Every Monday until the end of the season, Hockey Prospectus will provide updated Player Power Rankings for the top 10 skaters and top five goalies in the NHL based on HP's proprietary value metric, GVT, a statistic that combines player contributions in all aspects of the game, including defense and the shootout.
After posting a big week for the Atlantic division-leading Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby regains the top ranking among skaters while teammate Chris Kunitz soars to No. 4.
Player Power Rankings: Skaters
These rankings
are through March 3.
Rank
Player
Team
Pos.
Off. GVT
Def. GVT
Shootout GVT
Total GVT
1
Sidney Crosby
Pittsburgh Penguins
F
8.7
2.6
0.5
11.9
The NHL's best player is back on top of the league in assists,
points and GVT thanks to a nine-point week that included three-point
performances in wins against Tampa Bay and Montreal.
2
Steven Stamkos
Tampa Bay Lightning
F
9.2
1.7
-0.3
10.6
The Lightning scored seven goals in four games this week, all
losses, and Stamkos had points on six of those goals. If Tampa Bay misses the
playoffs, it'll be due to going 0-7 in one-goal games so far this season.
3
Eric Staal
Carolina Hurricanes
F
7.1
2.8
0
9.9
Staal averaged 0.57 even-strength points per game the past six
seasons, but he's piled up 20 even-strength points in 20 games so far this
season.
4
Chris Kunitz
Pittsburgh Penguins
F
7
2.9
0
9.9
Quietly, Kunitz has moved up to a tie for third in the scoring
race. It helps that he's played 88 percent of his even-strength ice time with
Crosby, and 94 percent of his power-play ice time with Crosby and Evgeni
Malkin.
5
Saku Koivu
Anaheim Ducks
F
6.2
2.6
0.2
8.9
Koivu continues to defy age and expectations as his Ducks remain
second in the West, but both are built on unsustainable luck: The Ducks have
scored on 12 percent of their shots, second to Tampa, while Koivu's 25.9
shooting percentage is double his career average of 12.7 percent.
6
Patrick Kane
Chicago Blackhawks
F
6.6
2
0.1
8.8
Over the past three seasons, Kane has moved up from third to
second to first in ice time among Blackhawks forwards, a sure sign of his
increased importance to the team.
7
Thomas Vanek
Buffalo Sabres
F
6
1.6
1.1
8.8
Vanek's recently disclosed injury may explain why he struggled
with only four points over the past nine games. Plus, even his shooting was
reduced, as he averaged 3.1 shots per game over the past nine contests versus
4.1 over the first 11 games.
8
John Tavares
New York Islanders
F
6.8
1.4
0.5
8.8
Tavares is a good example of how simple stats can lie; despite
being an excellent even-strength player, he is minus-8 in part because he has
been on the ice for five empty-net goals scored against the Islanders.
9
Nazem Kadri
Toronto Maple Leafs
F
6
2.4
0
8.4
It's certainly been worth the wait. While some would think
Kadri's numbers have jumped due to ice time, he's only bumped up from 14 to
15 minutes a game and plays with Clarke MacArthur and Leo Komarov. Just
imagine what he'll be able to do on the first line.
10
Ryan Getzlaf
Anaheim Ducks
F
5.2
2.5
0.2
7.9
After averaging 14.4 GVT from 2005-06 to 2010-11, Getzlaf
crashed to 5.7 last season. However, he seems to be back to his previous
level of excellence this campaign.
Player Power Rankings: Goalies
These rankings
are through March 3.
Rank
Player
Team
Pos.
Goalie GVT
Def. GVT
Shootout GVT
Total GVT
1
Craig Anderson
Ottawa Senators
G
22.2
-0.4
-1.6
20.1
Despite playing with an injured ankle for more than two weeks,
Anderson's superlative play has kept him on top of the goalie rankings again
this week, as he has been every week this season.
2
Antti Niemi
San Jose Sharks
G
15.1
0.2
0.4
15.7
As the Sharks struggle with the NHL's fourth-worst offense,
Niemi has kept them afloat. He did it again this week, stopping 95 percent of
the shots he faced in two wins and a shootout loss.
3
Tuukka Rask
Boston Bruins
G
12.3
0.2
0.7
13.1
No Tim Thomas? No problem. Many fans who worried about Boston's
goaltending forgot that Rask had a career .926 save percentage coming into
the season, so he's only slightly outperforming expectations with his current
.933.
4
Corey Crawford
Chicago Blackhawks
G
11.9
0.4
-1.5
10.8
No team starts its season 19-0-3 without some pretty good
goaltending. Crawford ranks second in the league with a .943 save percentage
and first overall with a 1.46 GAA.
5
Ben Bishop
Ottawa Senators
G
7.6
-0.5
3
10.2
Bishop makes it on the list thanks to being the NHL's best
shootout goaltender; he has won all three of his shootouts, in which he
stopped a combined 13 of 15 shots.
A version of this story originally appeared at ESPN Insider .
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Player Power Rankings (02/26)
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