ESPN’s power rankings: Namestnikov has stepped up for Detroit

ESPN’s Kristen Shilton posted a set of power rankings which include “the most underrated player” for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and her pick for the Red Wings is the team’s best third-line player:

25. Detroit Red Wings

Previous ranking: 23
Points percentage: 0.571
Upcoming schedule: vs. WSH (Nov. 11), vs. MTL (Nov. 13), @ CBJ (Nov. 15), @ DAL (Nov. 16)

Vladislav Namestnikov. The Red Wings’ rookies — and red-hot Tyler Bertuzzi — have pulled headlines, but Namestnikov is having a sneaky-good start of his own. His seven goals and nine points are both top five for the Wings. For a team that’s been seriously lacking in secondary scoring, Namestnikov has been the one to consistently answer that call.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, when MLive hired me to work their SlapShots blog, and I joined Kukla's Korner in 2011 as The Malik Report. I'm starting The Malik Report as a stand-alone site, hoping that having my readers fund the website is indeed the way to go to build a better community and create better content.