Week 19 NHL Power Rankings
Robert Picarello / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 1 day ago

The Washington Capitals took over the No. 1 spot in the rankings thanks to the play of Alex Ovechkin.

The newly-appointed captain led his team to a 4-0-0 record in Week 19 by posting a league-leading 10 points in the four games off seven goals and three assists. Ovechkin started off the hot streak by notching one goal in a 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Feb. 2. He followed that up with a three-point performance in a 6-5 win over the New York Rangers on Feb. 4 at MSG, and a two-point showing in a 5-2 win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Feb. 5. Ovechkin saved his best for last when closed out the week by recording three goals and one assist in a 5-4 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere also had a week to remember. The Leafs' new netminder was literally perfect in his first two games after coming over in a trade with the Ducks. The former Anaheim backstop turned aside all 60 shots he faced in pitching a pair of shutouts for the Leafs.

Who was hot on your team in Week 19? Read on to find out.

(Note: The Power Rankings will be based on a formula of points earned divided by the maximum amount of points possible [points/games played x 2]. In case of a tie, categories such as wins, goals against, goals for, power-play goals and power-play percentage will determine rankings.)

NHL Power Rankings Week Of 02/09/2010
Rk Team Last Wk Rise/Fall High/Low Comment
1 Capitals 2 (+1) 1/22 (.746) To say the Capitals are hot doesn't even come close to describing the way the team is playing. Washington won four straight last week to extend its winning streak to 14, which is the third longest in NHL history and three shy of the league record of 17.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
2 Sharks 1 (-1) 1/17 (.733) Dany Heatley's six points off two goals and four assists helped the Sharks pick up two wins in three tries in Week 19.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
3 Blackhawks 3 - 1/12 (.698) Chicago got its first win of the month thanks to Antti Niemi. The Blackhawks' netminder turned aside 34 of the 35 shots he faced in a 2-1 win over St. Louis on Saturday, putting an end to his team's three-game losing streak.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
4 Devils 5 (+1) 1/28 (.649) Even though the club dropped two of the three games it played, the Devils were all smiles last week. New Jersey added Ilya Kovalchuk to their roster in Week 19, hoping the former Atlanta sniper could put an end to their offensive woes. The Devs come into Week 20 having only scored seven goals in their last four games.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
5 Kings 8 (+3) 5/25 (.647) The Kings come into Week 20 on a tear. L.A. won three consecutive games last week, extending the team's winning streak to a franchise-best nine in a row.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
6 Coyotes 7 (+1) 6/16 (.636) The Coyotes were able to move up one place in the rankings thanks to their winning two of three last week. Phoenix goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov stood on his head in one of the wins, stopping everything thrown his way in a 1-0 shootout win over the Nashville Predators on Feb. 2.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
7 Canucks 6 (-1) 6/27 (.632) The road wasn't kind to Vancouver in Week 19. The Canucks dropped two of the three games they played away from General Motors Place, getting outscored 6-3 in the two losses even though they outshot the opposition 77-49.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
8 Sabres 4 (-4) 1/13 (.623) The Buffalo Sabres failed to pick up any points in Week 19. The club comes into Week 20 playing some of its worst hockey of the season, losing eight of its last 10 games, including four in a row last week.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
9 Avalanche 10 (+1) 2/11 (.614) Craig Anderson continues to shine in the Colorado crease. The 28-year-old puck-stopper picked up another two wins for the Avs in Week 19, giving him 28 wins in 49 starts so far this season.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
10 Penguins 9 (-1) 1/10 (.610) The Penguins fell one place in the rankings thanks to the team only winning once in three games last week. Pittsburgh should have skated away with another two points in Week 19, but the team blew a three-goal lead in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Capitals on Sunday.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
11 Senators 11 - 6/24 (.593) The way the Senators were playing it looked like the team wasn't going to lose another game the rest of the year. But after reeling off 11 straight wins, Ottawa finally came back down to earth last week, dropping a 5-0 decision to the Maple Leafs on Feb. 6 in Toronto.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
12 Predators 12 - 6/26 (.579) The Predators are playing themselves right out of the playoff picture in the West. While the team still hung onto the No. 8 seed in the conference at the start of the week, Nashville came into Week 20 having lost seven of its last nine games, including two of three in Week 19.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
