March 16, 2010
Player Power Rankings
Miller Again On Top

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. Ryan Miller was atop the rankings for most of the early season before losing his spot to Evgeni Nabokov. But thanks to Nabokov's struggles, it's Miller at No. 1 again.

Puck Prospectus: Player Power Rankings

Ryan Miller is back on top, but he gets help from Evgeni Nabokov's struggles.

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        2          31.5        -0.6    -1.5     29.4 

Comment: Miller's pre-Olympic downturn is now history. Since the break, he's been on fire, with a 2.17 GAA and 0.932 save percentage, and he has retaken the lead in the power rankings.

2.   Evgeni Nabokov, G, SJ      1          27.1        -0.9     2.7     29.0   

Comment: Nabokov is having a forgettable stretch run, with a 0.903 save percentage since the break. But it doesn't really matter at this point: The Sharks will be one of the top two seeds in the West, and the playoffs are where Nabokov will have something to prove.

3.   Tomas Vokoun, G, FLA       3          32.6        -1.9    -2.0     28.8 

Comment: The Panthers have been a different team since the break: They've scored 17 goals in five games, leading to four wins. Vokoun has been just as good as before, with a 0.923 save percentage.

4.   Alexander Ovechkin, F, WAS 4          24.5         3.5    -1.0     27.0 

Comment: Ovechkin's lead in the scoring race is down to three points, and he is one behind Crosby for the goal-scoring lead. He could help himself by avoiding game misconducts for dangerous hits.

5.   Sidney Crosby, F, PIT      5          18.1         3.1     2.8     24.0

Comment: Crosby is on a nine-game point-scoring streak dating back to before the Olympics, during which he has 13 points.

6.   Craig Anderson, G, COL     6          25.1        -1.2    -0.6     23.4 

Comment: Luckily for Anderson, his time in Florida got him used to seeing a lot of rubber. He has faced 32.1 shots per game this season, third among No. 1 goaltenders, and has faced more total shots (1923) than anyone in the league.

 
7.   Henrik Sedin, F, VAN       7          18.7         4.6     0.0     23.3   

Comment: Sedin has emerged from his mini-slump. In the past seven games, he has 13 points, and his Canucks are 5-1-1 to pull away from Colorado for the division lead.

8.   Ilya Bryzgalov, G, PHO     8          20.2         0.3     1.4     21.9 

Comment: The scores of Bryzgalov's past four games: 3-1 win, 4-0 win, 4-3 win, 4-0 win. What more can be said?

9.   Miikka Kiprusoff, G, CAL  17          24.0         0.7    -4.4     20.3 

Comment: Calgary's 4-2 win against Detroit on Tuesday will be the most important game of the season in retrospect if the Flames make the playoffs.

10.  Duncan Keith, D, CHI       9          12.6         7.5     0.0     20.1   

Comment: Time to worry? Chicago, which had the league's best goals-against-average before the break, has allowed 24 goals in seven games since, including allowing two late-game comebacks against Philadelphia and Washington. Keith is minus-4 over that span, so he can't completely avoid blame.

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.