Midsummer NHL Power Rankings - SI.com

2. San Jose Sharks

• The Stanley Cup finalists are deeper and faster with the addition of speedy winger Mikkel Boedker. If keeper Martin Jones can match his playoff performance, they'll be the favorites to claim the Pacific Division.

9. Anaheim Ducks

• There's lots to like about the defending Pacific champs, but still so many questions to be answered. Randy Carlyle brings a new voice, but is he really an improvement on Bruce Boudreau? Can Cam Fowler be flipped for a top-six left winger? If not, who steps up to fill the role? Nick Ritchie and Mason Raymond won't cut it.

10. Los Angeles Kings

• After the Kings blew a 16-point lead over the Ducks, then bowed out meekly in the first round to the Sharks, there was pressure on GM Dean Lombardi to pump new life into this roster. Instead, cap issues cost L.A. top-six winger Milan Lucic and the best option to patch over the holes on defense was Canadiens castoff Tom Gilbert. That's not going to get it done.

Complete list (SI.com)

Power Rankings: Capitals regain supremacy over Penguins - ESPN.com

4. Anaheim Ducks

• The Ducks and Kings battled tooth and nail for the Pacific Division crown before Anaheim earned its fourth consecutive title Sunday night. The Ducks will have their hands full with Nashville, but they are a good team with unfinished playoff business.

5. Los Angeles Kings

• How delicious is this rematch of the epic 2014 Kings-Sharks first-round series?

Complete list (ESPN.com)

Power Rankings: Attack of the hobbling Penguins! - ESPN.com

7. Anaheim Ducks

• The Ducks are dealing with significant injury issues, including ones to Freddie Andersen and David Perron, as they continue to fight the Kings for top spot in the Pacific. A nice win over the Stars sees them a point up on the Kings with four to play.

8. Los Angeles Kings 

• The Kings have gone a bit sideways, but three of their last four games are against weak sisters in the West. Mark Thursday's clash with the Ducks at the Staples Center as a key moment in the final days of the regular schedule.

10. San Jose Sharks

• The Sharks theoretically could still grab home ice in the first round but that's not likely to happen. And given how well they play on road (27 wins is tops in the NHL), it's probably just as well they'll be traveling to Los Angeles or Anaheim to start. Brent Burns is in the thick of Norris Trophy discussion.

Complete list (ESPN.com)

NHL Power Rankings: Surging Blues challenge Capitals - SI.com

6. Anaheim Ducks

• last week: 6
• record: 42-23-10
• Monday's 2–1 win in Edmonton lifted the Ducks to a 3-1-1 mark on their five-game Canadian road swing and pulled them to within a single point of Los Angeles for the top spot in the Pacific. Brandon Pirri chipped in four points on the trip, including the game-winning goal against the Oilers. Just another genius pick-up by GM Bob Murray.

7. San Jose Sharks

• last week: 5
• record: 42-28-6
• The Sharks pulled out of their three-game home-losing skid at the most opportune moment, knocking off the Kings on Monday night to secure their return to the Stanley Cup playoffs. With four of their final six games featuring a non-qualifying opponent, they still have a shot at earning home ice for the first round.

8. Los Angeles Kings

• last week: 3
• record: 45-26-5
• Reuniting the Jeff Carter-Tyler Toffoli-Milan Lucic line helped the Kings break out of their scoring slump for one game, a 6–4 win over Edmonton, but it was back to scratching around in the dirt in Monday's 5–2 loss to San Jose. LA has now dropped five of six and scored more than twice only once in that span. Just as concerning: The Kings have allowed 20 goals in their past five games. What an inopportune time to go cold at both ends of the ice.

Complete list (SI.com)

Power Rankings: Threats to the Capitals are surfacing - ESPN.com

5. Los Angeles Kings

• Clinched a playoff berth. The Kings have seven games remaining and next face the Sharks on Monday. They are 6-3-1 in the past 10 games. On Saturday, the Kings snapped a three-game losing skid with a 6-4 win over the Oilers. Tyler Toffoli had two goals and two assists in the win. 

9. Anaheim Ducks

• Clinched a playoff berth. The Ducks have eight games remaining and next face the Oilers on Monday. Forward Rickard Rakell has reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his NHL career.

14. San Jose Sharks

• On the verge of clinching a postseason berth. Have seven games remaining and will face the Kings Monday night.  

Complete list (ESPN.com)

Power Rankings: New Kings on the block - ESPN.com

1. Los Angeles Kings

• The Kings extended their points streak to seven games (6-0-1), have won four in a row and have a four-point lead over the Ducks for first in the Pacific. Jonathan Quick is 5-0-1 in his past six starts, including three consecutive wins. Forward Anze Kopitar extended his points streak to five games with four goals and three assists. This team is a serious Cup contender.

