NHL Power Rankings: B/R Experts' Week 10 Poll
December has been a weird month for a lot of teams.
It's true that the Anaheim Ducks sit first in the league and have won seven in a row, but a lot of other top teams have struggled to put runs together; of the nine teams with 40 or more points, only Anaheim and St. Louis have active win streaks longer than one game.
At the other end of the spectrum, less-heralded clubs are putting runs together. Toronto has won five straight, while the injury-plagued Columbus Blue Jackets have done them one better and won six in a row.
Given these odd runs, how do we slot these teams? Our expert panel returns once again this week: Dave Lozo, Steve Macfarlane, Allan Mitchell, Lyle Richardson, Carol Schram and myself. All of the rankings here are based both on what's happened so far, what we expect to happen in the future and will not mirror the NHL standings exactly, particularly given the amount of fluctuation we've seen lately.
Read on to see where every NHL team ranks this week.
Most news and statistics are courtesy of NHL.com and are current through the start of action on December 15.
30-26: Edmonton Oilers-New Jersey Devils
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30. Edmonton Oilers (Last week: 30): Edmonton has one win in their last 16 games. The Oilers have lost to good teams, bad teams, in blowouts, in close affairs, at home and on the road; it's an incredible run of futility for a club that was already an NHL laughingstock entering the season.
29. Carolina Hurricanes (Last week: 28): The Hurricanes have lost five consecutive games, most recently dropping a 5-1 decision to fellow Eastern Conference bottom-feeder Philadelphia. The goaltending hasn't been good, and the team's leading scorer is Justin Faulk with 17 points in 29 games.
28. Arizona Coyotes (Last week: 26): It's been a full month now since the Coyotes have won a game in regulation against any team other than the Edmonton Oilers. A shootout loss to Minnesota on Saturday capped off a winless week and dropped the team to 0-4-1 in its last five.
27. Buffalo Sabres (Last week: 29): The Sabres have won seven of their last 10 contests. All of the wins were by a single goal, Buffalo was outshot in six of the seven contests and, with the exception of an overtime win over Florida, all involved simply phenomenal goaltending. The team is living on borrowed time.
26. New Jersey Devils (Last week: 24): The Devils' long slide to the bottom continued this week, with the team dropping three of four games. This continues a run that has seen New Jersey win just three of its last 14 contests. At this point the most exciting thing about the team is Jaromir Jagr's assault on the record books; he passed Marcel Dionne for fifth in all-time scoring on Monday and needs just 26 points to eclipse fourth-ranked Ron Francis.
25-21: Ottawa Senators-Columbus Blue Jackets
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25. Ottawa Senators (Last week: 21): Ottawa fired head coach Paul MacLean on Monday, turning the roster over to assistant Dave Cameron. The Sens dropped their first game under the new head coach but then won in Boston and face a beatable Buffalo team on Monday.
24. Colorado Avalanche (Last week: 23): A three-game homestand might have been a chance for the Avs to right the ship somewhat, but that isn't how it played out; the club squeaked out a shootout win over Winnipeg for its only win in December but dropped the other two contests and now sit 1-3-2 on the month.
23. Philadelphia Flyers (Last week: 27): After losing seven of eight games, the Flyers have turned things around slightly, beating New Jersey and Carolina at home this week. 2012 first-rounder Scott Laughton scored his first career goal in the win over the Hurricanes and added an assist for good measure.
22. Dallas Stars (Last week: 22): A three-game homestand came to an end this week, with Dallas winning two and losing one. The bad news is that the club now heads out on the road; the good news is that it's on a Western Canada swing that will see it take on the laughable Oilers, faltering Flames and a Canucks team that has lost four straight.
21. Columbus Blue Jackets (Last week: 25): The Blue Jackets have put some distance between themselves and Connor McDavid by going six-for-six in the first two weeks of December. It's well worth noting that four of those six wins came after the end of regulation, but even so, it's a welcome turnaround for an injury-plagued team.
20-16: Florida Panthers-Boston Bruins
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20. Florida Panthers (Last week: 17): Florida slides three spots after dropping two of three games on the week; one of the losses came against Buffalo, but the Panthers also went a respectable 1-1 against Detroit and St. Louis.
19. New York Rangers (Last week: 19): A little weirdly, the Rangers are only steady after a solid week that saw the team collect a needed three consecutive wins. New York is now a very decent 7-3-0 in its last 10 contests, and with a win on Sunday it climbed into the final wild-card slot in the East. The club's plus-seven goal differential also suggests it's for real.
18. Calgary Flames (Last week: 11): Calgary got off to a brilliant start, but many people were waiting for the other shoe to drop, and with five consecutive losses, perhaps it has. With Sunday's loss in Chicago, the Flames slipped outside the playoffs in the West.
