NHL Power Rankings: B/R Experts' Week 17 Poll
After using the All-Star break to rest and recharge our batteries, the power rankings are back!
A lot has changed since we last spoke. Martin Brodeur retired. The Toronto Maple Leafs scored six goals (not in a game but in a week and a half). Zac Rinaldo was sent on a lengthy unpaid vacation.
How does all that affect our power rankings? Those three things probably don't matter all that much, but we have about 10 days' worth of games that have resulted in some shifting among the top teams in the league.
As expected, our expert panel—Jonathan Willis, Steve Macfarlane, Allan Mitchell, Lyle Richardson, Carol Schram and myself—has voted to determine the ranking of the league's 30 teams, and that ranking is based on what's happened so far and what we expect to happen in the future. It does not mirror the NHL standings exactly.
Read on to see where all 30 teams are ranked and which rises to the top this week.
News and statistics are courtesy of NHL.com, War-On-Ice.com and BehindTheNet.ca and are current through the start of action on December 29.
Our experts participate in weekly voting for B/R's NHL power rankings. Once a vote is cast for a specific team, it's assigned a value—30 points for the No. 1 team in the rankings, 29 points for the second spot and so on. The totals are then added up to create the power rankings.
30-26: Buffalo Sabres-Columbus Blue Jackets
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30. Buffalo Sabres (Last week: 30): The Sabres went 0-for-January, losing all 12 of their games and have dropped 14 in a row, all in regulation. Zemgus Girgensons was on the losing side of the All-Star Game too. The Sabres’ next four games are against Montreal, Dallas, St. Louis and the Islanders.
29. Arizona Coyotes (Last week: 29): Let’s say nice stuff about the Coyotes, who have won two of three. Their latest win came in Montreal on Sunday afternoon and featured goaltender Louis Domingue getting the win in his first NHL start. Making it even more special: Domingue is from Quebec and had family in attendance for his 18-save performance. Pretty neat.
28. Edmonton Oilers (Last week: 28): The Oilers have just three regulation wins in their past 23 games, but they have been showing signs of improvement. If that progression prevents them from a top-two pick, is it really worth it? Maybe that’s what they realized when they let a 2-0 lead slip away in the third period against Calgary on Saturday.
27. Toronto Maple Leafs (Last week: 24): The Leafs have lost nine straight and 12 of 13. The offense has evaporated, as the Leafs have a mere seven goals in their past nine games. Phil Kessel’s even-strength goal Thursday vs. Arizona was his first in 20 games.
26. Columbus Blue Jackets (Last week: 23): It’s been a lost season in Columbus, as injuries have devastated what could have been a promising season. With Sergei Bobrovsky out, the Jackets have dropped two of three since the All-Star break.
25-21: New Jersey Devils-Florida Panthers
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25. New Jersey Devils (Last week: 27): The Devils are 6-2-2 in their past 10 games. Cory Schneider has a .937 save percentage in 11 games since coach Peter DeBoer was fired and replaced with the coaching hydra of Adam Oates, Scott Stevens and Lou Lamoriello. That’s a strong example of too little, too late.
24. Carolina Hurricanes (Last week: 26): Carolina has lost two straight but holds a respectable 3-1-1 mark in its past five games. The Hurricanes are still within striking distance of 29th in the standings and the best possible chance at the No. 2 pick, but a 7-3-2 mark in January says they are trending upward.
23. Ottawa Senators (Last week: 22): The Senators continue to meander through the season. They defeated Toronto by a goal, lost by three to Dallas before manhandling Arizona in a five-goal win Saturday last week. Consistency should be the team’s goal over the rest of this season.
22. Philadelphia Flyers (Last week: 25): Four straight wins have the Flyers at .500 (22-22-7) for the first time since the 16-game mark. Michael Del Zotto has been on fire of late with three goals and seven points in his past six games.
21. Florida Panthers (Last week: 19): The Panthers had a chance to get within four points of a playoff spot Saturday but instead finished the night eight points behind the final wild-card spot. They have lost seven of eight, so Monday’s matchup with the Rangers, one of the teams they are pursuing, looms large.
20-16: Colorado Avalanche-Dallas Stars
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20. Colorado Avalanche (Last week: 21): The Avalanche continue to lurk near the final playoff spot in the West. They are 2-0-1 since the All-Star break with wins against Boston and Nashville. All games are big when chasing a playoff berth in the second half, but Tuesday’s game with Dallas is a significant one.
19. Minnesota Wild (Last Week: 20): Since acquiring Devan Dubnyk from the Coyotes, the Wild are 5-1-1 and have won three straight. Maybe no one in the organization would come out publicly and say it, but goaltending was killing the Wild. Dubnyk has solidified the position.
