The NHL's marathon regular season is finally behind us. The "real" season now begins. But before we dive head-first into two months of postseason drama and more Alex Ovechkin highlights, it's time to look back on how my preseason rankings held up as well as the teams and players that stood out during the past six months.
Biggest surprise (player)
1. Alexei Kovalev (Mtl.) 2. Mike Ribeiro (Dal.) 3. Brent Burns (Min.) 4. Derek Roy (Buf.) 5. Tim Thomas (Bos.)
Biggest surprise (team)
1. Canadiens 2. Capitals 3. Wild 4. Bruins 5. Blackhawks
Biggest disappointment (player)
1. Ray Emery (Ott.) 2. Travis Zajac (N.J.) 3. Michal Handzus (L.A.) 4. Kari Lehtonen (Atl.) 5. Michael Ryder (Mtl.)
Biggest disappointment (team)
1. Canucks 2. Sabres 3. Lightning 4. Blues 5. Senators
Best rookie
1. Jonathan Toews (Chi.) 2. Carey Price (Mtl.) 3. Patrick Kane (Chi.)
4. Peter Mueller (Pho.) 5. Tobias Enstrom (Atl.) 5a. Nicklas Backstrom (Wash.)
Notes: PR denotes team's preseason ranking.
Have issues with my Power Rankings or want to pat me on the back? Send me an E-mail
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They closed out the regular season by dropping two of their last three. Reason for concern? Uh, not in the slightest. But by losing Thursday's contest against the Kings, San Jose missed a shot at becoming the first post-1980 expansion club to put together back-to-back 50-win seasons. Evgeni Nabokov also fell two wins shy of tying the NHL record of 48 set last season by Marty Brodeur. Still, look for the Sharks to cruise past the Flames in the first round.
Last Week: 1-2-0
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7 |
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Talk about cutting it close. Nicklas Lidstrom scored two goals in the finale to finish with 10 for the season. Saint Nick has notched 10 or more in 14 of his 16 seasons, and in four straight. The 37-year-old was the highest-scoring blueliner in the MHL (70 points). It sure seems as if people write this guy off before every season, figuring he has to lose a step. Let me know when that day comes.
Last Week: 2-1-0
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23 |
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The Senators and Red Wings get much of the ink when it comes to scoring goals, but the Habs actually finished the season on top, with 262. Ottawa scored 261; Detroit had 253. Montreal can light the lamp, but it can also clamp down on opponents. Their 20-year-old rookie netminder Carey Price went 24-12-3 with a 2.56 GAA to carry them to their first division title in 16 years. I'm confident he'll come up big in the playoffs, too.
Last Week: 3-0-0
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They head into the playoffs fairly strong, but need to find some scoring. Corey Perry, who missed the final 12 games with a quad injury, still led the team, with 29. It was the lowest total to lead the Ducks in a regular season since their inaugural 1993-94 campaign, when Bob Corkum had 23. At the other end of the ice, J-S Giguere set a single-season team record with a 2.12 GAA, and his .922 save percentage edged Guy Hebert's .921 mark in '98-99.
Last Week: 2-0-0
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A meaningless record or rest for his superstar? That's the question coach Michel Therrien must've wrestled with before the season finale -- if it even registered on his radar. Had Sidney Crosby played and recorded two points, it would have upped his points-per-game average to 1.37 and nudged him past Alex Ovechkin (1.365). I'm sure the Pens were merely concerned about heading into playoffs relatively healthy.
Last Week: 1-1-1
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18 |
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Wait. What was that that I saw on Sunday? Did the Devils really beat the Rangers for the first time this season? "It was important to get home ice, but it was just as important to get the win, if not just for our own psyche," Jay Pandolfo said. But if I'm a Devils fan, I'm very concerned about the offense: Zach Parise's 65 points was the lowest team-leading total since Patrik Elias had 57 in 2002-03.
Last Week: 3-1-0
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15 |
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Good news: they go into the playoffs with a white-hot goalie. Niklas Backstrom is 7-0-1 with a 1.41 GAA and .950 save percentage in his past eight decisions. In his last six home starts, he's 6-0 with a 0.83 GAA and .970 save pct. Even more good news: Backstrom this season is 4-1 with a 1.98 GAA in five starts against the Avs, their first-round opponent.
Last Week: 1-0-1
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By scoring six goals in the final five games, Jaromir Jagr extended his NHL-record for consecutive 25-goal seasons to 17. The captain's late flurry helped the Rangers finish second in the Atlantic and fifth in the East, earning a first-round date with the rival Devils. "It'll be a battle of two great goaltenders," Jagr told the New York Post. "The young kid [Henrik Lundqvist] and the old guy [Martin Brodeur]. It's going to be special."
Last Week: 2-0-2
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13 |
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You know why it's hard to get a read on them? They are two completely different teams. The healthy squad, with Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg playing big minutes, can beat anyone on any given night. The injury-riddled squad has trouble edging also-rans. Colorado is definitely a different beast when Foppa (1 goal, 13 assists in nine games) is on the ice.
Last Week: 2-0-0
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16 |
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Brenden Morrow finished the season with a career-best 74 points. Mike Ribeiro led the Stars in scoring with 83 points in 76 games. Dallas finished a league-best plus-41 in second-period goal differential. But make no mistake about it: the Stars head into the playoffs searching for answers -- and chemisty. In fact, Dallas hasn't won consecutive games since Feb. 26 and 28. Sorry, Stars fans, but I don't see your team getting out of the first round.
Last Week: 2-1-0
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Read on for teams 11-20 ...
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