Updated: February 9, 2009, 1:28 PM ET

Power Rankings: Bruins move back into No. 1 spot

Week:

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The Bruins are back atop the Power Rankings after a 2-0-1 week and some help from last week's leader New Jersey's 1-2-0 week, which included losses to the Capitals and Kings.

Meanwhile, the once-mighty Sharks have lost three in a row (0-1-2), and we'll see how they respond on the rest of their Eastern road swing through Boston, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and New Jersey.

Comment here on this week's Power Rankings.

-- By Jim Wilkie; posted Feb. 9

2008-2009 Power Rankings: Week 16
RANK	TEAM / RECORD	TRENDING	COMMENTS
1	Boston 39-8-7	1 Last Week: 2	We can't hype it enough: Don't miss the Sharks at Bruins on Tuesday night in the game of the season.
2	Washington 34-16-4	2 Last Week: 4	Mike Green has scored in six consecutive games, and his 19 goals top all NHL blueliners. "Practically everything he is touching is turning to gold, and I hope it doesn't end. He can play for 30 minutes and never look tired," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau told The Washington Times.
3	Detroit 35-11-7	2 Last Week: 5	Chris Osgood is feeling the heat because of his recent shaky play, acknowledging a Cup hangover. The Red Wings had better find a remedy by April, or they could face an early playoff exit.
4	New Jersey 34-17-3	3 Last Week: 1	Brendan Shanahan gets to face the Rangers for the first time this season, although he tells The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger, "When you're playing games, you really get so focused on the present that it's not bigger because of the past. You can maybe reflect years later and say, 'It was bigger when we were playing for first place.' But I'm focused on [now]."
5	San Jose 36-7-7	2 Last Week: 3	Did we mention the Western Conference leaders visit the East-leading Bruins on Tuesday?
6	Chicago 29-14-8	1 Last Week: 7	Chicago's leading scorer Patrick Kane has just one goal in his past 18 games and three assists in his past 17.
7	Philadelphia 28-15-9	1 Last Week: 8	Antero Niittymaki won't have the Thrashers to kick around for a while after improving to 4-0-0 this season and 13-0-0 in his career with Sunday's 3-2 victory.
8	Anaheim 27-24-5	1 Last Week: 9	Ducks forward Corey Perry has 10 goals in 13 games since serving a four-game suspension for elbowing Philadelphia's Claude Giroux in the head.
9	Calgary 30-18-4	3 Last Week: 6	Flames coach Mike Keenan explained his team's 1-for-14 stretch on the power play during its four-game losing streak to The Calgary Sun: "When you have the man advantage, you know penalty killers are going to work very hard ... When you have penalty-killing units that work that hard, then you have to work on your work."
10	Buffalo 28-20-6	2 Last Week: 12	Thomas Vanek's great season was derailed by a jaw injury, and it might knock Buffalo's season off track for the three to four weeks the NHL's second-leading goal scorer is out.
11	Montreal 29-18-6	-- Last Week: 11	Habs goalie Carey Price has lost six of his past eight starts, and his glove hand was particularly weak Saturday night against the Maple Leafs. "There's no excuse for letting in five goals every night. I've got to find a way to fix this," he said after Toronto beat Montreal 5-2.
12	Dallas 26-19-7	5 Last Week: 17	Marty Turco's 23rd consecutive start ties the franchise record held by Cesare Maniago in 1968-69. We just wanted a chance to say "Cesare Maniago."
13	New York 29-19-5	3 Last Week: 10	I guess adding Sean Avery wouldn't hurt this bewildering lineup.
14	Carolina 27-22-5	2 Last Week: 16	Lightning reject Jussi Jokinen is the latest to join the Island of Misfit Toys, but past reclamation projects Sergei Samsonov and Tuomo Ruutu have turned out pretty well.
15	Minnesota 27-22-3	3 Last Week: 18	Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom is 3-0 in shootouts and has stopped all eight shots he's faced in the tiebreaker.
16	Pittsburgh 26-24-5	2 Last Week: 14	Defenseman Sergei Gonchar is getting closer to returning, and it can't come soon enough for Pittsburgh's 24th-ranked power play (16.5 percent).
17	Vancouver 24-20-8	4 Last Week: 21	Vancouver's second line of Mats Sundin, Ryan Kesler and Pavol Demitra has 15 points in the past two games and Kesler has five goals and eight points in his past three contests.
18	Edmonton 26-23-4	3 Last Week: 15	Dustin Penner (7-for-9 Sunday against the Wild) might be a temporary solution to the Oilers' faceoff woes (ranked 26th at 48.2 percent).
19	Los Angeles 23-21-7	3 Last Week: 22	Los Angeles has played its way back into the playoff picture with a 6-1-0 run in its past seven games.
20	Phoenix 24-25-5	7 Last Week: 13	Phoenix has lost six consecutive games and the injuries are piling up, with forwards Martin Hanzal and Daniel Carcillo the latest to go down.
21	Columbus 25-23-5	2 Last Week: 19	Super rookie goalie Steve Mason's stint on injured reserve will be a good test for the rest of the Blue Jackets. So far, so good after Saturday's 3-2 overtime victory over the Sharks.
22	Florida 25-19-8	2 Last Week: 20	Florida's 36 goals from defensemen is the most in the NHL, and coincidentally, the Panthers allow the most shots (33.7) per game in the league.
23	Nashville 25-25-3	1 Last Week: 24	Only Columbus' power play (12 percent) is worse than Nashville's (13.5 percent).
24	Tampa Bay 18-24-11	1 Last Week: 23	Here's a deal from the Lightning's Web site: Two tickets, two beers, two hot dogs and a parking pass for $39.
25	St. Louis 22-24-6	4 Last Week: 29	As the Blues chase a playoff spot, we'll see how Manny Legace plays in Peoria.
26	Toronto 20-24-9	1 Last Week: 25	Little hope for the Maple Leafs this season, but at least Niklas Hagman provided the shift of the year, if not the goal of the year. Check out "The Life" page on ESPN.com.
27	Colorado 25-27-1	1 Last Week: 26	The Avs dodge a bullet as Milan Hejduk's jaw injury, which he sustained on a hit against the Blues on Saturday, is just a bruise.
28	Ottawa 18-25-8	1 Last Week: 27	The Senators have the worst winning percentage (.091) when their opponent scores first.
29	New York 16-31-5	1 Last Week: 28	The Islanders have the second-worst winning percentage when scoring the first goal (.522) of the game, just ahead of the Lightning (.519).
30	Winnipeg 18-31-5	-- Last Week: 30	Atlanta is 28th in total hits (881), ranking ahead of only Edmonton (846) and Vancouver (826).
Biggest Jump: 5 Biggest Drop: 7

Power Rankings: Bruins move back into No. 1 spot

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