straight wins and a Player of the Week effort from Jarome Iginla.
	8	Penguins · Trends	2
	Pittsburgh's injured list keeps growing and making matters worse, Sidney Crosby hasn't had a point in four games, the longest drought of his career.
	9	Kings · Trends	8
	Anze Kopitar keeps putting up numbers, but the young Kings seemed to let down after a big win over Penguins.
	10	Canucks · Trends	9
	Andrew Raycroft has been brilliant for the Canucks since Roberto Luongo went down, going 4-1 with a .936 save percentage.
	11	Blackhawks · Trends	5
	Short of expectations on offense so far, although Jonathan Toews' return should help. The defense is solid and the 'Hawks are very tough at home.
	12	Red Wings · Trends	11
	The ranks continue to thin for the Wings, whose power play was first last season, but only 15th now with just three goals in its last 29 tries.
	13	Coyotes · Trends	13
	A sign of how well the defense has been working in Phoenix. None of the Coyotes regulars on the blue line have a minus rating this season.
	14	Blue Jackets · Trends	19
	Tighter defense and much better penalty killing get the Jackets back on track after a forgettable finish to the first month of the season.
	15	Stars · Trends	18
	Brad Richards is putting up the kind of numbers expected of him these days, and is on pace for the best season of his career.
	16	Senators · Trends	16
	Good thing the Senators' penalty killing has been sharp because they're spending 20.2 minutes a game in the box, more than anyone.
	17	Rangers · Trends	7
	With Brandon Dubinsky gone for six weeks and Chris Drury uncertain, the Rangers have some serious holes down the middle.
	18	Bruins · Trends	15
	The Eastern Conference champs haven't been able to put together two wins in a row this season.
	19	Lightning · Trends	21
	Alex Tanguay is starting to find his grove in Tampa Bay with three goals and seven points in his past six games.
	20	Thrashers · Trends	22
	Atlanta is 3-3 since Ilya Kovalchuk was hurt, mainly because the defensemen have picked up the scoring slack with 12 of the Thrashers' 19 goals.
	21	Canadiens · Trends	17
	Carey Price's numbers look awful so far, although the Habs aren't scoring for him.
	22	Oilers · Trends	20
	The Oilers have been outshot in 14 of 17 games so far.
	23	Predators · Trends	26
	Coach Barry Trotz must be a miracle worker to keep the NHL's lowest-scoring team at .500. Nashville has been shut out four times already.
	24	Ducks · Trends	23
	Corey Perry is putting up big numbers and goaltender Jonas Hiller looks like he is starting to get his game back.
	25	Maple Leafs · Trends	30
	Jonas Gustavsson is being a monster in goal and the Leafs have points in seven games in a row.
	26	Islanders · Trends	24
	Matt Moulson has been clicking nicely with John Tavares for the Isles, who face a tough stretch with 12 of the next 14 games on the road.
	27	Panthers · Trends	25
	Not much emotion coming out of the Panthers these days, unless it is from a backup goalie complaining about being hung out to dry.
	28	Blues · Trends	27
	Not much offense translated in five straight losses for the Blues, who are quickly fading away from the West pack.
	29	Wild · Trends	28
	Which stat is worse -- Martin Havlat with only one goal that came more than a month ago, or his minus-12?
	30	Hurricanes · Trends	29
	As if things weren't bad enough for the 'Canes before Cam Ward went down for what could be a very long time. This is turning ugly.