AHL Power Rankings: There's A New Team In Charge
AHL Power Rankings: There's A New Team In Charge
After four-and-a-half months, a new team stands atop the AHL Power Rankings.
Patrick Williams delivers the FloHockey AHL Power Rankings each week throughout the regular season.
After four-and-a-half months, a new team stands atop the AHL Power Rankings.
Step aside, Grand Rapids Griffins. The Providence Bruins take top spot this week. The Griffins had a 19-week run that started Nov. 4.
Remarkably, both teams still have a chance to overtake the AHL record for season point percentage, one that has stood for 33 years. The Binghamton Rangers’ .775 performance was set in 1992-93. It’s possible that both Grand Rapids and Providence could break that record by the time the AHL’s regular-season schedule wraps up on April 19.
Providence and Grand Rapids each have 14 games to go and will need to reach 112 points to break that Binghamton mark. The P-Bruins have 91 points and need to play .750 hockey the rest of the way to secure those 19 points. Grand Rapids, at 90 points, must play .786 down the stretch.
The P-Bruins visit the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday before a stop at Utica on Friday. They finish their weekend back at home against the Comets on Saturday. Grand Rapids has a 3-in-3 weekend, all on the road, starting Friday at Rockford.
1) Providence Bruins (+1)
2) Grand Rapids Griffins (-1)
Roster moves have taken a toll on the Griffins lately. Whether it’s the constant moves to and from Detroit or a pair of trades that left the Griffins without experienced defensemen Justin Holl and Ian Mitchell, the Griffins find themselves in a bit of a relative downturn at the moment.
3) Ontario Reign (--)
After going 0-0-2-1 last week, the Reign have a chance to stock up on points this week. After a home date with the Abbotsford Canucks on Wednesday, they go to Iowa for a pair of match-ups with the Wild. Going up against the bottom-two teams in the league is an opportunity that the Reign need to take.
4) Laval Rocket (--)
If Jacob Fowler does not come back to the Rocket any time soon, the Rocket at least have goaltending insurance after acquiring two-time Calder Cup champion Hunter Shepard from the Ottawa Senators. Kaapo Kähkönen, who is not just low-maintenance but no-maintenance for a team, has steered the Rocket in net; he’s able to sit for long stretches of time and then come in and take several starts in a row. Wednesday’s home match-up with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins is a solid test. The teams will see each other twice before the end of the month.
5) Syracuse Crunch (--)
On the ice, an 11-1-0-0 charge came to a halt with a pair of poor home outings against the Toronto Marlies and Lehigh Valley Phantoms before they managed a point in a shootout loss to Laval. Off the ice, the Crunch fared much better. After adding Matthew Peca in a trade, the Tampa Bay Lightning went out and got Mitchell for the Crunch in a deal with the Detroit Red Wings. A quick Friday trip to Rochester is followed by back-to-back home games against the Cleveland Monsters this weekend.
6) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (+1)
A grinding period of six games in 10 nights continues for the Penguins, starting with that match-up at Laval. They just went through a 3-in-3 weekend that they salvaged with a methodical 3-1 win at Lehigh Valley.
7) Charlotte Checkers (+2)
After 6-2-2-0 road trip that stretched nearly three weeks, the Checkers came home and dug into a six-game homestand. They blanked the Bridgeport Islanders in back-to-back games. They’re going with a three-goaltender rotation featuring Cooper Black, Louis Domingue, and Kirill Gerasimyuk, but it works. Domingue and Gerasimyuk gave Black a break last weekend and turned in shutouts.
8) Colorado Eagles (+2)
It continues to be a step forward followed by a step backward for the Eagles. They got a split in a two-game visit to San Diego. After a two-game set at home against the Coachella Valley Firebirds this weekend, the Eagles face a tough six-game road trip across the Pacific Division.
9) San Jose Barracuda (-3)
How long goaltender Yaroslav Askarov is out for the San Jose Sharks will determine how long the Barracuda must go without Laurent Brossoit. The veteran arrived in a trade from the Chicago Blackhawks organization in January and had settled down the Barracuda in net. Without him, they allowed 10 goals in a pair of losses to the Tucson Roadrunners last weekend.
10) Bakersfield Condors (-2)
With Leon Draisaitl out for the Edmonton Oilers, Max Jones is up from the Condors. They got hammered last Saturday night by the Texas Stars, a team that they will see twice at the end of the month on home ice.
11) Cleveland Monsters (+1)
Like the good team that they are, the Monsters had a pair of very winnable games, and they won them. Going to Hartford for a two-game visit, they took care of the Wolf Pack and kept themselves within striking distance of second place in the North Division. With the Toronto Marlies heating up, though, they need to continue to pick up points to avoid falling to fourth place and facing a best-of-three first-round series.
12) Coachella Valley Firebirds (+1)
Tasked with a home-and-home series with Pacific Division leader Ontario, the Firebirds showed that they can compete with a top power like the Reign in taking consecutive overtime victories. In the second game, they went to Ontario and held the Reign to just 21 shots. They also acquired scoring help in veteran Cooper Marody.
13) Henderson Silver Knights (+2)
Ben Hemmerling can’t stop scoring. Carl Lindbom holds this team in games when the Silver Knights get a little too run-and-gun. The Silver Knights are a night-to-night adventure, but they are fun to watch. They had a 7-6 come-from-behind overtime win last week at Tucson and then closed out the weekend with a wild 7-5 victory at Abbotsford. After finishing a six-game road trip at Calgary, they go right home to face the Texas Stars in back-to-back home games.
14) Chicago Wolves (-3)
The Wolves continue to be something of a mystery. They lose games to the Iowa Wild and Rockford IceHogs and then shut out Grand Rapids. They managed only four goals in their three games last week.
15) Texas Stars (-1)
Starting a string of Pacific Division match-ups, the Stars got a split with visiting Bakersfield last weekend. After a two-game break with Chicago to open this week, it will be back to the Pacific Division with a six-game journey that starts at Henderson this weekend. They have a chance to overtake the slumping Manitoba Moose for third place in the Central Division soon.
16) Toronto Marlies (-3)
Front-loading all those road games on the season schedule could pay off now for the Marlies. Their win last Saturday afternoon against the Rochester Americans opened a run of nine of 10 games at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Other than a quick trip to Rochester for a game March 27, the Marlies will not see the road until April 10. While disappointment continues to surround the Toronto Maple Leafs, at least the Marlies have a chance to salvage something for the organization.
The Rest
17) San Diego Gulls (--)
18) Tucson Roadrunners (+1)
19) Manitoba Moose (-1)
20) Rochester Americans (-1)
21) Lehigh Valley Phantoms (+1)
22) Belleville Senators (+3)
23) Springfield Thunderbirds (+1)
24) Milwaukee Admirals (+2)
25) Hershey Bears (-4)
26) Bridgeport Islanders (-3)
27) Utica Comets (--)
28) Calgary Wranglers (+1)
29) Rockford IceHogs (+3)
30) Abbotsford Canucks (-2)
31) Hartford Wolf Pack (--)
32) Iowa Wild (-2)
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