18. Vancouver Canucks (Last Week: 16): The Canucks have lost three of four and with their loss to the Wild on Sunday are suddenly feeling a lot of heat from down below. There are four teams outside of the playoff picture within five points of the Canucks.
17. Calgary Flames (Last week: 17): The Flames overcame a 2-0 third-period deficit to beat the Oilers on Saturday, their second win in three games since returning from the break. If the Flames are truly a playoff team, their next 10 games—look them up, they're not easy—should reveal the answer.
16. Dallas Stars (Last week: 18): Four wins in six games have the Stars in a dogfight for the final two playoff spots in the West. They still need to jump a few teams, and that can only happen if Kari Lehtonen gets it together. He has a save percentage below .900 in eight of his past 10 starts, although he’s been great in two of the past three.
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15-11: Los Angeles Kings-Boston Bruins
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15. Los Angeles Kings (Last week: 15): Two games out of the break, one an impressive comeback win against the Blackhawks, the other a disappointing road loss to the Bruins. The wins have to begin arriving more frequently for the Kings, who are playing better despite the losses.
14. Winnipeg Jets (Last week: 12): For the first time since losing four of their first five games of the season, the Jets have lost three consecutive games. They’ve done it in sieve-like fashion, allowing 15 goals in three games and 78 shots the past two games. Just when you think they’re in, they pull themselves back out.
13. Washington Capitals (Last week: 11): The tailspin continues for the Capitals, who were one of the league’s hottest teams in December. They’ve lost six of seven and allowed at least 30 shots in five of those games. Backup Justin Peters has been dreadful, allowing 27 goals in his eight games.
12. New York Rangers (Last week: 10): The Rangers lost their first two games after the break but found a way to win Saturday against Carolina. Since winning 13 of 14, though, they are 4-4-0 in their past eight games. Since posting an .891 save percentage in October, Henrik Lundqvist has delivered a .927/.916/.946 in November/December/January.
11. Boston Bruins (Last week: 14): It’s almost impossible to remember that brief time when people wondered if the Bruins could miss the playoffs. They are 8-1-1 in their past 10 games, and it’s not a coincidence they are 12-4-6 since Zdeno Chara returned from his knee injury in December.
10. San Jose Sharks
5 of 14
Record: 27-17-6 (60 points)
Last Week: 13
Recent Trend: The Sharks have three straight wins and a 5-1-1 record in their past seven games.
Big Picture: They have a long way to go to catch the division-leading Ducks (10 points), but it’s not an impossibility. One roadblock to that goal is the fact the Sharks and Ducks won’t play each other again the rest of the season.
By the Numbers: Patrick Marleau has had trouble finishing this season but has three goals in his past six games. He had just three goals total in November and December.
9. Pittsburgh Penguins
6 of 14
Record: 28-14-8 (64 points)
Last Week: 7
Recent Trend: The Penguins have one regulation win in their past eight games and have been shut out twice in their past three games. This is definitely a slump and not just a "slump for the Penguins" type of slump. They are playing poorly.
Big Picture: This stretch hasn't hurt the Penguins in terms of their chances of winning the East. They're right in the mix, but with the way the Metropolitan is going, holding off teams in the rearview mirror won't be as easy as it has been in the past.
By the Numbers: Sidney Crosby has six goals in his past 26 games. Whether it's his wrist that he chose to not have surgically repaired over the summer or something else, Crosby has not been himself. He has been very good, but Crosby is better than very good.
8. Montreal Canadiens
7 of 14
Record: 32-14-3 (67 points)
Last Week: 8
Recent Trend: The Habs had a five-game winning streak snapped in surprising fashion Sunday, as they let a 2-0 lead against lowly Arizona turn into a 3-2 home loss.
Big Picture: Beating the Coyotes would have pushed the Canadiens to first place in the East, and they have a game with the Sabres on Tuesday, so things are just fine in Montreal.
By the Numbers: Carey Price wasn't in net Sunday, which is probably why the Canadiens lost. Price has been the best goaltender in the league for most of this season and has been a force of late. He has two straight shutouts and posted a .951 save percentage in January. He's a legitimate Hart threat as a goaltender.
7. New York Islanders
8 of 14
Record: 32-16-1 (65 points)
Last Week: 2
Recent Trend: In their past three games, all without the injured Kyle Okposo, the Islanders are 1-2. They dispatched the Rangers, a team the Islanders own this season, before losing to the Bruins and Red Wings by a combined 9-3.
