NHL Power Rankings: Red-Hot Panthers Overtake Avalanche for No. 1 Spot

Sometimes nine wins in 10 games isn't enough.

The Colorado Avalanche have been one of the NHL's best teams all season and one of its hottest in recent weeks, winning nine straight games before Monday's 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals.

But that's all it took for them to finally—after 13 weeks—hand over the top position in B/R's NHL Power Rankings to the Florida Panthers.

Interim coach Andrew Brunette's team has won 10 straight and all but clinched the Atlantic Division and top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Once there, it'll try to end a run of postseason futility in which the franchise hasn't won a series since it reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1996, its third year of existence.

"I don't know if I'll ever see another group like this," Brunette said. "It's special, and we have to keep going. We have a lot of hockey left, and we're just going day by day."

The Panthers were voted first by all but one B/R NHL staffer and took the No. 1 spot by two points over the Avalanche, 127-125. The Toronto Maple Leafs (119), Carolina Hurricanes (116) and New York Rangers (113) were voted third, fourth and fifth for the second consecutive week.

Teams get 32 points for a first-place vote. The points descend through team No. 32, which gets one point.

Read on to see how the rest of our weekly collection shaped up.

As always, we encourage viewpoints—supportive or dissenting—in the comments section.

Stats and standings accurate through Monday.

Nos. 32-26: Coyotes, Canadiens, Flyers, Kraken, Blackhawks, Devils, Senators

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

32. Arizona Coyotes (Last Week: 32nd)

It was an ugly week in a season full of them for the Coyotes, who dropped four games in seven days while allowing a minimum of five goals in each game. They allowed 27 goals while scoring seven and have lost seven straight. The good news: only six games left.

31. Montreal Canadiens (Last Week: 31st)

The Canadiens have lost five in a row, allowing eight goals Saturday and scoring one or fewer last Wednesday and Friday. The big news, however, was the return of goalie Carey Price on Friday against the Islanders. The 34-year-old made his season debut and allowed two goals on 19 shots in a 3-0 loss.

30. Philadelphia Flyers (Last Week: 29th)

The Flyers lost twice at home and twice on the road to make it five games in a row. It's their fourth streak of at least five straight losses, and two of those reached at least 10. "At different points, I'd say it's a matter of execution," interim coach Mike Yeo said. "At different points, it's a matter of puck support."

29. Seattle Kraken (Last Week: 30th)

After a blizzard in Manitoba canceled the Kraken's planned visit to Winnipeg, Seattle went home and defeated New Jersey on Saturday and Ottawa on Monday. Rookie forward Matty Beniers, drafted second overall last summer, has two goals and an assist in three games.

28. Chicago Blackhawks (Last Week: 26th)

A seven-game losing streak to start the week became eight with a 5-2 home defeat against the Kings before the Blackhawks halted the skid with a shootout win over San Jose. Two more losses followed, however, at Nashville and at home against Calgary. Chicago has won six games and lost 16—13 in regulation, three in overtime—since the start of March.

27. New Jersey Devils (Last Week: 28th)

The Devils went 2-2 to complete a successful road trip, winning three of five in a stretch that took them to Dallas, Arizona, Colorado, Seattle and Vegas. They'll host Buffalo on Thursday. The defeat of the Golden Knights marked goalie Andrew Hammond's first win for New Jersey and the 31st of his career. He's won at least once with three teams.

26. Ottawa Senators (Last Week: 27th)

The Senators won at Detroit and Boston to start the week before falling in overtime against Toronto and losing at Seattle. Ottawa played in Vancouver on Tuesday night and will visit Columbus before facing Montreal at home Saturday.

Nos. 25-21: Red Wings, Sabres, Sharks, Ducks, Blue Jackets

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25. Detroit Red Wings (Last Week: 24th)

As season-ending stretches go, let's just say the Red Wings have had better. Not only did Detroit lose three times in four games while scoring just five goals last week, but it also lost captain Dylan Larkin for the remainder of the season, as he underwent core surgery Monday. The 25-year-old center had 31 goals in 71 games, one away from the career-high 32 he scored in 2018-19.

24. Buffalo Sabres (Last Week: 25th)

The Sabres were one of the few teams in the bottom half of the standings to have a good week, winning three times in four games, including a home-and-home sweep of Philadelphia and a 5-2 win at geographic rival Toronto. "That's great for our group," winger Anders Bjork said. "It shows our maturity. You can tell we don't feel like we're giving up."

