The first month of the NHL season is in the books and we’re no closer to separating the pretenders from the contenders. What we do know is that the Kings and Lightning are contending teams this season. The Devils, Sabres and Senators, on the other hand, have done complete 180s from last season. One thing that hasn’t been settled yet is who won the Halak trade but I’ve ranked one team ahead of the other in each rankings list.

#1 Los Angeles Kings (Last Week #3)
Tops in the league and tops in the power rankings. I had the Kings looking good for a division win in our NHL season preview podcast and it looks like they’re coming good on my promise. How good are they this season? They have Pocahonski on the team and they’re leading the lead. If they’ve got enough talent to overcome that handicap, they’re pretty good.

#2 Detroit Red Wings (LW #2)
Pavel Datsyuk notched his 600th career point last week. He’s averaging just under one point per game for his NHL career. He’s a good player who has six to eight seasons left in him. So why are we noting such a minor milestone as a 600th point? I’ve never understood the obsession with round number milestones like 600. It’s such an odd and random number to note. 100, 500 and 1,000 points are fine but I don’t think anyone outside of Pavel’s parents and agents really wanted to know he scored point #600. Let’s save the milestone news and notes for real achievements.

#3 Tampa Bay Lightning (LW #5)
Before Saturday’s games, Steve Stamkos was averaging 2 points per game. That was enough to push me over the top to win my office’s hockey pool for October. I was amazed when I got chirped the next day for taking Stamkos by the guy who finished second-to-last in the pool last year and decided he didn’t have enough cash to buy into the pool this year. The fact he thought it was a bad pick should have been a clue that I was right.

#4 St. Louis Blues (LW #10)
I still say that the Blues won the Halak trade. Apart from maybe Tim Thomas, Jaro Halak is the best goalie in the NHL at the moment. That’s not to say he’s the best goalie in the league but if I had to pick any goalie to start tomorrow, I’d take Halak. I wouldn’t dismiss Carey Price right away but if the pressure is piled on him, I’d pass on picking him.

#5 Montreal Canadiens (LW #13)
I don’t care if they’re higher in the standings than the Blues. These are my power rankings and if I say that the Blues are a better team than the Habs, then I’m ranking the Blues higher. And not to sound repetitive but who would you rather have between the pipes in the playoffs? That’s what I thought. Mind you, I’d take the Habs skaters over the Blues nine times out of ten.

#6 Washington Capitals (LW #8)
Ovechkin torched the Flames for two goals in 12 seconds on Saturday night. Both were on the power play and both were shot from near the top of the left faceoff circle. Between those goals and those skate commercials where he’s a disembodied head, he’s starting to take over the NHL. Slowly but surely, the people’s Commie will wrest control of the title of “Face of the New NHL” from Bettman’s golden boy Sidney Crosby.

#7 Philadelphia Flyers (LW #15)
I’ve probably underranked the Broad Street Bullies a tiny bit. They do lead their division after all. However, Danny Briere is a repeat offender. Just found that out this week after he was suspended for three games for cross-checking some random dude in the face. I guess the bloodlust of Philadelphia gets to the players after all. Keep in mind that this is a city that booed Santa Claus and supported ECW. They’re all clinically insane.

#8 Pittsburgh Penguins (LW #1)
Speaking of Golden Boy… I’ve got nothing. Brent Johnson is the new starter there. That’s about the highlight of things in the Pitt. Crosby is still Crosby. The guys that do those fantasy hockey projections seem to be right about Malkin. I haven’t heard the name Paul Martin all season. Things will eventually return to normal at the new Igloo but it looks like they’re still trying to shake the after-effects of that upset at the hands of Montreal (and HALAK!) last season.

#9 Nashville Predators (LW #7)
All these millennium expansion teams have horrible names. Think about it: Predators, Wild, Thrashers and Blue Jackets? Does anyone put any effort into giving teams proper or classic franchise nicknames. Avalanche was probably the last good team name in the NHL and that was 1996. Then again, none of the other big four sports leagues have come up with decent names lately. Possible exception being the Oklahoma City Thunder. Thunder just seems appropriate for basketball.

