NHL Power Rankings: B/R Experts' Week 18 Poll
With two-thirds of the NHL season behind us, the races the rest of the way have been thrown into sharp relief.
At the bottom of the standings, fans of the pretenders have (mostly) given up hope and are keeping an eye on 30th place and the possibility of drafting Connor McDavid. A little higher up, teams on either side of the playoff bubble are hoping to stay on the right side of the dividing line. Still further up the ladder, the NHL's best jockey for position and home ice.
Our expert panel—Dave Lozo, Steve Macfarlane, Allan Mitchell, Lyle Richardson, Carol Schram and myself—is back and has voted to determine the ranking of the league's 30 teams, with that ranking based on its assessment of each of these teams rather than a pure look at the standings.
Read on to see where all 30 teams are ranked and which rise to the top this week.
News and statistics are courtesy of NHL.com, Hockey-Reference, war-on-ice.com and behindthenet.ca and are current through the start of action on February 9.
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-Ottawa Senators
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30. Buffalo Sabres (Last week: 30): The Sabres won not one, but two games last week. That brings a welcome end to a stretch of 14 consecutive losses. Because that first win was in regulation time, it also brought an end to a 21-game streak without a regulation win. Needless to say, we'll need to see more than a couple of one-goal victories before bumping them up this list.
29. Edmonton Oilers (Last week: 28): What happens when one of the NHL's worst teams loses both Taylor Hall and Benoit Pouliot to injury? It ends up getting shut out by Pittsburgh and then embarrassed by the Maple Leafs.
28. Arizona Coyotes (Last week: 29): A modest two-game win streak came to a halt this week as the Yotes dropped games to Carolina and Detroit. Arizona has now won just three of its last 13, but on the bright side, starting goalie Mike Smith seems to be coming around.
27. Toronto Maple Leafs (Last week: 27): An incredible 11-game losing streak finally came to an end on Saturday, as the Leafs demolished a struggling Oilers team by a 5-1 score. James Reimer was excellent in the win and is pushing incumbent starter Jonathan Bernier for playing time.
26. Ottawa Senators (Last week: 23): It was an ugly week in Canada's capital. After getting beat on the road by the Devils, the Senators returned home to Ottawa and managed just two goals in consecutive losses to Washington and Columbus.
25-21: Columbus Blue Jackets-Colorado Avalanche
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25. Columbus Blue Jackets (Last week: 26): Columbus ended its week in fine fashion, winning back-to-back games over St. Louis and Ottawa. Curtis McElhinney did a fine job in place of the injured Sergei Bobrovsky, turning aside 66 of 68 shots over the two victories. On the other hand, they also started the week by losing 4-1 to Arizona, so all is not exactly well.
24. New Jersey Devils (Last week: 25): The Devils made the most of a five-game homestand which wrapped up this week, winning four games and falling in overtime to Pittsburgh. A road foray to end the week was less successful; after beating Toronto the night before, New Jersey's team lost to the Canadiens in Montreal.
23. Carolina Hurricanes (Last week: 24): The Hurricanes enjoyed a pretty solid week on the road against a trio of Western Conference teams. After taking Anaheim to overtime on Tuesday, the 'Canes beat both the Coyotes and the Sharks. Jordan Staal had 14 shots over the three games, along with a goal and an assist, and continues to be solid since returning from injury.
22. Philadelphia Flyers (Last week: 22): The Flyers are playing well of late; they are 5-0-1 over their last six games. They've had some surprisingly good performances from unheralded players, too. Chris VandeVelde has six goals in his last 11 games, while Michael Del Zotto has eight points in as many contests.
21. Colorado Avalanche (Last week: 20): The Avs started the week on a winning note, topping a desperate Dallas team in the shootout, but things went south in a hurry, as that win was followed by losses to Detroit, Minnesota and Winnipeg. Colorado was shut out in two of those contests.
20-16: Florida Panthers-Los Angeles Kings
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20. Florida Panthers (Last week: 21): The Panthers went .500 on the week, continuing a recent trend. That's not bad given the opponents they faced; Florida managed to beat the Islanders and Kings and brought Nashville to the shootout. Only a Monday game against the Rangers saw them go without a point. Unfortunately, they're still six points shy of the last playoff spot in the East.
19. Dallas Stars (Last week: 16): This was really not a good week for a team that needs to make up some ground. Dallas dropped home games to Colorado and Tampa Bay, and then—worse yet—fell to the awful Sabres in Buffalo. An Ales Hemsky overtime goal got them past the Rangers on Sunday for their only victory of the week.
18. Winnipeg Jets (Last week: 14): Even without all the Evander Kane drama, this has not been a great time for the Jets. They managed to salvage something with a win over Colorado on Sunday, which ended an ugly six-game losing streak that has dropped them behind their most important Central Division rivals.
17. Calgary Flames (Last week: 17): A six-game Calgary homestand came to an end on Friday, and the Flames have to be happy with what they accomplished despite falling to Pittsburgh. The Flames went 4-2-0 over that stretch, securing a five-point lead on the handful of Western teams hoping to unseat them and claim the final playoff spot in the conference.
