We're close to the halfway point, and with two and a half weeks remaining in the regular season, it's going to be a race to the finish. The difference between first and fourth has lengthened a bit, now out to ten points. That's only just over three games away, and there are fifteen games to go for a lot of the teams. Races for third place in each division are very hot, and they are only going to get better as we near the 26th (regular season finale). This is the third edition of the power rankings!
[#] Team (W-L-OW-OL, PTS) === LAST RANK (CHANGE) - Description
[1] Dallas Riders (7-4-0-2, 31 pts) === LAST RANK: 3rd (▲2)
The Riders are riding through their schedule, and haven't lost since February 24th, and that was a shootout loss! Even better, the goal differential is an outstanding +33, which could help them later in the season if they are trying to break a tie for first overall seed. This team is going to go farther than the quarterfinals this season, I'm almost sure of it.
[2] Winnipeg Snow Tigers (7-2-2-2, 27 pts) === LAST RANK: 1st (▼1)
Winnipeg has fallen a little, but they are still strong. A few wins over the weekend didn't change that at all, and they are one of the only teams that have a legit shot against the Riders for the Presidents Trophy come late March. What will help bring them closer? A win against the Riders on Monday.
[3] Vancouver Dynamite (5-3-2-3, 24 pts) === LAST RANK: 2nd (▼1)
The Dynamite got upset by the Pittsburgh Freeze on Saturday, and that hurt their position in the power rankings for this edition. However, I have to say that Pittsburgh is really coming a long way, so it isn't as bad as you might think. We now wait for next week as they prepare for redemption.
[4] Portland Cyclones (2-4-3-4, 18 pts) === LAST RANK: 5th (▲1)
Following a 22-round shootout, I was kind of shocked at the amount of hope that Portland had to win the marathon against Winnipeg. Sadly, someone had to lose, and it had to be them. They need to win on Monday to keep their hopes in third place for the SF Division.
[5] Montreal Blizzards (5-2-5-2, 21 pts) === LAST RANK: 4th (▼1)
Montreal has fallen quite a long way this week, and they have now only gotten 50% of their points so far this season (21 of 42 possible). They need to get some wins going if they want a shot at a first round bye, instead of the Dynamite.
[6] Pittsburgh Freeze (3-1-7-3, 14 pts) === LAST RANK: 8th (▲2)
Would you look at that...THREE wins this week, including wins against Winnipeg (1-0), Vancouver (2-0), and Montreal (4-3 in SO). I look to see them get some more wins and be the biggest comeback team in the league through the ten-season campaign thus far.
[7] Cairo Pyramids (4-1-7-1, 15 pts) === LAST RANK: 6th (▼1)
They might have gotten a lot of one-goal losses, but it changes nothing, saying that they have gotten no points out of it. Time to start winning to stay together, and it's a big game against Portland on Monday that will set them straight.
[8] Fargo Force (1-2-8-2, 9 pts) === LAST RANK: 7th (▼1)
This team needs some help, especially since they are the only team still with single digit totals in points. A complete makeover is necessary if this team wants to see some games in April or avoid being disbanded.
●▂▂● "hiff tarem" - Deathrange07 |