Week 15 Power Rankings - strong week leads to climb in the rankings

TSN.ca - down 3 to 15
38 year-old Sergei Fedorov is producing for Columbus too, putting up seven points in the last five games; unfortunately for the Jackets, it's been a long time since Fedorov was able to consistently contribute offensively.

THN.com - up 2 to 16
The Blue Jackets are knocking on the playoff door, which is great for this season. But taking the big picture into consideration, don’t be surprised if GM Scott Howson moves some veterans at the trade deadline if it means they’ll be stronger next season.

CBSSports.com - down 1 to 21
The Jackets need to win more on the road to be serious playoff contenders. Columbus is very tough in its own building, but has won only six times away and just once in regulation since Dec. 1.

ESPN.com - up 3 to 19
Nikolai Zherdev shoots, scores and blocks shots! The Jackets have won six straight at home and have quietly caught the Blues in the every-team-for-itself-after-the-Wings division.

Yahoo.com - up 2 to 20
With the breakthrough season he's had, 25-year-old Pascal Leclaire is in position to strike while the iron is hot as he is set to become an RFA this summer. The fact Sergei Fedorov drops off the books helps Columbus' bottom line.

FoxSports.com - up 2 to 18
(.533) By winning two of their three Week 15 games, the Blue Jackets were able to move up two places in the rankings. Nikolai Zherdev played a huge role in the two wins last week, first scoring two goals in a 6-4 win over the Blues, then adding one assist and the game-decider in a 2-1 shootout win over the Predators.

CBC.ca - up 4 to 15
Big week with wins over the Blues and Predators.

CNNSI.com - up 4 to 17
Not only have they managed to win a franchise-record five straight at home, they ended a 12-game slide against the Predators -- their first win over Nashville since April 3, 2006. But before their fans get overly giddy, a tough five-game road trip that includes Dallas twice and Colorado could bring Columbus back to the .500 mark.

Average score: 17.63 (last week 19.42)

The Jackets climb almost two points in the overall rankings fresh of a 2-1 record this past week (most didn't include the win over the Canucks last night).

This week both TSN and CBC gave us the highest ratings (..and lets face, those Canadians know hockey!) while CBSSports was back up to their old bag of tricks with the lowest ranking at 21.

I thought CNNSI summed it up the best, the Jackets had a nice run here at home but with the next 5 on the road its not quite time to start popping the corks yet. The Jackets need to prove they can do damage on the road before we get to excited about our playoff chances here. Nobody knows that more than the guys in that locker room.

Its all starts tomorrow in Phoenix.

-LTL