23. San Jose Sharks (Last Week: 23rd)

An overtime loss in Minnesota on Sunday made it 10 straight games without a win for the Sharks, who have picked up four points in that stretch but haven't won since a 4-1 defeat of the Ducks on March 26. Still, forward Thomas Bordeleau, a second-round pick in 2020, debuted against the Wild and picked up his first point with an assist. "No lack of confidence at all tonight," linemate Noah Gregor said. "He played his game."

22. Anaheim Ducks (Last Week: 22nd)

A three-game visit to the NHL's elite in Carolina, Florida and Tampa Bay resulted in three losses, two in overtime—but the Ducks scored six times in a home win over Columbus on Sunday. "I think our guys have done a great job of sticking together and doing their best to execute the game plan," coach Dallas Eakins said.

21. Columbus Blue Jackets (Last Week: 21st)

The Blue Jackets routed Montreal at home before heading out for a three-game trip that began with losses at Los Angeles and Anaheim. Columbus will host Ottawa on Friday, but the status of forward Patrik Laine is in question after he was scratched Sunday with an upper-body injury and deemed day-to-day.

Nos. 20-16: Jets, Islanders, Golden Knights, Canucks, Kings

Jeffrey T. Barnes/Associated Press

20. Winnipeg Jets (Last Week: 19th)

A blizzard and two losses came at precisely the wrong time for the Jets, who are clinging to fading playoff chances. They dropped games at Florida and Tampa Bay, allowing 13 goals. Winnipeg has not played at home since April 8 and won't until Sunday.

19. New York Islanders (Last Week: 20th)

Two wins in four games were too little and too late for the Islanders, who were eliminated from the playoff chase after reaching the final four in each of the last two seasons. "We knew a couple of months ago that we had dug ourselves a hole and we were going to have to fight to the end to get ourselves out of it," defenseman Ryan Pulock said. "Obviously coming up short, this really stinks."

18. Vegas Golden Knights (Last Week: 17th)

After five straight wins from March 24 to April 3, the Golden Knights hit the skids, going 2-3-1—including a home loss to lowly New Jersey on Monday. "We have to find a way to win hockey games," forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "For the first time, we're going to need help from other teams. They're going to need to lose. That's just the way it is."

17. Vancouver Canucks (Last Week: 18th)

The Canucks' late-season push continued. They won six straight entering Tuesday to pull within four points of third-place Los Angeles in the Pacific Division. "We know what's at stake; we want to do it, but we also know that we're huge underdogs," coach Bruce Boudreau said, "and so we're just going to play our butts off and see where it ends up."

16. Los Angeles Kings (Last Week: 16th)

The Kings reversed an untimely three-game losing streak with two wins in three games, including a 2-1 defeat of visiting Columbus. Los Angeles entered Tuesday with three- and four-point edges on playoff pursuers Vegas and Vancouver. It is seeking an end to a three-year postseason drought. "At this time of the year, we'll celebrate a win any way we can [get it]," coach Todd McLellan said.

Nos. 15-11: Predators, Stars, Oilers, Penguins, Capitals

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

15. Nashville Predators (Last Week: 14th)

It was feast or famine for the playoff-chasing Predators, who won one-goal games against the Sharks and Blackhawks but lost routs to the Oilers and Blues by a combined 12-3. A five-game homestand ended Tuesday night, and Nashville will be on the road for three of its final five games.

14. Dallas Stars (Last Week: 15th)

Five of a possible eight points across four games was good enough for the Stars, who entered Tuesday in the Western Conference's second wild-card playoff position. "If we take care of business, teams can't catch us if we keep winning," coach Rick Bowness said. "We have to keep winning to hold that spot. It's going to be up to us."

13. Edmonton Oilers (Last Week: 13th)

The Oilers won't catch the Flames in the Pacific Division, but they're hoping to maintain their spot as the runner-up, which they held by four points over the Kings to begin Tuesday's games. A 8-1-1 run in their last 10 games has them seven points up on the Golden Knights for a worst-case scenario wild-card berth. Only two teams, Calgary (47) and Colorado (46), had more points than Edmonton (45) from coach Jay Woodcroft's first game Feb. 11 through Monday.

12. Pittsburgh Penguins (Last Week: 11th)

It was a 1-1-1 week for the stagnating Penguins, who have a postseason position wrapped up but still don't know where they will wind up. Pittsburgh entered Tuesday third in the Metropolitan Division but could still drop to the first or second wild-card position, which would mean a playoff matchup against an Eastern Conference powerhouse in Florida, Carolina or the New York Rangers. The Penguins are 3-5-2 against those three teams.

11. Washington Capitals (Last Week: 12th)

A 3-1 week pushed the Capitals to 6-1 over their last eight. Surging Washington ended Colorado's nine-game winning streak Monday. "This is the way that we want to play," said forward Marcus Johansson, who scored the game-winner. "This is how it is going to be in the playoffs."

