NHL Power Rankings: B/R Experts' Week 22 Poll
After a one-week sabbatical, the power rankings are back and more powerful than ever.
And not a moment too soon, as we have some changes at the top this week.
What are those changes? That's a fair question, reader, but we can't tell you the answer to that here, otherwise the incentive to click through this slideshow could disappear, and we can't have that. But the Nashville Predators' six-game regulation losing streak should give you an idea about what's happening at the top of the rankings.
As always, Jonathan Willis, Allan Mitchell, Lyle Richardson, Carol Schram and myself are here to vote and determine the rankings of the league's 30 teams, with the rankings based on an 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.
30-26: Buffalo Sabres-Columbus Blue Jackets
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30. Buffalo Sabres (Last week: 30): Since trading above-average goaltender Michal Neuvirth, the Sabres are 0-3 and have allowed 12 goals. Years from now, Anders Lindback and Matt Hackett could go down as forgotten pieces in the Great Sabres Tank of 2014-15.
29. Arizona Coyotes (Last week: 29): With zero regulation/overtime wins in their past 15 games, the Coyotes are keeping the Sabres honest. The Coyotes haven’t won at home in regulation since Jan. 8, a span of 11 games.
28. Edmonton Oilers (Last week: 27): The Oilers proved Sunday that not even a 3-0 lead is safe with them. The Hurricanes scored the next six goals and won 7-4, sending Edmonton to its fourth straight loss.
27. Toronto Maple Leafs (Last week: 28): The Leafs are 1-4 in their past five games, the one win coming against the Panthers when they were considering putting goaltending coach Robb Tallas in net for the third period. Instead, the Leafs got the win against a clearly injured Al Montoya.
26. Columbus Blue Jackets (Last week: 25): The Blue Jackets clawed their way to 26-27-3 and had whimsical wild-card hopes, but they are 1-7-1 since. They also added David Clarkson, which feels like one of those late-night, drunken online purchases you regret when it arrives three days later.
25-21: New Jersey Devils-Colorado Avalanche
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25. New Jersey Devils (Last week: 23): By beating the Flyers on Sunday, the Devils reached the .500 mark for the first time since Nov. 22 when they were 9-9-3. Since firing coach Peter DeBoer, the Devils are 16-11-3, which translates into a 96-point pace over 82 games.
24. Carolina Hurricanes (Last week: 26): In the 2015 calendar year, the Hurricanes are 15-9-3, which translates to a 100-point pace over 82 games. That’s discouraging for a team that needs all the lottery balls it can get, but it also shows they will be a much better team next season, if healthy.
23. Philadelphia Flyers (Last week: 21): Any hope of reaching the playoffs went off the rails this weekend when they squandered a late lead in Boston before losing in overtime and falling in New Jersey on Sunday. The Flyers are seven points behind the eighth-place Bruins, who have two games in hand.
22. Dallas Stars (Last week: 19): Tyler Seguin returned Saturday, but it’s clearly too late. The Stars went 3-5-2 with Seguin out due to a knee injury and lost in regulation in his first game back.
21. Colorado Avalanche (Last week: 22): The Avs have four wins in five games, six wins in eight games and eight wins in 11 games. Even with that extended quality play, they are still a distant seven points out of a wild-card spot.
20-16: San Jose Sharks-Vancouver Canucks
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20. San Jose Sharks (Last Week: 15): The Sharks may have signed their death warrant Saturday. After winning two straight, the Sharks led the Canucks 2-0 before falling 3-2 to a team they are chasing for the playoffs. John Scott has a 42.7 percent Fenwick in 28 games, according to Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.
19. Florida Panthers (Last week: 20): The Panthers are 3-1-1 in their past five games, scrounging points as best they can. Did you know the only teams in the East with fewer regulation/OT wins than the Panthers are the Sabres and Hurricanes? God bless the shootout and loser point.