16. Los Angeles Kings (Last week: 15): The Kings dropped their first two games of the week before finally prevailing over the Lightning on Saturday, and that's not nearly good enough with the club well back of the final playoff spot in the West. Jonathan Quick has been a big part of the problem; he's managed a .900 save percentage in just four of 13 games played since January 1.
15-11: Vancouver Canucks-Boston Bruins
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15. Vancouver Canucks (Last Week: 18): Vancouver had to be hoping for better things from a six-game homestand. Even with strong opponents visiting the coast, the team went a modest 3-3-0, including a 2-2-0 run this week. The Canucks aren't out of the woods yet in terms of making the playoffs, and the schedule over the rest of this month isn't exactly easy.
14. San Jose Sharks (Last Week: 10): The Sharks won a single game this week, and it was an important one against Vancouver, a team they are jockeying with for position. The problem is that they lost three other contests, all against teams below them in the standings (Calgary, Carolina and Edmonton).
13. Minnesota Wild (Last Week: 19): The Wild haven't allowed a goal this week, as Devan Dubnyk turned aside all 42 shots he faced. Minnesota has now won five in a row, and Dubnyk is 7-1-0 with a .948 save percentage since joining the team. Their playoff hopes are back from the dead.
12. New York Rangers (Last week: 12): The Rangers won half their games last week, but the big news was an injury to Henrik Lundqvist, which, according to the New York Post, will cost the goaltender four to six weeks of time. Cam Talbot is 1-1-1 in his three games as starter and has yet to top a .900 save percentage.
11. Boston Bruins (Last week: 11): The Bruins seem reasonably safe in the final wild-card spot in the East, with a six-point lead on Florida, but they didn't do anything to expand that lead this week, losing two of three games. They're riding Tuukka Rask for all he's worth; it's been a month since backup Niklas Svedberg made an appearance in net.
10. Washington Capitals
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Record: 28-16-10 (66 points)
Last Week: 13
Recent Trend: And just like that, the Capitals' slump is over. Despite games against both the Kings and Ducks, Washington went 3-1-0 in Week 18.
Big Picture: The Caps are only three points out of the top spot in the Metropolitan Division, and if a February slump is truly behind them, there is plenty of time to seize the division lead over the last third of the season.
By the Numbers: Philipp Grubauer made his first start of the season on Friday, turning aside 23 of 25 shots in a win over Anaheim. The recall was necessitated by the struggles of Justin Peters, who is 2-5-1 on the season with a .870 save percentage and hasn't allowed fewer than three goals in a game since October 18. The addition of Grubauer could stabilize the backup position, finally allowing the Capitals to give Braden Holtby a night off without virtually guaranteeing their opponent the win.
9. Montreal Canadiens
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Record: 34-15-3 (71 points)
Last Week: 8
Recent Trend: It's been a weird week in Montreal. The Canadiens dropped back-to-back games at home against Arizona and Buffalo, two of the three worst clubs in the NHL. But they followed those losses up with convincing wins on consecutive nights over New Jersey and Boston.
Big Picture: It's a tight three-team race for control of the Atlantic. Montreal is tied with Detroit, two points back of division-leading Tampa Bay but with three games in hand. If the Canadiens can win the division, there's a decent chance they'll face Boston in the first round, which would be great for Montreal and hockey fans everywhere.
By the Numbers: David Desharnais had himself quite the week, playing well even when the rest of his team wasn't especially impressive. In four games, he scored a goal, added six assists and managed a ridiculous plus-eight rating.
8. New York Islanders
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Record: 34-18-1 (69 points)
Last Week: 7
Recent Trend: It was a pretty middling week for the Isles. The team managed two wins, one of them coming in the shootout and one of them against Buffalo, and lost its other two games.
Big Picture: There's a four-point gap between first and fourth in the Met, and as of this writing, the Isles are leading that incredibly competitive race. There's absolutely no margin for error, though, and they can't afford too many average weeks if they want to enter the postseason with home ice.
By the Numbers: Frans Nielsen hit a career milestone this week against the Buffalo Sabres, playing his 500th career regular-season game (and picking up an assist in the process). Nielsen, a superb two-way threat, has long been one of the best bargains in the NHL. After years of making (relatively speaking) peanuts, he signed a big multi-year deal with a $2.75 million cap hit, which is still a great price and has one year left to run.
7. Pittsburgh Penguins
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Record: 30-15-8 (68 points)
Last Week: 9
Recent Trend: A three-game road swing through Western Canada started really well, with the Penguins shutting out both Edmonton and Calgary. It didn't end so well, though. Forced to play Vancouver the night after beating the Flames, a tired Pittsburgh team was shut out itself, falling 5-0 to the Canucks.
Big Picture: The Penguins are in a four-way dogfight for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division. What the East lacks in suspense in terms of playoff races it more than makes up for in jockeying for the division crowns. Pittsburgh could start the playoffs in the top spot in the Met or end up in a wild-card slot.
By the Numbers: The new year has been awfully kind to Kris Letang. He has 18 points in 15 contests since the calendar turned over to 2015, giving him 41 points on the season and putting him only two back of Mark Giordano for the scoring lead among NHL defencemen.
