ACloser Look: ProTrade(?) Power Rankings 11/17/08 (Your Cats: 31st)

C'mon...we're not 31st!

I haven't checked out any of the power rankings which may have been released over the past 24 hours quite yet, but I'm making the rounds now.

Stumbled over this "ProTrade" gem. Hey, lookee there: we're 30th. As stated, I've not yet seen any of this week's rankings, and I'm going to check them this morning, but if I had to go out on a limb, I'd say we're gonna detect a pattern.

A Closer Look: Fox Sports - Power Rankings 11/11/08 (Your Cats: 29th)

It's tough enough keeping up with so many so-called "Power Rankings" appearing each day, but simplicity is the word when your team is collectively picked so low.

Fox Sports continues down this inarguable road by placing the Cats at a solid 29. That's down from 26 (which was a charity pick). Dissenters unite! Helloooo? Anyone?

Teams above: Here we go again. Nothing to see here. Move along. Actually, it's interesting to note the Ducks moved up one spot after losing to Florida. At home. From 16 to 15. This is the NHL, after all.

Teams below: A concensus pick with The Hockey News, the Isles remain firmly ensconced at 30. Is it possible for The Illustrious Twelve to feel bad at this point for another club's fans? Thankfully, yes.

A Closer Look: The Hockey News - Power Rankings 11/10/08 (Your Cats: 27th)

This includes the road victory over the Ducks, mind you. Sigh. Last week they were ranked number 26, so we're not talking a colossal slide. The real question is who finished in worse shape? THN has the goods, through Monday:

Teams above: not going through a list of that size again. Carpel tunnel and all.

Teams below: LAK (steady at 28). And they humiliated Florida just days days ago. I guess humiliating Florida doesn't pack the same punch that it...well, nevermind. STL (29 from 23). Reality is catching up with the Notes, who many say have overachieved so far. NYI (steady at 30). Rebuilding again, and it shows. At least they've got an excuse.

On a personal note, I'll be attending my first game of the year tomorrow, against Tampa Bay. Pretty psyched. "First game?!?!?" you say? Kinda tough to make that drive on a regular basis while remaining employed and having to show up at 5:30 am. No, I'm not getting defensive. Really.

Probably gonna leave Old Reliable (Whalers road blue #1 Sean Burke) in the closet and do a simple Cats' sweatshirt/hat combo. Putting way too much thought into this; been a while since I've graced the BAC. Tampa games are always fun, and occasionally record shattering.

But which Panther club will show? The Phoenix Panthers? Or the Anaheim Panthers?

A Closer Look: AOL Fanhouse Power Rankings 11/08/08 (Your Cats: Take a Guess...)

So it's come to this. Very little room for childish jabs at the likes of Atlanta or the Isles this week. At least it'll be an easy wrapup:

Teams above: SJS, MON, DET, ANH, WAS, NYR, BUF, MIN, PIT, NJD, CAL, CAR, BOS, DAL, OTW, CHI, PHI, VAN, EDM, NAS, TAM, COL, STL, PHO, COB, TOR, ATL, NYI, LAK.

Leagues Below: maybe the ECHL.

Oh yeah...get over to Puck Daddy for a bit of good news for one area Cat fan.

A Closer Look: Fox Sports Power Rankings - 10/28/08 (Your Cats: 18th)

Week three brings Fox Sports back to the field with Robert Picarello. Yes, I'm aware it's two days old, but the Panthers haven't played in four, so be seated. The monsters mostly come at night. Mostly.

The Cats remain in the 18th spot, following two wins bookended by losses. Even Steven.

Teams above: MIN (1, even), PIT (8, up from 13), COL (11, up from 23!), EDM (12, down from 2!?!)

Teams Below: ATL (27, down from 17...gulp), OTW (29, down from 19...gonna go easy on this one until about 11 pm tonight), NYI (30, down from 21).

A Closer Look: Sports Illustrated Power Rankings 10/28/08 (Your Cats: 15th)

From Hell's heart I stab at thee... Fifteenth! Now that's confidence. And up from last week's placement at 18. Scott Wraight must be gunning for free tickets over the holidays while in Boca (hey Scott...$35 at the Broward DMV will get you a nifty license entitling you to passage along the beautiful "Florida's Turnpike" AND two freebie admissions once. Once.)

Anyway, Here's how the Cats stack up at the SI offices.

Teams above: DET (3, up from 6, 6-1-1, "sluggish start"???), SJS (6, up from 7 - after losing to FLA, they're up?), COL (10, up from 15)

Teams below: ANH (18, up from 28), NAS (21, down from 19), LAK (24, down from 19...hmm...how'd they get to 19 in the first place?)

A Closer Look: SportsNet Power Rankings 10/27/08 (Your Cats: 21st)

Finally, someone has recognized Cory Stillman's (and by extension Jacques Martin's) efforts. Down from number 18. Let's call the Blues Debacle a "misstep" and move along.

Teams above: SJS (1, last week as well. Guess that loss in Sunrise didn't make it's way north), COL (8 up from 21!!! 5-0-3 will do that), EDM (19, down from 6. Yes, 6)

Teams below: PHI (23, up from 29...any more artillery out there to help the Flyers?), ATL (27, down from 20), OTW (29, down from 14...the Sens Army is in revolt).

A Closer Look: The Sporting News Power Rankings 10/27/08 - (Your Cats: 18th)

I'd say Craig Custance is being rather generous on this one. Perhaps a bit of love from a former Southeast writer? Nah. Apparently that San Jose victory carries the mail further than a loss in St. Louis at the end of a bizarre road trip. Add to that the defense which has become a M*A*S*H unit and I'd have to say numbers 19 through 30 must have had a pretty poor week. As Dalton once remarked, "opinions vary".