4. Anaheim Ducks

• The Ducks moved to within four points of the Kings for the lead in the Pacific. Anaheim began a five-game Canadian road trip with a 3-2 overtime win over the Jets on Sunday. The Ducks will face the Canadiens on Tuesday, Maple Leafs on Thursday, Senators on Saturday and Oilers on Monday.

10. San Jose Sharks

• Joe Thornton scored the winning goal in a 4-1 win over the Rangers on Saturday. It was his 1,328th career point, passing Pierre Turgeon for 31st place in career points. Thornton has recorded at least one point in 37 of his past 42 games. James Reimer posted a 25-save shutout against the Coyotes on Sunday, and the Sharks have four wins in their past five games.  

Complete list (ESPN.com)

Sharks move up in Super 16 - NHL.com

2. Anaheim Ducks (38-22-9)

• Total points: 99
• Last week: No. 2
• Hit: The Ducks had scored a power-play goal in 13 of their past 15 games, going 21-for-54 (38.9 percent), but did not receive a power play in a 2-1 loss against the New York Rangers on Wednesday. They were second in the NHL on the power play at 23.4 percent (48-for-205).
  Miss: Defenseman Sami Vatanen has missed three straight games with an upper-body injury he sustained against the Colorado Avalanche on March 9.

3. Los Angeles Kings (42-22-5)

• Total points: 97
• Last week: No. 6
• Hit: They are 4-0-1 in their past five games and have scored a combined 19 goals in the four wins, including five against the Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars.
  Miss: Hard to find flaws after the way they played the past two games with a 5-0 win against the Blackhawks and 5-2 against the Stars with backup Jhonas Enroth in goal.

7. San Jose Sharks (39-24-6)

• Total points: 60
• Last week: No. 13
• Hit: They've won two in a row at home and are 9-3-3 in their past 15 home games after going 5-12-0 in their first 17. They play nine of their last 13 games at home.
  Miss: The Sharks have fed on Eastern Conference teams, going 19-11-1 in 31 games (.629 points percentage). The problem is they have only one game left against the Eastern teams (Saturday against the Rangers). They are 20-13-5 (.592 points percentage) against Western teams.

Complete list (NHL.com)

NHL Power Rankings: Capitals clinging to top spot - SI.com

2. Anaheim Ducks

• record: 38-21-9
• Turns out all the Ducks needed was a little home cooking. After turning in a pair of soft performances in Colorado and St. Louis, Anaheim righted the ship with a 7–1 thrashing of the Devils. The win made it 10 straight with at least a point at home (9-0-1), the longest active streak in the NHL. 

5. Los Angeles Kings

• record: 41-22-5
• Full marks to the Kings, who responded to a late challenge from the Ducks with an 8-2-1 streak of their own. They've tightened up their D, allowing just 17 regulation goals over that stretch. Is it too early to call them the favorites to advance out of the West?  

8. San Jose Sharks

• record: 38-24-6 
• A standing O for Jumbo Joe. With a helper in San Jose's 5–2 thumping of the Caps on Saturday, Thornton became just the 16th player in NHL history to record more than 10 seasons with at least 50 assists. The dead-lock Hall of Famer is third in apples this season, trailing only Erik Karlsson and Patrick Kane.

Complete list (SI.com)

Power Rankings: Capitals staying strong - ESPN.com

3. Anaheim Ducks

• The Ducks are 7-2-1 in their past 10 games but have lost three in a row. Later this week, the Ducks host the Rangers and the Bruins in two key matchups. 

8. Los Angeles Kings

• The Kings are 7-2-1 in their past 10 but lost to the Devils 2-1 in OT on Saturday.  

11. San Jose Sharks

• On Saturday, the Sharks scored three unanswered goals to earn their sixth win in their past eight games with a 5-2 victory over the Capitals. Joe Pavelski scored his league-leading 10th game-winning goal. Joe Thornton had a goal and assist and has at least one point in 34 of his past 39 games.

Complete list (ESPN.com)

Capitals have new company at top of Super 16 - NHL.com

2. Anaheim Ducks (37-20-9)

Total points: 101

Last week: No. 3

Hit: They're 17-4-4 against divisional opponents, including 6-2-0 with four straight wins against the Kings and San Jose Sharks.

Miss: Yes, they're 12-1-2 in their past 15 games, with their only regulation loss coming Wednesday at the Colorado Avalanche, but they allowed 13 power-play goals in those 15 games to go 79.3 percent on the penalty kill (50-for-63). They were first on the PK (89.1 percent) on Feb. 9, when this 15-game stretch started.

6. Los Angeles Kings (40-22-4)

Total points: 76

Last week: No. 5

Hit: Drew Doughty has nine power-play goals, fourth among NHL defensemen. Doughty had one power-play goal last season, when he was runner-up to the Ottawa Senators' Erik Karlsson for the Norris Trophy.