17. Washington Capitals (Last week: 20): Washington is now a top-three team in the Metropolitan Division, having gone 4-0-1 over its last five games. Defenceman John Carlson's torrid offensive season continued; he has points in four consecutive games and 22 in 29 contests this season.
16. Boston Bruins (Last week: 14): The Bruins got Zdeno Chara back this week and played him a ton in both of their games. Unfortunately for Boston, there was still some rust showing, and Chara's four minor penalties helped contribute to a pair of losses. The Bruins now have just two wins in their last nine games and one in their last six.
15-11: Winnipeg Jets-Montreal Canadiens
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15. Winnipeg Jets (Last week: 18): Winnipeg went a middling 1-1-1 on the week, so their climb up the rankings is a little surprising. They do keep collecting points, though; a regulation loss to Anaheim on Saturday was the first time in nine games the Jets didn't get at least one. The team is 5-1-3 over that span.
14. Vancouver Canucks (Last Week: 9): The Canucks were one of the NHL's hottest teams entering December, but the bottom has fallen out lately. A 5-1 loss to Alain Vigneault's Rangers on Saturday was the fourth consecutive setback for the team and, perhaps even more surprising, its fourth straight loss to an Eastern-based club.
13. Toronto Maple Leafs (Last week: 15): Toronto had some things go its way in its shootout win over Los Angeles on Sunday, but that was also the team's fifth straight victory and seventh in eight games. The Leafs sit fourth in the Atlantic Division at the moment, but that's a little misleading since they are only two points back of the division-leading Lightning.
12. Minnesota Wild (Last Week: 16): The Wild continued their pattern of alternating wins and losses, a run that now has reached 11 games. Last week saw the team win two of three games, with a shootout win over Arizona on Saturday ending the week. With a game in Chicago on Tuesday, it's a reasonable bet the current pattern could reach a full dozen games.
11. Montreal Canadiens (Last week: 12): Montreal own both of its games this week, beating Vancouver by a 3-1 margin and Los Angeles 6-2 in the first two games of a five-game homestand. Carey Price turned aside 59 of 62 shots in the wins; most teams win when their goalie provides a .952 save percentage.
10. Los Angeles Kings
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Last Week: 10
Recent Trend: The Kings had a rough week, winning just one of four games on an Eastern Conference road swing. Goalies were a big part of the issue; in the three losses, the goalies facing the Kings had 33, 44 and 34 saves.
Big Picture: Los Angeles hangs onto a spot in the top 10 because its long-term track record inspires confidence. The team does have a plus-nine goal differential (second in the Pacific) and should get back to stringing wins together here soon.
By the Numbers: If five-on-five goal differential matters, the Kings are in great shape. They score 1.24 goals for every goal they allow, a figure that ties them for fifth in the NHL. Jonathan Quick's .939 even-strength save percentage doesn't hurt in that department.
9. San Jose Sharks
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Last Week: 13
Recent Trend: The Sharks are back on track. San Jose won all three of its games this week, including contests against Nashville and Minnesota, and now has seven wins in its last eight matchups. Over that eight-game stretch, the Sharks have averaged 3.5 goals per game.
Big Picture: The Sharks remain a stubbornly effective team, even as the club's depth in five-on-five situations gets chewed away. San Jose is only breaking even at five-on-five but has a top-10 penalty kill and a top-five power play.
By the Numbers: San Jose's scoring lead is up for grabs; four different forwards (and yes, they are exactly who you think they are) have either 27 or 28 points. Less positively, 13 of the 14 remaining forwards to have played this season are below one point every two games.
8. New York Islanders
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Last Week: 3
Recent Trend: The Islanders have been playing Western powerhouses lately, and the results haven't been good. The team managed to eke out a 3-2 win against Chicago on Saturday but dropped its previous three games (two against St. Louis, one versus Minnesota). The team allowed five or more goals in each of those losses.
Big Picture: With a tough stretch of schedule now behind them, it's time for the Isles to get back to challenging Pittsburgh for the division title. New York plays its next seven against Eastern Conference teams before heading out on a road trip to Western Canada.
By the Numbers: Jaroslav Halak lost just once in nine games in November, posting a brilliant .950 save percentage en route to that record. He's already lost twice in five December games, with his .882 save percentage being a significant factor there.
7. Detroit Red Wings
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Last Week: 5
Recent Trend: After winning three in a row and six of seven, the Red Wings hit a rough patch in Week 10, dropping three straight. Two of those losses came in the shootout, so points were collected, but two of them were against Toronto, a team pushing Detroit for positioning in the Atlantic.
Big Picture: The Red Wings seem a lot like the Red Wings teams of old (as opposed to just an old Red wings team). The club sits one point out of first in the East, and if not for a 1-5 record in the shootout, it would be better still.
By the Numbers: Jimmy Howard generally isn't the problem in the shootout (though he had a bad week)—Detroit's shooters are. Aside from Pavel Datsyuk (36 goals on 84 attempts, 42.9 percent), no regular Wings shooter has converted on better than 25 percent of his chances over his career.
