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NHL Power Rankings Heading into Week 4 of 2016-17

By Ryan Ritchie

NHL Power Rankings: New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) celebrates with New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) and New York Rangers center Derek Stepan (21) after defeating the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
NHL Power Rankings: New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) celebrates with New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) and New York Rangers center Derek Stepan (21) after defeating the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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NHL Power Rankings: St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen (34) skates on the ice after being named the first star of the game for shutting out the Los Angeles Kings at Scottrade Center. The Blues won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
NHL Power Rankings: St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen (34) skates on the ice after being named the first star of the game for shutting out the Los Angeles Kings at Scottrade Center. The Blues won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Previous Ranking: 6 (-3)

Team Record: (5-3-2)

Player of the Week: G Jake Allen (1 win 1.90GAA .932 save percentage) 

Special Teams

PP: 7-for-37 (18.9 percent) (17th)
PK: 4-for-39 (89.7 percent) (5th)

Goaltending

It was a slow week for St. Louis which made it difficult to identify the POW. Other than allowing four goals on 20 shots on Tuesday, Allen put in two solid outings on Thursday and Saturday. He only allowed one goal on 27 shots vs. Detroit and recorded a shutout at home against LA. Jake Allen now has four wins on the season with a 2.22GAA and .910 save percentage.

Defense

Having scored just two goals in the three games over the past week, St. Louis received virtually no offensive help from their blue line or forwards. The only defenseman to record a point from those two goals was Kevin Shattenkirk who scored the lone goal in the Blues 2-1 loss to Detroit. If St. Louis still has plans to move Shattenkirk before the deadline, six points in 10 games is a promising sign to ensure decent trade value.

There are some concerns surrounding Alex Pietrangelo after getting tangled up with Rangers forward J.T. Miller on Tuesday night, so we’re still waiting for further information to see if Alex is expected to miss any time. It doesn’t sound as though he’ll miss any time, but it’s a situation worth monitoring.

Forwards

Seeing as the Blues only scored two goals over the last seven days, there are no real highlight performances to discuss. Jaden Schwartz scored the goal in their 1-0 win against LA, which was assisted by Vladimir Tarasenko and Jori Lehtera. The only other forward to record a point was Patrik Berglund who assisted on Shattenkirk’s goal in Detroit.

It’s been a slow start for Jaden Schwartz, but its understandable after missing time to begin the year. It takes a few extra games to shake the rust off and once that happens, we should see Schwartz and the Tarasenk-show go to work in establishing themselves as one of the NHL’s premier duos.

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