Red-hot Canucks now atop Power Rankings

Clearly feeling the pressure of being the top team in the Super 16, the Detroit Red Wings stumbled badly last week. They lost all three of their games and dropped two at Joe Louis Arena after winning 23 straight there, a clear sign that the honor that is being the top team in the NHL.com power rankings can be a burden.

Or maybe the Red Wings were without Pavel Datsyuk due to knee surgery and they were long overdue to drop a game or two at home.

Either way, as we move past the three-quarter point of the season, the Red Wings are no longer on top. That spot now belongs to the Vancouver Canucks, who ended that 23-game win streak and have earned points in 16 of their last 17 games.

The Coyotes are 11th in the overall standings, but they move up to third this week because they have been playing some unreal hockey for nearly a month. The Sharks have dropped out completely after losing for the sixth time in seven games Sunday.

Those are just some of the highlights of this week's Super 16. Along with the rankings that don't mean a thing to anyone involved, we take a look at what each team is facing as they head into their final 20 games or so.

RANK TEAM (RECORD) LAST WEEK COMMENTARY

1	Vancouver (40-16-7)	2	The Canucks play 13 of their final 19 games at home. They have a seven-game homestand to start March and a five-game homestand to end the month that leaks into April.
2	St. Louis (38-17-7)	4	The Blues are 26-4-4 at home, 12-13-3 on the road. Thirteen of their final 20 games are away from Scottrade Center. If the Blues want home-ice in the first round, they'll need to pick it up on the road.
3	Phoenix (32-21-9)	7
4	N.Y. Rangers (39-15-6)	3	It's tough to find a team with a busier March schedule. They play 17 games in 30 days, but the bright side is 10 of their opponents are in the bottom half of the League standings.
5	Nashville (36-19-7)	5	If the Predators want to climb the Central Division ladder, they won't have many chances to take care of business directly; they play the Wings twice and Blues just once more this season.
6	Detroit (41-19-3)	1
7	Pittsburgh (36-21-5)	10
8	Boston (37-20-3)	11
9	New Jersey (35-22-4)	6	The Devils went 28-10-3 in the second half of last season. In the second half so far this season, they are 12-6-2. The difference now is they are surging into the playoffs and not the offseason.
10	Philadelphia (34-20-7)	9	The Flyers have their eyes on the playoffs, but the biggest thing for them over the final quarter of the season is integrating defensemen Nicklas Grossman and Pavel Kubina and getting them comfortable.
11	Ottawa (33-23-8)	16	With Craig Anderson out after slicing his finger, you have to hand it to GM Brian Murray for getting Ben Bishop. How the Senators manage their goaltending situation going forward will be fascinating.
12	Chicago (33-24-7)	8	Ray Emery joined the Ducks last season in March and went 7-2-0 with a 2.28 GAA and .926 save percentage. Just something to keep in mind if the Blackhawks continue to stumble down the stretch.
13	Colorado (32-27-4)	NR
14	Anaheim (27-25-10)	15	Should the Ducks make the postseason, it would mark the biggest overcome deficit (12 points) to reach the postseason. The Ducks were 20 points out on Jan. 6.
15	Dallas (33-26-4)	NR
16	Winnipeg (20-26-8)	16	The Jets are the Stars of the East - two points out of third, one point clear of ninth. If they can play .500 hockey on the road (they are 11-17-4 this season), a Southeast title is within their grasp.

If you have any problems, questions, anger or praise for this list, you can let me know on Twitter: @davelozo

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