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Sunday, January 15, 2012

NHL Power Rankings: St. Louis Blues Look Like Contenders in the Central - Bleacher Report

How about them Blues?

St. Louis, that franchise that was always in the playoffs before the lockout but never won a Stanley Cup (no, not the Sharks), looks like a bona fide contender this season.

Everyone expected the Red Wings and Blackhawks to be competitive this season, and the Predators, who have won seven of their last eight but are fourth in the Central, are always in the playoff picture.

But the upstart Blues are looking like a force this season.

Since firing Davis Payne, Ken Hitchcock has taken this talented, previously under-achieving, club and put them in position to compete for the Central Division title.

Homegrown David Backes and TJ Oshie lead the team with 32 and 29 points, respectfully, and veteran pickup Jason Arnott is humming along with 24 points of his own.

The cornerstone of the Erik Johnson trade, defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk, has 23 points from the blue line, and fellow blue liner Alex Pietrangelo is right behind him with 20.

With scoring from both the players in front of the net and the back end, St. Louis has enough firepower to take the pressure off of their stellar defense (third in the league) and enables the team to compete in the league’s toughest division.

Things should only get better, too.

St. Louis finishes up January by playing four of their next five in the Show Me state.

30. Tampa Bay Lightning

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Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Last week: 21

Hockey fans in Tampa have to be hurting right now.

Their team has yet to win in January…

29. Edmonton Oilers

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Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

Last week: 30

Edmonton is in free fall.

They have lost five-straight and have given up four-plus goals in four of those five contests.

28. Columbus Blue Jackets

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Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Last week: 29

Curtis Sanford has played every game in January and has picked up two wins.

That’s a positive for Columbus, but they’ve got only two more home games left in January before heading on a six-game road trip.

This team appears destined to get the No. 1 pick at next year’s NHL draft.

27. Minnesota Wild

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Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Last week: 26

Remember when the Wild won games?

Minnesota has two wins in their last 15 (fifteen!) contests and have Colorado nipping at their heels for second place in the division.

26. Buffalo Sabres

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Rick Stewart/Getty Images

Last week: 25

The Sabers have only one win in their last five games and have their next six on the road.

It’s a tough time to be a hockey fan in Buffalo.

25. Montreal Canadiens

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Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images

Last week: 23

Montreal has lost three-straight and will face potential playoff teams in five of their next contests.

It could be a long January for Habs fans.

24. Phoenix Coyotes

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John Grieshop/Getty Images

Last week: 19

Solid defensively, the offensively inept Yotes are falling out of the race in the Pacific.

Phoenix has won their lone home game in January, but have lost the five road games they’ve played.

Fortunately for the Coyotes, they play seven of their next eight in Glendale.

23. New York Islanders

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Al Bello/Getty Images

Last week: 28

After losses to Anaheim and Phoenix, the Islanders looked dead in the water.

Then they crushed Detroit 5-1 at home.

Evgeni Nabokov reached a milestone two contests later when he became the 26th goalie to reach 300 wins when the Islanders beat the Sabres 4-2 and looks like the go-to guy on the Island this season.

22. Pittsburgh Penguins

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Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

Last week: 13

Injuries have ravaged this club.

A team that looked like a Stanley Cup contender only a week or so ago snapped a six-game losing streak when they crushed Florida 4-1 in Sunrise.

21. Winnipeg Jets

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Marianne Helm/Getty Images

Last week: 20

Winnipeg has only one win in January and appears to be dropping out of the Southeast Division race.

20. Anaheim Ducks

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Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Last week: 27

Save for a 3-1 loss to San Jose and a 1-0 OT decision in Calgary, the once drowning Ducks seem to have found the surface.

Anaheim has won four of five, outscoring their opponents 21-9 during that time.

19. Carolina Hurricanes

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Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Last week: 24

It’s been a tough season in Raleigh, but wins over Tampa and Boston (Boston!) by a combined score of 9-4 has to relieve some pain in North Carolina.

18. Florida Panthers

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Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

Last week: 18

With only a single win in their last four games, Florida is in jeopardy of relinquishing their division lead to Washington.

The Cats have a tough upcoming schedule, too.

They face Boston and Philly in their only remaining January home games and have to play three on the road against Colorado, Chicago and Winnipeg.

17. Calgary Flames

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Mike Ridewood/Getty Images

Last week: 22

The Flames had a good thing going with three-straight wins by a combined score of 10-4.

