Pacific Division Power Rankings: Week 1
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Dallas Stars (4-0-0, 8 pts, 1st in Division Standings): Talk about shutting up the critics. Bashed all summer long for their mediocre play last year and questioned about their depth on all fronts, the Dallas Stars have emerged as the hottest team out of the gate in the ultra-competitive Pacific Division. Brenden Morrow is on a tear, and goaltender Kari Lehtonen looks like he has a new lease on life.
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Los Angeles Kings (3-1-0, 6 pts, 2nd in Division Standings): Speaking of critics, how’s this for a start from beleagued Kings’ netminder Jonathan Quick? Three wins in as many starts, two of them over the same Canucks that knocked the Kings out of the playoffs last year, and just three goals allowed have people Quick-ly forgetting that this was supposed to be the year that Jonathan Bernier unseated him from the starting role.
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San Jose Sharks (1-1-1, 3 pts, 4th in Division Standings): Splitting a “home-and-home” in Sweden against the Blue Jackets wasn’t exactly the start the Sharks were looking for, and a loss in their real home opener against the Thrashers won’t make anyone feel any better. Still, this Sharks team is loaded with talent, with perhaps the best top two lines in hockey. Getting Joe Thornton locked up with a contract extension this week should be a nice little boost with four games in the next six days.
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Phoenix Coyotes (1-2-1, 3 pts, 5th in Division Standings): Despite an impressive showing last season, the Coyotes are off to a pretty slow start. Some of that can be attributed to the fact that they opened the season miles away from their home in Phoenix, splitting two games with the Boston Bruins in Europe. An overtime loss to Detroit and a tough last-minute loss to Anaheim don’t look as good on the stat sheet as the Coyotes played, but if Dallas, LA and San Jose are all for real, Phoenix could be in trouble.
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Anaheim Ducks (2-3-1, 5 pts, 3rd in Division Standings): Even though they currently sit 3rd in the Pacific, the Ducks have played more games than the rest of their division, but have managed to lose four of their first six games. The Ducks struggled to score through the first three games of the year against Detroit, Nashville and St. Louis, and while the offense has picked up in the last couple games, they just don’t look like playoff material in a tough Western Conference.
