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NHL Power Rankings

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Carter Gaddis/The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 16, 2007

1. RED WINGS: G Chris Osgood (14-1-1 going into the weekend) has made it possible for fellow G Dominik Hasek to rest up for the playoffs - in December.

2. SENATORS: Their slide seems to be over, and they survived with their big lead in the Eastern Conference still intact.

3. DEVILS: New Jersey's early struggles have given way to the standard defensive dominance of years past.

4. SHARKS: In addition to the offensive heroics of Joe Thornton, they're doing it with the league's best penalty killers and an overall stingy defense.

5. STARS: The job in goal is still Marty Turco's, but Mike Smith's play on Turco's days off is what makes Dallas so consistently good.

6. CANUCKS: Just when it seemed like they were ready to roll, G Roberto Luongo got hurt. Now they're just holding on until he comes back.

7. HURRICANES: If they're not careful, they might look back at December as the month they failed to put away the rest of the Southeast Division.

8. BRUINS: G Tim Thomas gets hurt, so they go out and get G Alex Auld from Phoenix. It's worked out pretty well, so far.

9. AVALANCHE: C Joe Sakic (groin) is making slow progress in his recovery from a groin injury.

10. RANGERS: Not fading in the Atlantic Division, exactly, but the Devils moved past them like they were standing still.

11. FLYERS: By the time Mike Richards' new contract (12 years for a reported $69 million) runs out in 2020, there will have been three presidential elections with a fourth about to happen.

12. PENGUINS: Just when G Marc-Andre Fleury began to play well, an ankle sprain sent him to the sidelines for two months.

13. BLUES: Picking up C Andy McDonald from Anaheim can only help.

14. WILD: Keeping the heat on Vancouver with games like Friday's 5-2 victory against the Ducks.

15. DUCKS: McDonald's gone, but veteran Doug Weight is in and D Scott Neidermayer is expected to make his season debut as soon as today.

16. CANADIENS: Have struggled lately, and if they can't figure out a way to win at home (5-6-4), they'll continue to struggle.

17. BLUE JACKETS: Former Lightning RW Fredrik Modin (back) still at least a week away from returning after being out since Nov. 2.

18. ISLANDERS: No team in the league has scored fewer goals, but they're hanging around the fringes of playoff contention.

19. FLAMES: All it took for Mike Keenan's team to get it together was starting 4-0 on a six-game road trip.

20. LIGHTNING: It's early yet, but the Hart Trophy is there for Vinny Lecavalier to take if he just keeps doing what he's doing.

21. BLACKHAWKS: A team that relies so heavily on youngsters is going to go through rough spots, but they should be right there come March.

22. MAPLE LEAFS: They've still got a lot of work to do to solidify their position, but G Vesa Toskala has settled things down for now.

23. PANTHERS: Because of the relative weakness of the Southeast Division, this team still has a chance to move into playoff contention.

24. SABRES: Like most teams hovering around .500, they're looking for consistency beyond the steadiness of players like D Brian Campbell (team-high 19 assists).

25. CAPITALS: They've definitely gotten better under interim coach Bruce Boudreau, but they dug themselves an awfully deep hole early.

26. PREDATORS: Playing in the competitive Central Division, Nashville will have a tough time making up ground on the teams in front of it.

27. THRASHERS: The magic of "Coach" Don Waddell seems to have worn out; maybe it's time for GM Waddell to renew the search for a permanent guy behind the bench.

28. COYOTES: Only the Islanders have scored fewer goals than Phoenix. Pretty ironic for a Wayne Gretzky-coached team to have trouble scoring.

29. OILERS: Five players on injured reserve doesn't help, but it's hard to say they'd be much better even if they were 100 percent healthy.

30. KINGS: With all that's happened on and off the ice, can Coach Marc Crawford keep his job much longer?

Carter Gaddis

POWER RANKINGS

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