Not many things have changed in the NHL Power Rankings, but the Chicago Blackhawks have switched positions with the St. Louis Blues. Meanwhile, the Arizona Coyotes are threatening to take control of second place in the Pacific Division thanks to captain Shane Doan. And who knew? The Columbus Blue Jackets are no longer 30!
1. Washington Capitals (59 points)
Last week: 1
The Caps and Stars are neck and neck, but neither team fared well this week. Washington should have had four easy points against Carolina and Columbus, but they got just one. Barry Trotz should hope that 2016 is not a nightmare. Braden Holtby allowed four goals to the worst team in the NHL (based on points), but he still has not had a regulation loss since November 10 (1-0 loss to Detroit).
2. Dallas Stars (60 points)
Last week: 2
They were in good shape to regain first after blowing out Nashville, but then they faltered against New Jersey and the Islanders. Their New York metro trip ends in MSG on Tuesday, and getting just one point in three road games would not be desired. Kari Lehtonen is continuing to get starts, and I still do not understand why after SIX Islander goals.
3. Chicago Blackhawks (50 points)
Last week: 6
Braden Holtby may not be coasting with the Vezina trophy after all. Meet Corey Crawford, who just recorded his sixth shutout of the season, and fourth in ten games. The Ottawa Senators stood no chance against the brick wall. Meanwhile, the Colorado Avalanche had a good chance to win with Crawford resting on New Years Eve, but they also forgot to cover Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, and the duo eventually burned them in overtime. With 23 goals and 34 assists, Kane is certainly working towards another title.
4. Florida Panthers (50 points)
Last week: 4
Montreal and Washington had the longest winning streaks for the season with nine, but Florida has matched it. All the Cats need to do is win in Buffalo to mark the first double digit win streak of the season. Old usually beats young, and Jaromir Jagr might continue the trend. He got two goals against Minnesota and gets an even easier challenge in Upstate New York. Also, Brett Hull should be worried about his place in the career goals record book.
5. Los Angeles Kings (52 points)
Last week: 5
LA continued its dominance in the weak Pacific Division by beating Calgary in the Saddledome, which is certainly an accomplishment. After Jonathan Quick continued to dominate in a thrilling finish against Philly, Jonas Enroth struggled in Denver, snapping the Kings’ five-game winning streak. No worries. They still have a ten point lead in the division, and Drew Doughty continues to look like a candidate for the Norris Trophy.
6. St. Louis Blues (51 points)
Last week: 3
Whoops. Considering how dominant LA, Florida, and Chicago have been lately, even the slightest slip hurts the Blues. They had just four combined goals in their losses to Minnesota, Toronto, and Ottawa, salvaging just one point in the overtime loss to the Sens. Jake Allen was decent in his two losses, giving up two goals to the Wild and three to the Leafs, but he still owns a goals against average of 2.11. Just a bump in the road.
7. New York Islanders (49 points)
Last week: 7
It was a bad loss to Pittsburgh, and Thomas Greiss has struggled to begin 2016, but the Brooklynites are holding tough. They managed to outplay the Stars in their own game, winning in a 6-5 goal fest. After being held scoreless against Toronto in his first two games since returning from injury, Kyle Okposo has bludgeoned his opponents, with two goals and three assists in his last three games.
8. Minnesota Wild (47 points)
Last week: 8
After an impressive divisional road win in St. Louis, the Wild flopped against the Florida teams, getting just one point against Tampa Bay. Eric Haula had a goal and an assist against the Blues, but he dealt with injuries in the Sunshine State.
9. Montreal Canadiens (47 points)
Last week: 10
In what was the most publicized game of the regular season, the Canadiens may have found a way towards championship relevancy again. It certainly helped that Brendan Gallagher returned for the Winter Classic, as he had a goal and an assist in a 5-1 thrashing of Boston in Foxboro. Mike Condon had the game of his life in what was both an outdoor game and a homecoming (his goalie mask made lots of controversial headlines in Montreal due to his Boston loyalties), but he and Ben Scrivens will continue to undergo pressure in goal with Carey Price still not ready to return.