Miss: Tyler Toffoli has two goals in his past 22 games. He scored 22 goals in his first 44 games.

13. San Jose Sharks (37-23-6)

Total points: 32

Last week: No. 11

Hit: Logan Couture's value to the Sharks can be measured by this statistic: San Jose is 23-8-5 with him in the lineup this season and 14-15-1 without him. Couture has 17 points, including seven goals, in his past 16 games.

Miss: The Sharks play 12 of their final 16 games at home, where they are 12-14-3. Their opponents include the Capitals, Bruins, Rangers, Blues, Stars and Kings.

Complete list (NHL.com)

NHL Power Rankings: Capitals take back top spot - SI.com

2. Anaheim Ducks

• Their 11-game winning streak came to a cruel end on Monday night, but not before the Ducks took control of the Pacific Division. They've also put at least one point up on the board in 14 straight (12-0-2), the NHL's longest such run since the Bruins went 16 in a row back in 2014.  
• Last week: 3-0-1

7. Los Angeles Kings

• No way around it: that 3–2 loss to the Ducks hurt. As well as the Kings have played of late, winning six of eight and allowing only six goals in those wins, they gave away the Pacific lead by dropping a pair to Anaheim in a span of a week. Their next meeting, on April 7, should be a dandy.  
• Last week: 2-1-0

10. San Jose Sharks

• Attention, Mike Babcock: That Brent Burns kid can play a little defense when he sets his mind to it. The Team Canada hopeful had a –15 rating on Jan. 2. Since then, he's +11, a reflection of his improved all-around play and its impact on the success of his team.  
• Last week: 1-1-0

(SI.com)

 

Power Rankings: Race to the top heating up - ESPN.com

2. Anaheim Ducks

• The Ducks are close to pushing the Capitals for the top spot. Anaheim is 18-1-1 in its past 20 games and has established a franchise record with 11 straight victories. The Ducks host the Capitals on Monday night in Anaheim, which is must-see TV. 

6. Los Angeles Kings

• In the midst of a five-game homestand, the Kings lost 3-2 to the Ducks on Saturday and fell two points behind Anaheim for first place in the Pacific Division.  

13. San Jose Sharks

• Sharks defenseman Brent Burns has set a new career high with 23 goals this season. Newcomer James Reimer made 22 saves in his Sharks debut, but San Jose lost 4-2 to the Canucks on Saturday.

Complete list (ESPN.com)

Surging Ducks keeping moving up - NHL.com

Anaheim climbs to No. 3 in Super 16 rankings

3. Anaheim Ducks (35-19-8)
Total points: 93
Last week: No. 6
Hit: They extended their win streak to nine games with a 3-2 shootout victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Honda Center on Wednesday. Anaheim has an 11-game point streak (10-0-1) and is 18-2-1 in its past 21 games.
Miss: Still nothing.

5. Los Angeles Kings (37-21-4)
Total points: 77
Last week: No. 4
Hit: The four goals they allowed in a 4-2 loss to the Ducks on Sunday stopped a streak of five consecutive games in which they allowed two or fewer goals, including four in a row in which they allowed one or fewer.
Miss: They haven't scored more than two goals in eight straight games.

11. San Jose Sharks (34-22-6)
Total points: 37
Last week: No. 10
Hit: Joe Thornton has six goals in his past 13 games after scoring eight in his first 49. He has 19 points in the past 13 games.
Miss: Patrick Marleau has three points (one goal, two assists) in the past nine games. It hasn't hurt the Sharks, who are 6-2-1 in that span.

Complete list (NHL.com)

NHL Power Rankings: Ducks lead post-trade deadline parade - SI.com

1. Anaheim Ducks

• The Ducks are almost unstoppable with the extra man. They've scored at least one power play goal in eight straight games and are 13-for-28 during that span. No surprise that they’ve won all eight. Adding big winger Jamie McGinn from Buffalo at the deadline was an excellent depth addition that positions this team for a run at the Stanley Cup.  
• Last week: 3-0-0

6. Los Angeles Kings

• What’s up with the offense? The Kings have scored just 12 goals in their past eight games. A stout defense allowed them to win four of them, but that first-to-two approach could be tough to sustain come crunch time.  
• Last week: 3-1-0

8. San Jose Sharks

• The Sharks went 3-8-2 last February, effectively ending a 10-year playoff streak with one horrible month. Things went much better this year. San Jose posted a 6-3-1 record on the road and went 2-1-1 at home to turn the battle for the Pacific Division title into a three-team race.  
• Last week: 2-1-1

Complete list (SI.com)  

Power Rankings: Trades shaking things up - ESPN.com

2. Anaheim Ducks

• The Ducks received a hat trick from Corey Perry en route to a 4-2 victory over the Kings on Sunday. Anaheim has won eight straight and has a 12-1-1 record in February. Since December the Ducks have been outstanding.