6. Tampa Bay Lightning
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Last Week: 2
Recent Trend: December hasn't been kind to the Lightning, despite a relatively soft schedule. Tampa Bay has just one win in its last four games and two in its last six.
Big Picture: The Lightning are still in first in the Atlantic, albeit only by their fingernails, as the team sits just two points up on fourth-place Toronto. The Bolts' goal differential indicates the team is for real, though; Tampa Bay is one of only three clubs in the league to be plus-20 or better.
By the Numbers: Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Lightning is that they have a great record despite average goaltending. Starter Ben Bishop has a decent but unspectacular .914 save percentage, while backup Evgeni Nabokov is mired below .900.
5. Nashville Predators
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Last Week: 6
Recent Trend: The Predators haven't gone on a tear like they did in November, but they are putting points in the bank. Last week, Nashville won two of three games, scoring eight goals against Colorado and Arizona before getting shut out by San Jose.
Big Picture: There isn't much margin for error for the Preds. The club's hot start means that it's only four points back of Chicago for first in the Central Division, but parity in the West means the club is also only four points ahead of a Calgary Flames team currently sitting outside the playoffs.
By the Numbers: Nashville has been extremely good five-on-five, but special teams are something else. The penalty kill ranks 19th in the NHL and is one of only four units in the league yet to tally a short-handed marker. The power play is clicking at an ugly 10.9 percent clip (only Buffalo is worse) and has allowed two shorties.
4. Pittsburgh Penguins
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Last Week: 7
Recent Trend: The Pens are alternating wins and losses in December, but they do keep picking up points. The team is 2-0-2 over its last four, and that kind of record doesn't hurt its position in the standings at all.
Big Picture: The Penguins currently sit first in the East, which is more or less how they are expected to perform in the regular season. The Islanders have given them a run for their money in the Metropolitan, but the rest of the division is as weak as ever, and home ice in the first round of the playoffs is all but assured.
By the Numbers: Pittsburgh's most surprising offensive contributor this year has to be Blake Comeau. At even strength, Comeau's 17 points put him back of only Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, and while a bunch of that is shooting percentage-fueled, it's worth remembering that Comeau was a pretty decent scorer for a few years in New York. With some injuries up front, he's even starting to get power-play time.
3. Anaheim Ducks
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Last Week: 4
Recent Trend: The Ducks are red hot, winning seven consecutive contests. One worrisome note: Discounting empty-netters, Saturday's win against Winnipeg was the first time in Anaheim's last 15 wins that the team's margin of victory was bigger than a single goal.
Big Picture: The Ducks have climbed to first in the NHL standings, but there are warning signs, including a modest plus-12 goal differential and a 15-0-5 run in one-goal games. Anaheim is certainly a good team, but the question is whether it's really an elite club in the same manner as Chicago.
By the Numbers: Newly signed Ilya Bryzgalov is working the rust off down on the farm; so far in the AHL, he is 1-1 with a .915 save percentage. He played games on back-to-back nights, which may help explain why he posted a .941 save percentage in game one and only a .880 number in the second contest.
2. St. Louis Blues
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Last Week: 8
Recent Trend: St. Louis has bounced around a little bit over the last few weeks, alternating good and bad stretches, but is on a bit of a roll right now. The Blues have won four straight, scoring three or more goals in every contest.
Big Picture: The Blues are in a tight three-way battle for first in the Central Division and presently sit one point back of Chicago (with a game in hand) and two points up on Nashville (with the Preds possessing a game in hand). Perhaps no race in the league is more important, as the two teams sitting outside of first when the music stops will likely need to play each other in a brutally tough first-round series.
By the Numbers: The offensive dynamic of Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk is interesting to see. At even strength, Pietrangelo has 14 points to Shattenkirk's 10, but on the power play, Shattenkirk outscores Pietrangelo 16-3. The situation was similar last year, with Pietrangleo doing heavy lifting at evens but Shattenkirk being lethal on the man advantage.
Chicago Blackhawks
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Last Week: 1
Recent Trend: Chicago has lost exactly one game in its last 10, a 3-2 setback at the hands of the New York Islanders. Even more impressively, four of their last five games were on the road, and the fifth saw them play a rested Calgary team after playing the night before; they won four of those five games.
Big Picture: Some may be inclined to quibble with the Blackhawks' placement here, given Anaheim's impressive run, but goal differential tells the story here. Anaheim has 21 wins off a plus-12 goal differential; Chicago has 21 wins off a plus-34 goal differential. Five of our six panelists placed them first.
By the Numbers: Chicago is often pegged as an offensive juggernaut, and it is indeed one of the league's highest-scoring teams (as of this writing, the Hawks are ranked sixth with 2.94 goals per game). But defensively, the Blackhawks are one of only two teams in the league allowing fewer than two goals per game.
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