Power Rankin's (week of 2/8/10)

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The Capitals remain the unstoppable tide. Sunday's game against the Penguins demonstrated that no matter how badly things may seem for them during a game, they have the potential to storm back and make you look absolutely silly. Usually, my default position is to go with solid goaltending as the road to Lord Stanley's cup. This year, however, I'm willing to ignore convention and award the thing to The Great 8 and, with his recently inheriting the "C", what is now his crew.

Los Angeles deserves special mention this week as well. Having put together their own nine-game winning streak, the Kings get this week's Big Mover award, vaulting up the Rankin's four spots to crack the top 5, passing the likes of New Jersey, Vancouver, and Buffalo along the way.

The Atlantic Division as a whole continues to slide, and Dallas and Tampa Bay continue to scratch and claw their way about the middle of the pack as they attempt to keep post-season hope alive.

1) (1) Washington
2) (2) Phoenix
3) (3) Chicago
4) (4) San Jose
5) (9) Los Angeles
6) (6) Colorado
7) (5) Buffalo
8) (8) New Jersey
9) (7) Vancouver
10) (15) Calgary
11) (12) Nashville
12) (11) Ottawa
13) (10) Pittsburgh
14) (16) Anaheim
15) (14) Detroit
16) (13) Philadelphia
17) (18) Dallas
18) (17) Minnesota
19) (20) Montreal
20) (19) St. Louis
21) (23) Atlanta
22) (21) Boston
23) (26) Tampa Bay
24) (22) Florida
25) (24) NY Rangers
26) (25) NY Islanders
27) (27) Carolina
28) (28) Columbus
29) (29) Edmonton
30) (30) Toronto