January 5, 2010
Player Power Rankings
Russian Road

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. The entire season, Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller has been untouchable at the top spot, but because of recent struggles, he's being challenged by a few streaking goaltenders.

Puck Prospectus: Player Power Rankings

Roberto Luongo jumped 10 spots in the rankings, while Henrik Lundqvist dropped out of the top 10.

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           19.6         0.0     0.6     20.2 

Comment: Miller was pulled for the second time this season after allowing three goals on 11 shots against Pittsburgh, but he and the Sabres still picked up five of six possible points this past week.

2.   Evgeni Nabokov, G, SJ     3           16.9        -0.4     1.6     18.1 

Comment: The Sharks and Nabokov are looking unstoppable. In their seven games since losing a marathon shootout to Dallas on Dec. 11, they've outscored their opposition 28-12, and Nabokov has a 1.69 GAA and 0.945 save percentage.

3.   Ilya Bryzgalov, G, PHO    2           17.3         0.4     0.0     17.7  

Comment: Bryzgalov lost to the Sharks twice in a row in shootouts despite allowing only two goals on nine shootout shots in both games. His GAA of 2.03 remains tops among No. 1 goaltenders.

4.   Miikka Kiprusoff, G, CAL  4           17.9        -0.2    -1.5     16.3 

Comment: The Flames have the fourth-worst shot differential in the NHL, so they have Kiprusoff to thank for their position in the standings. After an embarrassing loss to Vancouver, Kiprusoff has won three straight games and has allowed a single goal in each.

5.   Alex Ovechkin, F, WAS     5           12.4         1.9    -0.2     14.1 

Comment: Not a good week for Ovechkin. He scored one goal in three games, all losses in which the Capitals gave up a combined 13 goals.

6.   Henrik Sedin, F, VAN     10           11.2         2.4     0.0     13.7 

Comment: Sedin is the hottest player in the NHL. Since Dec. 1, he's scored 27 points in 16 games and has a 6.3 GVT.

 
7.   Sidney Crosby, F, PIT     6            8.9         2.2     2.4     13.5  

Comment: Crosby's zero goals, one assist and minus-3 in three games this past week are part of the reason the Penguins are nursing a five-game losing streak.

8.   Marian Gaborik, F, NYR    7           11.1         2.7    -0.8     13.1  

Comment: Gaborik featured on all three of the Rangers' goals this week, which shows how little offensive support he has. A 6-0 annihilation at the hands of the Flyers shows how little support he has, period.

9.   Zach Parise, F, NJ        9            7.6         3.1     1.7     12.4 

Comment: Parise remains in a slump but chose a good time to score a couple of goals in a close 3-2 victory over Atlanta.

10.  Roberto Luongo, G, VAN   20           11.0         0.4     0.5     11.9 

Comment: Luongo is finally himself again, as he stopped 105 of 112 shots this past week (0.938) to help the Canucks win three and lose the fourth in a shootout.

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.