By Joe Haggerty
CSNNE.com
The clock is striking midnight for a lot of the Cinderella teams. While the Maple Leafs, Flames and Blackhawks are all clinging strongly to their playoff hopes, teams like the Thrashers and Devils have succumbed to the harsh reality of mediocrity in the NHL.
The Devils built themselves too big a hole to climb out of, and the Thrashers simply didnt have enough firepower, experience and defense depth to push the team over the top into the playoffs.
The Leafs are the most interesting study given how pathetic they were halfway through the yearand how closely theyre nipping at the heels of teams like the Rangers and Sabresand Brian Burke has already expressed the requisite pride for his scrappy hockey club. Given the desperation theyve been playing with, the Sabres, Leafs or Hurricanes should all be looked at as most dangerous should they somehow sneak into the playoff tournament. Should be interesting to watch.
Without further ado, here are this weeks power rankings:
1. Vancouver Canucks (52-18-9, last week: 1): The Canucks are ready to buck the odds and attempt to become only the eighth team in the last 29 years to win both the Presidents Trophy and Stanley Cup in the same season.
2. Washington Capitals (46-22-11, last week: 3)Thirty goals and 81 points in an off season for Alex Ovechkin. Not too shabby for Ovie or for the Capitals.
Boston Bruins
3. Detroit Red Wings (46-23-10, last week: 4)The Wings have qualified for the playoffs in 20 consecutive seasonsthe longest running current streak in any of the four major sports. That is organizational excellence at its finest.
4. Philadelphia Flyers (46-22-11, last week: 2)The Flyers are 6-7-5 since Feb. 24 and have gone into an extended malaise as the top dogs in the East. Its difficult to turn the switch back on for anyone, and that may hurt the Flyers badly once the postseason hits.
5. San Jose Sharks (46-23-9, last week: 6)Joe Thornton is three points away from 1,000 in his NHL career, which will mean exactly nothing once the playoffs start for the Sharks.
6. Boston Bruins (44-23-11, last week: 7)The Bruins are as ready for the playoffs as theyre ever going to be. Nathan Horton has shown a good combination of offense and nastiness for the last month.
7. Pittsburgh Penguins (46-25-8, last week: 5)No Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin and 336 man games lost to injury, but the Penguins keep on trucking. Its impressive, but itd be shocking if theres much left in the tank come playoffs.
8. Tampa Bay Lightning (44-24-11, last week: 11)The Bolts are putting together a winning streak to end the season, and cap off their first playoff campaign since 2007.
9. Los Angeles Kings (45-27-6, last week: 8)Its going to be awfully difficult to replace Anze Kopitar, who put up 73 points in 75 games before he broke his ankle.
10. Phoenix Coyotes (42-25-12, last week: 10)The Desert Dogs are getting a brief late-season respite, and will end their regular season with a big home-and-home series against the Sharks. Phoenix continues to be a team flying under everyones radar.
11. Nashville Predators (42-26-11, last week: 9)Barry Trotz is all-mighty and all-powerful. That is all.
12. Chicago Blackhawks (42-28-8, last week: 14)The Blackhawks look like theyre in for the postseason, but theyve never truly pushed past the Stanley Cup hangover. Difficult to see a long run from the Hawks this spring.
13. Anaheim Ducks (44-30-5, last week: 13)Corey Perry is on fire with 15 goals in the month of March, and is looking to be the first Anaheim player to lead the league in goals since Teemu Selanne in 1998-99. The Ray Emery comeback has really save the team.
14. Buffalo Sabres (40-29-10, last week: 15)The Sabres lost Ryan Miller to injury at the worst possible time, but not even that has slowed their momentum as they finish in incredibly strong fashion.
15. Montreal Canadiens (42-30-7, last week: 18)Breaks my heart to see the Montreal fans all over Scott Gomez. Really, it does.
16. New York Rangers (42-32-5, last week: 12)The Rangers are hanging around and came away with a huge win over the Flyers. They missed the playoffs by a shootout loss last season, and are hoping to avoid that fate this time around.
17. Dallas Stars (39-28-11, last week: 16)The Stars are 0-3-3 in their last six games and all of their offensive players have slumped at the exact same time. Looks like the bubble is bursting.
18. Calgary Flames (40-29-11, last week: 17)Jarome Iginla became the 77th player in NHL history to crack 1,000 career points while willing his team to a vital victory. Calgary may miss the playoffs, but it wont be Iginlas fault.
19. Carolina Hurricanes (38-30-11, last week: 20)It might not be the 'Canes' year after they couldnt pull out a pivotal game at home against the Sabres team just ahead of them. Carolina is a little green for the playoffs.
20. Toronto Maple Leafs (37-32-10, last week: 19)Nikolai Kulemin, Mikhail Grabovski and Phil Kessel could all be 30-goal scorers for the Leafs this season. They have the building blocks in place for the future even if they fall short this year.
21. Atlanta Thrashers (33-33-12, last week: 21) Zach Bogosian showed exactly why the Thrashers are so down on him with a pair of unforgivable turnovers in the game against the Bruins that led to their playoff elimination.
22. New Jersey Devils (36-37-5, last week: 23)Too little and too late for the Devils to make the playoffs, but at least they rebounded after a brutal first half. One positive: it appears Zach Parise is again healthy.
23. St. Louis Blues (36-33-10, last week: 22)The only question worth asking in St. Louis: what the heck got into T.J. Oshie?
24. Minnesota Wild (37-34-8, last week: 24)Good to see the Wild are going to get plenty of time to make preparations for this summers NHL draft in the Twin Cities.
25. Columbus Blue Jackets (34-32-13, last week: 25)The Mathieu Garon Era might be over with the B.J.s after letting up a pair of softies to the Blues before getting yanked this weekend.
26. Ottawa Senators (30-39-10, last week: 28)The Senators have played demonstrably better since getting kids involved, and got a coup with the singing of Stephane Da Costa.
27. New York Islanders (30-37-12, last week: 26)The End cant came soon enough to the Garth Snow Era. What an abomination hes been on Long Island.
28. Colorado Avalanche (29-41-8, last week: 29)The Avalanche havent won in regulation since Feb. 22, and now it appears Adam Foote and Paul Stastny are out for the season. Can they just forfeit?
29. Edmonton Oilers (24-43-11, last week: 30)A ragtag group of Oilers managed to take down the mighty Canucks on Hockey Night in Canada last weekend. Kind of a big deal for a team without hope this season.
30. Florida Panthers (29-38-12, last week: 27)Someday well talk about hockey in southern Florida, and laugh knowingly at the absurdity of it. Were not there yet, though.
Joe Haggerty can be reached at jhaggerty@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http:twitter.comHackswithHaggs