The NHL's Team of the Week for March 16

We're getting down to crunch time—there are less than four weeks left of the 2014-15 NHL regular season.

As the schedule reaches the 70-game mark, the stakes are getting high throughout the standings.

The top teams in each conference are jockeying for playoff positions and the Presidents' Trophy, with just two points separating first from fifth overall.

The lowest-ranked teams are playing for next year while also hoping to position themselves well for June's draft lottery and the chance to acquire prized prospects Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel.

In between, we've got the bubble teams, whose playoffs are basically already underway. For them, every point could be the difference between making or missing the dance when April rolls around.

With an emphasis on players from teams that are holding down or contending for playoff spots, here's your look at the standout individual performances at each position around the National Hockey League for the week of March 9-15.

Left Wing: Johnny Gaudreau

Gerry Thomas/Getty Images

Last Week's Stats

3 GP, 3-2-5

Why He Impressed

Coming on like gangbusters over the last two weeks, Johnny Gaudreau's electric scoring touch is keeping the Calgary Flames' playoff hopes alive—and fueling his chances to win the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.

The lunch-bucket Flames enjoyed six-goal outbursts against both the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs before losing a one-goal game to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

For all the talk of their star-free approach to the game this season, Calgary now ranks sixth in NHL offense with 2.91 goals per game. Gaudreau has been a huge part of the Flames' scoring machine—second on the team with 53 points and now just one point back of the Nashville Predators' Filip Forsberg in the rookie scoring race.

Listed at just 5'9" and 150 pounds, it seems that Johnny Hockey isn't too small to play in the NHL after all. He's turning out to be a larcenous fourth-round pick by the Flames.

Honorable Mentions

• Scott Hartnell, Columbus Blue Jackets (4 GP, 5-0-5, one game-winning goal)
• Thomas Vanek, Minnesota Wild (3 GP, 3-1-4)

Center: Henrik Zetterberg

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Last Week's Stats

4 GP, 1-5-6

Why He Impressed

At the age of 34, Henrik Zetterberg is still the heart-and-soul of the Detroit Red Wings. 

Injuries limited the captain's contributions last season, but he has bounced back in 2014-15, missing only four regular-season games due to a concussion.

Since his return to the lineup following that absence, Zetterberg has been on fire, posting one goal and nine assists in seven games and now leading the Wings in scoring with 59 points.

Zetterberg is getting the job done with managed ice time—below 20 minutes most nights. Mike Babcock is making every effort to keep one of the Wings' most important players fresh for what he hopes will be a long playoff run.

Honorable Mentions

• Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins (3 GP, 2-3-5)
• Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames (3 GP, 3-1-4, two game-winning goals)

Right Wing: Justin Williams

Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images

Last Week's Stats

3 GP, 1-4-5

Why He Impressed

As his Los Angeles Kings try to make a final charge at a Western Conference playoff position, 2014 postseason MVP Justin Williams is starting to play like he famously does in those do-or-die Game 7s.

Williams scored just 43 points in 82 regular-season games in 2013-14 before stepping up to become Mr Clutch in the playoffs and win the Conn Smythe Trophy last spring. He's on a similar pace this year but lit a playoff-style fuse last week with three assists in the Kings' 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, followed by a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win in Vancouver.

Expect Williams to stay motivated during these final weeks. On his way to becoming an unrestricted free agent on July 1, he dearly needs another strong playoff run to maximize the value of his next contract.

Honorable Mentions

• Teemu Pulkkinen, Detroit Red Wings (4 GP, 3-1-4, two game-winning goals)
• Derek Dorsett, Vancouver Canucks (3 GP, 1-3-4, one game-winning goal)

Defense: Marek Zidlicky

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Last Week's Stats

4 GP, 1-4-5, plus-3, six shots

Why He Impressed

It's no secret that the Detroit Red Wings were coveting a veteran right-shooting defenseman at the trade deadline two weeks ago. For the cost of a conditional third-round draft pick, it looks like they found a very useful player in Marek Zidlicky.

