The NHL's Team of the Week for March 23

With less than three weeks to go in the 2014-15 NHL regular season, the playoff picture is starting to come into focus.

The New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Anaheim Ducks continue to fight it out for top spot in the league, while teams such as the Vancouver Canucks, Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets are solidifying their strangleholds on playoff spots. Meanwhile, the currently unbeatable Ottawa Senators refuse to give up the fight.

Further down the standings, we have seen some strong performances over the past seven days from teams such as the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars, whose playoff hopes became little more than pipe dreams weeks ago.

As every game becomes critical in determining final positioning in the NHL standings and individual points race, here's a look at the best performances at each position for the week of March 16-22.

Left Wing: Daniel Sedin

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Last Week's Stats

4 GP GP, 2-4-6

Why He Impressed

After John Tortorella coached the Vancouver Canucks to a 25th-place finish in the 2013-14 season, he took aim at the team's core players who came within a game of winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, talking about how the group was "getting older" and calling them "stale," per NHL.com.

Tortorella has since been replaced by Willie Desjardins, and an infusion of youth led by 19-year-old rookie Bo Horvat has revitalized the Canucks' core, led by Henrik and Daniel Sedin.

Picking up six points this week as the Canucks fought to secure a ticket back into the playoffs, 2010-11 Art Ross Trophy winner Daniel Sedin is leading the charge—and is now 17th in league scoring. His 64 points leave him just 10 points behind leader Sidney Crosby in this year's rather muted NHL scoring race.

Honorable Mentions

• Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning (2 GP, 1-3-4)
• Benoit Pouliot, Edmonton Oilers (3 GP, 2-2-4)

Center: Kyle Turris

Gregg Forwerck/Getty Images

Last Week's Stats

3 GP, 4-2-6, one game-winning goal

Why He Impressed

The Ottawa Senators continue their charge for a playoff position with a winning streak that has stretched to six games and nudged them within one point of the Boston Bruins in the second wild-card spot.

First-line center Kyle Turris is surging at just the right time, scoring a key game-winning goal against Toronto in a contest that came close to slipping away.

With 52 points in 71 games, Turris is on pace to chart a career year in 2014-15. At 25, he's starting to show why he was deemed worthy of a third overall pick back in 2007.

Honorable Mentions

• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers (3 GP, 3-3-6, one game-winning goal)
• Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens (4 GP, 2-4-6, one game-winning goal)

Right Wing: Jordan Eberle

Andy Devlin/Getty Images

Last Week's Stats

3 GP, 2-4-6, one game-winning goal

Why He Impressed

Here's a sentence we haven't said much in the past couple of years: The Edmonton Oilers had a really good week.

Three home games against non-playoff teams certainly helped, but Edmonton picked up five of a possible six points thanks to wins against Toronto and Philadelphia and a shootout loss to Columbus sandwiched in between.

Jordan Eberle is the straw that's stirring the drink. He's on a seven-game point streak, with 14 of his 58 points on the year coming during that span.

Twenty-four-year-old Eberle cracked the 20-goal mark for the third time in his career on Saturday against the Flyers.

Honorable Mentions

• Radim Vrbata, Vancouver Canucks (4 GP, 2-3-5, one game-winning goal)
• Mark Stone, Ottawa Senators (3 GP, 1-4-5, one game-winning goal)

Defense: Alex Edler

Norm Hall/Getty Images

Last Week's Stats

4 GP, 2-2-4, plus-3, 17 shots

Why He Impressed

The Canucks have been sorely missing offense from the blue line this season, but Alex Edler has stepped up his contributions with two goals during the last week as the team looks to lock down a playoff spot.

Edler's power-play marker against Arizona was especially critical—breaking a 1-1 deadlock with just 3:13 remaining in the third period to seal the win for Vancouver.

After suffering a terrible 2013-14 season, in which he finished with a league-worst minus-39, Elder's back to a respectable plus-12 in 64 games played this year.

Honorable mentions for defense appear on the next slide.

Defense: Victor Hedman

Scott Audette/Getty Images

Last Week's Stats

3 GP, 1-3-4, plus-3, 5 shots

 

Why He Impressed

After being swept by the Montreal Canadiens in last year's Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, the Tampa Bay Lightning have owned the Habs in 2014-15.

The Bolts improved their record to 4-0 for the season on March 16, with Victor Hedman scoring what proved to be the game-winner early in the second period.

Hedman's hot start this season was derailed by a broken finger in mid-October, but he has recently begun to round back into top form—a presence both offensively and defensively.

Beasts on home ice, the Lightning are challenging for the NHL's top spot and will soon be looking to avenge last season's early playoff exit.

 

Honorable Mentions

• Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators (3 GP, 1-3-4, plus-6, 13 shots)
• Keith Yandle, New York Rangers (3 GP, 0-3-3, plus-4, 7 shots)

Goal: Carey Price

Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images

Last Week's Stats

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

Why He Impressed

Sensational out-of-nowhere goaltending from Andrew Hammond and Devan Dubnyk has dominated the headlines in recent weeks, but stalwart Carey Price is putting down a steady season that positions him as a leading contender for the Vezina Trophy and a possible candidate for the Hart.

After back-to-back shutouts against the Carolina Hurricanes and San Jose Sharks, Price now leads or shares top spot in every major goaltending category—wins (40), shutouts (nine—tied with Marc-Andre Fleury), goals-against average (1.86) and save percentage (.938).

Montreal ranks 18th in the NHL in goals for but is No. 1 in goals against—that's why the Canadiens are tied for top spot overall in the league. If Price continues to show the same form that won Canada a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics, the Habs will be a tough out this year come playoff time.

Honorable Mentions

• Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets (3 GP, 3-0-0, 3 goals against, 1 shutout, .973 save percentage)
• Kari Lehtonen, Dallas Stars (2 GP, 2-0-0, 1 goal against, 1 shutout, .985 save percentage)

Coach: Dave Cameron

LM Otero/Associated Press

Last Week's Stats 

3-0-0, 13 goals for, 8 goals against

Why He Impressed

The surge of the Senators continues.

In net, the Hamburglar has become a sensation and triggered a marketing bonanza for McDonald's restaurants, who are taking full advantage of the sudden success of a 27-year-old who is technically not young enough to be classified as a rookie.

Though Andrew Hammond's record-tying streak of giving up two goals or fewer came to an end at 12 games on Thursday, the Sens are still winning. They have extended their current winning streak to six and sit just one point behind Boston for the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with two games in hand and 11 games remaining.

The Sens' roll has now lasted more than a month. On February 7, Ottawa was 12 points behind Boston and sitting behind three teams that have now been leapfrogged: Florida, Philadelphia and New Jersey.

Full credit to coach Dave Cameron for riding the hot hand in net and finding a way to make his charges believe that the playoffs were not out of reach.

If Ottawa can end up catching and passing Boston, the reward will likely be a first-round matchup with either the New York Rangers or Montreal Canadiens.

Honorable Mentions

• Paul Maurice, Winnipeg Jets (3-0-0)
• Willie Desjardins, Vancouver Canucks (3-1-0)

All stats courtesy of NHL.com.