#10 Chicago Blackhawks (LW #4)
Last week, I ranked them high based on the number of points they had in the standings. This week, I adjusted them down because they’ve played more games than any other team in the league. That and they’ve lost Hossa to injury. Now teams can key in on that Toews/Kane/Sharp trio and shut them down. It’s not like the Hawks have any secondary scoring aside from Hossa.

#11 Boston Bruins (LW #6)
Tim Thomas, circa 2008-09, welcome back. The Vezina winning Thomas has come back to hockey as he trades 2009-10 skill levels with Tuukka Rask. It’s kinda funny when you think about it. Rask outdueled Thomas for his job last year when folks thought it would never happen. This year, the roles have been re-reversed. If only they had some offense to go with the goaltending. Only three teams have scored fewer goals.

#12 Colorado Avalanche (LW #12)
Alright, we’ve established that the top guy in the NHL is Steve Stamkos. Now, do you know who’s second in the league in points and goals? Kristen Stewart, according to the guys in my hockey pool. He’s actually called Chris Stewart and he’s helped me to the best one-two punch in my office pool. So our money handler stuck it to me by paying me with a cheque instead of cash. I’ve made my money but I had to go to a damn bank to get it. That’s just evil.

#13 Vancouver Canucks (LW #16)
So I’ve finally bit the bullet and bought a CrackBerry. Why am I mentioning this here? Because the Canuckleheads play at Rogers Arena. And Rogers didn’t have as good plans as Telus, especially when it came to student plans. Somehow, the clerk at the Telus store thought that I was a student and was more than willing to sell me a phone. So I was all ready to sell them hard on the fact that I was a student (part-time and distance) at an institution of higher learning but all my prep work wasn’t needed. But still, I got a snazzy paperweight for my troubles. God those things are expensive.

#14 Dallas Stars (LW #11)
Between the football team and the baseball team, I doubt many people in Dallas have been paying attention to the hockey team. Well, compared to the rest of the time. I’ve never quite understood how Dallas supports a hockey team better than Phoenix but I guess that’s what happens when hockey and basketball are played in the same arena. And here I was thinking that the Stars would collapse without Turco in goal.

#15 Atlanta Thrashers (LW #20)
The Thrashers are sitting in the playoffs right now so I figured that I should move them into the Top 16 of the rankings. I doubt that they’re going to finish in the East’s Top 8 but when you’re playing without pressure or expectations, anything can happen. These guys can be this year’s Phoenix Coyotes but with more Stanley Cup rings. Maybe Kovalchuk shouldn’t have run off to Jersey.

#16 San Jose Sharks (LW #25)
After a slow start, the Sharks have won four straight games. They’re finally regaining their typical regular season form. And by that I mean a charge to the playoffs to be followed up by an inevitable collapse. Whether or not they make a playoff run to build false hopes remains to be seen. I love that trick. And that’s why they’re only ranked here. They’re hot but they can’t hold onto that streak until June.

#17 New York Islanders (LW #9)
The Isles have hit a bit of a cold snap over the last week. Their four game losing streak dropped them out of the Eastern Conference playoff spots. But the good news is that they haven’t gotten so desperate that they’re starting Rick DiPietro. Make you wonder, though, could you sit around watching people do your job and get paid $4 million bucks for it? The wonderful life of a backup goalie.

#18 Columbus Blue Jackets (LW #26)
Columbus is the only Central Division team not in the Top 10. There’s even an outside chance that they make the playoffs the way the standings shake out right now. Think about that. There are eight playoff spots for each conference and the Central Division occupy all but three spots right now. Has a division ever had all its teams make the playoffs since the switch to the three division format? We could witness history.

#19 Anaheim Ducks (LW #14)
It’s a good thing that Jackie is buried up to his eyes in textbooks and notes these next couple of weeks. He’d kill me if he read that I was dropping his Ducks out of the top half of my power rankings. But as long as Bobby Ryan is hot dogging it and dragging down my fantasy team, I don’t think the Ducks deserve to be in the top half. But based on these rankings, I don’t think the top half of these standings will guarantee you a playoff birth because of how strong the West is so far.

#20 Calgary Flames (LW #18)
So ScotiaBank bought the naming rights to the Saddledome. I guess that shows how much faith they have in the Senators if they’re sponsoring a second arena. Sounds like they’re hedging their bets by getting their hands on two arenas. Of course, it could be a sign of how much they’re gouging us if they can afford two arena naming rights deals. And ScotiaBank isn’t even one of the worst in Canada and they can afford this.

