I'm Buffaloed by the THR Team Ranking
posted 11/03/2006 7:38 p.m.

Rank Team Rating
1 ATL 171.51
2 TOR 160.90
3 VAN 157.77
4 ANA 154.40
5 SJS 146.40
6 FLA 144.05
7 BUF 140.86
8 TBL 140.49
9 LAK 139.95
10 MIN 138.76
11 CAR 136.96
12 NYR 136.57
13 DET 136.37
14 DAL 136.18
15 NJD 128.74
16 NSH 126.25
17 EDM 123.33
18 COL 121.08
19 NYI 117.04
20 MTL 115.65
21 PIT 110.19
22 CHI 108.32
23 OTT 107.65
24 STL 106.44
25 CGY 105.66
26 WSH 104.77
27 PHX 95.12
28 PHI 91.63
29 CBJ 90.47
30 BOS 88.45

The definition of Buffaloed from Dictionary.com: to puzzle or baffle; confuse; mystify

As of November 3rd, Buffalo have not lost a game in regulation time and have the league's best record. How is it then that they rank only 7th on TheHockeyRating.com's Team Ranking?

Are Buffalo an aberation? I think not! Buffalo made it to the conference final last year, losing to the eventual champions Carolina, in seven games. And the team coach, Lindy Ruff won the Jack Adams award for coach of the year.

The answer lies in the fact that TheHockeyRating.com's Team rankings are calculated by taking the total of the top 10 rated skaters plus the ratings of 2 goalkeepers on each team.

Buffalo are becoming known as the nameless team as a result of their lack of marquee players. Only Daniel Briere made TheHockeyRating.com's top 50...just! But most of the team made the top 200.

There you have it; Buffalo is playing as a team and not as individuals and under the guidance of a great coach.

Rank Team Points
1 BUF 23
2 ANA 22
3 DAL 20
4 MIN 20
5 ATL 19
6 SJS 18
7 NSH 17
8 MTL 17
9 DET 17
10 TOR 17
11 VAN 15
12 PIT 14
13 EDM 14
14 NYI 14
15 NYR 14
16 COL 14
17 CAR 14
18 FLA 14
19 NJD 13
20 WSH 12
21 TABL 12
22 STL 11
23 LAK 11
24 OTT10
25 BOS 8
26 CHI 8
27 CBJ 7
28 CGY 7
29 PHI 7
30 PHX 6


Trevor Seeney
TheHockeyRating.com


Or could it be that Buffalo is playing in a weaker conference, and has been playing against underachieving divisional opponents? Three of the six teams ahead of them are in the west, and five of the six bottom ranked teams are in the east. Buffalo's goaltending has been good, but not stellar. Five of the six teams ahead of them have better goaltending.

Of course none of this explains why Florida would be ranked ahead of Buffalo.

My two cents.

contributed by CanadianHockeyCards.com



Your two cents are appreciated, thanks.

Trevor Seeney
TheHockeyRating.com



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