10. New York Rangers (46 points)
Last week: 9
They had just one game, but that one game was bad. Roberto Luongo shut them out as the Panthers continued to be as hot as their state temperatures. New York has just four wins since November 24.
11. Detroit Red Wings (47 points)
Last week: 12
They also fell victim to the Penguins, but their mega road trip got off to a great start with wins against Buffalo and New Jersey. They move to the West Coast for four games looking for some more road magic. Dylan Larkin fooled Devils goalie Corey Schneider with a highlight reel crossover that resulted in the only goal between Detroit and New Jersey.
12. Nashville Predators (45 points)
Last week: 13
Losing 5-1 to Dallas did not help the Preds prove that they could be a powerhouse, and they are currently slotted in the second wild card spot. They recovered some of the mess with a big 2-1 overtime win against the Hurricanes, which is big considering how few goals have been scored in the RBC Center lately. Pekka Rinne recovered from Dallas’s five-goal rampage by saving 27 of 28 Carolina shots in over 63 minutes.
13. Boston Bruins (44 points)
Last week: 11
It seemed like the Bruins were poised to overtake the Habs a couple weeks ago, but their steady collapse took a turn for the worst when they lost 5-1 to their bitter rivals. Talk about going from contenders to pretenders. Matt Beleskey now has four goals in as many games after scoring the only Boston goal in the Winter Classic.
14. New Jersey Devils (45 points)
Last week: 16
The Devils have been living on the edge to being 2016. They had six overtime/shootout wins at home before Dallas came to town. Spoiler alert: they made it seven. John Moore sealed what could go down as the biggest win for the Devils thus far. Adam Henrique gave the fans shades of 2012 with two assists in the Dallas game, including one on Moore’s goal.
15. Ottawa Senators (44 points)
Last week: 14
Getting shut out twice in a row to New Jersey and Chicago was a sledgehammer to the team’s morale. Their 3-2 overtime win was almost a must win for a team that is still trying to reach the heights from last year. Bobby Ryan had an assist in the second period and a goal in both the third period and overtime in Ottawa’s huge comeback win against the Blues.
16. Colorado Avalanche (41 points)
Last week: 15
The Avs have grabbed the spotlight in the NHL, and sometimes there will be bumps in the road. It is what they do in response to adversity that defines a team. After nearly overtaking Chicago in overtime and falling flat against Calgary, they came alive again with a eye-catching 4-1 win against the Kings. Tyson Barrie has been one of the better offensive defensemen this season, and he took it up a notch with two goals and two assists against LA. Also, congratulations to Jarome Iginla for his 600th career goal.
17. Tampa Bay Lightning (42 points)
Last week: 17
Andrei Vasilevskiy will have a hard time becoming a star in Tampa with Ben Bishop in town, but he did impress the fan base by saving 30 shots and shining in a shootout to win 3-2 over Minnesota.
18. Arizona Coyotes (42 points)
Last week: 24
Every team in the Pacific Division, except LA, has been underwhelming this season. Arizona, however, may finally be making a push for second place. They got two wins against Vancouver and Winnipeg and one point in Edmonton. The hero on the team happens to be 39 years old. Shane Doan had a hat trick last week, and he followed it up with two goals each against the Nucks and Jets. He is not done yet.
19. Calgary Flames (38 points)
Last week: 18
Los Angeles knocked the Flames down a few pegs, but Calgary responded with a dominant win in Denver. Karri Ramo has been stellar the past couple months, but he had his first shutout of the season in the road win against Colorado. Josh Jooris had his first multi-point game of the season in the game, as well.
