NHL Power Rankings: Where Every Team Stands After the 4 Nations Face-Off Break
The NHL regular season is back after a two-week break and, well, let's just say it's been an easier transition back to nightly action for some teams than others.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and Los Angeles Kings returned from the hiatus in winning style that yielded matching four-spot jumps in this week's B/R Power Rankings, while Edmonton and Carolina haven't fared so well.
The Oilers and Hurricanes dropped six and four spots, respectively, after this week's voting, in which B/R's hockey staff awarded 32 points for a first-place vote down to a single point for last.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.
Votes were tallied after games played on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
32. San Jose Sharks
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Previous Ranking: 32
Overall Record: 15-36-8
There's a fine line between a moral victory and a disheartening loss, and the Sharks are walking it after a 2-1 loss at Winnipeg on Monday in which they led, 1-0, into the final minute before giving up a tying goal and losing in overtime.
"To fall short is a kick in the gut, so disappointed we don't get the result," coach Ryan Warsofsky said, "but I'm really, extremely proud of our group."
31. Chicago Blackhawks
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Previous Ranking: 31
Overall Record: 17-34-7
The Blackhawks weren't expected to challenge for much this season, but the apparent lack of progress—particularly a recent stretch of seven losses in eight games—has been a source of frustration for veteran defenseman Seth Jones.
"It's pretty evident out there," he said. "We haven't made any strides to be a better, more simple hockey team and it shows."
30. Nashville Predators
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Previous Ranking: 30
Overall Record: 20-30-7
Two defeats in a row are difficult enough for a team that has been struggling to find itself, and losing defensive stud and team captain Roman Josi due to injury after a boarding call on Florida's Sam Bennett doesn't help.
Josi did not play in the third period against Florida and was being evaluated for an upper-body issue. Nashville coach Andrew Brunette, a former coach of the Panthers, deemed the hit "a little reckless."
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29. Seattle Kraken
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Previous Ranking: 28
Overall Record: 25-31-4
It's not a good sign when you hear words like "embarrassing" coming from the locker room, but that's where the Kraken found themselves after a 7-2 loss at St. Louis on Tuesday.
"D-zone coverage, couldn't get a forecheck established, made it easy on them," forward Jared McCann said. "It just looked like we didn't have our legs."
28. Pittsburgh Penguins
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Previous Ranking: 26
Overall Record: 23-28-9
The season-long woes have picked up again for the Penguins, who have lost four straight and been outscored 19-7 in the last three, including a 6-1 loss at Philadelphia on Tuesday.
It's prompted the predictable chatter, as the trade deadline approaches, that high-profile veterans such as Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson and even Sidney Crosby could be on the move to bring in youngsters and/or draft capital.
27. Buffalo Sabres
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Previous Ranking: 29
Overall Record: 24-27-5
The momentum is real in Buffalo, where the Sabres' rally from two goals down in the third period to a victory over Anaheim on Tuesday was their first of the season and stretched a run of home wins to six in a row.
"I'd say three months ago it would've been a 5-1 loss, honestly," forward Alex Tuch said. "You see the maturity, you see the change, you see no one was down."
26. New York Islanders
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Previous Ranking: 21
Overall Record: 25-25-7
Coach Patrick Roy was in full "look for positives" mode after a 5-1 loss to the visiting Rangers on Tuesday was his team's fourth in a row and saw starter Ilya Sorokin pulled after allowing five goals on 11 shots.
"I thought we played a good game," Roy said. "I mean, we had a good jump. We had our chances."
25. Anaheim Ducks
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Previous Ranking: 23
Overall Record: 25-25-7
A blown lead and the eventual 3-2 loss at Buffalo wasn't so good for the Ducks on Tuesday, but they're still 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and finally getting some production from the man-advantage side of special teams.
Two power-play goals against the Sabres marked the first time they had netted a pair in a game since November and at least temporarily ended a skid in which they'd gone 2-for-33 in 16 games.
24. Philadelphia Flyers
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Previous Ranking: 27
Overall Record: 26-26-7
Don't expect a chase for the Art Ross Trophy anytime soon, but it was still a banner night for Bobby Brink on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old winger enjoyed a four-point night (one goal, three assists) after not having more than two in his first 122 NHL games.
The Flyers defeated visiting Pittsburgh for their third straight win and will visit the Penguins to complete the all-Pennsylvania back-to-back on Thursday.
23. St. Louis Blues
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Previous Ranking: 25
Overall Record: 27-26-6
Jordan Binnington was a hero at the 4 Nations, and he's been one for the Blues, too, improving to 4-0-1 in his last five starts after a 25-save effort in defeating Seattle on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old has allowed 12 goals in the five-game run and hasn't lost in regulation since Jan. 27.