Nos. 10-6: Bruins, Lightning, Blues, Wild, Flames

Kamil Krzaczynski/Associated Press

10. Boston Bruins (Last Week: 9th)    

The Bruins' three losses in four games is concerning despite their locked-up postseason berth, but of more angst at this point is a raft of injured players that includes forward David Pastrnak, defenseman Hampus Lindholm and goalie Linus Ullmark. None accompanied the team on its two-game road trip to Saint Louis and Pittsburgh.   

9. Tampa Bay Lightning (Last Week: 8th)   

The two-time defending champs had two wins in three games. They were blanked by Dallas but scored 11 goals in defeats of Anaheim and Winnipeg. The Lightning will likely finish third in the Atlantic Division, which would mean a first-round playoff series against Toronto, though a skid to a wild-card spot could mean Carolina, the New York Rangers or Florida Panthers in the first round.  

8. St. Louis Blues (Last Week: 10th)        

No Western Conference team is as hot at this stage as the Blues, who've picked up points in each of their last 12 games while going 11-0-1 and locking up a playoff spot. They'll almost certainly face Minnesota in the first round, though home ice is still up in the air. No team had scored more goals per game in April than St. Louis (5.40) and only six had allowed fewer (2.80) through Monday night.  

7. Minnesota Wild (Last Week: 7th)    

The Wild had points in six straight games (4-0-2) heading into Tuesday night's visit to Montreal. Marc-Andre Fleury has been 3-0 with a .910 save percentage during that run. Cam Talbot, meanwhile, is 1-0-2 and has allowed 11 goals on 86 shots (.872). Forward Marcus Foligno will miss at least three games after he was placed into COVID-19 protocol when the team crossed into Canada.   

6. Calgary Flames (Last Week: 6th)   

The Flames have all but locked up the Pacific to earn their first division championship since 2018-19 and just their second since 2005-06. Calgary will face the top wild-card team in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, though that opponent has yet to be determined. Forward Johnny Gaudreau became the third-fastest player in franchise history to reach 600 points against Chicago on Monday, following Theo Fleury and Joe Nieuwendyk. 

Nos. 5-1: Rangers, Hurricanes, Maple Leafs, Avalanche, Panthers

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

5. New York Rangers (Last Week: 5th)   

A 4-2 home loss to Metropolitan Division rival Carolina wasn't an ideal way to start a week, but the Rangers bounced back with consecutive shutout wins at Philadelphia and against visiting Detroit. Igor Shesterkin stopped 20 shots while beating the Red Wings, and Alexandar Georgiev stopped 28 against the Flyers. The team's 2.47 goals-against average is second-best in the league behind only the Hurricanes. 

4. Carolina Hurricanes (Last Week: 4th)  

A 5-3 win at Arizona on Monday evened the Carolina record to 2-2 for the week and gave the team 49 victories for the season. The Hurricanes have reached 50 wins once since relocating to North Carolina, when they won the Stanley Cup in 2005-06. Goaltender Frederik Andersen left Saturday's loss at Colorado with a lower-body injury, but TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported Monday (h/t MSN) that his MRI was negative. 

3. Toronto Maple Leafs (Last Week: 3rd)   

The Maple Leafs are a red-hot 10-1-1 in their past 12 games and got to 50 wins for the first time in franchise history. They set a new franchise record of 106 points as well. Still, Toronto hasn't won a playoff series since 2003-04 and hasn't won a Stanley Cup since 1966-67. "We've got a great group in here," goalie Jack Campbell said after Sunday's win over the Islanders. "Our coach has done a great job leading the way, and I think all the boys are really growing together." 

2. Colorado Avalanche (Last Week: 1st)   

It took a Monday night loss to Washington to finally end a Colorado winning streak that stretched back to March 27 and a points streak that went to March 23, but no other team has officially clinched a division title and a No. 1 playoff seed, so coach Jared Bednar is using the opportunity to give players some time off. Nazem Kadri has missed eight games with an upper-body injury, but he practiced Monday and will travel with the team for a three-game road trip.  

1. Florida Panthers (Last Week: 2nd)   

The Panthers are the hottest team in hockey, having won 10 straight games since a 5-2 loss to Toronto on March 27 and essentially clinching the Atlantic Division with an eight-point lead on the Maple Leafs heading into Tuesday. "It's our time right now," forward Jonathan Huberdeau said. "We have the team. [General manager Bill Zito] did his job, went and got some good players. Now it's our time to show what we have."