NHL Power Rankings: Week #2 (2013-14)

Welcome back to the T.O.A. 2013-14 NHL Power Rankings! Today we are wrapping up Week #2 & do we have quite of bit of interesting news. For one, we see that there has been a lot of swapping & jumping uniformed through the top & the middle of the ranks. We are also seeing negative Power Indexes, something only theorized but now mathematically possible.

The jumping is normal to see in the beginning of the season due to the sensitivity of the rankings algorithm. For example, we have a record jump of 13 spots by Tampa Bay, who was last years anomaly that plagued the consistency of the ranks (poor play combined with very high goal scoring). This weeks top dog is San Jose, & with the Hertl fever brewing, there is no surprise why a team that has only let in 7 goals to date is in the top spot (only one team has let in less with 5: Boston). So let us get in to the Week # 2 T.O.A. Power Rankings!:

Rank	Team	Record	+/-	Power Index
#1	San Jose Sharks	5-0-0 (10 pts.)	Up 2	11.2000
#2	St. Louis Blues	4-0-0 (8 pts.)	Down 1	10.7500
#3	Colorado Avalanche	5-0-0 (10 pts.)	Down 1	9.4000
#4	Pittsburgh Penguins	4-1-0 (8 pts.)	Even	7.4000
#5	Toronto Maple Leafs	5-1-0 (10 pts.)	Up 1	7.3334
#6	Anaheim Ducks	4-1-0 (8 pts.)	Up 10	6.8000
#7	Calgary Flames	3-0-2 (8 pts.)	Up 3	6.0000
#8	Montreal Canadiens	3-2-0 (6 pts.)	Up 3	5.8000
#9	Boston Bruins	3-1-0 (6 pts.)	Down 4	5.5000
#10	Tampa Bay Lightning	3-2-0 (6 Pts.)	Up 13	5.4000
#11	Chicago Blackhawks	3-1-1 (7 pts.)	Down 4	5.0000
#12	Minnesota Wild	2-1-2 (6 pts.)	Up 8	4.4000
#13	N.Y. Islanders	2-2-1 (5 pts.)	Down 1	4.4000
#14	L.A. Kings	4-2-0 (8 pts.)	Up 5	4.3334
#15	Phoenix Coyotes	4-2-0 (8 pts.)	Up 3	4.1667
#16	Detroit Red Wings	3-2-0 (6 pts.)	Up 1	3.6000
#17	Winnipeg Jets	3-3-0 (6 pts.)	Down 8	3.5000
#18	Columbus Blue Jackets	2-2-0 (4 pts.)	Down 3	3.5000
#19	Vancouver Canucks	3-3-0 (6 pts.)	Down 11	2.8334
#20	Dallas Stars	2-2-0 (4 pts.)	Up 2	2.2500
#21	Carolina Hurricanes	2-2-2 (4 pts.)	Down 7	2.0000
#22	Ottawa Senators	1-2-2 (4 pts.)	Down 9	1.4000
#23	Edmonton Oilers	1-3-1 (3 pts.)	Up 3	1.4000
#24	Nashville Predators	2-3-0 (4 pts.)	Up 3	0.6000
#25	Washington Capitals	1-4-0 (2 pts.)	Down 4	0.2000
#26	Florida Panthers	2-4-0 (4 pts.)	Down 2	0
#27	New Jersey Devils	0-3-3 (3 pts.)	Down 2	-0.3334
#28	Philadelphia Flyers	1-5-0 (2 pts.)	Up 1	-1.3334
#29	Buffalo Sabres	0-5-1 (1 pt.)	Down 1	-2.1667
#30	N.Y. Rangers	1-4-0 (2 pts.)	Even	-2.4000

Who's Hot?: Tampa Bay, Anaheim, Minnesota

Who's Not?: Vancouver, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Carolina

T.O.A. Now on Twitter!

So for those of you that haven't checked the "Contact" tab up at the top of the page, you'll notice that The Opinionated Alcoholic has finally moved into the world of Twitter! You can follow us here:

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Thanks & enjoy a long weekend of hockey, all leading up to Week #2 of the T.O.A. Power Ranks!

A Look Back At Last Week: Patrick Roy's Meltdown

Patrick Roy's epic meltdown a week ago was the subject of a lot of criticism & a hefty fine of $10,000 by the NHL. Now that we've had time to let this settle in, we can look at how this isn't surprising in the world of hockey, & also in the world of Patrick Roy. If you haven't taken a chance to watch the clip, here it is:



Now why is it not surprising? Roy's known for his on-ice & off-ice antics as a player. Here's TSN's top 10 Patrick Roy moments:



The natural fight of a hockey player burning inside mixed with an ego the size of Quebec, it's safe to say that this was coming. It will continue to happen, & I hope it does. Hockey's lost a little in the character department. Players have become malicious rather than chirpy. I hope this excites fans & gets some fire under the NHL's wings, allowing it to continue to grow its viewership & love for the sport.

