Power Rankings: Flames heating up December

Updated: Dec. 17

The Calgary Flames weren't in a great situation when they left for their longest scheduled road trip a couple of weeks ago, but getting away from home could end up being the turning point in their season.

In his eighth NHL coaching stop, Mike Keenan gets Calgary going. (Getty Images)

Calgary was seen widely as a legitimate Cup contender before the season began but injuries, offensive problems and weak efforts from star goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff contributed to a slow start. And the Flames were out of the Northwest Division race and the conference playoff picture when they started their trip. But coach Mike Keenan called out several players, including Kiprusoff, and the words had their desired effect because the Flames have been the hottest team in the league since.

Calgary gave Keenan his 600th career victory by winning the first five games on the trip that wraps up Tuesday in Columbus, and the Flames have outscored opponents 24-15 in that stretch. Kiprusoff, meanwhile, had one mediocre outing on this trip. But he still won that game, and otherwise, has shown the form that has made him a perennial Vezina contender over the last few seasons.

During the turnaround, the offense has been a driving force for Calgary. That starts with Jarome Iginla, who scored seven goals, including two game-winners during the run. But aside from the breakdowns in an otherwise entertaining 9-6 win at Tampa Bay last week, the Flames defense is a lot tighter of late, and that's helped bunch things up even more in the division.

The battle for first this season in the Northwest has been fought mainly between Minnesota and Colorado, and more recently by Vancouver. But when the Flames get home this week, they'll know they have clearly put themselves back in the picture now as well.

Here are this week's rankings:

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Sharks · Trends	1
	San Jose picked up 38 of the last 44 available points down the stretch, so they are getting to the playoffs in high gear. Now they have to prove they have some bite when it really matters.
	2	Red Wings · Trends	2
	Dominik Hasek looks sharp and rested heading into the playoffs, which is good news for the Red Wings. So is the easiest first-round travel schedule the veteran team has had in several seasons.
	3	Canadiens · Trends	4
	The Canadiens are explosive, have the league's best power play and a rookie goalie playing with the poise of a veteran heading to the playoffs. It won't hurt Montreal to face a team it has beaten 11 straight times either.
	4	Penguins · Trends	3
	They could regret not pushing harder to finish first in the East, but the Penguins have their eyes on a bigger prize. Some question marks remain about Sidney Crosby's ankle heading into the playoffs.
	5	Ducks · Trends	5
	Defense and goaltending are supposed to win championships, and the Ducks have that in spades. But no team in the playoffs has scored fewer goals this season.
	6	Capitals · Trends	14
	Is there even more hardware in store for Alex Ovechkin, who has already claimed the Art Ross, Maurice Richard and almost certainly the Hart Trophy this season?
	7	Wild · Trends	6
	They've got Marian Gaborik firing on all cylinders, a stifling system of defense and home-ice advantage that is critical because the Wild finished very strong at home and much less so on the road.
	8	Rangers · Trends	10
	Goalie Henrik Lundqvist has put up great numbers against the Devils and Jaromir Jagr is in a groove heading into the playoffs with goals in his last four games and in seven of his last eight.
	9	Devils · Trends	8
	The Devils got a big monkey off their backs by beating the Rangers in the finale, but they also haven't given goalie Martin Brodeur a game off in three months. Last season, the workload caught up with him in the playoffs.
	10	Flyers · Trends	13
	They'll be underdogs against Washington just because the Caps are this season's media darlings, but the physical Flyers have seven 20-goal scorers and can't be taken for granted.
	11	Avalanche · Trends	16
	Lots of offensive firepower and leadership from veterans who know what it takes to win it all. The issue is whether they can stay healthy for a long run and get the kind of goaltending they'll need.
	12	Flames · Trends	12
	Forget about the Flames 3-1 record against the Sharks because all the games were played before San Jose took off at the trade deadline. More telling is that San Jose outshot the Flames every time, even twice in losses, by significant margins.
	13	Bruins · Trends	15
	Whether or not the hurting Bruins survive the first round, getting back in the playoffs for the first time since before the lockout is progress. Give GM Peter Chiarelli props for fixing the mess he inherited two years ago.
	14	Predators · Trends	19
	Nashville's power play is a concern heading into the playoffs and so is the goaltending, even if Dan Ellis looked very good at times down the stretch. But the Predators had to fight their way in and they tend to play division-rival Detroit tough.
	15	Stars · Trends	9
	No offense from Richards, Ribeiro and Hagman heading into the playoffs and no Zubov in the lineup. Not a good way for Dallas to take on the Ducks.
	16	Senators · Trends	11
	Lots of questions around Ottawa to finish the season, but the big one is whether Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza can step up enough to overcome the absences of Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly.
	17	Hurricanes · Trends	7
	Carolina spent all but 15 days leading the Southeast Division this season. Too bad the last one was among them.
	18	Sabres · Trends	20
	Lots of reasons why the Sabres went from the Presidents' Trophy penthouse to the outhouse in just one season, but one that stands out was their problem winning in their own building, particularly during the last month.
	19	Oilers · Trends	18
	A great finish wasn't enough, although it offered lots of hope for the future because it was triggered by several youngsters. But Edmonton should contain some of its excitement because so much of the late run was fueled by incredible results in shootouts and overtime.
	20	Canucks · Trends	17
	Look for a major offseason personnel shakeup. Offensive woes were exposed even more than usual because goalie Roberto Luongo wasn't at his best often enough.
	21	Blackhawks · Trends	21
	Hockey is back in Chicago where the young and much improved Blackhawks have a bright future centering around gems Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
	22	Blue Jackets · Trends	23
	Rick Nash matured a great deal this season and goalie Pascal Leclaire proved he's the real deal, which gives the Blue Jackets the building blocks they need to close the gap on playoff teams. They're not that far away.
	23	Coyotes · Trends	25
	The Coyotes developed a good young core this season, although it suffered some growing pains along the way. But with goalie Ilya Bryzgalov locked up for several years, the playoff dry spell in the desert won't last much longer.
	24	Panthers · Trends	22
	The Panthers can take some satisfaction from ruining the season of bitter rival Carolina, but that won't help the organization get through what is shaping up as a long and volatile summer.
	25	Maple Leafs · Trends	24
	Interim GM Cliff Fletcher is looking for the detonator switch, although blowing things up isn't likely to end the 40-year Stanley Cup drought any time soon.
	26	Islanders · Trends	26
	How bad was this team's offense this season? You wouldn't ask if you looked at the stats and saw that the Islanders were the only team without anyone getting at least 50 points.
	27	Blues · Trends	28
	A season to forget unless you are Keith Tkachuk. The veteran scored three times in his last two games, including on his last shot of the season, to become only the fourth U.S.-born player to reach 500 goals.
	28	Kings · Trends	29
	Another season is over and another rebuilding effort has begun. One of these years someone from Hollywood will have to come up with a new script.
	29	Thrashers · Trends	30
	If things weren't bad enough for the Thrashers, the season ended with superstar Ilya Kovalchuk hinting loudly that he's getting tired of being in Atlanta.
	30	Lightning · Trends	27
	The bright side in an otherwise dismal season is the Lightning will pick no lower than second in what is considered a very deep draft.