5. Los Angeles Kings

• The Kings lost a Pacific Division battle to the Ducks on Sunday but acquired Stanley Cup-winning forward Kris Versteeg from Carolina as they gear up for the stretch run.  

12. San Jose Sharks

• The Sharks posted a 4-1 win over the Canucks on Sunday. San Jose landed goalie James Reimer and forward Jeremy Morin in a deal with the Maple Leafs late last week. 

Complete list (ESPN.com)

NHL Power Rankings: Ducks rise from dead to No. 1 - SI.com

1. Anaheim Ducks

• record: 31-19-8
• Maybe the pundits were right about the Ducks after all. The preseason favorites to win the Stanley Cup have reeled off five straight wins and are 12-1-1 in their past 14. The change? An offense that’s finally living up to its paper. Anaheim has scored 68 goals in its last 17 games (4.0 per game), including five-or-more in four straight.  
• Last week: 3-0-0

6. Los Angeles Kings

• record: 34-20-4
• No Anze Kopitar. No Marian Gaborik. No wonder the Kings are having trouble scoring. Los Angeles has mustered just three regulation goals over the past four games, heightening expectations that GM Dean Lombardi will be a busy shopper ahead of the deadline. 
• Last week: 1-1-1

8. San Jose Sharks

• record: 32-21-5
• How about a little love for Joe Thornton? With a four-point night in Monday’s win over the Blues, Jumbo has gotten on the board in 25 of his past 28 games. He now has 41 assists, fourth-most in the league, and 55 points, good for 10th in the scoring race. Not bad for a guy who’s supposed to be on his last legs at the ripe old age of 36.  
• Last week: 3-1-0

(SI.com)

 

Power Rankings: Caps, Ducks taking charge - ESPN.com

2. Anaheim Ducks

• So how about this: Could Bruce Boudreau go from the coach everyone thought would be fired in the first half of the season to a Jack Adams Award nominee by the end of the second half? He certainly deserves consideration for helping turn around this season.

4. Los Angeles Kings

• The Kings' offense is suddenly sputtering with just four goals in their past four games. The Flames, Oilers and Sabres visit Staples Center this week.

10. San Jose Sharks

• The Sharks win the Roman Polak sweepstakes with Monday's trade. And I'm serious, there were a number of contenders interested in the veteran, rental D-man. Nice pickup by the Sharks. Nick Spaling will be a useful add-on too.

(ESPN.com)

Power Rankings: Ducks mighty - ESPN.com

3. Anaheim Ducks

• last week: 3
• record: 28-19-8
• If they are thinking of selling goalie Frederik Andersen ahead of the deadline, they should probably put him on the market ASAP. The Danish Destroyer is 8-0-1 in his past nine decisions. Captain Ryan Getzlaf is heating up, too, with 15 points in his past 11 games. 

5. Los Angeles Kings

• last week: 7
• record: 33-19-3
• Have to think GM Dean Lombardi will be busy working the phones for the next two weeks after waiving defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and losing forward Marian Gaborik to a lower body injury. The Kings are close enough to contending for the Stanley Cup that Lombardi can't afford to leave anything to chance. 

9. San Jose Sharks

• last week: 8
• record: 29-20-5 
•  They couldn't buy a win at home earlier this season. Now they can't lose in the Shark Tank. San Jose picked banked three of four points to improve to 6-0-3 in its past nine games at SAP Center. More impressive though was that 2-0 win in Chicago. The Sharks may not be serious Cup contenders, but if they keep playing like this they might just knock one off.

(SI.com)

Power Rankings: Watch out for the Ducks - ESPN.com

3. Anaheim Ducks

• Last Week: 4
• Ryan Getzlaf is playing his best hockey of the season and the Ducks are taking on all comers.

4. Los Angeles Kings

• Last Week: 6
• The waiving of Christian Ehrhoff underlines the Kings' need to bolster the bottom half of that blue line before Feb. 29.

12. San Jose Sharks

• Last Week: 14
• Can the Sharks hold off the Ducks for second place in the Pacific? Home ice in the first round between the two clubs is on the line.

(ESPN.com)

Power Rankings: Not looking back - ESPN.com

4. Anaheim Ducks

• On the morning of Dec. 26, the Ducks were 12-15-6, seemingly going nowhere. They've since gone 13-3-1. Watch out, world: The Ducks are very much back, baby.

6. Los Angeles Kings

• The Pacific Division leaders begin a seven-game road trip Tuesday in Boston, with stops after that in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Newark, Washington, St. Louis and Nashville.

14. San Jose Sharks

• Marc-Edouard Vlasic has played his way back into the World Cup conversation for Team Canada.

Complete list (SI.com)