Pity the poor NHL Power Rankings ranker. Will the St. Louis Blues ever win two games out of three, or split a week and settle down wherever they plan on settling the NHL Western Conference's standings? Last night's shootout victory, which Game Time called "an unimpressive effort [that] winds up a win", was their third win in a row. This follows a five-game losing streak that followed a seven-game winning streak. The Blues have been atop the NHL; they've been sputtering, seemingly near losing control; now they're winning again. If you're going to be inconsistent, there are worse ways of doing it, I guess.
↵This week's power rankings have the 12-5-3 Blues in an almost milquetoast position, one that belies the strange way in which they've gotten there. SB Nation's poll leaves them fifth in the Western Conference, behind division rivals the Detroit Red Wings (number one) and the Columbus Blue Jackets (number four.)
↵At ESPN the Blues are 11th, down from eighth last week, but this was filed mostly pre-winning streak, so I can't blame them. Here's reason enough to be wary of the Blues: Just two days later Fox Sports felt completely justified in ranking them... eighth. When your winning percentage and Fan Confidence Poll begin to look like the Screaming Eagle, Power Rankings become a very imprecise means of measurement.