With the Super Bowl behind us, that means hockey season is heating up and that is reflected in this week’s NHL power rankings. As a reminder, a loss or win doesn’t necessarily mean that one team will be ranked higher than a team they beat or lost to. Let’s rock and roll.
Numbers in parentheses reference last week’s NHL rankings and all stats are current as of 2/14.
No.32: Montreal Canadiens (+0)
Au revoir Dominique Ducharme, bonjour Martin St. Louis. St. Louis might be the perfect coach to get Cole Caufield on track, but other than that Montreal is on an eight-game losing streak. Moving on.
No.31: Arizona Coyotes (-1)
Welcome back Arizona. Everyone knows the Coyotes are tanking, but no one expected their tank to also include their arena. Moving on.
No.30: New Jersey Devils (+1)
New Jersey has not looked impressive as of late, plain and simple. Their goaltending has been a carousel of sadness. Moving on.
No.29: Philadelphia Flyers (-4)
Welcome back, Philly. Right back where the Flyers were two weeks ago. Carter Hart has had a nice bounceback year, but Martin Jones has not as his backup. Their offense has also been an issue scoring 2.51 goals per game, tied for fifth-fewest in the NHL.
No.28: Chicago Blackhawks (+1)
The Blackhawks move up a spot due to the horrid play of the four teams behind them. That doesn’t mean that things are good in the Second City, however. Their offense is an issue, scoring 2.38 goals per game, the third-fewest in the league. Patrick Kane seems to be finding his old self again. That’s a bright side, at least.
No.27: Seattle Kraken (+1)
The Kraken move up a spot for the same reason as Chicago mostly. They have been able to find some form going 5-5 in their last ten games. That may seem like inconsistent form, but for this team this kind of form is good. Their offense is a massive issue, but somebody please figure out what is going on with Philipp Grubauer before it’s too late.
No.26: Buffalo Sabres (+1)
The Sabres move up to 26 this week. The Sabres, it feels like, are still struggling to figure out who they are as a team. Their statistics have gotten somewhat better in both offense and defense, but they just don’t seem to have an identity.
No.25: Ottawa Senators (+1)
The Senators move up one spot this week. This week, things have flipped. Their goals against per game is out of the bottom ten and their offense is back in the bottom ten. In order for their offense to improve, they need to get more even scoring from all their offensive weapons.
No.24: New York Islanders (-1)
The Islanders fall a spot down this week. On a two-game losing streak, the Islanders are struggling majorly in the offensive department. Averaging 2.40 goals per game, that is fourth-worst in the NHL. When Mathew Barzal is your leading points scorer with 30 points, you’ve got an issue.
No.23: Winnipeg Jets (+1)
The Jets move up a spot this week, despite having struggles with their form. Their offense is showing some signs of weakness, especially with a 3-1 loss to Chicago Monday night, but their defense is currently middle-of-the-league statistically, and that saves them, for now.
No.22: San Jose Sharks (-2)
The Sharks have struggled to gain some good form. Their defense is taking a hit without Erik Karlsson, and that brings them down a couple of spots this week. Also, get your offense in shape San Jose.
No.21: Columbus Blue Jackets (+1)
The Blue Jackets are rolling on a three-game winning streak. But their defense still needs a major rehaul. Both Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo have played rather poorly.
No.20: Detroit Red Wings (+1)
The Red Wings make their first positive move in quite some time in the rankings. They may have lost against the Wild Monday, but they had a great offensive showing. But once again, their defense is a problem. They are averaging 3.46 goals against per game, which is seventh-most in the NHL.
No.19: Vancouver Canucks (+0)
The Canucks stay at 19 this week. The story hasn’t changed in Vancouver, they need more offense plain and simple. Thatcher Demko can’t keep carrying this team.
No.18: Dallas Stars (+0)
It seems that the Stars are the first team to find a permanent home in the rankings. Their offense seems to be getting better each week, so maybe one of these days they’ll get out of 18.
No.17: Boston Bruins (-5)
Well, hello Boston. Didn’t expect to see you here. But here we are. The Bruins offensive struggles are starting to shine through. Let’s just say that Brad Marchand being suspended by the NHL has a major impact. Also, all the best to Tuukka Rask in his retirement. Too bad that his comeback didn’t work out the way he wanted it to.
