Smacchat Power Rankings October 08

Seems like just yesterday the sun was taking over indicating the end of the hockey season, but the temperature has fallen as much as the stock market and it’s time to drop the puck again. Lots of changes this year and perhaps a changing of the guard at the top as many clubs made off season moves we look forward to a competitive year from start to finish but as always we have our favorites. Here are the Smacchat Power Rankings to start the year.

1 Red Wings: Their banner raising home opener was a dud, but the Red Wings snapped back to attention in Ottawa by limiting the Senators to just 22 shots and turning over the puck only four times.
2 Sharks Brian Boucher's shutout in his first outing should make the Sharks feel a little more comfortable about giving Evgeni Nabokov a few extra nights off.
3 Canadiens With four points in his first two games, Alex Tanguay seems to have found a comfort zone quickly with new linemates Saku Koivu and Guillaume Latendresse.
4 Rangers One reason for the Rangers best start in 25 years is the Dubinsky-Zherdev-Voros line. The unit has five goals, 12 points and 32 shots in four games.
5 Devils The goals are still hard to come by, but the Devils have the makings of a team that can produce lots of offensive pressure. New Jersey fired a total of 78 shots in winning its first two starts.
6 Flyers The injuries along the blue line could be a real problem here, particularly if Marty Biron continues to keep the goaltending questions he revived in less than a period of the opener on the front burner.
7 Capitals Ovechkin and company have been flying which means all the offense everyone expected will be there. But it won't mean much if Jose Theodore doesn't raise his game dramatically -- say to the mediocre level.
8 Penguins No goals yet for Crosby while the Pens have managed three points in three games, which is arguably three more than they really deserve.
9 Stars Here's an instant analysis from coach Dave Tippett after his highly touted Stars dropped their first two games. "We've got lots of work to do in all areas."
10 Ducks A couple of ugly efforts for the Ducklings to get things started. Someone should tell them the Stanley Cup hangover is supposed to last only one season.
11 Senators What's the matter with this team without Alfie? Plenty including Martin Gerber, who has looked sharp at times, but has been the goat in both Ottawa losses by allowing weak goals.
12 Oilers Pulling out a big win late in the opener at home was important because the Oilers play 18 of their first 26 games on the road.
13 Canucks Who needs Mats Sundin? The Canucks are saving themselves $10 million a year because the free agent rejected them and are still getting the offense they need with 11 goals in their first two games.
14 Wild - With contract talks apparently going nowhere, look for the Wild to do something -- read trade -- Marian Gaborik sooner rather than later.
15 Bruins - Positive starts for key offensive players like Bergeron, Ryder and Kessel, but not so much for often penalized d-man Zdeno Chara. The captain was a minus-3 in Boston's first two games and in the box for another goal.
16 Sabres - Good sign winning the opener on a shootout after losing nine times that way last season and missing the playoffs by four points.
17 Coyotes - Rookies Mikkel Boedker, Viktor Tikhonov and Kyle Turris are getting to play important minutes right away and Olli Jokinen is paying early dividends for a Phoenix team that could surprise a lot people.
18 Flames - Time to start questioning whether Miikka Kiprusoff is still an elite goalie, but for now the bigger issue in Calgary is the power play which has drawn a blank in 13 tries so far.
19 Hurricanes - Doing things the hard way. The 'Canes fell behind a couple of goals to Florida and three to Tampa Bay, but came back to win both games.
20 Panthers - Imagine what kind of numbers David Booth would put up if he could connect on the power play. Booth has three even strength goals so far after getting 21 of his 22 last season five-on-five.
21 Predators - Great special-team work keyed the Predators home opener win, but the bigger news might have been the sellout crowd at the game.
22 Blackhawks - It's a little early to say the wind is out of the Windy City team's sails, but so far it looks like the Blackhawks have been reading too many of their own press clippings.
23 Blue Jackets - Nice debuts for the kids Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek. Brassard had goals in each of the Jackets' first two games while Voracek had a goal and an assist.
24 Blues - St. Louis had the league's worst power play last season. Now? Five goals on its first nine tries.
25 Thrashers - The Thrashers look much improved along the blue line at both ends of the ice. Their defensemen have been involved in the scoring play on eight of Atlanta's nine goals so far.
26 Avalanche - Think they're not worried about goalie Peter Budaj? He lost the Avs' first two games despite Colorado holding a combined 72-43 shot advantage.
27 Lightning - What's coach Barry Melrose going to do next? He called out his stars after Tampa Bay dropped both games in Prague and then watched the Bolts blow a 3-0 lead and get outshot 20-2 in the third to lose their home opener.
28 Islanders - While the Isles are staying mum about the reason for Rick DiPietro being on the sidelines, Joey MacDonald is proving to be an adequate backup.
29 Maple Leafs - Some things never change. Toronto's 29th ranked penalty killing unit was victimized four times in the first two games.
30 Kings - There was good news for the future in Los Angeles with Anze Kopitar getting locked up for seven years and the re-signed Patrick O'Sullivan making his debut after holding out through training camp.