20. Pittsburgh Penguins (42 points)
Last week: 22
The Penguins might be recovering from a disastrous December. They had two straight wins against playoff contenders (Islanders and Detroit), winning each by a final score of 5-2. It is no coincidence that Sidney Crosby has also scored in three straight games (two against the Isles) and four games out of five. Marc-Andre Fleury also came back and boosted the Penguins, holding New York’s powerful offense in check.
21. Vancouver Canucks (39 points)
Last week: 23
Sometimes watching Pacific Division teams battle each other out can be a thrill ride. Vancouver proved that with a big shutout win over Anaheim and falling a goal short against Arizona. Bo Horvat scored his first goal since November 2, a span of 28 games.
22. Winnipeg Jets (38 points)
Last week: 20
The Jets have been shattered with six white-hot teams above them in the division. Taking a roller coaster ride through the Pacific Division (1-2-0 on the road vs. Arizona, San Jose, and Anaheim) is not going to help their case as contenders. With three assists in the last two games, Blake Wheeler is now at 30 for the season, fourth highest in the NHL.
23. Anaheim Ducks (39 points)
Last week: 27
So Anaheim is in third place in the division? The Southern Cali Mallards have picked a great time to turn the clock back to 2014. They have shut down the Flames, Oilers, and Jets, and they also fought hard to get a point in Vancouver. The best part is that they only needed seven goals to get those seven points (will they ever figure that offense out?). If goalie John Gibson qualifies at the end of the season, he is on pace to finish with the lowest GAA in the league, and he is only 22. Superstar alert.
24. Philadelphia Flyers (37 points)
Last week: 19
And the West Coast road trip goes rotten. Winless in California. They will try to figure things out with games against Montreal, Minnesota, NYI, and Boston. The 76ers (yes, the 4-33 team), the team that shares the Wells Fargo Center with the Flyers, have won three games since December 26, and the Flyers have won zero. Step it up, bullies!
25. Carolina Hurricanes (39 points)
Last week: 25
It is easy to admit the Canes have stepped it up lately. Beating the Capitals was big, but they fell short in overtime losses to Nashville and Edmonton. Phil Di Giuseppe has become another bright spot among the many youngsters, and he scored the first goal of the game against Washington.
26. Edmonton Oilers (37 points)
Last week: 26
The Oilers are in both last place in the Western Conference and striking distance of a playoff spot. That just goes to show how deep the west is. They fell victim to Anaheim’s white hot defense before using extra time and a shootout to beat Arizona and Carolina. Andrej Sekera has really helped the Oilers defense this season, and he scored the overtime goal against the Canes to win 1-0 (The best way to win a hockey game, right?). he now has five goals and ten assists this season, not bad for a defenseman.
27. San Jose Sharks (38 points)
Last week: 21
Playing at the SAP Center is just not working for the Sharks, but they cannot play the remainder of their schedule on the road. Their defense has had issue all season, and Alex Stalock was sent down to the AHL. Martin Jones, meanwhile, had to be pulled after giving Winnipeg three goals in 40 minutes.
28. Toronto Maple Leafs (37 points)
Last week: 28
Baby steps. The Leafs followed up a shootout win over the Pens with a 4-1 victory over the struggling Blues. Leo Komarov caught fire in mid-December, but went on a cold stretch around the Christmas break time period. He has responded with three assists in his last two games.
29. Columbus Blue Jackets (33 points)
Last week: 30
Surprise! The Jackets are not 30th! They followed up a win against the Stars with a shootout win over Washington (Can someone please explain that? Hockey is incredible sometimes). Curtis McElhinney slipped and hurt himself in the overtime period, so Anton Forsberg came in and won the shootout. As a long time Springfield Falcons fan, I can say good for him.
30. Buffalo Sabres (34 points)
Last week: 29
They are a young team with a bright future, but with Columbus starting to turn their season around, Buffalo once again finds itself at the bottom. Maybe next year. Jack Eichel, the second pick of the 2015 NHL Draft, had his second two-goal performance in five games in Buffalo’s recent loss to Detroit.