NHL

NHL Power Rankings: Chicago has most to be thankful for

With Thanksgiving upon us, this week’s rankings tell us what each of the 30 teams has to be thankful for.

1. Blackhawks (1): … are thankful for a lot of things, most of all having the best offense in the league with 92 goals (3.6 per game).

2. Blues (4): … are thankful for Alex Steen, whose 19 goals rank second in the league and are five behind his career high of 24 set back in 2009-10.

3. Kings (8): … are thankful for backup goalie Ben Scrivens, who is 5-0-2 since starter Jonathan Quick went down with an injury, allowing just nine goals in the seven games.

4. Ducks (5): … are thankful for home ice, where they are 9-0-1.

5. Avalanche (3): … are thankful for having no players on the roster with a negative plus-minus ranking.

6. Bruins (6): … are thankful for Tuukka Rask, who ranks tied for third in wins (13), third in goals against average (1.69) and second in save percentage (.943).

7. Sharks (7): … are thankful for playing Eastern Conference teams, as they own a 7-1-1 record versus the other conference.

8. Coyotes (2): … are thankful for their defensemen, who have 19 goals this season, including seven from Michael Stone.

9. Wild (9): … are thankful for backup Josh Harding, who’s become the starter due to an injury to Niklas Backstrom and owns a 13-3-2 record with a 1.48 goals against average and a .939 save percentage.

10. Penguins (12): … are thankful for playing in the weak Metropolitan Division, where they are in first place despite winning four of their past 10 games.

11. Maple Leafs (13): … are thankful for games that go past 60 minutes — they are 4-1 in such contests.

12. Lightning (10): … are thankful they have managed to stay afloat with a 3-3-1 record since Steven Stamkos went down with a broken fibula.

13. Canadiens (16): … are thankful for the power play: They have 21 power-play goals in 24 games.

14. Capitals (11): … are thankful for shootout, where they have a league-high five wins against two losses.

15. Stars (14): … are thankful for three goals in 53 seconds on Tuesday, which helped them earn a 6-3 win over the Pacific Division-leading Ducks.

16. Canucks (15): … are thankful head coach John Tortorella hasn’t had profanity-laced press conferences despite two wins in their past 10 games.

17. Predators (17): … are thankful for defenseman Shea Weber, who leads the team with seven goals, including five on the power play.

18. Rangers (19): … are thankful for Henrik Lundqvist keeping them in most games, and a nine-game homestand that will keep them in New York for more than half the month.

19. Devils (20): … are thankful Father Time hasn’t caught up to 41-year-olds Jaromir Jagr (who leads the team in scoring) and Martin Brodeur (five wins in his past seven games with a .944 save percentage).

20. Red Wings (18): … are thankful to play games away from Joe Louis Arena. Detroit is a league-best 7-3-1 on the road but 4-4-6 at home, including only one win in their past 10.

21. Flyers (23): … are thankful to have rebounded from a 3-9-0 start to win seven of 11 and be one point of out a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

22. Jets (24): … are thankful to finally be playing in the Western Conference and traveling less, which has even resulted in more wins.

23. Hurricanes (25): … are thankful that despite a minus-18 goal differential, they are a point behind the Rangers for the final automatic playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division.

24. Senators (21): … are thankful for a healthy roster, with no players on injured reserve a season after they were decimated by injuries.

25. Blue Jackets (26): … are thankful for winning games when they are outshot by their opponents (five of their nine wins have come in such games).

26. Islanders (22): … are thankful they can lose eight of 10 to fall to last place in the Metropolitan Division … and still only be 12 points behind the division lead.

27. Flames (28): … are thankful for a 3-0-2 start to the season, which seems like ages ago for a team that doesn’t have back-to-back wins since Oct 9 and 11.

28. Panthers (29): … are thankful that interim coach Peter Horachek has the team playing much better, including points in three of the past four.

29. Oilers (30): … are thankful for winning three straight games last week — it could be the best thing to happen to Edmonton this season (besides a possible No. 1 draft pick).

30. Sabres (27): … are thankful they only have 57 games left.