Updated: November 9, 2009, 11:25 AM ET

Power Rankings: Sharks take over top spot as Flames heat up

Week:

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We had Scott Burnside over at our house in Toronto for dinner Sunday night. What a mistake. He tried several times to wrestle over the responsibility for this week's Power Rankings. Sorry, dude -- LeBrun is back in charge.

And with that, we've got a new sheriff at the top of the heap. Oh yeah, baby, the Sharks are No. 1.

-- By Pierre LeBrun; posted Nov. 9

2009-2010 Power Rankings: Week 7
RANK	TEAM / RECORD	TRENDING	COMMENTS
1	San Jose 12-4-2	1 Last Week: 2	GM Doug Wilson told us this past weekend that he believes star centers Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are playing the best hockey he can remember them playing in San Jose.
2	Pittsburgh 12-5-0	1 Last Week: 1	Max Talbot, Sergei Gonchar, Evgeni Malkin, Tyler Kennedy ... now Kris Letang? The Cup champs are being devoured by injures. No team, no matter how deep, can withstand this many injuries.
3	Colorado 12-4-2	-- Last Week: 3	Someone tell the hockey fans in Denver their team isn't so bad. Worst attendance Wednesday night against the Coyotes since the team moved to Denver? Brutal.
4	Calgary 10-4-1	7 Last Week: 11	Not sure why Burnside keeps dropping the boys from Calgary so low in his rankings. These guys are serious Cup threats. Jarome Iginla is heating up!
5	New Jersey 11-4-0	4 Last Week: 9	Fitting indeed that the injury-riddled Devils keep proving the world wrong as their architect gets inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
6	Washington 10-3-4	1 Last Week: 5	No Ovechkin? No problem. Meet Tomas Fleischmann, who has seven points (five goals and two assists) in six games.
7	Los Angeles 10-5-2	1 Last Week: 8	Ah, the frustrations of a young and rising team. Big win over the Cup champs, big letdown against Nashville.
8	Buffalo 9-4-1	4 Last Week: 4	Somebody please tell Thomas Vanek (seven points in 12 games) that the season has started -- especially because LeBrun has him on his fantasy team.
9	Philadelphia 9-4-1	3 Last Week: 12	Four straight wins, with Ray Emery coming on. The Flyers goalie, somewhat quietly, is sporting a .922 save percentage.
10	Chicago 8-5-2	3 Last Week: 7	Now Dave Bolland goes down. Jonathan Toews, thankfully, is expected back this week, perhaps as soon as Monday night.
11	Detroit 7-5-3	5 Last Week: 16	OK, Nick and the boys should be punished for losing to Toronto, but the win over San Jose gets noticed.
12	New York 10-7-1	2 Last Week: 10	The front-office brass likes the idea of Peter Forsberg centering Marian Gaborik.
13	Dallas 7-4-6	-- Last Week: 13	Marc Crawford's group is producing goals: 3.18 per game, eighth in the NHL.
14	Vancouver 10-8-0	-- Last Week: 14	They also are serious bidders in the Forsberg derby.
15	Columbus 9-5-2	9 Last Week: 24	Points in five straight games (3-0-2).
16	Phoenix 10-7-0	10 Last Week: 6	Not sure what Burnside was smoking last week. And can someone please buy a darn ticket in Phoenix, er, Glendale?
17	Boston 7-7-2	12 Last Week: 5	Loss to the Habs was rock bottom. Will the road to redemption start with the win over Buffalo?
18	Edmonton 8-8-1	1 Last Week: 17	Injury- and flu-ridden club pulled off gutsy win in Denver on Sunday.
19	Montreal 8-9-0	1 Last Week: 18	Win one, lose one, win one, lose one, win one, lose one. ...
20	Ottawa 7-5-2	1 Last Week: 19	Mike Fisher off to a terrific start, with 13 points (6-7) in 14 games.
21	Anaheim 6-7-2	4 Last Week: 25	We know he has 14 assists, but is it time to worry that Ryan Getzlaf has only one goal and it's the second week of November?
22	Winnipeg 7-6-1	-- Last Week: 22	So, 2-4-0 at home and 5-2-1 on the road? Can someone explain?
23	Tampa Bay 6-4-5	-- Last Week: 23	GM Brian Lawton was furious about Chris Neil's hit on Victor Hedman and let the league know about it.
24	Nashville 7-7-1	3 Last Week: 21	Hanging in there now without their top player, Shea Weber. Goalie Dan Ellis scored a big win in Los Angeles.
25	Toronto 3-7-5	4 Last Week: 29	A season-high ranking for the Buds. Points in seven straight games (3-0-4)!
26	New York 6-6-5	6 Last Week: 20	Leading scorer Matt Moulson has a name fit for hockey. And he's from Canada, eh?
27	St. Louis 5-6-4	-- Last Week: 27	The ranking perfectly fits their 27th-ranked offense in the NHL.
28	Minnesota 6-10-0	-- Last Week: 28	The ranking perfectly fits their 28th-ranked offense in the NHL.
29	Florida 5-9-1	3 Last Week: 26	The second-worst goals-against average in the NHL.
30	Carolina 2-11-3	-- Last Week: 30	Cam Ward's injured? Yeah, it's officially rock bottom in Carolina.
Biggest Jump: 9 Biggest Drop: 12

Power Rankings: Sharks take over top spot as Flames heat up

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