Early impressions indicate that the 38-year-old is an excellent fit in the Red Wings system.

Zidlicky announced his arrival in Detroit with a game-winning goal against the New York Rangers. Since then, he has continued to chip in offensively at a rate of a point per game. 

Coach Mike Babcock is doing an excellent job of use Zidlicky's strengths to complement his team—deploying him in a third-pairing role but also using his big shot on the power play.

So far, it's working. The question now is whether Zidlicky can remain equally effective in the playoffs.

Honorable mentions for defense appear on the next slide.

Defense: Erik Karlsson

Al Bello/Getty Images

Last Week's Stats

4 GP, 2-2-4, plus-1, 15 shots

Why He Impressed

Though the Boston Bruins keep winning above them in the standings, the Ottawa Senators have not abandoned their goal of sneaking into a wild-card spot in this year's playoffs. 

Ottawa's 8-1-1 record over the last 10 games matches up with the league's hottest team, the New York Rangers. Despite the strong play, Ottawa has gained just two points on the equally hot Bruins, who have gone 7-2-1.

Through it all, leading scorer and captain Erik Karlsson has been chipping in at both ends of the ice. Most notably, the smooth-skating blueliner scored two goals and added an assist in a statement come-from-behind 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

On Sunday, the Sens beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 while the Bruins dropped a 2-0 decision to the Washington Capitals, raising the Ottawa playoff chances to 27.5 percent, according to Sports Club Stats.

Now just five points behind Boston, Karlsson and his red-hot team are in a position to make things very interesting down the stretch.

Honorable Mentions

• Dennis Wideman, Calgary Flames (3 GP, 0-4-4, plus-4, 7 shots)
• Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues (4 GP, 0-4-4, plus-2, 9 shots)

Goal: Cam Talbot

USA TODAY Sports

Last Week's Stats

3-0-0, 3 goals against, .969 save percentage

Why He Impressed

Hard as it is to believe, the New York Rangers have barely missed a step since goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was sidelined with an injury to his throat on Feb. 7.

New York has since gone 14-1-2 thanks in large part to the goaltending of 27-year-old Cam Talbot.

With Lundqvist's injury now into its second month and no definitive timetable for his return to game action, Talbot has become stingier as the weeks have passed. He hasn't given up any more than two goals in a game since a 4-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes back on February 26.

Talbot's hot goaltending has pushed the Rangers to the top of the NHL standings—tied with the Anaheim Ducks on 95 points but with three games in hand.

Extra honorable mentions this week go to some backup goaltenders who stepped in after long layoffs with outstanding performances.

Mackenzie Skapski's second career NHL game was a 2-0 shutout of the Buffalo Sabres for the New York Rangers on Saturday, while St. Louis Blues' Jake Allen's first game in two weeks was a 3-0 shutout of the Dallas Stars on Sunday. Petr Mrazek also threw down an impressive 42-save performance on Sunday in Detroit's tumultuous 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Honorable Mentions

• Andrew Hammond, Ottawa Senators (3 GP, 3-0-0, 4 goals against, .955 save percentage)
• Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins (4 GP, 3-1-0, 5 goals against, 1 shutout, .967 save percentage)

Coach: Alain Vigneault, New York Rangers

USA TODAY Sports

Last Week's Stats 

4-0-0, 9 goals for, 3 goals against

Why He Impressed

As good as Cam Talbot has been for the New York Rangers, he hasn't engineered his team's climb up the standings single-handedly.

Coach Alain Vigneault deserves credit for keeping the Blueshirts on the winning side of the ledger in a series of mostly close, low-scoring games. Wins like that require a complete commitment on behalf of the Rangers, who are proving that it was no fluke that they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final as Eastern Conference champions in 2014.

Honorable Mentions

• Dave Cameron, Ottawa Senators (3-1-0)
• Claude Julien, Boston Bruins (3-1-0)

All stats courtesy of NHL.com.