Player Power Rankings VIII: Jeff Carter Had a Pretty Good Week
The scoring struggles have at least temporarily come to an end, while one pair of defensemen has been particularly great.
The last time we did this, Martin Jones topped the rankings. That, of course, means that this edition looks a lot different. We start with a guy who got an unexpected, but deserved, reward earlier this week...
1. Jeff Carter (Previous Ranking: 4)
Since he came back to the lineup on November 25, he has not gone more than two games without scoring a goal. Give that stat to anyone who questions Carter's Olympic selection.
2. Drew Doughty (Previous Ranking: 2)
Selected to Team Canada, and has had a good run of performances on the back pair. Nothing eye-popping, but consistently pulling his weight.
3. Anze Kopitar (Previous Ranking: 3)
Team Slovenia might get crushed, but he and the first line are still regularly getting the majority of the possession and terrifying opposing goalies. Though Carter's taking all the goals.
4. Dwight King (Previous Ranking: 5)
How fortunate was King's shooting luck? He's gone nine games without a goal, and he still leads the team in shooting percentage. He's still been effective in the rest of his game, as shown by his role in Saturday's winning goal.
5. Willie Mitchell (Previous Ranking: 21)
He's had a really good stretch, including three straight games (Vancouver, Minnesota) where his pairing was the team's best in the Corsi department. His reward: he was on the ice for all three goals against his former team. Good to see him back in form.
6. Slava Voynov (PR: 13)
He gets the Olympic bump, and as I mentioned for Mitchell, the second pair has been thriving as of late.
7. Justin Williams (PR: 6)
Milestones! He'd be lower if not for the last week of games, which has seen him playing well.
8. Jarret Stoll (PR: 7)
Speaking of whick, Stoll's whole line is coming on strong as of late, enough that they have supplanted Mike Richards and ____ for second-line duties. He also has points in three straight.
9. Jonathan Quick (PR: Injured)
About as good as we could have reasonably expected coming off of a groin injury. The real test is whether he can continue his strong play. Maybe he's better when we struggle to score?
10. Robyn Regehr (PR: 9)
Regehr hasn't taken a penalty in over two weeks. And he ain't the reason for the Kings' scoring woes.
11. Jake Muzzin (PR: 11)
Can you remember the last time he got a point? I couldn't either, but he and Doughty are still running over opposing teams.
12. Alec Martinez (PR: 12)
If you ignore the top six forwards, he's got more goals that anyone since December 15. Anyone! Also, Sutter tried to scratch him and things got ugly, which means... something, probably. Staying in the lineup ahead of Greene is interesting.
13. Dustin Brown (PR: 14)
Expressed unhappiness with his play as of late, but with two goals this week and a few good showings from his line, the captain has a chance to go on a positive streak before Sochi.
14. Mike Richards (PR: 10)
Yeesh, it's been a rough couple weeks. No Olympic outrage on his part whatsoever, because he simply hasn't been good enough to earn it.
15. Jordan Nolan (PR: 15)
One of the best Kings against St. Louis, but after the loss against Minnesota, it was his turn to sit. Don't have too many qualms with his play, personally.
16. Tyler Toffoli (PR: 8)
Crashing down to earth; nine games without a goal. So much for the Calder talk...
17. Ben Scrivens (PR: 16)
He hasn't won since December 2; though his last two starts were both not too bad, the late goal against Nashville was a back-breaker. So as much as I want to reward him for this... I just can't.
18. Matt Frattin (PR: 23)
He's been all right, and Sutter's been giving him an extended run on the third line. But he didn't even get ten minutes of ice time against Boston; that might be a bad sign.
19. Kyle Clifford (PR: 17)
The penalties have slowed down a bit, but he still hasn't really shown the spark we saw from him last season. That's a concern at the midway point.
20. Trevor Lewis (PR: 19)
So, I nailed this one back on December 20...
Predicting that the point drought ends this week.
It didn't exactly put him on a hot streak, but hey, take what you can get.
21. Colin Fraser (PR: 20)
Had a few nights off, then played in a game where both Tanner Pearson and Jordan Nolan sat. The nerds are furious! (Me being a nerd, of course.)
22. Matt Greene (PR: 18)
Though he's the logical scratch when Alec Martinez and Jake Muzzin are in, it's still a surprise to see him not on the ice when he's healthy.
23. Tanner Pearson (PR: 24)
Called up, but hasn't gotten back in a game yet.
Agree? Disagree? Tell us how you'd change the rankings.
Comments ()