April 6, 2010
Player Power Rankings
Who Is The Top Skater?

by Tom Awad

The Puck Prospectus metric GVT (goals versus threshold) allows us to compare players at every position to determine who the true leaders are. Ryan Miller might have locked up the top spot, but the battle at forward is going to go to the wire.

Puck Prospectus: Player Power Rankings

As they always seem to, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby are dueling for the top forward spot in the Power Rankings

Legend:

OGVT: Offensive GVT

GGVT: Goaltending GVT

DGVT: Defensive GVT

SGVT: Shootout GVT

GVT: Total GVT

Rank Player                    Last Week   OGVT/GGVT    DGVT    SGVT     GVT
1.   Ryan Miller, G, BUF        1          31.7        -0.2    -0.9     30.6 

Comment: At this point in the season, hockey writers and analysts will tell you there are "so many good candidates" for the league's trophies, including for the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender. Don't be fooled: Miller's victory is a foregone conclusion. No one else has been as good or as consistent, and his spectacular play at the Olympics won't hurt.

2.   Alex Ovechkin, F, WAS      2          25.2         3.6    -0.7     28.1   

Comment: Ovechkin has only two goals, four assists and 1.1 GVT in eight games since March 14, a slump by his standards. But the Capitals still might achieve the highest point total in six years in the NHL.

3.   Sidney Crosby, F, PIT      5          19.2         3.3     3.9     26.3 

Comment: Crosby has reverted to being a playmaker, with only two goals to go with nine assists since mid-March. If the Penguins lose the division title to the Devils, it will set up a second-round Washington-Pittsburgh rematch.

4.   Evgeni Nabokov, G, SJ      3          23.1        -0.7     2.7     25.1   

Comment: Excluding a rough five-goal night against Dallas, Nabokov has been sparkling in four of his team's past five games, posting a 4-0-0 record, 1.25 goals-against average and 0.956 save percentage. By winning the conference, the Sharks would avoid facing Detroit in the first round.

5.   Henrik Sedin, F, VAN       6          20.4         4.6     0.0     25.0  

Comment: The "Sedin for Hart" bandwagon is gathering steam, and while Sedin probably isn't the league MVP, he deserves to be in the conversation. In 17 games since the break, he has 21 assists.

6.   Ilya Bryzgalov, G, PHO     8          21.0         0.3     3.3     24.7   

Comment: As impressive as his season has been, Bryzgalov's save percentage of 0.920 is lower than two seasons ago, so he's no flash in the pan. What has helped is his stamina (67 games played) and his shootout performance, where he's stopped 43 of 57 shots against.

 
7.   Tomas Vokoun, G, FLA       4          28.7        -2.1    -2.7     23.9 

Comment: The Panthers are giving Vokoun time off, and it's just as well: His only game this week was a 6-2 loss against Buffalo. The Panthers will miss the playoffs for an NHL-record ninth straight year.

8.   Henrik Lundqvist, G, NYR  11          21.4         0.0     0.8     22.3 

Comment: Is there a more consistent goaltender in the NHL than King Henrik? The Rangers have made the playoffs each of Lundqvist's first four seasons despite questionable mangagement decisions and have crawled back into a tie for eighth thanks to a phenomenal two-week stretch in which Lundqvist has gone 5-1-1, 1.70, 0.941.

9.   Nicklas Backstrom, F, WAS  9          18.1         2.9     0.9     21.9 

Comment: Over the past three seasons, Backstrom is 10th in the NHL in points and fourth in assists, behind only Henrik Sedin, Joe Thornton and Evgeni Malkin.

10.  Jaroslav Halak, G, MON    23          19.9        -0.7     2.5     21.7  

Comment: The Canadiens' savior, over his past eight games Halak is 5-2-1 with a 1.37 GAA and a 0.949 save percentage. As his agent said about his play: "Halak it a lot."

A version of this story originally appeared on ESPN Insider .

Tom Awad is an author of Hockey Prospectus. You can contact Tom by clicking here or click here to see Tom's other articles.