18. Ottawa Senators (Last week: 24): The Senators are the hottest team in the league. They are 8-0-1 in their past nine games and are probably the best chance of someone unseating Boston for the final wild-card spot in the East. They host Boston on Tuesday.
17. Winnipeg Jets (Last week: 17): The Jets have alternated wins and losses over their past six games, and suddenly their playoff position looks much more precarious. The Kings are right behind them, and the Jets play eight of their next 11 games against teams in playoff spots right now.
16. Vancouver Canucks (Last Week: 14): Good luck figuring out this team. In their past five games, they lost 6-3 (!) to Buffalo, beat the Blues in a shootout after squandering a three-goal, third-period lead, got smoked by the Sharks, lost to Arizona in a shootout and then rallied to beat San Jose after falling behind 2-0.
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15-11: Calgary Flames-Detroit Red Wings
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15. Calgary Flames (Last week: 18): The Flames finished a seven-game road trip (4-2-1) with one of the more uplifting losses in recent memory. They rallied from down 4-0 in the third period and lost 5-4 in a shootout to get a much-needed point.
14. Los Angeles Kings (Last Week: 11): A 10-3-1 stretch still isn’t enough to get the Kings into the playoff picture, but they are making their usual late-season push. Trevor Lewis has seven of his 19 points this season in his past 11 games.
13. Boston Bruins (Last week: 16): The written-off, left-for-dead Bruins are 4-0-1 in their past five games. A win against the Senators on Tuesday will likely leave them fighting with just Florida for the final wild-card spot.
12. Washington Capitals (Last Week: 13): A showdown with the Rangers at home Wednesday awaits. The Caps have won three of four, and if they want to move up the standings—and why wouldn’t they, what a dumb sentence—and out of a wild-card spot, they’ll need to beat the Rangers.
11. Detroit Red Wings (Last Week: 5): The Red Wings have been slumping of late, having lost two straight. Since Feb. 7, they are 5-5-2. They have power goals in five straight games. They have also allowed a power-play goal in five straight games.
10. Minnesota Wild
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Record: 36-23-7, 79 points
Last Week: 12
Recent Trend: The Minnesota Wild had their five-game winning streak snapped by Colorado. How hot have they been? Piping hot. Like, as hot as a hot pipe. They are 16-3-1 in their past 20 games.
Big Picture: A wild-card spot seems like the probable outcome for the Wild, but they could make a run at a top-three spot in the Central.
By the Numbers: If the Wild are to reach the playoffs and make a run, their power play needs to improve. They have one power-play goal in 24 chances over their past 12 games.
9. Nashville Predators
6 of 14
Record: 41-19-7, 89 points
Last Week: 1
Recent Trend: In their past 10 games, the Nashville Predators are 2-7-1. They have allowed the game's first goal in 11 straight. They are 3-7-1 in those 11 games, which all occurred after acquiring Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli from Toronto.
Big Picture: This tailspin suddenly has the Predators facing the possibility of finishing second or third in the Central, which means a likely matchup with the Blues or Blackhawks instead of a wild-card team.
By the Numbers: One of the benefits of getting Franson was to help on the power play, but it hasn't worked out that way. The Predators 2-of-27 on the power play in nine games with Franson.
8. New York Rangers
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Record: 40-17-7, 87 points
Last Week: 7
Recent Trend: The New York Rangers have points in 13 of 14 games and 14 of 16 overall since Henrik Lundqvist left the lineup.
Big Picture: The Rangers are one point back of the New York Islanders for first in the Metro and three behind the Canadiens. The Rangers have three games in hand on the Islanders and two on the Montreal Canadiens.
By the Numbers: In their past 15 games, the Rangers have had fewer than 30 shots on goal once. They are averaging 35.9 shots per game during that stretch.
7. Montreal Canadiens
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Record: 42-18-6, 90 points
Last Week: 8
Recent Trend: A four-game Western swing revealed some flaws in the Habs, as they went 1-2-1 with their one win coming against Arizona. They allowed 99 shots and 10 goals in three games against Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose.
