NHL Power Rankings, Week 7: Capitals, Red Wings Continue To Lead The Way

A few changes to our NHL Power Rankings this week. For the rest of the season, we'll have a panel voting on each conference. Their votes will be made public each week, where you can ridicule and mock and plaster THIS GUY IS A BAD POWER RANKINGS VOTER posters all around your home arena. It's all about accountability (or something) ... and of course, giving you the opportunity to have an opinion about other people's opinions.

Each panel, consisting of a few willing participants from around our great network of SB Nation hockey blogs, will vote on only their own conference. Since the NHL doesn't put much emphasis on cross-conference play, and since the two conferences are vastly different and usually end up that way come mid-April, we take two polls each week -- one for the East, one for the West.

The votes are then tallied up with a unique algorithm consisting of plus signs and, at the end, an equal sign. It's addition, baby. Before we get onto this week's Rankings, let's meet the panel.

UPDATE - Originally, Chicago was ranked 3rd in the West. It was an error. It's been fixed.

THE PANEL

Voting on the East...

- Travis Hughes, SBNation.com, Broad Street Hockey

- Peter Raaymakers, Silver Seven

- John Fontana, Raw Charge

- Ben Rothenberg, Broad Street Hockey

And on the West...

- Brad Gardner, Defending Big D

- Dirk Hoag, On the Forecheck

- Bryan Reynolds, Hockey Wilderness

- Derek Zona, SBNation.com, The Copper & Blue

- Casey Richey, Winging It In Motown

- Matt Wagner, The Cannon

And now, the reason you're here.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Washington Capitals - 14-6-2, 30 pts

SB Nation blog: Japers' Rink

2. Philadelphia Flyers - 14-6-2, 30 pts

SB Nation blog: Broad Street Hockey

3. Montreal Canadiens - 13-7-1, 27 pts

SB Nation blog: Eyes On The Prize

4. Pittsburgh Penguins -12-8-2, 26 pts

SB Nation blog: Pensburgh

5. Tampa Bay Lightning - 12-7-2, 26 pts

SB Nation blog: Raw Charge

6. Boston Bruins - 11-6-2, 24 pts

SB Nation blog: Stanley Cup of Chowder

7. New York Rangers - 12-9-1, 25 pts

SB Nation blog: Blueshirt Banter

8. Atlanta Thrashers - 9-9-3, 21 pts

SB Nation blog: Bird Watchers Anonymous

9. Carolina Hurricanes - 9-9-2, 20 pts

SB Nation blog: Canes Country

10. Ottawa Senators - 10-10-1, 21 pts

SB Nation blog: Silver Seven

11. Buffalo Sabres - 8-11-3, 19 pts

SB Nation blog: Die By The Blade

12. Florida Panthers - 9-10-0, 18 pts

SB Nation blog: Litter Box Cats

13. Toronto Maple Leafs - 8-9-3, 19 pts

SB Nation blog: Pension Plan Puppets

14. New Jersey Devils - 6-13-2, 14 pts

SB Nation blog: In Lou We Trust

15. New York Islanders - 4-12-4, 12 pts

SB Nation blog: Lighthouse Hockey

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Detroit Red Wings - 13-3-2, 28 pts

SB Nation blog: Winging It In Motown

2. Los Angeles Kings - 13-7-0, 26 pts

SB Nation blog: Jewels From The Crown

3. Colorado Avalanche - 12-7-1, 25 pts

SB Nation blog: Mile High Hockey

4. Columbus Blue Jackets - 13-6-0, 26 pts

SB Nation blog: The Cannon

5. St. Louis Blues - 11-5-3, 25 pts

SB Nation blog: St. Louis Game Time

6. Vancouver Canucks - 10-7-3, 23 pts

SB Nation blog: Nucks Misconduct

7. Phoenix Coyotes - 10-5-5, 25 pts

SB Nation blog: Five For Howling

8. Chicago Blackhawks - 11-10-2, 24 pts

SB Nation blog: Second City Hockey

9. San Jose Sharks - 9-6-4, 22 pts

SB Nation blog: Fear The Fin

10. Minnesota Wild - 10-7-2, 22 pts

SB Nation blog: Hockey Wilderness

11. Dallas Stars - 10-8-1, 21 pts

SB Nation blog: Defending Big D

12. Anaheim Ducks - 10-10-3, 23 pts

SB Nation blog: Anaheim Calling

13. Nashville Predators - 9-7-3, 21 pts

SB Nation blog: On the Forecheck

14. Calgary Flames - 8-11-1, 17 pts

SB Nation blog: Matchsticks & Gasoline

15. Edmonton Oilers - 5-10-4, 14 pts

SB Nation blog: The Copper & Blue

HOW THEY VOTED

Click to enlarge.