NHL Power Rankings: Where Every Team Stands After the 2023 Trade Deadline

Welcome, NHL fans, to the home stretch.

Now that the annual trade deadline and its transactional frenzy have passed, teams of all competitive stripes—contenders, pretenders and somewhere in between—are hunkering down for the final 20 or so games before the next frenzy, the playoffs, arrive.

The Boston Bruins added new pieces to an already successful squad and have continued on their merry winning ways, opening an 11-point lead in the overall standings and a 17-point bulge on second-place Toronto in the Atlantic Division.

Not surprisingly, given their remarkable 49-8-5 record, the Bruins swept the first-place votes and find themselves atop B/R's Power Rankings for the 17th consecutive week.

They're followed at No. 2 by the Carolina Hurricanes, who've been nearly as consistent this season while posting a .742 points percentage. The New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs maintained their positions at Nos. 3 and 4, as well, but are joined this week by the Vegas Golden Knights, who jumped two spots to displace the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The B/R voting panel awarded 32 points for first place and one point for 32nd to come up with the weekly list. Teams' last rankings and how they moved are shown alongside each updated placement. Scroll through to see where your favorites landed, and drop a thought or two of your own in the comments.

Nos. 32-26: Blue Jackets, Sharks, Blackhawks, Ducks, Canadiens, Coyotes, Blues

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CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 06: Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock (32) in action in front of the net during a game between the Ottawa Senators and the Chicago Blackhawks on March 6, 2023 at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

32. Columbus Blue Jackets (Last Week: 32/Move: 0)

The third of three straight losses for the Blue Jackets was particularly disheartening, coming when Pittsburgh scored five straight goals—including an OT game-winner—to erase a 4-0 Columbus edge.

31. San Jose Sharks (Last Week: 29/Move: -2)

The Sharks are 1-5-1 in their last seven games and followed up the lone victory—a 3-2 OT win at Winnipeg—with an ugly 6-0 loss at Colorado in which goalie Kaapo Kahkonen was pulled in the second.

30. Chicago Blackhawks (Last Week: 30/Move: 0)

Thirty-five-year-old journeyman goalie Alex Stalock made 35 saves to defeat Ottawa 5-0 and register both his second shutout of the season and 11th of his career in 138 NHL starts.

29. Anaheim Ducks (Last Week: 31/Move: +2)

Anaheim's punch-less power play was 0-for-3, and the Ducks saw their season-long five-game point streak (4-0-1) end with a 5-2 loss at Seattle. "I thought we had more A chances than them, we just didn't bury them," coach Dallas Eakins said.

28. Montréal Canadiens (Last Week: 25/Move: -3)

The Canadiens lost the final three games of a four-game road trip then returned home and lost a shootout decision to Carolina. "After coming off almost two weeks on the road," goalie Jake Allen said, "to come back from a West Coast trip, the first game's always really difficult."

27. Arizona Coyotes (Last Week: 28/Move: +1)

A 6-2 defeat of St. Louis on Tuesday was the 15th win for the Coyotes in 29 games at Mullett Arena. The last time they won 15 times in their first 29 home games was in 2013-14 at Gila River Arena.

26. St. Louis Blues (Last Week: 24/Move: -2)

Goalie Jordan Binnington lost his seventh straight decision, and it was an eighth loss in nine games for the Blues on Tuesday against Arizona. St. Louis was 0-for-6 on the power play and is just 2-for-34 in the nine-game skid.

Nos. 25-21: Flyers, Canucks, Red Wings, Sabres, Capitals

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VANCOUVER, CANADA - MARCH 6: Elias Pettersson #40 of the Vancouver Canucks is congratulated at the players bench after scoring a goal during the first period of their NHL game against the Nashville Predators at Rogers Arena on March 6, 2023 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Getty Images)

25. Philadelphia Flyers (Last Week: 26/Move: +1)

Six penalties led to three power-play goals in the Flyers' 5-2 loss at Tampa, dropping them to 1-4-1 in their last six. "I thought our five-on-five play for a lot of the night was good," coach John Tortorella said. "You can't take six penalties."

24. Vancouver Canucks (Last Week: 27/Move: +3)

Swedish-born forward Elias Pettersson reached 30 goals for the second time in five NHL seasons. Pettersson's 300th NHL point made him the second-fastest Canuck to reach the mark (306 games).

23. Detroit Red Wings (Last Week: 22/Move: -1)

The skidding Red Wings entered Wednesday's game against Chicago on a six-game losing streak in which they'd been outscored by a 27-9 clip and fallen six points off the Eastern playoff road map.

22. Buffalo Sabres (Last Week 17/Move: -5)

The Sabres' 1-4 funk has come at a particularly bad time, dropping them five points off the Eastern playoff pace and into danger of missing the postseason for the 12th straight season, an NHL record.

21. Washington Capitals (Last Week: 23/Move: +2)

The Capitals won twice out West, but a loss at Los Angeles kept them off the playoff pace. "If you start looking at the big picture and trying to do the math and everything like that, obviously it can get a little daunting," goalie Darcy Kuemper said.

Nos. 20-16: Flames, Senators, Predators, Panthers, Wild

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CALGARY, AB - MARCH 04: Minnesota Wild Goalie Filip Gustavsson (32) watches the play from his net during the first period of an NHL game between the Calgary Flames and the Minnesota Wild on March 4, 2023, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

20. Calgary Flames (Last Week: 18/Move: -2)

It took 43 starts for Jacob Markström to get his first shutout of 2022-23, which ended in a 1-0 shootout win at Minnesota. He's the third goalie in franchise history to have multiple 40-save shutouts.

