Power Rankings: Blackhawks’ attack can’t hide hole in goal
The Blackhawks are coming off the kind of weekend that should both excite and terrify their fans.
Cristobal Huet’s play has not been inspiring confidence. (US Presswire) It began with Chicago proving how dangerous an attack it has by blowing out another division leader in Vancouver and its star goalie, Canadian Olympian Roberto Luongo. And it ended with the Blackhawks reminding everyone of how vulnerable they might be going forward because of goaltending that is clearly the most questionable part of this team.
The offense is nothing new, of course, for a team that has Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews leading the attack. Chicago still has to be considered a Stanley Cup favorite because of its explosiveness, but it has been dogged by questions about its strength between the pipes all season. And those questions aren’t likely to go away since Chicago has allowed at least four goals in four of its past six games, changed goalies in three of them and was blitzed for five in the second period of a crucial loss to surging Central Division rival Detroit.
The situation hasn’t been helped by some unusually porous defensive play by Chicago since the Olympic break, but the reality is that neither of its goaltenders has been making big saves at crucial times of late. And that is creating a dilemma for the Blackhawks as the playoffs approach.
Chicago did not upgrade its goaltending at the deadline last week, and with the division title locked up, will spend the final five weeks of the schedule trying to figure out which of its netminders can carry the load when crunch time arrives. Veteran Cristobal Huet has been less than impressive since arriving as a free agent before last season, while rookie Antii Niemi has shown sold flashes, but has no playoff experience.
Huet didn’t exactly set the world on fire in his previous postseasons as a member of Montreal and Washington, with pedestrian save percentage and goals-against numbers to go along with a 6-10 record and no series wins. Still, the Blackhawks might not have any c confidence for the playoffs.
The rankings through Sunday night’s games:
Power Rankings
CurrentTeamPrevious1Capitals · Trends1No one did better at the deadline than the Caps, who got deeper in key spots and have Jose Theodore looking very sharp in goal. 2Sharks · Trends2San Jose has not lost a regulation game it has led after two periods. The Sharks are 30-0-4 when ahead after 40 minutes.3Penguins · Trends9On a post-Olympic high, the Penguins are 4-0, including three come-from-behind wins since play resumed.4Blackhawks · Trends3Middle mismanagement. Chicago has been outscored 16-6 in second periods in the past six games.5Coyotes · Trends7Ilya Bryzgalov has set a franchise record with 34 wins this season for the Coyotes, who made a number of solid deadline moves to enhance their playoff prospects.6Canucks · Trends6Holding their own on the long road trip, even though the Sedin twins have only an empty-net goal between them in Vancouver’s past 11 games.7Kings · Trends4Go figure. The Kings were buyers at the deadline and added depth to the forward lines, then lost two games in a row for the first time since early January.8Avalanche · Trends8Still hanging tough in the Northwest race. Meanwhile Chris Stewart is on fire these days, with seven goals and 15 points in his past eight games.9Sabres · Trends14Buffalo is hoping the addition of crease crasher Raffi Torres will help a power play that has just one goal in the past 31 tries.10Flyers · Trends12A strong finish from Scott Hartnell and Simon Gagne could offset the lack of deadline moves. The duo has only 23 goals between them this season.11Red Wings · Trends15The Red Wings are getting their groove back and Pavel Datsyuk is leading the way with eight goals and 10 assists in his past 14 games.12Senators · Trends5Flu bug has hit Ottawa hard since the break, sidelining captain Daniel Alfredsson among others during a three-game losing streak.13Devils · Trends10New Jersey needs to shore things up in a hurry. The Devils have only six wins in their past 20 games.14Canadiens · Trends21A solid road trip to start the final push, but Carey Price isn’t doing much to convince anyone he’s the goalie of the future with five losses in his past seven starts.15Bruins · Trends13Another major blow to the punchless Bruins with Marc Savard back on the sidelines with a concussion. 16Flames · Trends16Ten goals in two weekend games is a good sign. So is Vesa Toskala’s debut. He could be the backup Calgary has sought for years to spell Miikka Kiprusoff.17Ducks · Trends11Ducks are suddenly having problems at home, where they’ve been so good. And they keep hurting themselves by allowing more third-period goals than anyone.18Predators · Trends19Pekka Rinne hasn’t been particularly sharp since the Olympic break ended and the Preds are feeling the heat from teams chasing them for a playoff spot.19Hurricanes · Trends18Jussi Jokinen is a big reason Carolina has been one of the league’s hottest teams, with 15 goals in his past 19 games.20Blues · Trends20St. Louis has been producing offense, scoring 27 times in winning six of the past seven.21Stars · Trends17The defense has looked awful in the Stars’ three losses since the Olympic break, allowing 17 goals.22Lightning · Trends22Seen Steven Stamkos lately? Tampa Bay’s super sophomore has a point in 16 straight games and could make a run at 50 goals.23Rangers · Trends23A sub-.500 record at home hurts as much as an offense that has only one goal in its past seven periods.24Wild · Trends24Guillaume Latendresse continues to be a much-needed offensive force for Minnesota with seven goals in his past nine games. 25Thrashers · Trends25The Thrashers are not helping their playoff chances by struggling against division rivals. Atlanta is 7-11-2 against Southeast teams.26Panthers · Trends26Another late-season charge in the offing? Those never work in Florida, but the Panthers scored 11 times to win twice in a row after the trade deadline passed.27Maple Leafs · Trends27Toronto’s power play continues to have problems, with no goals in its past 25 tries.28Islanders · Trends28John Tavares is finding it tougher as his rookie season wears on, with no goals in 17 games and only two in the past 34.29Blue Jackets · Trends29The initial bump from the coaching change has faded with the Jackets losing four in a row after winning their first three under Claude Noel.30Oilers · Trends30Good work in goal from Jeff Deslauriers gave the injury-challenged Oilers rare back-to-back wins over the weekend.