6. Anaheim Ducks
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Record: 34-13-7 (75 points)
Last Week: 5
Recent Trend: For the most part, the Ducks keep picking up points, squeaking out an overtime win over Carolina and taking Washington to the shootout before losing this week. A convincing win over Nashville and a tough loss to Tampa Bay round out the week.
Big Picture: The Ducks have a 12-point lead on San Jose for the top spot in the Pacific, so the only real question now is whether they can win a) the conference and b) the Presidents' Trophy. While most teams are in fierce dogfights for positioning, Anaheim is weirdly above the fray.
By the Numbers: The Ducks are a strange team. They score 1.02 goals for every one they allow at five-on-five, which puts them 16th in the league. Their power play succeeds 18.2 percent of the time (16th in the NHL) and their penalty kill succeeds 82.1 percent of the time (14th in the NHL). In short, they're average five-on-five and average on special teams, but are somehow in contention for first overall in the NHL. It's odd.
5. Tampa Bay Lightning
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Record: 34-16-5 (73 points)
Last Week: 2
Recent Trend: The Lightning had a decent test against the West this week, playing two at home and two on the road against a quartet of dangerous teams. Ultimately, they won two and lost two, but as they play eight more games against the West this month the experiment is far from over.
Big Picture: Tampa Bay's odds of hanging on to the Atlantic don't look great at the moment. It's true that the team currently has a two-point edge on both Montreal and Detroit, but having played three more games than either rival, that lead doesn't seem likely to stand.
By the Numbers: Brian Boyle had a two-goal night against Anaheim on Sunday, bumping his total on the season to 12. That's the second-best total he's ever managed, but it's still nine shy of his career-high of 21 set in 2010-11 with the Rangers. He has an outside shot of reaching that total; that is, if his 14.3 shooting percentage holds up.
4. St. Louis Blues
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Record: 34-15-4 (72 points)
Last Week: 1
Recent Trend: The Blues went .500 on the week, but didn't look impressive in doing so. After squeaking out an overtime win over Tampa Bay and recording an obligatory win over the Sabres, St. Louis was blown out 7-1 by the Blue Jackets and then fell 4-2 to Chicago.
Big Picture: St. Louis has the second-best goal differential in hockey, a sparkling 20-5-2 home record and currently sits within striking distance of first place in the NHL. The team's primary focus the rest of the way is likely to be on the Presidents' Trophy, as it shouldn't have to worry about the playoff bubble.
By the Numbers: Marcel Goc has just one assist in seven games since coming over in trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins, but interestingly, he was one of just two players (Ryan Reaves was the other) to finish with an even plus/minus against Columbus. At some point, Goc should score another goal; he's never been a high-end shooter, but his current 2-for-53 drought is unsustainably low even by his standards.
3. Detroit Red Wings
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Record: 31-12-9 (71 points)
Last Week: 4
Recent Trend: The Red Wings had a perfect week, manhandling the Avs and the Coyotes, and that continues a nice run of success for the club. Detroit has won nine of its last 10 games.
Big Picture: Detroit's winning ways have propelled it to the best record in the Eastern Conference in terms of points percentage, despite a terrible 2-7 record in the shootout and a long-term injury to its starting goaltender, Jimmy Howard. Improbably, the Wings are once again a contender.
By the Numbers: Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk have been incredibly important to the Wings, combining for 20 points over this excellent 10-game run, but it's not like they're the only contributors. Tomas Tatar (seven goals, 12 points) leads the team in scoring over this stretch, and Gustav Nyquist (five goals, 10 points) has also been a point-per-game player.
2. Chicago Blackhawks
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Record: 33-18-2 (68 points)
Last Week: 6
Recent Trend: The Blackhawks brought a long seven-game road trip to an end this week, falling in Minnesota but picking up wins against the Jets and Blues. Overall, the team managed a modest 4-3-0 record, but now it has eight straight contests at home, where it typically wins two for every one it loses.
Big Picture: A significant gap has opened up in the Central Division between third-place Chicago and fourth-place Winnipeg, meaning that the 'Hawks aren't likely to fall any lower than they are right now. The principal task over the final third of the season will be to overtake at least one, if not both, of Nashville and St. Louis, thereby ensuring better seeding for the playoffs.
By the Numbers: Patrick Kane's importance isn't much clearer than it has been of late. Over the last 10 games, Kane's 12 points are twice as many as any other skater on the team not named Patrick Sharp (1-9-10 over that span). At a point in the year where the team's offence has been sputtering, he's helped carry it through. He's now tied with Tyler Seguin for the NHL scoring lead.
1. Nashville Predators
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Record: 35-12-6 (76 points)
Last Week: 3
Recent Trend: The Predators have already played five games in February and won four. The lone exception was a Thursday loss to Anaheim.
Big Picture: Nashville is, at least for the moment, the best team in the NHL with 76 points. With a .717 points percentage, they retain the best record overall when games played are taken into account.
By the Numbers: Mike Ribeiro scored his 700th career point with a game-winning goal against the Rangers on Saturday and then added his 701st on Sunday just for good measure. He's within two points of his total for all of last season already and is clearly fitting in with the Predators.
