The All-Star Break is upon us! The top of the NHL Power Rankings is unchanged, but the middle is certainly shaken up. Tuukka Rask’s excellent goaltending has put the Bruins in position to regain a top three spot in the Atlantic Division, while the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks, and Pittsburgh Penguins each made some big jumps. Meanwhile, the Ottawa Senators and Minnesota Wild have taken sudden falls out of the playoff picture. Finally, there is a new cellar dweller after the Blue Jackets caught fire. Let the playoff chaos begin.
1. Washington Capitals (74 points)
Last week: 1 (73 points)
The Caps had a crazy week, and they only played one game. Their home matches against Anaheim and Pittsburgh had to be postponed due to the heavy snowstorm that touched down on the Eastern United States. It was then reported that Alex Ovechkin would miss the All-Star game due to a nagging lower body injury he has had most of the season. NHL rules require All-Stars that miss the All-Star game to miss their subsequent game. Will the Blackhawks take advantage of the opportunity to make a jump?
2. Chicago Blackhawks (70 points)
Last week: 2 (68 points)
The Blackhawks should be glad they no longer have to play in the Southeast. They went 0-3-0 Against Tampa Bay, Florida, and Carolina on the road, including a 4-0 and 5-0 thrashing to the Panthers and Hurricanes, respectively. Jonathan Toews caught an illness, and like Ovechkin, he will also miss the All-Star game and the first game afterwards.
3. Dallas Stars (67 points)
Last week: 3 (65 points)
The Hawks look off, and the Stars are trying to regain their early season form and re-enter the top spot in the Central Division. After a tough loss to Colorado, they took care of business against a Flames team that shockingly manhandled the Stars’ offense the last time they were in town. Antti Niemi saved 23 of Calgary’s 24 shots in the win.
4. St. Louis Blues (64 points)
Last week: 4 (63 points)
Not much to report here. They lost in a shootout to the Avalanche and were shut out in Chicago. They have over a week to correct an offense that is clearly out of gas. Brian Elliott has now had over a 90% save percentage in 11 of his last 12 games, including a 40-save performance against Colorado this past week.
5. Florida Panthers (63 points)
Last week: 6 (57 points)
Florida had hit the skids of late, but they have caught fire again. They won their last three games comfortably against Chicago, Tampa Bay, and Toronto while giving up just three goals (compared to their 14 goals). Aleksander Barkov got a six-year extension this past week, and he responded with another goal against the Leafs. Amazingly, he is only fourth on the team in scoring, trailing Vincent Trocheck (14), Jaromir Jagr (15), and Reilly Smith (16).
6. Los Angeles Kings (63 points)
Last week: 5 (61 points)
Beating their hated rivals in overtime is a plus, but regulation losses to Arizona and Colorado are not. Milan Lucic is not a positive either. After serving a one-game suspension for sucker punching Coyotes’ Kevin Connauton, he apparently made contact with a referee in another scrum against the Avalanche. What are the Kings going to do with this guy?
7. Detroit Red Wings (58 points)
Last week: 9 (54 points)
Are the Wings just another playoff team or do they have a chance at the Stanley Cup? If Petr Mrazek continues his torrid pace, the latter is certainly possible. Detroit’s defense came through in both Buffalo and Brooklyn (but not against Anaheim, when Jimmy Howard was in the net), and the Wings find themselves tied with the Lightning for second in the Atlantic Division. They go head-to-head after the All-Star break in what could be a telling matchup.
8. Tampa Bay Lightning (58 points)
Last week: 7 (56 points)
No, Tampa Bay. Beating Toronto 1-0 at home does not make up for the 5-2 shellacking to the Panthers. Now they have to beat the Wings to regain control of second place. With the only goal in the game against the Leafs, Steven Stamkos scored his first goal since January 12, a span of six games. He is now just three goals away from his 300th career goal.
9. New York Rangers (59 points)
Last week: 10 (55 points)
Nobody was going to predict that the Rangers would miss the playoffs, and the Rangers just might have removed recent doubters…for now, at least. The 3-0 loss in Ottawa was bad, but their wins to Carolina and Buffalo were impressive, and they go into the break second in the Metropolitan Division. Derick Brassard may have had the best night of any player this season, scoring two goals and tallying three key assists against the Sabres.
10. New York Islanders (56 points)
Last week: 8 (54 points)
They got a win in Ottawa, but one game was snowed in and Detroit defeated them in another. They now have a one-point lead over Pittsburgh and New Jersey, which are tied for the eighth and final spot in the standings. Cal Clutterbuck took a steal in the Ottawa zone and eventually scored his tenth goal of the season to tie the game, and the Islanders used an explosive third period to get their only two points of the week.
