SB Nation's NHL panel has come out with their NHL power rankings for week eight. As usual let's kick off with the bottom:
New York Islanders: For Islanders fans, unfortunately "kicking off with the bottom" means their team. The Islanders got ranked 15th by all six Eastern Conference panelists. The Islanders 5-12-5 record is good for 15 points, and good for the lowest point total in the NHL. The Islanders are still missing Mark Streit and Kyle Okposo and they still can't seem to find any consistent goaltending or defense.
John Tavares only has eight goals and four assists for 12 points (two points less than Rangers rookie Derek Stepan) and Matt Moulson's 13 points aren't even first on the team. The move to a new coach hasn't given the team the spark that they were looking for, and they can't seem to find any kind of solid footing to build a winning streak from.
New Jersey Devils: The New Jersey Devils moved up one slot from last week, but they still find themselves in 13th place in the East. They received one vote as high as 10th and and two votes as low as 14th.
The Devils are another team that can't seem to find any consistent play, and have been showing their age all season. Johan Hedberg has already played in 10 games this season, while Martin Brodeur has only played in 17. Brodeur's 2.74 GAA is horrendous, and his 4-10-1 record is even worse. Up front Patrik Elias leads the Devils with 14 points in 23 games. The Devils 8-14-2 record is only worth 18 points (just three points behind the last place Islanders).
New York Rangers: The Rangers came in at 7th place this week, the same position they were in the week before. The Rangers received two votes as low as sixth and one vote as high as eighth.
Henrik Lundqvist is back to playing like his old self, after his mid-season slump, and has kept the Rangers in some close games. Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky continue to be huge parts of the Rangers success. Both of them lead the way for the Rangers in points with Dubinsky's 20 points (12 goals and eight assists) leading the team and Callahan's 19 points (seven goals 12 assists) coming in second.
Young talent Artem Anisimov (seven goals and eight assists for 15 points) and Stepan (six goals eight assists for 14 points) have also helped the Rangers recent surge, despite last night's loss to the Penguins. Michael Del Zotto also seems to be finding his was back to where he was last year as well.