Big Picture: Luckily for the Montreal Canadiens, they don't play in the West. They sit atop the East with 90 points and have three of their next four games against Tampa Bay (twice) and the Islanders.
By the Numbers: Carey Price has a .936 save percentage. Only Dominik Hasek (.937) and Tim Thomas (.938) have had better single-season save percentages while playing at least 55 games.
6. Chicago Blackhawks
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Record: 35-20-5, 75 points
Last Week: 9
Recent Trend: The Blackhawks are 3-1-1 in their past five games, all without Patrick Kane.
Big Picture: With the Predators fading, the door is open a crack for Chicago to win the Central. At the same time, an extended stretch of losses could leave the Blackhawks in a wild-card spot.
By the Numbers: Corey Crawford has been sublime in his past four games, stopping 128 of 132 shots (.970).
5. Pittsburgh Penguins
10 of 14
Record: 34-17-9, 77 points
Last Week: 10
Recent Trend: The Pittsburgh Penguins have won six of seven with impressive victories against St. Louis, Los Angeles, Anaheim and Washington.
Big Picture: This hot streak has the Penguins pushing for first place in the Metro. If they continue to play at this level, home-ice throughout the playoffs isn't out of the question.
By the Numbers: Marc-Andre Fleury has nine shutouts in 51 starts; he had nine shutouts in his previous 159 starts.
4. St. Louis Blues
11 of 14
Record: 41-19-5, 87 points
Last Week: 2
Recent Trend: They are just 4-4-1 in their past nine games but are 3-1-1 in their past five contests.
Big Picture: Playing .500 hockey has been good enough to close the gap on the division-leading Predators. Just like the Predators and Blackhawks, the St. Louis Blues are fighting to avoid that 2-3 matchup in the Central by winning the division.
By the Numbers: Kevin Shattenkirk hasn't played since Feb. 1 due to injury. The Blues have done just fine, going 9-6-1 without their top offensive defenseman. It's something to keep in mind about the current Blues and how much better they could be once Shattenkirk—and even Zbynek Michalek—is healthy.
3. New York Islanders
12 of 14
Record: 42-21-4, 88 points
Last Week: 3
Recent Trend: Things aren't going great, but the Islanders are still collecting points. They are 3-2-3 in their past eight games, so they've either lost five of eight or earned points in six of eight, depending on your disposition.
Big Picture: Holding off the Rangers and/or Penguins is looking like it will be difficult. Both teams have games in hand and are close enough to the Islanders that those games in hand are potentially the difference between first and third place.
By the Numbers: In their past 14 games, the Islanders have allowed an average of 32 shots per game. Before that, they were allowing less than 28 shots per game. Only five teams are allowing more than 32 shots per game on the season.
2. Anaheim Ducks
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Record: 42-18-7, 91 points
Last Week: 6
Recent Trend: The Anaheim Ducks are 7-2-0 in their past nine games and had a three-game winning streak snapped by Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Big Picture: It's just a matter of time before they clinch the Pacific, and with Nashville fading, we could be looking at our regular-season West champs.
By the Numbers: There's a chance John Gibson is the Ducks' No. 1 goaltender when the playoffs begin. He's 9-5-0 with a .924 save percentage, while Frederik Andersen is at .915 and allowed four goals on 20 shots against the Penguins.
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
14 of 14
Record: 41-20-6, 88 points
Last Week: 4
Recent Trend: The Tampa Bay Lightning have won three straight and six of their past eight.
Big Picture: The Red Wings have games in hand, but it appears as though the Lightning and Canadiens will battle it out for the first in the Atlantic and perhaps the East.
By the Numbers: Tampa's power play has moved to 13th in the league at 18.4 percent, thanks to a recent for-26 surge on the man advantage.
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 23.
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.
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