Early Season Power Rankings

We might be less than two weeks into the season, but it can't hurt to take a peak at where the teams are starting to stack up.

Here we go...

1. Pittsburgh Penguins - The formula of Crosby + Malkin + Staal + Gonchar + Fleury is still working wonders in Steel Town. I'm beginning to think it's not even necessary to add ( - Wingers) to the end of the equation.

2. New York Rangers - So long as Gaborik stays healthy and the defense holds up, the Rangers could present a very interesting story-line. Henrik Lundqvist looks to be in mid-season form.

3. Los Angeles Kings - The addition of Ryan Smyth is looking great. Just ask Anze Kopitar. Drew Doughty has rebounded from his opening night game (one LA writer described it as his worst game as a pro) to play some spectacular hockey.

4. Columbus Blue Jackets - Rick Nash can and should be a top ten player in this league. If the first two weeks of the season are any indication, this could be the year that comes to fruition.

5. Philadelphia Flyers - Matt Carle seems to be in store for a break-out season. Heck, if I got to play with Chris Pronger I might be in store for a break-out season.

6. Chicago Blackhawks - Not many teams in the NHL can come back from 5-0 deficits. Not many teams in the NHL have as poor a starting goaltender as Cristobal Huet.

7. Colorado Avalanche - Craig Anderson has been nothing short of amazing - but what I love about the Avs is the play of Matt Duchene. His play has been opening eyes all over the league.

8. Calgary Flames - 4-2-1 and Jarome Iginla isn't even going yet? If I was a Flames fan, I'd take it.

9. San Jose Sharks - The record's not great. Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley's numbers are. Good luck defending those two.

1o. Buffalo Sabres - The Sabres have only played four games, but are 3-0-1. Anybody who thinks Ryan Miller isn't a top flight goalie should tune into a Sabres game. It's looking like Thomas Vanek may not be out for too long, after all.

11. Edmonton Oilers - I still want to see Ales Hemsky take the next step. I'd also like to see him playing with someone besides J-F Jacques.

12. Atlanta Thrashers - They've looked surprisingly good. Ilya Kovalchuk is going to have a monster year.

13. Washington Capitals - The record's not great, but AO, Backstrom, and Semin have been. Better goaltending and a better Mike Green might help.

14. New Jersey Devils - Zach Parise is a beast. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

15. St. Louis Blues - Did they leave their game overseas? The youngsters (Oshie, Berglund, Backes) need to step it up.

16. Dallas Stars - Win a freakin' shootout, already. Am I the only one thinks Alex Auld could steal the starting gig from Marty Turco? I feel like every shot is going to find twine on this guy.

17. Phoenix Coyotes - Surprisingly not bad. Dave Tippet plays a safe, secure system. The young 'Yotes seemed to have bought in.

18. Tampa Bay Lightning - Marty St. Louis is a man on a mission. You want to bet against him? I don't. Victor Hedman is going to be an absolute stud on the back-line.

19. Boston Bruins - Where is that spark that was so evident last year? David Krejci, returning from an injury, looks like a ghost, and Milan Lucic's play has been less than inspiring.

20. Ottawa Senators - Paging Jason Spezza. Are you there Jason? Can you hear me?

21. Detroit Red Wings - Look, their goaltending blows, they're defense isn't exactly young, and they've lost their top returning goal-scorer for four months. All that said - if the Wings are ever this low in my power-rankings again, I'll eat my hat.

22. Carolina Hurricanes - They got off to a crappy start, but haven't looked so bad of late. It's time for Eric Staal to take charge.

23. Anaheim Ducks - I haven't liked what I've seen. Ryan Getzlaf doesn't look 100% coming back from his injury, and that defense is very weak after the loss of James Wisniewski. That being said, Teemu Selanne showed he still has some jump in Philly.

24. Nashville Predators - The Preds have to be the most vanilla team in the league. Barring a break-out from their secondary scoring, they just don't have the fire-power to be a playoff team - but Barry Trotz will always field a very competitive team.

25. Vancouver Canucks - The secondary scoring will really be tested with Daniel Sedin out for 4-6 weeks. Kind of early for the Sami Salo injury this season, no?

26. Montreal Canadiens - No Markov. No defense. No playoffs.

27. Minnesota Wild - The come-back opening night win was nice. But they've stunk since. Martin Havlat, Mikko Koivu, and Brent Burns are each a -4. Ouch.

28. Florida Panthers - Does the "Quebec Panthers" have a nice ring to it? How about the "Winnipeg Panthers?"

29. New York Islanders - They haven't played too badly despite being 0-1-3. But, good teams find ways to win games, bad teams find ways to lose games.

30. Toronto Maple Leafs - Ugh. For further information visit, tsn.ca, espn.com, sportsnet.ca...