Big Picture: It's all about playoff position for the Islanders. They will be in a battle with the Penguins for the Metro title all season, although they are not that far from slipping behind the Capitals and/or Rangers. The top of the Metro is ultra-competitive.
By the Numbers: Backup goaltender Chad Johnson has made 12 starts this season. He has allowed at least three goals nine times and at least four goals seven times. The Islanders, however, are 6-6-0 in Johnson's starts.
6. Chicago Blackhawks
9 of 14
Record: 31-17-2 (64 points)
Last Week: 6
Recent Trend: Chicago had three tough assignments coming out of the break: Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Jose. The Blackhawks were only able to win the middle contest against the Ducks, although Antti Niemi's 31 saves were the big reason the Sharks won 2-0 on Saturday.
Big Picture: If the Blackhawks aren't careful, the Predators and Blues may start creating space as the top two teams in the Central. The Blackhawks have three tough road games this week in Minnesota, Winnipeg and St. Louis.
By the Numbers: With 56 points in 50 games, Patrick Kane is on pace for 91 points, a potential career high. Maybe it's because he's a wing, maybe it's because of the talent in Chicago, but there doesn't seem to be much support for Kane as a Hart Trophy candidate.
5. Anaheim Ducks
10 of 14
Record: 32-12-6 (70 points)
Last Week: 1
Recent Trend: After a 4-0 victory against the Canucks coming out of the break, the Ducks were handled with ease by the Sharks and Blackhawks in consecutive losses. On the bright side, those three-goal losses did nothing to damage the Ducks' ridiculous 22-0-6 record in one-goal games.
Big Picture: The Ducks have a 10-point edge in the Pacific and two-point lead for the conference's and league's best record. Perhaps these two losses are the start of a slump, but the Ducks have built such a huge lead that it would take a lot to drop them in the division.
By the Numbers: Rickard Rakell, a first-round pick in 2011, has four goals and nine points in his past eight games. The 21-year-old had one goal and seven points in his previous 53 career games.
4. Detroit Red Wings
11 of 14
Record: 29-12-9 (67 points)
Last Week: 9
Recent Trend: Seven wins in eight games and two wins in three games since the break have the Red Wings pushing for the top spot in the East.
Big Picture: The Red Wings are not only red-hot, but they are winning all these games without the services of Jimmy Howard. They are 8-2-0 in 10 games without their No. 1 goaltender, so if they can continue to play this way when he returns, the sky's the limit.
By the Numbers: Gustav Nyquist has 41 goals in his past 82 games. With 20 goals in 50 games this season, he'll need to get hot to become the Red Wings' first 40-goal scorer since Marian Hossa in 2008-09.
3. Nashville Predators
12 of 14
Record: 32-11-6 (70 points)
Last Week: 3
Recent Trend: The Predators had dropped four of five before soundly beating the Penguins 4-0 on Sunday. Since losing goaltender Pekka Rinne to injury, the Preds are 3-2-2. It's all about treading water until the MVP candidate gets healthy.
Big Picture: It's all about where the Predators sit in the standings once Rinne is back. Right now, they are atop the NHL standings (tied with Anaheim), so things are looking pretty good in Nashville.
By the Numbers: Mike Ribeiro leads the Predators with 43 points in 48 games. That's only 10 points fewer than the team's top-scoring forward, Patric Hornqvist, had in 76 games last season.
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
13 of 14
Record: 32-15-4 (68 points)
Last Week: 5
Recent Trend: With five victories in six games, the Lightning are doing everything they can do keep pace with the Red Wings and Canadiens. The top four in the Metro is rough, but the top three in the Atlantic is the most competitive in the league.
Big Picture: A three-game slide for any of the top three teams in the Atlantic could be devastating, although one thing to look at now with the Lightning is their 51 games played. Everyone in immediate pursuit has at least one game in hand.
By the Numbers: Cedric Paquette has five goals in his past three games, including a hat trick against the Red Wings on Thursday. He had five goals in his 40 previous career games.
1. St. Louis Blues
14 of 14
Record: 32-13-4 (68 points)
Last Week: 4
Recent Trend: St. Louis is the hottest team in the NHL. The Blues are 10-0-1 in their past 11 games, although only four of those wins have come against teams in playoff position right now.
Big Picture: They are a legitimate Stanley Cup contender and pushing for the top spot in the West. This is a team that has fizzled early in the playoffs in recent years, so skepticism is to be expected. But if the Blues can avoid the Blackhawks or Kings in the playoffs, hey, maybe this can be their year.
By the Numbers: Since returning from injury in January, Brian Elliott has a .941 save percentage in nine games.
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