NHL Power Rankings: Don’t bolt on Lightning without Stamkos

The Lightning finished with the third-worst record in the league last season and got a top draft pick as a result, but it was a former top pick of theirs that had them off to a hot start this season.

That would be Steven Stamkos, who was the first overall pick in 2008 and has scored the most goals in the league since then. He was leading the league with 14 goals and 23 points when he suffered a horrific injury Monday, crashing into the net and breaking his right tibia. He had surgery, and his return date could be months away — or even next season. But don’t count the Lightning out just yet.

At 13-5-0, Tampa Bay sits atop the Atlantic Division. Captain Martin St. Louis, 38, is second on the team with 16 points and is one of few veterans on the team who have been to the playoffs and won a Stanley Cup (Valtteri Filppula, in his first year with the team, won a Cup with the Red Wings).

But the Lightning, whose roster is littered with first and second-year players, have also received excellent goaltending from Ben Bishop (12-2-0, 2.02 goals against average, .930 save percentage) and have clamped down defensively, with a 7-2 record in one-goal games. So though Stamkos, one of the most dynamic players in the league, will be sidelined for a while, don’t be surprised if the Lightning continue to play well without him.

(Last week’s ranking in parentheses)

1. Avalanche (1): Handed their first road loss by the Hurricanes on Tuesday, 2-1. Still 6-1-0 on the road and 14-3-0 overall, having allowed 30 goals in 17 games (1.71 per).

2. Ducks (2): If only they played every game at home, where they are 8-0-0. All five of their losses have come away from Anaheim.

3. Coyotes (3): Phoenix hasn’t gone back-to-back games without points since Oct. 5 and 8.

4. Blackhawks (7): It might not be as pretty and noticeable as last season’s start, but Chicago is still an impressive 12-2-4. Patrick Sharp has a goal and seven points in his past three games, and his 16 points are only four fewer than last season’s total.

5. Blues (6): Despite a 3-2 overtime loss to the Coyotes on Tuesday, St. Louis (11-2-3) is sitting pretty in the tough Central Division, three points behind the first-place Blackhawks with a game in hand.

6. Lightning (10): In their first game since Stamkos’ devastating injury, the Lightning rallied for a 2-1 shootout win Tuesday.

7. Bruins (11): Tuukka Rask is on a roll, allowing two combined goals in three games (all wins). And that came against two of the top scoring teams in the league in the Maple Leafs and Lightning.

8. Sharks (5): Finally ended a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 overtime win over the Flames on Tuesday. Still, extra time hasn’t been kind to San Jose, which is 2-5 in games decided after 60 minutes.

9. Canucks (9): At least one of the Sedin twins notched a point in the Canucks’ first 17 games, but they have been held off the scoresheet the past three games. That explains the back-to-back losses to the Kings and Ducks.

10. Penguins (4): Not time to panic, but they were blown out by the Rangers, 5-1, and followed that up with a 2-1 loss at St. Louis.

11. Wild (14): Minnesota is 7-1-2 in its past 10, in large part to Josh Harding, who has allowed two goals or fewer in 13 of 14 appearances.

12. Maple Leafs (8): Have been outshot in 14 of 17 games, including allowing more than 40 shots in three of their past five, but they are a puzzling 11-6-0.

13. Kings (13): The 3-2 shootout loss to the Sabres was bad, but not as bad as Jonathan Quick being injured and left the game in overtime. If he’s lost for a significant amount of time, Los Angeles is in trouble.

14. Capitals (18): The Great 8 scored the overtime winner in a 4-3 victory over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Alex Ovechkin now has 14 goals, tied for the league lead, and 13 career overtime goals.

15. Stars (17): Dallas is playing its best hockey of the season, 3-1-1 in its past five games, including wins over the Bruins and Red Wings.

16. Red Wings (12): They have dropped six games in a row at home for the first time in 16 years. More blues in Motown: They’ve lost 10 straight overtime home games.

17. Canadiens (15): Montreal has lost five of six and has not come close to resembling the team that won the Northeast Division and had the second-best record in the Eastern Conference last season.

18. Rangers (23): Rebounded nicely from a 3-7-0 start and now sit at 9-9-0. The bad news is they have another road trip coming up soon.

19. Predators (16): Nashville has fallen on hard times, getting outscored by a combined 13-1 in losing three in a row.

20. Islanders (19): Ended a four-game losing skid with a 3-1 win over the Predators on Tuesday. Up next: a tough string of games against the Kings, Red Wings, Maple Leafs and Penguins.

21. Hurricanes (20): Fun fact: All of their seven wins this season are by one goal.

22. Jets (24): No one’s talking about Bryan Little, but the Jets winger is among the league leaders with 11 goals. He scored in Tuesday’s 3-2 shootout win over the Red Wings as Winnipeg improved to 4-1 in shootouts.

23. Devils (27): Martin Brodeur has looked more like he’s 21 than 41, notching three straight wins allowing two total goals. He had 33 saves in a 3-2 win over the Rangers, in which his shutout streak was snapped at slightly over 191 minutes.

24. Senators (21): Craig Anderson’s return to action didn’t go so well. After missing a week with a neck injury, the goalie allowed five goals on 31 shots in a 5-0 rout by the Flyers on Tuesday.

25. Blue Jackets (22): Former Rangers castoff Brandon Dubinsky has two goals and five assists in his past four games. With five goals, he has more than doubled last season’s total (two). But the Blue Jackets (6-10-1) still sit in last place in the Metropolitan Division.

26. Flyers (26): It took 16 games, but captain Claude Giroux finally scored his first goal of the season.

27. Flames (25): Not sure if anyone thought Jiri Hudler would be leading the Flames in scoring (six goals, 19 points). Pretty sure many people thought the Flames were in for another rough season (2-7-1 in their past 10).

28. Sabres (30): Fired coach Ron Rolston and hired Ted Nolan to replace him. And after getting their first home win of the season!

29. Oilers (28): You know you’re desperate when you sign Ilya Bryzgalov to be your No. 1 netminder. Devan Dubnyk (3-8-1, 3.93 goals against average) and Jason LaBarbera (1-3-0, 3.69 GAA) were not getting the job done.

30. Panthers (29): Had lost nine in a row, so naturally they would end that streak with a 3-2 win over the Ducks on Tuesday, the team with the most points in the league.