13 Flames 13 - 3/13 (.568) The new-look Fames took two of the four games they played last week, but the team has to play a lot better down the stretch if it wants to play postseason hockey. Calgary came into Week 20 just 3-9-3 in its last 15 games.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
14 Red Wings 14 - 10/29 (.552) The Red Wings need players like Todd Bertuzzi to step up if they want to stay in contention out West. Detroit's second leading lamp-lighter came into Week 20 goal-less in his last seven games.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
15 Stars 16 (+1) 11/20 (.543) Marty Turco picked up two wins in three starts last week. The Stars' goaltender only allowed two goals on 76 shots in his two victories, which included his third shutout of the season.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
16 Lightning 24 (+8) 14/26 (.535) Steven Stamkos helped the Lightning bolt eight places up the rankings. The 20-year-old forward posted five points in Tampa Bay's three wins last week, including three points in a 5-2 win over the Islanders on Feb. 4.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
17 Wild 17 - 17/29 (.534) The Wild aren't going to get back in the playoff picture if their leading scorer Mikko Koivu remains cold. Koivu came into Week 20 having only scored six goals in his last 24 games.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
18 Flyers 15 (-3) 4/27 (.527) The Flyers lost two of the three games they played last week thanks to their top scorer being out to lunch. Jeff Carter went another three games without a point, giving Philly's 25-year-old sniper no goals in his last five games and just three in his last eight.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
19 Ducks 20 (+1) 17/28 (.526) Jonas Hiller was on top of his game last week. The Anaheim netminder won two of his three Week 19 starts, stopping 79 of the 80 shots he faced in his two wins over Detroit and Florida.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
20 Bruins 19 (-1) 11/23 (.518) Tuukka Rask just about single-handedly put an end to the Bruins' 10-game losing streak last week. The 22-year-old stopped every shot the Canadiens fired at his net in a 3-0 win in Montreal on Feb. 7.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
21 Canadiens 25 (+4) 11/27 (.517) The Canadiens won three of four last week, which moved the club up four places in the rankings. Tomas Plekanec had four points in the three wins, including the game-winner against Vancouver last Tuesday.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
22 Blues 21 (-1) 6/26 (.509) Lack of production on the power play caused St. Louis to lose two of the three games it played in Week 19. The club only connected one time with the extra attacker in 12 tries in its two losses, which included a 1-for-8 clip in a one-goal loss to the Blackhawks.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
23 Thrashers 18 (-5) 5/25 (.509) Niclas Bergfors led his new team to its first victory in the post-Kovalchuk era. The former New Jersey Devil potted the game-winner in a 4-2 home victory over the Florida Panthers last Saturday night.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
24 Rangers 23 (-1) 1/24 (.500) The Rangers' power play was very successful last week, converting on five of the 12 chances the opposition gave them. Unfortunately for the club, their success with the extra skater didn't lead to many victories, as New York dropped two of the three games it played.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
25 Panthers 22 (-3) 18/29 (.491) The Panthers' offense was non-existent in the team's three straight losses last week. Florida only scored three goals in the three games, which included a 3-0 loss to the Ducks where the Cats failed to score on 33 shots.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
26 Blue Jackets 27 (+1) 3/29 (.475) The Blue Jackets were able to move up one place in the rankings thanks to the play of Steve Mason. The Columbus goalie won both of his starts last week, only giving up one goal on 51 shots.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
27 Islanders 26 (-1) 14/28 (.466) The Islanders haven't been very good of late. Not only has the team dropped a season-high seven games in a row, New York has only scored nine goals during the winless skid.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
28 Hurricanes 28 - 24/30 (.422) The Hurricanes come into Week 20 winners of six of their last eight. The team has been able to go on the impressive run by getting contributions from up and down the lineup. Last week, rookie Justin Peters picked up his first NHL win in his league debut against the New York Islanders.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
29 Maple Leafs 29 - 19/30 (.415) Jean-Sebastien Giguere wasn't the only Leafs player who was hot last week. Phil Kessel also had a good Week 19, picking up six points in three games, including the game-winner against Ottawa on Feb. 6.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy
30 Oilers 30 - 12/30 (.368) The Oilers started off last week on the right foot by winning their first two games on the docket, which included a 4-2 win last Monday night over Carolina that put an end to a 13-game losing streak. But the team reverted back to its losing ways by closing out Week 19 with two straight losses.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy

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