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//  Friday, September 10, 2010

Pacific Division Positional Rankings

Wednesday, October 14, 2009
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Pacific Division Positional Rankings

FORWARDS

1. San Jose Sharks

2. Anaheim Ducks

3. Dallas Stars

4. Los Angeles Kings

5. Phoenix Coyotes

 - Of course San Jose tops the list.  Thorton, Marleau, Pavelski, and now Dany Heatley.  The Sharks roll out six legitimate top-line forwards.  I’m also very excited about the Scott Nichol signing.

Anaheim boasts one of the top scoring lines in the league, with Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf, and Corey Perry.  Following the top-line comes a great second line, anchored by Saku Koivu.  The scary part?  These young ducklings have yet to reach their full potential.

After San Jose and Anaheim, the talent level at forward drops off.  Dallas doesn’t have a lot of big names, but they have a solid top-two lines.  New head coach Marc Crawford will place more of a focus on offense, which might help.  Plus, Mike Ribiero can score fancy shootout goals.

In Los Angeles, the Ryan Smyth trade could prove to be very beneficial for an offense that only managed 207 goals last season.  

What is there to say about Phoenix?  Robert Lang is their top-line center.  Is that enough?  I don’t see how a forward corps this shallow can help improve on a 2.50 goals-for average (ranked 26 in the NHL) from a season ago.

 

DEFENSE

1. San Jose Sharks

2. Anaheim Ducks

3. Los Angeles Kings

4. Dallas Stars

5. Phoenix Coyotes

 - Once again, San Jose rules the day with an overabundance of skill and depth.  Their blueliners are also very offensive minded.  The Sharks won the President's Trophy last year thanks in large part to the highest scoring blue line in team history.

The Ducks showed what this defense is capable of last year by shutting down Joe Thorton and upsetting the Sharks in round one of the playoffs.  After that, they nearly beat the Red Wings in the round two.  The Anaheim blue line can shut down and physically punish the opposition, while assisting on offense as well.

The Kings have had a top five draft pick for the three straight years and as a result, now sport a young, competitive, tough defense.  The more I see of Drew Doughty, the more I like.  This defense could be the catalyst for a Kings playoff run this season. 

In Dallas, when it comes to D, there isn’t much depth.  Stephane Robidas and Karlis Skrastin are solid players, but how confident can Stars fans really be with this group?

Poor Phoenix.  Once again they end up in last place.  Like at forward, the Coyotes lack depth on the blueline.  There is a good mix of youth and veterans here, but they won’t compete.  The only positive is the acquisition of Adrian Aucoin.

 

GOALTENDERS

1. San Jose Sharks

2. Anaheim Ducks

3. Phoenix Coyotes

4. Los Angeles Kings

5. Dallas Stars

 - The clean sweep for San Jose.  Evgeni Nabokov earned 46 and 41 wins the past two seasons respectively, the second being shortened due to injury.  Could this be the season he finally breaks Marty Brodeur’s single season record of 48 wins?

Anaheim is a very close second in this category.  Jonas Hiller showed how skilled he is during the 2008-09 playoffs, and although Giguere is coming off his worst season in a decade, he’s still a capable backup. 

Ilya Bryzgalov seems like he’s finally ready to have that breakout year (he’s 3-1-0 with two shutouts, a .960 save percentage, and a .098 goals-against average as of this writing)

After four different goaltenders made an appearance in net last year, it looks as though the Kings have found a decent starter.  Jonathon Quick posted a 21-18-2 record with four shutouts and a .914 save percentage last year.  As of right now he’s 4-1-0,with four wins in a row.

Looking at things from a historical perspective, Marty Turco is a positive for his team.  But after last season, it looks like Turco could be the concrete block tied around the Stars’ ankle, dragging them to the bottom of the West.  Turco seems to be rapidly declining and there is no accomplished backup. 

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