Then the Kings crushed them at home.

To add insult to injury, Calgary must play their next three games awayâ€"including a contest in Los Angeles.

16. Dallas Stars

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Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Last week: 11

A 5-2 loss in Anaheim hurts, especially after back-to-back 4-1 wins over Nashville and Edmonton.

The 5-4 shootout victory over the Kings in LA has to feel nice, too, but the Stars were defeated the next night by Colorado.

If the Stars can string together some wins at the end of January, they’ll be capable of competing for a division title.

15. Colorado Avalanche

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Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Last week: 10

The Avalanche had their hot streak stymied by a set of three losses to Central Division clubs before their win over Dallas.

Colorado is still in position to overtake Minnesota in the Northwest and compete for a playoff spot, however, but must play four of their next six away from home.

14. Los Angeles Kings

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Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Last week: 15

LA has found some scoring in their last three games, and it has served them well.

They crushed Washington 5-2, lost to Dallas 5-4 in a shootout and pounded Calgary 4-1 in those contests.

13. Ottawa Senators

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Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images

Last week: 17

The Senators really don’t bother to play defense, but it has worked out for them.

Ottawa has won eight of their last nine games.

There’s a caveat, though.

The Sents must finish up January with a six-game road trip after playing Winnipeg on Monday.

If they can get through that, the Sens could be a bona fide threat in the Northeast.

As of Sunday they are one point out of first place, but Boston has five games in hand.

12. Washington Capitals

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Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Last week: 16

The offensive-minded Caps have suddenly heated up and look ready to wrestle the Southeast Division from the Florida Panthers.

11. Chicago Blackhawks

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Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Last week: 12

It’s close in the Central.

In their last four contests, Chicago has lost two gamesâ€"one home, one awayâ€"to Detroit by a score of 3-2 in overtime.

The team has only two wins in January, over Columbus and Minnesota at home, and is in jeopardy of losing their place atop their division.

10. Toronto Maple Leafs

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Abelimages/Getty Images

Last week: 9

Buffalo snapped Toronto’s four-game win streak.

Then the mighty Rangers shut the Leafs out the next day.

Fortunately for Leafs Nation, Toronto plays their next four games in the ACC.

9. Philadelphia Flyers

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Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Last week: 7

A Top 10 team offensively and on the power play, Philly can score, but are giving up 2.9 goals per game and are a mediocre penalty killing team.

Coming off a road trip that was split 2-2, Philly comes home to two struggling teamsâ€"Minnesota and the Islanders.

8. New Jersey Devils

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Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Last week: 8

The Devils have won four of their last five despite playing their last four games on the road.

With five home games coming up to finish off the month and Pittsburgh down for the count, New Jersey is in position to solidify themselves as No. 3 in the mighty Atlantic Division.

7. Nashville Predators

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Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

Last week: 14

Suddenly clicking on the power play, the Preds have won seven of their last eight and are, wait…fourth in their division.

It looks like there will be four teams representing the Central in the Western Conference playoffs.

6. Boston Bruins

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Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Last week: 1

For a third-straight week Boston has been the best team on offense and defense.

They lost to Vancouver on January 7, however, and were stunned in Carolina 4-2.

The loss to the Canes may be worse than it seems.

Boston must play their next thee games on the road against better competition.

5. San Jose Sharks

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Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Last week: 6

This is the team the Bay Area has come to love.

The Sharks have only one loss in their last seven games and have created separation in the Pacific with four games in hand over the second-place Kings.

4. Detroit Red Wings

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Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Last week: 5

The Wings may be third in their division, but they’ve won three of their last fourâ€"including two over Chicago in OT.

A 5-1 loss to the Islanders at the end of their road trip has to be concerning to fans in Michigan, however.

3. St. Louis Blues

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Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

Last week: 4

St. Louis has won five of their last six contests and currently stand atop the might Central Division.

Everyone can get a glimpse of this scalding hot club when they play Dallas on NBC Sports Network this Monday.

2. Vancouver Canucks

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Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

Last week: 3

The Canucks play well in all dimensions of the game and have won four of their last five, despite being on the road for four of those games.

With their next six games at the Rogers Centre, Vancouver is in position to create serious separation in the Northwest Division.

1. New York Rangers

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Abelimages/Getty Images

Last week: 2

The only fault with this club is the power play.

A 3-0 loss to Ottawa is ugly, but the Blueshirts have won 11 of their last 13 contests and are clicking offensively, defensively and on the penalty kill.

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