22. Montreal Canadiens
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Previous Ranking: 24
Overall Record: 27-26-5
The 4 Nations break seems to have come at an opportune time for the Canadiens, who have won two straight after an ugly 1-7-1 run prior to the tournament.
Montreal beat Ottawa on Saturday and Carolina on Tuesday for its first consecutive wins since January 19 and 21.
21. Boston Bruins
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Previous Ranking: 20
Overall Record: 27-24-8
The fourth loss in what's now a four-game skid (0-2-2) was particularly disheartening for the Bruins, who led Toronto, 3-0, in the second period before losing, 5-4, in overtime.
"It was disappointing, obviously," Boston captain Brad Marchand said. "We can’t be giving up points right now."
20. Utah Hockey Club
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Previous Ranking: 22
Overall Record: 26-24-9
The artists formerly known as the Coyotes aren't quite where they want to be after 59 games—three points below the Western playoff cutline—but there's plenty of reason for stretch-drive optimism.
"We've got a bit of momentum because our guys are coming back in the lineup," GM Bill Armstrong said. "We're getting healthy and it's at the right time of the year to get healthy, so I like where we're at."
19. New York Rangers
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Previous Ranking: 18
Overall Record: 29-25-4
It's two straight wins and three in four games for the resurgent Rangers, who had crept within two points of the Eastern playoff cutline entering Wednesday's games.
J.T. Miller scored again on Tuesday night and has five goals and nine points in eight games since arriving from Vancouver.
18. Ottawa Senators
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Previous Ranking: 16
Overall Record: 29-24-4
Brady Tkachuk was a bona-fide star at the 4 Nations, but the intermittent schedule hasn't helped the Senators. They lost three straight before the tournament and dropped a 5-2 decision to Montreal in their first game back.
Ottawa was outscored, 19-7, in those four losses and lost for the first time to a visiting Canadiens team in three years.
17. Vancouver Canucks
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Previous Ranking: 14
Overall Record: 26-20-11
There's concern at both ends of the rink these days for the Canucks, whose 1.83 goals per game from Feb. 1 through Tuesday's games were last in the league offensively, while the back end is again missing Thatcher Demko after he was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Feb. 8.
Arturs Silovs started on Sunday in his first appearance since November. The 23-year-old played 10 games in last season's playoffs after another wave of injuries, going 5-5 with a 2.91 goals-against average.
16. Columbus Blue Jackets
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Previous Ranking: 19
Overall Record: 28-22-8
The Blue Jackets are perhaps the most surprising team in the Eastern playoff chase, and their home-stretch chances ticked up with the return of Kirill Marchenko, who'd missed time with a fractured jaw.
The 24-year-old winger had two goals and an assist on Tuesday against Dallas and has already tied his career best of 23 goals with 24 games remaining.
15. Calgary Flames
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Previous Ranking: 17
Overall Record: 28-21-8
The Flames have won two straight and the second was an important one, coming at league-leading Washington in the first leg of a six-game road trip.
Calgary will visit Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina, Philadelphia and Dallas before returning home on March 8. The team entered Wednesday's games in the final Western playoff spot, a point ahead of the cutline.
14. Detroit Red Wings
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Previous Ranking: 15
Overall Record: 30-22-6
Could it be that the "Yzerplan" is finally paying off? It seems that way for Detroit, which is a red-hot 9-1-1 in its last 11 games after a 3-2 win in Minnesota on Tuesday.
The Red Wings haven't made the playoffs since 2016 and haven't won a series since 2013, but they reached Wednesday four points above the Eastern cutline with 24 games remaining.
13. Colorado Avalanche
20 of 32
Previous Ranking: 11
Overall Record: 33-24-2
Colorado sent away a higher-profile player in the deal that brought Martin Necas in for Mikko Rantanen, but the Avalanche seem to be reaping bigger benefits both through Necas' performance and the uptick he's delivered for Nathan MacKinnon.
Necas had five goals and nine points in his first 10 games since arriving from Carolina and MacKinnon, the league's leading scorer, had 12 points in the same stretch.
"It's definitely working for my game," Necas said.
12. New Jersey Devils
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Previous Ranking: 13
Overall Record: 32-21-6
A 45th career NHL start yielded a milestone for goalie Nico Daws, who stopped 29 Nashville shots for his first career shutout.
A third-round pick in 2020, the 24-year-old won 19 games across 46 appearances across the last two seasons and is 2-0-0 in three games this season, having allowed just two goals on 63 shots (.968 save percentage).
