NHL Power Rankings Feature Flyers Leading the Way in East-Heavy Top 10

For years, it’s been the same story in Philadelphia.

The Flyers always appeared to have the makings of a true Stanley Cup contender, but for their one fatal weakness in goal.

After falling in the finals last spring, they didn’t address that shortcoming this offseason when they decided to bring back the tandem of Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher. But an injury to Leighton opened the door for surprising rookie Sergei Bobrovsky, and the man they call Bob could finally put the Flyers over the top.

If Peter Laviolette doesn’t wear him out before Christmas that is. Bobrovsky has put up stellar numbers so far with an 11-3-1 record, 2.29 GAA and a .925 save percentage, but he looked tired after starting 12 straight games. He was pulled after one period in a wild 8-7 loss to the Lightning, and Boucher won back-to-back games while giving him a breather this week.

Now a rested Bobrovsky will have a chance to keep the Flyers in the top spot of our NHL Power Rankings for a while, as Philadelphia has soared to the top of this week’s ratings.

NHL Power Rankings
1 Last week: No. 2 Record: 14-6-2, 30 points	Philadelphia Flyers Head-to-head wins over Washington and Montreal vault the Flyers into the top spot this week. But can Bobrovsky hold up to his heavy workload all season?
2 Last week: No. 4 Record: 13-3-2, 28 points	Detroit Red Wings The veteran Wings just keep finding ways to win out West, as they go 2-0-1 this week.
3 Last week: No. 1 Record: 14-6-2, 27 points	Washingon Capitals Just one win in four games this week drops Caps out of top spot, but at least Alex Ovechkin had fun with his buddies in Jersey after that 5-0 loss to the Devils.
4 Last week: No. 10 Record: 12-8-2, 26 points	Pittsburgh Penguins The Bruins may have woken up the giant: The Pens are 5-0-1 since Boston’s third-period rally for a 7-4 win in Pittsburgh on Nov. 10.
5 Last week: No. 13 Record: 12-7-2, 26 points	Tampa Bay Lightning A 4-0-0 week, including wins over Philadelphia and Boston, send the Lightning back up to the top 5.
6 Last week: No. 6 Record: 13-7-1, 27 points	Montreal Canadiens The Flyers taught P.K. Subban and the Habs a little respect in their showdown on Monday.
7 Last week: No. 7 Record: 11-6-2, 24 points	Boston Bruins Bruins started the week strong with wins over Rangers and Panthers, but faded later with losses to Kings and Lightning.
8 Last week: No. 11 Record: 13-6-0, 26 points	Columbus Blue Jackets Scott Arniel has the Blue Jackets on a roll with a 4-0-0 week, including a perfect sweep of the three California teams on a West Coast swing.
9 Last week: No. 9 Record: 11-5-3, 25 points	St. Louis Blues Only a loss to the Red Wings marred another strong week for the surprising Blues.
10 Last week: No. 19 Record: 11-5-5, 27 points	Phoenix Coyotes The Coyotes are back on track with a 4-0-0 week, feasting on the Western Canadian clubs with wins in Vancouver and Calgary and two victories over Edmonton.
1 – 1011 – 2021 – 30