No.16: Washington Capitals (-1)
The Capitals are stumbling no doubt about it. Their offense now ranks outside the top ten in goals per game and is falling rapidly. On the bright side, in Ovi Watch Alex Ovechkin is still seven goals away from tying Jaromir Jagr for third all-time in NHL history. The first time this season the mark hasn’t been shortened.
No.15: Edmonton Oilers (+2)
Edmonton fans rejoice. At least for now. Things are looking better for Oil Country, but man, that goaltending is still so inconsistent. If they can get some level of consistency, that would make things a lot easier. Maybe something for them to look at during the trade deadline.
No.14: Anaheim Ducks (+2)
The Ducks move up this week to 14. Troy Terry continues to dazzle and John Gibson continues to be one of the most consistent goaltenders in the NHL. But they need to show more of their early-season performances if they want to stay here.
No.13: Los Angeles Kings (+0)
The Kings, shockingly, haven’t played since last week’s rankings. So they stay at 13.
No.12: Nashville Predators (-1)
The Predators move down another spot this week. On the heels of a two-game losing streak, things are looking a little bit more interesting in terms of statistics. They are now clinging to a top ten spot in goals against per game. Juuse Saros can’t do this by himself. The offense needs to find that first-half spark again.
No.11: Vegas Golden Knights (-1)
Don’t get used to this. Sound the alarms, Jack Eichel is coming. He will make this team even more dangerous and more than likely will propel them into the top ten for weeks to come.
No.10: St. Louis Blues (-2)
It’s very tight at the top. And this shows it. It’s not that the Blues have been bad, it’s just that there are other teams that are better. Ville Husso is certainly making a case for himself to become the starter, too.
No.9: Florida Panthers (-2)
The Panthers fall again this week. It’s hard to see how, and understandably so, seeing as they now hold sole possession of the goals per game lead. But those defensive numbers need to improve in order to get back to where they have reigned for so long.
No.8: Calgary Flames (+6)
The Flames are on fire, literally. Their winning streak now sits at six games and they are one of the best defensive teams in the NHL. Not to mention now acquiring Tyler Toffoli which is a great move for their offense.
No.7: Pittsburgh Penguins (+2)
With the Pens on a three-game winning streak, this could be just the beginning of their rise through the ranks. Tristan Jarry has continued to be phenomenal, and Jake Guentzel has been a scoring machine.
No.6:Toronto Maple Leafs (-2)
The Maple Leafs drop to sixth this week. Their defense has taken a slight step back now averaging 2.70 goals against per game, but that is a very minuscule change. That is the margin that the top of the rankings is judged by.
No.5: Tampa Bay Lightning (+1)
The Lightning move up into the top five again this week. Defensively, they aren’t quite as strong as some of the other teams, but offensively they certainly stack up.
No.4: Carolina Hurricanes (-2)
The Hurricanes take a step back this week. More an indictment of the tightness of the top five than anything as the Hurricanes are still one of the best scoring teams in the league.
No.3: New York Rangers (+2)
The Rangers, off a two-game winning streak, move up into the top three once again. If they want to stay, their offense has to improve and quickly. It doesn’t stack up currently, but their defense sure does. Igor Shesterkin is no doubt a leader in the Vezina conversation.
No.2: Minnesota Wild (+1)
Minnesota is also on a two-game win streak, and they have been red hot as of late. They did take a small bump in the road on their first game coming out of the All-Star break in their loss to Winnipeg, but their offense has come back to life since then. Let’s be honest while we’re here, if Matt Boldy was on the Wild at the start of the season, he would be in the Calder conversation.
No.1: Colorado Avalanche (+0)
The Avs still have not lost a game in regulation. That is absolutely incredible. They have five players who are producing more than a point per game, with Nazem Kadri on pace to have the best statistical season of his career. Now their only issue is goaltending. Darcy Kuemper isn’t very consistent, which isn’t something a Stanley Cup contender will want to deal with. But they are firmly in the mix for Claude Giroux, and from reports, he wants to go to Colorado. Buckle up, Western Conference.
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