11. Carolina Hurricanes
22 of 32
Previous Ranking: 7
Overall Record: 33-21-4
It's been an exercise in frustration lately for the Hurricanes, who are 1-5-0 in their last six after dropping a 6-3 nod at Toronto on Saturday and getting blanked, 2-0, by Montreal on Tuesday.
"It's not that we're giving up a ton," coach Rod Brind'Amour said, "but when we do it just seemed to kind of find a way, you know, a couple of weird bounces to start and then you're behind the eight ball."
10. Edmonton Oilers
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Previous Ranking: 4
Overall Record: 34-20-4
Connor McDavid scored a big goal at the 4 Nations event, but nothing has gone right since for the Oilers since then.
They've dropped three post-break games by a combined 17-7 score and are undergoing a collective crisis of confidence.
"We're a fragile group right now and we're reluctant to play our game," coach Kris Knoblauch said. "Confidence is a little hard right now."
9. Minnesota Wild
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Previous Ranking: 8
Overall Record: 34-20-4
The Wild had a two-goal lead at the midway point of Tuesday's game with visiting Detroit, but they let the points get away while ultimately dropping a 3-2 decision.
It was their first loss after three straight wins, including an overtime victory against the Red Wings on Saturday.
8. Tampa Bay Lightning
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Previous Ranking: 12
Overall Record: 33-20-4
It's been a familiar recipe for the Lightning in recent years, and it's working again: Timely goal scoring and lights-out goaltending.
Tampa Bay extended a win streak to six with a defeat of Edmonton on Tuesday, thanks to 23 saves from Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The team has allowed 12 goals in the streak, and the Russian goalie hasn't lost in regulation since Jan. 25.
7. Florida Panthers
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Previous Ranking: 6
Overall Record: 35-21-3
Matthew Tkachuk is still on the mend after the 4 Nations tournament, but the Panthers haven't missed a step with three wins in four games, including Tuesday's 4-1 triumph at Nashville.
"We're not really thinking about patterns, trends, streaks or whatever," goalie Spencer Knight said. "We just try to bring the game that we want to play every night."
6. Los Angeles Kings
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Previous Ranking: 10
Overall Record: 31-17-7
There have been too many positives to count lately for the streaking Kings, who entered Wednesday with eight straight home wins for Darcy Kuemper tying Gretzky-era goalie Kelly Hrudey for the longest stretch in franchise history.
Also equaling a franchise mark was Quinton Byfield, who picked up four assists against Vegas to become the fifth player in an L.A. uniform to have a four-assist game before turning 23. He followed Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar, Luc Robitaille and Butch Goring.
5. Vegas Golden Knights
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Previous Ranking: 5
Overall Record: 34-18-6
The Golden Knights have dominated the Pacific Division this season with the exception of one opponent, Los Angeles, which defeated them on Monday and has won two of three meetings in 2024-25.
Vegas is 14-1-1 against the rest of the division and entered Wednesday's games with a two-point lead over Edmonton and a five-point gap over the Kings.
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
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Previous Ranking: 9
Overall Record: 36-20-2
There's nothing wrong with a little drama when it comes to the Maple Leafs, who stretched a win streak to three straight by overcoming a three-goal deficit to beat Boston on Tuesday night.
Mitch Marner had two goals for Toronto in his third game back since assisting on the championship-winning goal at the 4 Nations.
3. Dallas Stars
30 of 32
Previous Ranking: 3
Overall Record: 37-19-2
You can chalk it up to exhaustion for the Stars, who saw a 3-0-1 stretch end with a 6-4 loss on Tuesday at Columbus, the team's third game in four days.
Sniper Jason Robertson is still scalding hot, though, with his goal against the Blue Jackets giving him four in two games and 17 (along with 16 assists) in his last 24.
2. Washington Capitals
31 of 32
Previous Ranking: 2
Overall Record: 38-12-8
A few streaks came to an end for the Capitals in a Tuesday night loss to visiting Calgary in which Alex Ovechkin scored to reach 30 goals for an NHL-record 19th time.
Washington had gotten points in eight straight overall (5-0-3), in 16 straight at home (11-0-5) and hadn't lost in regulation on home ice since November.
1. Winnipeg Jets
32 of 32
Previous Ranking: 1
Overall Record: 41-14-3
It's been a memorable season already in Winnipeg, and the Jets added an individual highlight when Mark Scheifele's game-winner in overtime against San Jose made him the most prolific goal-scorer in franchise history, supplanting Ilya Kovalchuk.
Scheifele's 329 goals are one more than Kovalchuk, who played with the Atlanta Thrashers from 2001 to 2010. And the team's comeback win was its 19th of the season, which is tied for the league lead with Washington.
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