19. Ottawa Senators (Last Week: 20/Move: +1)

A 5-0 loss to the lowly Blackhawks would be far less palatable had it not come at the end of a five-game win streak for the Senators, who are five points behind the current Eastern playoff cutline.

18. Nashville Predators (Last Week: 21/Move: +3)

Having big-ticket forward Filip Forsberg back for the playoff chase would be helpful for the Predators, who are 5-1-1 in their last seven. Forsberg hasn't played since February 11 with an upper-body injury.

17. Florida Panthers (Last Week: 19/Move: +2)

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky showed playoff form with 31 saves, including 10 in the third period, in a Tuesday defeat of Vegas that was Florida's second straight win and moved the Panthers within three points of the final Eastern wild-card spot.

16. Minnesota Wild (Last Week: 10/Move: -6)

Filip Gustavsson stopped 26 shots for his second straight shutout against Calgary and can join Devan Dubnyk as the only goalie in Wild history to string three straight. Dubnyk did it in 2016 and 2017.

Nos. 15-11: Penguins, Islanders, Jets, Oilers, Avalanche

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BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 6: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers c celebrates his first period goal against the Buffalo Sabres during an NHL game on March 6, 2023 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)

15. Pittsburgh Penguins (Last Week: 15/Move: 0)

The Penguins have won five of six to seize possession of the second Eastern wild-card position, but a 5-4 defeat of Columbus on Tuesday saw goalie Tristan Jarry pulled after allowing four goals on 12 shots.

14. New York Islanders (Last Week: 16/Move: +2)

The Islanders defeated Buffalo on Tuesday to move to 5-1-1 in their last seven and solidify their hold on the East's top wild-card spot. New York has outscored foes 15-2 in the third period of its last nine games.

13. Winnipeg Jets (Last Week: 14/Move: +1)

Nino Niederreiter scored his 200th NHL goal in an OT loss to San Jose, making him the first Swiss-born player to reach the number. The Jets are hitting the road for games at Florida, Tampa Bay and Carolina.

12. Edmonton Oilers (Last Week: 12/Move: 0)

Two goals in a Monday win at Buffalo got Connor McDavid to 124 points on the season. He's four points off Nikita Kucherov's 128-point output in 2018-19, the league's highest total since 2000-01.

11. Colorado Avalanche (Last Week: 9/Move: -2)

The defending champs ended a three-game skid in style, defeating San Jose 6-0 to assume third place in the Central Division—a point up on fourth-place Winnipeg and five behind second-place Minnesota.

Nos. 10-6: Rangers, Kraken, Stars, Lightning, Kings

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LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 06: Los Angeles Kings Defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov (84) skates towards the play during an NHL game between the Washington Capitals and the Los Angeles Kings on March 6th, 2023, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Rob Curtis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

10. New York Rangers (Last Week: 6/Move: -4)

A five-day break could be well-timed for the dinged-up Rangers, who've gone 2-5-1 in their last eight games. Vezina winner Igor Shesterkin has allowed four goals or more in five of his last seven starts.

9. Seattle Kraken (Last Week: 13/Move: +4)

Those waiting for the Kraken to show signs of being a second-year entity are still waiting now that the team finished a road trip with four straight wins and opened a homestand with a defeat of Anaheim.

8. Dallas Stars (Last Week: 11/Move: +3)

The Stars cost themselves a point by allowing a late regulation goal in a 5-4 loss to Calgary, snapping a five-game point streak. Dallas is tied atop the Central and is one point back of the West's No. 1 spot.

7. Tampa Bay Lightning (Last Week: 5/Move: -2)

It was a rare 0-4-1 skid for the three-time defending East champs, but they got back to winning with a 5-2 defeat of Philadelphia in which Andrei Vasilevskiy made 33 saves. The Lightning are five back of second-place Toronto in the Atlantic.

6. Los Angeles Kings (Last Week: 8/Move: +2)

The red-hot Kings have won four straight and gone 9-2-1 since the All-Star break while moving into a tie with Vegas atop the Pacific. Vladislav Gavrikov scored his first goal for L.A. in a defeat of Washington.

Nos. 5-1: Golden Knights, Maple Leafs, Devils, Hurricanes, Bruins

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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MARCH 07: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs passes the puck as John Marino #6 of the New Jersey Devils defends during the first period at Prudential Center on March 07, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

5. Vegas Golden Knights (Last Week: 7/Move: +2)

A 39-save effort from goalie Adin Hill wasn't enough to save a three-game win streak for the Golden Knights, who fell 2-1 to Florida and into a first-place tie with Los Angeles in the Pacific Division.

4. Toronto Maple Leafs (Last Week: 4/Move: 0)

Finishing a road trip at 3-2 was good, but finishing it with two late goals to defeat high-flying New Jersey was even better for the Maple Leafs. "Our guys stuck with it, made some key plays, clutch plays at key times," coach Sheldon Keefe said.

3. New Jersey Devils (Last Week: 3/Move: 0)

Giving up two goals in the final five minutes yielded a 4-3 loss to Toronto and didn't please coach Lindy Ruff. "With five minutes left, the other team should have to earn the opportunity," he said. "They didn't earn it. We gave it to them."

2. Carolina Hurricanes (Last Week: 2/Move: 0)

The Hurricanes defeated Montréal to keep a hold on first place in the Metropolitan and have won 15 of 18, but goalie Antti Raanta left after a period with an injury after facing just 10 shots.

1. Boston Bruins (Last Week: 1/Move: 0)

Ho hum. The Bruins have won 10 in a row for their longest skein since winning 12 straight in 2014. Their 49-8-5 record has them on pace to set regular-season records for both wins (65) and points (137).