November 24, 2009
Player Power Rankings
New Vokoun

by Tom Awad

The Puck Prospectus metric GVT (goals versus threshold) allows us to compare players at every position to determine who the true leaders are. As November wanes, the GVT rankings are stabilizing, with only Tomas Vokoun entering the list this week. The real action is just outside of the top 10, as the San Jose Sharks Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton sit in 11th, 13th and 16th place respectively.

Puck Prospectus: Player Power Rankings

While Vokoun is the only new face in the rankings, Zach Parise's play has made him the top skater in the NHL.

Legend:

OGVT: Offensive GVT

GGVT: Goaltending GVT

DGVT: Defensive GVT

SGVT: Shootout GVT

GVT: Total GVT

Rank  Player                   Last Week   OGVT/GGVT   DGVT   SGVT   GVT 
1.    Ryan Miller, G, BUF      1            9.7        0.4    1.6   11.7 
A bad week for Miller includes giving up 5 goals to Florida, but he's been so
good this year that he's still on top. 

2.    Evgeni Nabokov, G, SJ    2           10.4        0.0   -0.3   10.1 
Two pairs of back-to-back games this week, yet the Sharks got 7 of 8 points 
and Nabokov stopped 118 of 128 shots (0.922). 

3.    Antero Niittymaki, G, TB 4            8.6       -0.3    0.6    8.9 
Niittymaki was sharp in his only start (a 2-1 OT loss to LA), but is still 
fighting with Mike Smith for the No. 1 job. 

4.    Craig Anderson, G, COL   3           10.1       -0.7   -0.7    8.7 
The Avalanche have the worst shot differential in the NHL, and it's starting 
to take its toll. 

5.    Ilya Bryzgalov, G, PHO   7            7.4        0.5    0.6    8.5 
Another week of excellence for Bryzgalov, who helped the Coyotes to 2 wins and
1 OTL by stopping 74 of 79 in regulation. 

6.    Zach Parise, F, NJ       8            5.6        2.3    0.6    8.5 
The Devils' road win streak may be over, but Parise's point streak is now at 7
games, with 7 goals and 5 assists over that time. 

7.    Anze Kopitar, F, LA      5            6.7        1.6    0.1    8.4 
A rough week for Kopitar's Kings, who must replace Ryan Smyth for about a 
month. Kopitar's 33 points are still tops in the NHL. 

8.    Alex Ovechkin, F, WAS    6            6.3        1.1    0.1    7.4 
Only Ovechkin could score 2 goals in his first 3 games back from injury and
still be described as having a "slow" return. 

9.    Marian Gaborik, F, NYR  10            5.8        1.8   -0.2    7.4 
At some point, we will have to accept that Gaborik may play the full season.
He's No. 2 in the NHL with 16 goals, and 50 is within reach. 

10.   Tomas Vokoun, G, FLA    11            7.3       -0.6   -0.7    7.3 
Vokoun's save pct. in regulation this week was .927, and 2 wins and an OTL
have pulled the Panthers back into the playoff picture. 

A version of this story originally appeared on ESPN Insider .

Tom Awad is an author of Hockey Prospectus. You can contact Tom by clicking here or click here to see Tom's other articles.