Teams above: BUF (1, from 7), SJS (2, from 1 - haha), CAR (9, from 12).

Teams below: DAL (21, from 13!), OTW (27, from 17!!), NYI (30, from 28...only 13 more years of stealthy Rick DiPietro injuries to go, fellas)

A Closer Look: AOL FanHouse Power Rankings 10/17/08 (Your Cats: 30th)

We've done it. Thirtieth place. That's the opinion of the FanHouse's Ted Starkey. Anyone care to debate it? Crickets?

A 1-2-0 record isn't entirely awful. If you're what was predicted of Atlanta. Beyond the record alone, 15 goals against in three games is a sure-fire recipe for pain and doubt. Lose 6-2 at home. Both goals by defensemen(!). It was a bad game all around even for non-fans.

I sure hope the Isles aren't taking us seriously for tomorrow's game.

Teams ranked higher: All 29 of 'em.

Teams ranked lower: Umm, the Iowa Chops?

A Closer Look: Fox Sports Power Rankings 10/16/08 (Your Cats: 17th)

Robert Picarello of Fox Sports chimes in with his weekly Power Rankings (and just in time for the Rangers' first loss...so you can prolly scratch that Number One spot).

The Panthers were listed at number 17, a rise of 3 spots from the last week before they had played.

Teams listed above: PHO (4th...here's the Jokinen effect - 2PPG), ATL (10th? At 1-1-1?), NYI (12th...and this is WITHOUT DiPietro), TOR (16th...guess Fox chose to ignore the 6-1 drubbing by the Habs).

Teams listed below: WAS (19th), PIT (22nd), DAL (23), PHI (27th), ANH (30th).

Waaaay early.

Gameday: Tonight the Cats host Minnesota at the BAC; our chance to see Gaborik up close. FSN broadcasting in HD as well. The Wild has owned Florida since their inception. Be interesting to witness the Cats' speed against Jacques Lemaire's patented defensive work. Skrastins is a game-time decision. McCabe is out.

A Closer Look: THN Power Rankings 10/14/08 (Your Cats: 25th)

My apologies for being late to the game on this one. Ryan Dixon brings us this week's Power Rankings from The Hockey News, and unless you're a devoted - and blind - Chicago fan (20th, at 0-2-1???), there's not much to like way down here in SoFla.

Panthers record prior to ranking as of October 14: 1-1-0

Clubs ranked higher: Dallas (6th, 0-1-1), Anaheim (7th, 0-2-0 !), Colorado (24th, 0-2-0).

Clubs ranked lower: (26 through 30...no surprises - ATL, TOR, NYI, TAM, LOS).

Guess we can't expect much more; got toasted by Carolina only to squeak by Atlanta. Not exactly a promising start in the eyes of anyone not focused on the team. So whatever.

A Closer Look: The Sporting News Power Rankings (Your Cats: 17th)

The Sporting News' Craig Custance (who formerly covered our friends in Atlanta) submits his picks for this week. The Panthers check in at number 17. Reasonable given the meltdown in Carolina (who's only making us look better and better), and razor-thin escape against the Flames on Saturday.

Teams listed above: Carolina (16...wow), Washington (8...WOW).

Teams listed below: Phoenix (19, with two wins), Ottawa (21 and no sign of Alfie), Colorado (27. Joe Sakic mulls retirement. Quickly.)

A Closer Look: Yahoo Power Rankings (Your Cats: 24th)

Yahoo! Sports' Ted Starkey has weighed in with his power rankings for the opening week of the 2008-09 season, and the Cats have dropped to the sadly familiar "lowly" status, lumbering in at number 24, but he has a legitimate point, considering past performance.

Teams listed above: Carolina (17), Phoenix (20), Tampa Bay (21), St. Louis (23).

Teams listed below: No surprises.

Nice call on 30th place Toronto (out of 30, mind you), especially considering their 3-2 victory during Banner Raising Night in Detroit at The Joe. Way to go with the insight.

TLB Says: No comment on any so called "Power Rankings" before two-thirds of the clubs have yet been on the clock.

Re: Detroit/Toronto...the Wings will win 60 games this year. Detroit had a bad start against a hungry, scrapping band of Leafs (what it be, MVR!) who deserved the win simply by playing that much more tenaciously than their hosts. An interesting loss for the Wings, but that ship will sail, and soon. Too much humble talent. They got handed their rear ends tonight; won't happen again.

A CLoser Look: CBS SportsLine (Your Cats: 19th)

After a Power Ranking premiere at number 21 with SI, Sportsline roars and pronounces our feline friends deserving of...19!

Wes Goldstein bangs out a quick but rather positive spin on Florida to begin the year.

Nowhere to go but...

A Closer Look: Sports Illustrated Power Rankings (Your Cats: 21st)

And we're off: the first of the MSM's pointless but must-read-like-a-crack-whore-needs-her-junk "power rankings" is upon us.

Scott Wraight at Si.com starts off the festivities, ranking the Cats a lowly 21st out of 29. Oops. Sorry Toronto, I meant to type 30. Haven't even played a game and already we're behind defensive mainstay Tampa Bay (15th). Hey lookie there...we're better than New York! No, the other New York.

Oh well, get used to it. We all know the drill. Respect will be earned after a 10-4 start out of the gate (sounds pretty steep, eh?). Seeing as the last playoff game in Sunrise took place in 2000, I can't beat up on him or any of the countless others who will agree.