The Power Grid is back for the second straight year.   This is not a full NHL ranking, but what we believe are the Top 15.  So here you go . . .

1st:  Pittsburgh Penguins: The Pens are 11-3 with 22 points leading the Eastern Conference by 2 points over Washington.  Sidney Crosby leads the Pens with 16 points and Alex Goligoski is having a great start with 5 goals and 7 assists.  The Pens lose Evgeni Malkin for a few weeks.   Pens embark on a 4 game road trip that includes 3 games on the west coast.   Will Malkin’s absence slow the Pens?

2nd:  Colorado Avalanche: Ummm, they were not in our Top 15 preseason poll.  I doubt they were seriously in any pre-season power poll Top 15.  The Avs are 10-3-2 leading the Western Conference with 22 points.  Am I a believer?  Not yet.  Avs had a sensational October, no question, but let’s wait at least the first two weeks in November to see if they stick around the top or begin to descend down the mountain.  Avs just ended a two game weekend and walked out with two consecutive losses.  Is reality returning?

3rd:  San Jose Sharks: The Sharks are just 1 point behind the Colorado Avalanche with 21 points, a 10-4-1 start.  Unlike the Avs, they came out of the weekend 2-0 and have a 5 game winning streak.  Patrick Marleau, Joe Thorton, and Dany Heatley are all heating up, which is bad news for the Avs.  I suspect it won’t be long until the Sharks grab first in the WC.   In fact, we bet they will be by the next Power Grid.

4th:  Washington Capitals:  Caps took two overtime losses over the weekend, to the NY Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets.  Disappointing yes.  But they still walked out with 2 points and stand at 8-2-4 with 20 points, 2 points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins.    The Caps are struggling on the power play and getting secondary line scoring.  Tomas Fleischmann’s return from a blood clot appears to be giving secondary scoring a boost.  Don’t believe the media hype on Alex Ovechkin’s injury.  He will be fine and will play on Wednesday.   We agree with Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau.  The Caps are missing a 60 minute effort.

5th:  Buffalo Sabres: Great goal tending leads to wins.  That’s what Buffalo is getting with Ryan Miller.  In 10 games, Miller is 8-1-1 with a 1.86 GAA and a save percentage of .940.  Miller is aided by a pretty stingy defense, one of the stingiest in the NHL.  They need to.  The Sabres are not going to be an offensively explosive team.  Tim Connelly leads Buffalo with just 10 points.  They key for the Sabres will be continued impressive defense.  

6th Los Angeles Kings: Another team no where near the Power Grid’s Preseason Top 15.  They come in at 6th right now posting a 8-4-2 record, 18 points.  Kings are getting tons of offense from Anzi Kopitar who has 10 goals and 11 assists, third in the NHL in points.  Ryan Smith is helping out with 15 points.  The Kings are also getting decent goal tending from Jon Quick, who is 8-3-2 with a 2.59 GAA.  King took 2 overtime losses this weekend.  Is this the beginning of the tumble or just a bump?

7th:  New York Rangers:  Ranger started out as the best and hottest team in the NHL.  Rangers went on a 1-4-1 dive before shutting out Boston on Sunday.  Marian Gaborik is back in the lineup, but injuries are part of Gaborik and the Rangers better expect it.  Just ask the Wild.  King Henry Lundqvist is posting a GAA of 2.48 and a save percentage of .920, giving the Rangers opportunities to win.  But King Henry does not play offense.  They just have to score.

8th Phoenix Coyotes: Huh?  Really?  Hey, they are the ones racking up the wins.  Much like Colorado, I am not a believer yet.  The Coyotes had a fantastic October.  They are young and vibrant.  But how long will it last?  Currently, the Coyotes are 9-4 with 18 points.  How are they doing it?  They are first in the Western Conferences in goals against, allowing only 25 goals over 13 games.  It’s called defense.  It’s called good goal tending.  Ilya Bryzgalov is 8-3  with a 1.73 GAA and an impressive save percentage of .930.  The Coyotes are still hot, coming out of the weekend with wins and have won three straight.

9th:  Chicago Blackhawks: The Blackhawks have posted a 6-2-1 record on home ice, powering their 8-4-1 record.  Coming this week are road games against Pheonix and Colorado.  They way these teams are playing, these will be big tests for the Hawks on the road.  They are second in the WC behind Phoenix in goals against, showing some great defense.  Both goalies, Cristobal Huet and Antti Neimi have GAAs under 2.30.

10th:  New Jersey Devils: The Devils started the season out pretty cold, but have heated up and are ascending the Eastern Conference.  What are they ranked over Dallas?  They have won 5 of their last 6 games.   The Devils are led by Zach Parise who has scored 6 goals and 8 assists.  Martin Brodeur again has a GAA of 2.42 and keeping the Devils in games and giving them chances to win.  The Devils are doing that.  They face a big test on Wednesday against 4th ranked Washington Capitals.

The next 5

11.  Dallas Stars

12.  Vancouver Canucks

13.  Calgary Flames

14.  Columbus Blue Jackets

15.  Ottawa Senators

From our pre-season rankings —

Rising into Top 15 from Pre-Season rankings:   Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, and Ottawa Senators

Teams that FELL out of  Top 15 pre-season rankings:  Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings,  Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, St. Louis Blues