Every Monday until the end of the season, Hockey Prospectus will provide updated Player Power Rankings for the top 10 skaters and top five goalies in the NHL based on HP's proprietary value metric, GVT, a statistic that combines player contributions in all aspects of the game, including defense and the shootout.
Ryan Getzlaf, who leads Anaheim in goals (10) and assists (21), makes the biggest jump in this week's rankings, rising to No. 5 from No. 10 on the strength of his continued hot play for the resurgent Ducks. And his new contract with Anaheim takes him off the trade market, as well. Elsewhere, Jiri Tlusty and Brad Marchand make the top 10 skaters while Kari Lehtonen and Henrik Lundqvist surface among the top five goaltenders.
Player Power Rankings: Skaters
These rankings
are through March 10.
Rank
Player
Team
Pos.
Off. GVT
Def. GVT
Shootout GVT
Total GVT
1
Sidney Crosby
Pittsburgh Penguins
F
10.4
3.3
1.1
14.8
The Penguins have won five of their past seven games despite
giving up an average of 4.28 goals per game. The main reason has been Crosby,
who posted five goals, 10 assists and 6.1 GVT in that seven-game span.
2
Eric Staal
Carolina Hurricanes
F
8.5
3.5
0
12
Staal hasn't averaged more than one point per game since his
breakout 100-point season in 2005-06, but he's at 1.25 so far this season.
And with Alexander Semin and Jiri Tlusty at the wings, he should be able to
keep it up.
3
Steven Stamkos
Tampa Bay Lightning
F
10.2
1.9
-0.3
11.8
Stamkos continues to power the league's second-best offense, but
despite 11 points in his past eight games, the Lightning lost seven of those
contests.
4
Chris Kunitz
Pittsburgh Penguins
F
8.2
3.5
0
11.8
Offensive players rarely have their best season at age 34, but
Kunitz is doing just that. He ranks fifth in goals and fourth in points,
though he'll be hard-pressed to maintain the 25.9 percent shooting mark he's
managed thus far.
5
Ryan Getzlaf
Anaheim Ducks
F
7.5
3.3
0.8
11.5
The Ducks' remarkable turnaround has been helped by the
emergence of goaltender Viktor Fasth and the ageless Saku Koivu, but Getzlaf
has been the biggest reason, leading his team in all offensive categories
while facing tough opponents.
6
John Tavares
New York Islanders
F
7.8
1.8
1.1
10.7
No player has managed more than one point per game in an
Islanders uniform since the 2004-05 lockout. Tavares came closest last
season, with 81 points in 82 games, and is currently ahead of that pace with
29 points in 25 games.
7
Nazem Kadri
Toronto Maple Leafs
F
7.4
2.8
-0.3
9.9
Kadri continues to put up first-line numbers with second-line
ice time, although he has averaged 16:30 of ice time over his past five
games, up from 15:05.
8
Patrick Kane
Chicago Blackhawks
F
6.8
2.3
0.7
9.8
Kane's offense has quieted down, with just six points in his
past 10 games, but he continues his more mature and disciplined play: He's
taken only one minor penalty in 25 games this campaign after accumulating 20
last season.
9
Jiri Tlusty
Carolina Hurricanes
F
6.2
3.5
0
9.7
Playing on a line with Eric Staal and Alexander Semin, Tlusty
has put up 13 goals and 21 points despite more modest ice time than his
better-known linemates. He ranks second in the league with 12 even-strength
goals, only one fewer than Stamkos.
10
Brad Marchand
Boston Bruins
F
5.8
2.6
1.1
9.4
Marchand leads the Bruins with 12 goals despite ranking eighth
on the team in power-play ice time and sixth in total ice time among
forwards. He's also been outstanding this season in the shootout, going
2-for-2.
Player Power Rankings: Goalies
These rankings
are through March 10.
Rank
Player
Team
Pos.
Goalie GVT
Def. GVT
Shootout GVT
Total GVT
1
Craig Anderson
Ottawa Senators
G
22.4
-0.5
-1.6
20.3
While Anderson has been injured, the Senators have received
great performances from backups Ben Bishop (.925 save percentage) and Robin
Lehner (.948 in an admittedly small three-game sample size).
2
Antti Niemi
San Jose Sharks
G
17
-0.1
0.9
17.8
How good has Niemi been? In his past 11 games, the Sharks
managed only a meager 17 goals (1.55 goals per game) yet he managed to
salvage 12 points (four wins and four OT/SO losses) by stopping 93.7 percent
of the shots he faced.
3
Tuukka Rask
Boston Bruins
G
12.2
0.3
0.7
13.2
Rask had never started more than half of his team's games in the
NHL, but he's started 77 percent of them this campaign and, given his play,
should continue to be busy until the end of the season.
4
Kari Lehtonen
Dallas Stars
G
12.7
-0.5
0.4
12.6
Lehtonen has been amazingly consistent, with a save percentage
between .911 and .922 each of the past six seasons. He's broken out of that
range on the positive side this season with a .929 average.
5
Henrik Lundqvist
New York Rangers
G
10.8
0.1
1.6
12.4
Lundqvist has ranked in the top 10 GVT in six of his seven NHL
seasons, and has led all players with 207.6 GVT over that period.
A version of this story originally appeared at ESPN Insider .
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Player Power Rankings (03/06)
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