#21 New York Rangers (LW #22)
Last week, I blasted the team’s owners for dropping Gus Johnson from his deal to be the Knicks’ radio play-by-play guy. This week, I blast the MSG renovation plans. I’d rather the old barn gets fixed up than replaced by the Bank of America Madison Square Garden fuelled by Pepsi or whatever ridiculous corporate name would be sold for it. But they’re planning on building a standing room area above the rink in the rafters based on one concept drawing I saw. Standing room tickets are okay but putting them up where you can’t see all the action from one spot is moronic. The fans would cover more distance than the players as they chase the play up and down the rink. Not very bright, those folks are.

#22 Carolina Hurricanes (LW #19)
I read somewhere that the Hurricanes were thinking of sending Jeff Skinner back to the juniors. That wouldn’t have been such a bad idea. After all, he’s their top scorer and this team has no hope. Why not send your best player down in hopes of getting that top draft pick. It’s not like the Cardiac Canes are causing anyone heartache apart from their fans.

#23 Toronto Maple Leafs (LW #17)
The Leafs are crashing back down to earth, Burke and Wilson are talking about the lack of offence and Leafs fans are calling for heads to roll. So winter has begun in Canada… Really, it happens every year. The Leafs start sucking, fans get pissed and the sun rises the next day. Oh, Toronto. There isn’t a more amusing team to watch in the league.

#24 Minnesota Wild (LW #21)
The Wild fall because they were passed by other teams, not because they’re doing badly. My question is who is Matt Cullen? This is apparently his 13th season in the league and he’s likely to notch his 500th point sometime this season. Oops, there’s those round-number milestones again. But this random guy, who’s never had a 50 point season in his career, is one point off Koivu the Younger for the team lead. Just thought it was odd enough to point out.

#25 Phoenix Coyotes (LW #23)
When nobody underestimates you anymore and you lose your element of surprise, can you still win games? Not in Phoenix. It looks like their bubble has burst after losing to the Wings in the playoffs. Of course, there’s another question you can ask about Phoenix’s season. If a team loses in the desert and no one sees it, did it happen?

#26 Ottawa Senators (LW #24)
The Sens should have traded Spezza when they had the chance. He missed four games with a groin injury recently which explains why he’s 6th on the team in points but second in PPG. However, groin injuries are the sort of thing that tend to be reoccurring if you don’t watch it. Look at how many goalies have been forced into retirement because of reoccurring groin issues. And no one would ever accuse Spezza of being one of the fittest NHLers in the league.

#27 Buffalo Sabres (LW #29)
Like Tim Thomas last season, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner isn’t doing a good job of defending his crown. His GAA is 22nd at 2.71 and his save percentage is 0.903 for only 28th. Tack on Patrick Lalime’s numbers and the team’s GAA is 3.17. I haven’t bothered to go GAA on all the numbers but straight up GA leaves Buffalo sixth-last in the league. They have no offence. They need the goalies to shape up to get out of the basement.

#28 Edmonton Oilers (LW #27)
Well, no one expected a team with the first overall pick to vault up the standings. But given this year’s youth movement, there was hope to move out of the first pick lottery spots. The thing is that Edmonton’s top points getter after the first nine games was defenceman Ryan Whitney. All this about Taylor Hall saving the franchise and it’s a blueliner that’s saving the day… kinda. Well, who’s on top of the draft boards this year?

#29 Florida Panthers (LW #30)
Good news for Panthers fans… Well, all five of you, excluding players’ family and friends and team employees. They’ve moved out of the bottom of my power rankings for the first time this year. Who would have thought that they’d be in a fight for the #1 pick with New Jersey, Buffalo and Ottawa. God, the East sucks this year.

#30 New Jersey Devils (LW #28)
The curse of Kovalchuk strikes again. Everyone seemed to think that the addition of one of the league’s more dangerous snipers would turn this team into a championship contender. Instead, it’s like the last half of last season. Kovalchuk is there but he’s just as anonymous as he was in Atlanta. The only difference is that he’s not scoring in New Jersey. This team goes as Kovi goes and it sure ain’t going up.