Week 8 Power Rankings: Status quo

TSN.ca
Rank: 17 (+5)
Whether Pascal Leclaire is healthy or not, it's looking more and more like 20-year-old Steve Mason has to be the number one goaltending option for Columbus. Key Injuries: D Rostislav Klesla (ankle).

CNNSI.com
Rank: 18 (unchanged)
Steve Mason's play is gluing Pascal Leclaire's skinny behind to the bench. Rick Nash finally is providing leadership on (12 goals) and off the ice. But the Jackets may as well leave on the skate guards if they don't get their befuddled power play on track. Two-for-49 is no way to go through life, son.

CBSSports.com
Rank: 18 (+2)
Speedy Jason Chimera is earning lots of ice time and putting up the best numbers of his seven-season career at age 29.

CBC.ca
Rank: 19 (-2)
Seem mired in ninth or 10th in the West.

ColumbusDispatch.com
Rank: 15 (-1)
Needed to be better than 10-10-3 at this point. They play 15 of their next 23 on the road, including four trips out West.

Sportsnet.ca
Rank: 17 (-1)
Nash pops seven goals in eight games and takes over the team scoring lead from rookie Derick Brassard.

Yahoo.com
Rank: 20 (unchanged)
Hmmm. Giving thanks. OK, I know there’s something. … Just give me a minute.

FoxSports.com
Rank: 20 (unchanged)
Columbus dropped two of the three games it played in Week 8. Including their 3-0 win over Washington, the Blue Jackets power play was out to lunch all week, going 0-for-17 on their man-up chances.

Espn.com
Rank: 17 (-2)
The Columbus Dispatch reported that coach Ken Hitchcock has "sent tapes to several colleagues within the NHL and asked them to analyze the Jackets' recent power plays." Columbus has just two PP goals in 10 games.

Meta-score: 17.88 (last week 17.77)

This week things remain about the same as last week. Some drops but also some gains from folks who had us to low last week. More of the same story with the PP problems and Mason praise.

The Dispatch comes in the highest at #15 while both Yahoo and CBSSports have us the lowest at #20. The biggest change is TSN whom moved the Jackets up 5 spots on their list.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the Jackets fair on this 3 game west coast trip starting with an extremely good San Jose squad tonight.

-LTL