Updated: October 12, 2009, 3:37 PM ET

Power Rankings: Penguins back at No. 1; Kings, Rangers jump into Top 10

Week:

ESPN.com

My turn to take a run at the weekly Power Rankings.

An easier task, no doubt, than a week ago, when my colleague Pierre LeBrun had a small body of evidence with which to work.

Now, more than a week into the regular season, most teams have played four or five games, and trends, both good and bad, are already evident, which makes this a piece of cake. Or something like that.

So let's get started.

As always, you can weigh in here and rank all 30 teams.

-- By Scott Burnside; posted Oct. 12

2009-2010 Power Rankings: Week 3
RANK	TEAM / RECORD	TRENDING	COMMENTS
1	Pittsburgh 4-1-0	1 Last Week: 2	Despite a soft outing against Phoenix, the Pens rebounded to win a wild one in Philadelphia and then dominated the Leafs in Toronto. Sidney Crosby is rolling early with four goals.
2	Calgary 4-1-0	1 Last Week: 3	The Flames' only loss came with backup Curtis McElhinney between the pipes. But Miikka Kiprusoff has been flawless, and the Flames are getting contributions from throughout the lineup, as witnessed by team-leader Rene Bourque, who has seven points.
3	Los Angeles 3-1-0	12 Last Week: 15	The Kings have won three in a row and have used big offense and tight checking along the way. Netminder Jonathan Quick was especially impressive, stopping 29 of 30 in a 2-1 victory in St. Louis on Saturday. Ryan Smyth already has four goals.
4	Philadelphia 3-1-1	1 Last Week: 5	Big week for the Flyers, as they beat Washington in overtime, lost to the Pens and then blew a late lead against Anaheim before losing in a shootout. Mike Richards leads all NHLers with six goals, and Matt Carle leads all defensemen with eight points.
5	New York 4-1-0	7 Last Week: 12	Big wins over Washington and Anaheim give the Rangers four straight wins. Nice starts for rookie defensemen Matt Gilroy and Michael Del Zotto. Marian Gaborik's clicking, too, with points in every game. Sean Avery's return is a welcome addition.
6	Chicago 2-1-1	-- Last Week: 6	It took the Hawks nine shootout rounds to best Colorado in their home opener Saturday after a disappointing loss in Detroit earlier in the week.
7	San Jose 3-2-0	-- Last Week: 7	The Sharks, as predicted, are lighting it up offensively. Welcome to the Shark Tank, Dany Heatley. He is tied for the league lead with 10 points.
8	Ottawa 3-1-0	13 Last Week: 21	Not much in the way of offense for the Sens thus far, but they haven't needed much with Pascal Leclaire and Brian Elliott combining to give the Northeast Division-leading Senators terrific goaltending.
9	Columbus 3-1-0	13 Last Week: 22	The Blue Jackets were pummeled by San Jose earlier in the week but bounced back for a strong win in Phoenix on Saturday, led by backup netminder Mathieu Garon.
10	Detroit 2-2-0	2 Last Week: 8	The Wings have won two straight since dropping their first two in Stockholm, but the loss of Johan Franzen (out at least four months with a torn left ACL) is a big blow.
11	Washington 2-2-1	10 Last Week: 1	Blew lead against Philadelphia, lost to Rangers and then couldn't keep Detroit in check. All in all, a sobering week for the undisciplined Caps, who are scoring like crazy but giving up way too many.
12	Anaheim 2-2-1	2 Last Week: 10	Up-and-down road trip closed Sunday with 3-0 loss to New York Rangers but did include last-minute tying goal and shootout victory over Philadelphia. Teemu Selanne looks like the Finnish Flash of old.
13	Colorado 2-1-1	6 Last Week: 19	The Avs continue their impressive early-season play. Craig Anderson has delivered stalwart netminding as the Avs have given up just nine goals in four games heading into Monday.
14	Buffalo 2-0-1	-- Last Week: 14	How wacky is this? The Sabres have scored just four goals so far but given up one fewer. Fire-wagon hockey this isn't. Still, they're undefeated in regulation.
15	Edmonton 2-1-1	9 Last Week: 24	The Oilers are getting good goaltending from Nikolai Khabibulin and balanced scoring. Missing Sheldon Souray, who's resting with a concussion thanks to a Jarome Iginla hit, will hurt.
16	Tampa Bay 1-1-2	13 Last Week: 29	The Lightning showed signs of getting into a groove with a solid win over Carolina. They gave up the tying goal to New Jersey with one second left earlier in the week. Ryan Malone is off to a sizzling start with four goals.
17	Carolina 2-3-0	4 Last Week: 13	The Hurricanes have been up and down to start this season, coming up flat Saturday against Tampa after crushing Florida the night before. Missing Erik Cole doesn't help.
18	Dallas 1-0-3	7 Last Week: 25	The Stars are undefeated in regulation and beat up on the Flames and backup Curtis McElhinney. Sophomore James Neal is off to a good start with three goals and an assist.
19	Winnipeg 2-1-0	1 Last Week: 20	The Thrashers hit a bump against Ottawa on Saturday, but defense and goaltending have been impressive to date. Ilya Kovalchuk is off to a nice start with five goals.
20	Nashville 2-1-0	3 Last Week: 23	The Preds have taken a page from the Sabres' handbook, scoring just six times while giving up one fewer. Netminders Dan Ellis and Pekka Rinne are holding things together for the offensively challenged Preds.
21	Boston 2-2-0	12 Last Week: 9	The Bruins were oh-so-close to a 1-3-0 record, as they fell behind 3-0 to the Islanders on Saturday before coming back to win in a shootout. Tuukka Rask earned his first victory of the season.
22	New Jersey 2-2-0	4 Last Week: 18	They scored with one second left against Tampa to force overtime (they won in a shootout), then squeaked out victory in Florida on Saturday.
23	St. Louis 2-2-0	19 Last Week: 4	Disappointing North American start for the Blues, as they dropped two home dates to Atlanta and Los Angeles after beating Detroit twice in Stockholm. Offense combined for three goals in those losses.
24	Phoenix 2-2-0	3 Last Week: 27	The Coyotes have lost two in a row, and although their defense and goaltending remain solid (seven goals against), their offense is AWOL.
25	New York 0-0-3	5 Last Week: 30	The good news for Isles fans is the team is undefeated in regulation. The bad news? The Isles have lost three straight after regulation. John Tavares is the real deal, by the way, with five points.
26	Vancouver 2-3-0	9 Last Week: 17	Yes, they pounded Montreal to stop a three-game slide to open the season, but then blew a late lead against Dallas on Sunday, forcing them into a shootout. True, they got the two points, but there's still not a lot of confidence in Canucktown.
27	Montreal 2-3-0	16 Last Week: 11	After opening the season with two straight wins, the Habs lost Andrei Markov and have dropped three straight. Reports of a return to prominence for Carey Price may have been premature, which spells trouble for Les Habs.
28	Minnesota 1-3-0	2 Last Week: 26	News bulletin! The Wild can't score. Still. But you could see that one coming a mile away, no?
29	Florida 1-3-0	13 Last Week: 16	The Panthers have lost three in a row, including an embarrassing shellacking at the hands of Carolina and a disappointing 3-2 effort in their home opener Saturday. They've scored just eight times in four games, and that's not going to get it done.
30	Toronto 0-3-1	2 Last Week: 28	Easily the worst team in the NHL right now. No goaltending. Can't kill penalties. Aren't even that tough. Ouch.
Biggest Jump: 13 Biggest Drop: 19

Power Rankings: Penguins back at No. 1; Kings, Rangers jump into Top 10

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