Home wins against the flu-riddled Habs and banged-up Thrashers have helped the Caps' Respect Ranking bounce back a little after a rough week. Kudos go out to the brain trust at ESPN for bucking conventional wisdom and bumping the Caps down six spots despite two wins against ESPN's own third- and ninth-rated teams.As always, if you know of other power rankings, let me know about 'em.
| Source | Current | Previous | Change |
| CBS Sportsline.com (1/9) | 25 | 27 | +2 |
| CP (1/9) | 23 | 27 | +4 |
| DeGroat.net (1/7) | 22 | 24 | +2 |
| ESPN.com (1/8) | 19 | 13 | -6 |
| FOX Sports.com (1/8) | 21 | 22 | +1 |
| Massey Rating (1/9) | 25 | 26 | +1 |
| Sagarin Rating (1/9) | 23 | 26 | +3 |
| SI.com (1/8) | 22 | 22 | NC |
| TSN.ca (1/8) | 22 | 25 | +3 |
| AVERAGE | 22.4 | 23.5 | +1.1 |
| NHL Standings (Points/Games Played) | 20 | 23 | +3 |