Flyers 21st in NHL Power Rankings

Here's philly.com's current NHL power rankings:

1. Pittsburgh Penguins (13-3-1, 27 points) – Sidney Crosby is tied for the league lead in points and the Penguins are second in scoring. That's expected. Marc-Andre Fleury has been a surprise with four shutouts in his last nine starts. Pittsburgh has allowed a league-low 35 goals and has the league's best goal differential (plus-29).

2. Nashville Predators (12-4-2, 26 points) – Remember when Nashville traded Martin Erat to Washington for Filip Forsberg? Erat had 27 points in 62 games before Washington traded him to Arizona. The 20-year-old Forsberg already has 22 points this season to lead the upstart Predators as a rookie.

3. St. Louis Blues (12-5-1, 25 points) – Vladimir Tarasenko has anchored the STL line (Jaden Schwartz, Tarasenko, and Jori Lehtera) with 21 points and the Blues have won 10 of their last 12. T.J. Oshie and Paul Stastny also both returned over the last two weeks.

4. Tampa Bay Lightning (13-5-2, 28 points) – The Lightning lead the league in goals and Norris-caliber defenseman Victor Hedman is almost ready to return after a month-long absence due to a broken finger.

5. Anaheim Ducks (11-4-5, 27 points) – The Ducks are winless in five of six, but erased a two-goal deficit to beat rival Los Angeles last week. Corey Perry also returned Sunday after coming down with the mumps.

6. New York Islanders (12-6-0, 24 points) – The Islanders made plenty of moves in the offseason, but the biggest upgrade was expected in net. After a rough start, Jaroslav Halak has a .941 save percentage in November and the Isles have won six of seven.

7. Chicago Blackhawks (10-7-1, 21 points) – The Blackhawks don't have a great record, but they own the best goal differential in the West (plus-15), strong possession stats (56.73 Fenwick percentage), and a history that suggests they'll get it going.

8. Montreal Canadiens (14-5-1, 29 points) – The Habs have the most points in the NHL with 29 but have an underwhelming plus-four goal differential. Montreal lost its six-game winning streak with a 4-0 loss against the Penguins Wednesday, opening up reason for doubt.

9. Boston (12-8-0, 24 points) – Here comes Boston. Zdeno Chara is sidelined with a PCL tear, but the Bruins have won seven of nine and beat St. Louis Wednesday. They did, however, lose another defense with Adam McQuaid expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a broken right thumb.

10. Vancouver Canucks (13-6-0, 26 points) – Daniel and Henrik Sedin have led Vancouver's resurgence. Each have 19 points playing alongside Radim Vrbata, who has perfectly filled a spot on the twin' wing after signing a two-year deal in the offseason. Vrbata has eight goals in 17 games.

11. Los Angeles Kings (10-5-4, 24 points) – The Kings haven't dominated regular seasons on their way to two Stanley Cups, but they usually own the possession stats. So far this season, something seems off with Los Angeles (49.38 Fenwick percentage). The Kings have won their last two, though.

12. Calgary Flames (12-6-2, 26 points) – The Flames have two elite defensemen in Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie and lead the West in goals. They were expected to be among the league's worst teams, but it's getting harder to discount the Flames' start.

13. Minnesota Wild (10-7-0, 20 points) – Minnesota is second in the league in shots per game (33.1) and has given up the fewest shots per game (23.7). Zach Parise returned from a concussion Sunday and the Wild should get it going.

14. Detroit Red Wings (9-4-5, 23 points) – Jimmy Howard is fourth amongst goalies with a 1.97 goals-against average (10 game minimum) and he owns a .924 save percentage, helping the Red Wings stay in the mix in the East.

15. New York Rangers (8-7-4, 20 points) – Dan Boyle and Derek Stepan recently returned for the Rangers, but New York is still without Ryan McDonagh. New York has treaded water while waiting to assemble its full lineup.

16. Winnipeg Jets (10-7-3, 23 points) – Since Paul Maurice took over last January, the Jets have 64 points in 55 games (95 points pace over 82 games).

17. Washington Capitals (8-7-3, 19 points) – Alexander Ovechkin has only registered a point in five of his last 14 games. In that span, the Caps have won six times and sit in the middle of the conference.

18. San Jose Sharks (10-9-2, 22 points) – On Wednesday, the Sharks lost to the Sabres for the second time this season. Not good for a team that will be fighting for a playoff spot.

19. Arizona Coyotes (8-9-2, 18 points) – Mike Smith sat in back-to-back games over the weekend and the $34 million goaltender only has an .890 save percentage this year. Meanwhile, backup Devan Dubnyk has won five of six starts and has a .925 save percentage.

20. Ottawa Senators (8-5-4, 20 points) – Ottawa has four losses in its last five games, but Bobby Ryan snapped a six-game goalless drought Saturday.

21. Philadelphia Flyers (7-8-2, 16 points) – If real hockey was like video game hockey and the Flyers didn't have to use line changes, they'd be much higher on this list. Fortunately for them, Claude Giroux didn't miss any time with his mysterious ankle injury and will continue to lift the Flyers into mediocrity.

22. Carolina Hurricanes (6-9-3, 15 points) – Carolina didn't win a game in October. Since Eric Staal returned from an upper-body injury on October 28, the team has six wins in 11 games and Staal has nine points in that span. Maybe they're not a Cup contender, but the Hurricanes aren't a bottom feeder, either.

23. Florida Panthers (6-5-5, 17 points) – In case you haven't noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven't, Robert Luongo has managed to have a really solid season. He has a .921 save percentage and the Panthers are tied for second in the East with 42 goals against.

24. Toronto Maple Leafs (9-8-2, 20 points) – What's worse, losing 9-2 against Nashville or losing against Buffalo by any score? Either way, it's hard times in Toronto right now.

25. New Jersey Devils (8-9-2, 18 points) – Many of last season's shortcomings could have been chalked up to Martin Brodeur's struggles, but Cory Schneider hasn't been much of an upgrade in his first season with the starting job. He's been pulled four times in 19 starts and has a .910 save percentage.

26. Colorado Avalanche (6-8-5, 17 points) – Matt Duchene scored in his last two games and the Avs have picked up back-to-back, come-from-behind wins. Still, both have a long way to go to live up to the expectations that came out of last season's success.

27. Dallas Stars (6-9-4, 16 points) – Can the Stars get a sponsor's exemption into the playoffs? They're fourth in the West in goals scored and have given up the second most. Unfortunately, fun hockey doesn't always mean winning hockey and Dallas has been one of the league's biggest letdowns.

28. Columbus Blue Jackets (6-11-1, 13 points) – After losing nine straight, Columbus has two wins in its last three games and Sergei Bobrovsky is back.

29. Edmonton Oilers (6-11-2) – After a hope-inspiring four-game win streak, the Oilers reverted to lose eight out of 10. On the bright side, Taylor Hall returned Sunday from a right knee injury.

30. Buffalo Sabres (5-13-2, 12 points) – Seems like a good time to mention Connor McDavid, the consensus top prospect in the 2015 draft who has 51 points in 18 games in the OHL this year, will miss 5-6 weeks after breaking a bone in his right hand in a junior hockey fight. Either way, the one-handed 17-year-old would still probably be Buffalo's best player at the moment.