Jonathan Quick: Worst Goal in NHL History?

So last night's game between the L.A. Kings & N.Y. Rangers was a debacle for former Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick. But was the own goal the worst in NHL History? The season is still young & players are shaking off the cob webs & rust, so it's acceptable to see a few mishaps. Here's Quick's fail from last night:



Pretty bad, 'eh? With the trusty help of YouTube & a few keywords like, "Worst own goals" & "Worst goals in NHL History", a couple stellar fails came up. Here's what was found:

 Vesa Toskala against the N.Y.Islanders in 2008:

 

Ed Belfour in the 1993 All-Star game:



So I don't know if Quick's own goal was as bad as most people think. It may be a knee jerk reaction in today's fast-paced media, but these occurrences are no knew thing. Cheer up Jon, you still got roughly 6-7 months left to redeem yourself.

NHL Power Rankings: Week #1 (2013-14)

Welcome to the T.O.A. 2013-14 NHL Week #1 Power Rankings! To recap how these rankings work, they are based on a formula that takes into account not only wins & losses, but goal differential, goals for, & amount of games these statistics are accomplished in. Here's to a great season & let's check out the first week of ranks!:

Rank	Team	Record	+/-	Power Index
#1	St. Louis Blues	2-0-0 (4 pts.)	Even	13.0000
#2	Colorado Avalanche	2-0-0 (4 pts.)	Even	11.0000
#3	San Jose Sharks	2-0-0 (4 pts.)	Even	10.0000
#4	Pittsburgh Penguins	2-0-0 (4 pts.)	Even	9.5
#5	Boston Bruins	2-0-0 (4 pts.)	Even	9.0000
#6	Toronto Maple Leafs	3-0-0 (6 pts.)	Even	8.3333
#7	Chicago Blackhawks	1-0-1 (3 pts.)	Even	6.5
#8	Vancouver Canucks	2-1-0 (4 pts.)	Even	6.0000
#9	Winnipeg Jets	2-1-0 (4 pts.)	Even	6.0000
#10	Calgary Flames	1-0-2 (4 Pts.)	Even	5.3333
#11	Montreal Canadiens	1-1-0 (2 pts.)	Even	5.0000
#12	N.Y. Islanders	1-0-1 (3 pts.)	Even	5.0000
#13	Ottawa Senators	1-0-1 (3 pts.)	Even	4.5
#14	Carolina Hurricanes	1-0-1 (3 pts.)	Even	4.0000
#15	Columbus Blue Jackets	1-1-0 (2 pts.)	Even	3.5
#16	Anaheim Ducks	2-1-0 (4 pts.)	Even	3.0000
#17	Detroit Red Wings	2-1-0 (4 pts.)	Even	3.0000
#18	Phoenix Coyotes	2-1-1 (5 pts.)	Even	3.0000
#19	L.A. Kings	1-1-0 (2 pts.)	Even	3.0000
#20	Minnesota Wild	0-0-2 (2 pts.)	Even	2.5
#21	Washington Capitals	1-2-0 (43 pts.)	Even	2.3333
#22	Dallas Stars	1-1-0 (2 pts.)	Even	2.0000
#23	Tampa Bay Lightning	1-1-0 (2 pts.)	Even	2.0000
#24	Florida Panthers	1-1-0 (2 pts.)	Even	0
#25	New Jersey Devils	0-1-1 (1 pt.)	Even	-1.0000
#26	Edmonton Oilers	0-2-0 (0 pts.)	Even	-1.5
#27	Nashville Predators	0-2-0 (0 pts.)	Even	-2.5
#28	Buffalo Sabres	0-3-0 (0 pts.)	Even	-3.0000
#29	Philadelphia Flyers	0-3-0 (0 pts.)	Even	-3.0000
#30	N.Y. Rangers	0-1-0 (0 pts.)	Even	-4.0000

Who's Hot?: Available Next Week!

Who's Not?: Available Next Week!

George Parros Taken to Hospital After Slip-&-Fall Accident Opening Night

Tough guy George Parros of the Montreal Canadiens tripped & fell last night during a fight with Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Cotlton Orr:


Parros is a tough guy but he met his match with that shiny sheet of ice (which can be unforgiving from time to time). Those who speculate that this is the reason why fighting should be revised in the NHL are not making a reasonable judgement call. This is hockey, not basketball or soccer. When a bunch of grown men in pads & sticks skate around at 30 mph hitting each other, theres going to be a fight.

It's tradition, and just because George had a "spaz" moment & busted his face on the ice doesn't mean that tradition must be re-made for the sake of safety. Let them play.