11. Boston Bruins (57 points)
Last week: 13 (51 points)
The Eastern Conference is starting to become very crowded, with 13 teams within five points of a playoff spot. The Bruins have won five of their last seven games, and they are now just a point behind Tampa Bay and Detroit, but they care more about the separation they have created over the Canadiens. Tuukka Rask saved 34 of Philadelphia’s 36 shots, helping Boston win 3-2 over the Flyers in Cheese Steak World.
12. San Jose Sharks (51 points)
Last week: 20 (51 points)
It was their 6-1 win over Colorado that placed them on top of the Avalanche in the Power Rankings. They also had a win against Minnesota and an overtime loss to the Kings as they attempt to gain a firm grip of second in the Pacific division. With two assists against Colorado, Joe Thornton now has an assist in seven straight games. His 32 assists is seventh most in the NHL this season.
13. Colorado Avalanche (57 points)
Last week: 12 (51 points)
With wins over St. Louis, Dallas, and LA, Colorado has now cleared Nashville and Minnesota in the standings. Passing the other teams in the division, however, will be much more of a challenge. Semyon Varlamov is on the IR, but Calvin Pickard continues to prove worthy of a reliable backup. Matt Duchene scored his 23rd goal of the season against the Kings, snapping a seven-game goalless streak.
14. Pittsburgh Penguins (55 points)
Last week: 21 (51 points)
Which 55-point team gets the tiebreaker? Pittsburgh for two reasons. One: they have the more dangerous weapons. Two: They beat the Devils, the loser of the tiebreaker, 2-0. The real highlight of the week was from Evgeni Malkin against Vancouver. He got the Pens back into the game with a hat trick and Pittsburgh eventually won in thrilling fashion.
15. New Jersey Devils (55 points)
Last week: 14 (53 points)
Pittsburgh’s and San Jose’s jump in the Power Rankings brings both the Devils and Preds down a notch. The Devils got a 3-1 win over Winnipeg, but fell flat in the Steel City. Mike Cammalleri returned from an upper body injury sustained on December 30 and has three assists in his last four games.
16. Nashville Predators (56 points)
Last week: 15 (50 points)
With All-Star game preparations in their arena, the Preds went to Western Canada and beat up on the weaker teams. They could make a jump if they get a combination of home wins against St. Louis, Philadelphia, San Jose, and Washington. Mike Fisher scored two goals against the Oilers, giving him seven in an injury-riddled season.
17. Carolina Hurricanes (54 points)
Last week: 19 (50 points)
Carolina is doing all it can to make the playoffs this year. They scored five goals in each of their last two games, outscoring Calgary and Chicago by a combined 10-2 score. Riley Nash doubled his goal total with two goals against the Blackhawks, while Eddie Lack had 59 saves in the two wins.
18. Minnesota Wild (55 points)
Last week: 11 (54 points)
Nashville and Colorado wanted to make a move, and they made it. Minnesota is now the sixth-place team in the tight Central Division, and going 1-6-1 is a good reason for a drop like this. Charlie Coyle has been one of the few bright spots for the Wild, scoring a goal in his last three games.
19. Ottawa Senators (52 points)
Last week: 18 (50 points)
The shutout win over the Rangers saved the Senators from a gargantuan fall in the rankings, but things are looking bleak in the Canadian capital. Losing to Buffalo at home did not make any moods better. What was so special about a Bobby Ryan goal? It apparently gave a young fan a puppy, according to a poster in the game against New York.
20. Arizona Coyotes (53 points)
Last week: 16 (49 points)
The week was promising after wins against LA and Minnesota, but they were unimpressive in their 5-2 loss to Winnipeg. Louis Domingue finally had to be pulled in that game. Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored his 14th goal against the Kings, putting him at a tie for second in goals for a defenseman this season. Also, is Arizona possibly planning an arena in Tempe with Arizona State University?
21. Vancouver Canucks (51 points)
Last week: 17 (51 points)
With Montreal sliding as we speak, Vancouver may be Canada’s lone chance at a Stanley Cup this season. That cannot be good, especially with losses to Pittsburgh and Nashville this past week. Jannik Hansen scored a hat trick against the Penguins, but that could not save them.
22. Anaheim Ducks (51 points)
Last week: 24 (47 points)
Their eastern road trip was abbreviated, but the losses were nonexistent. The offense caught fire with four goals against Detroit and six in Boston. Corey Perry was responsible for three of those goals, and has now reached 20 for the season. The All-Star break could not have been timed any worse for an underachieving squad which had finally found some momentum.
23. Philadelphia Flyers (50 points)
Last week: 22 (48 points)
The Flyers had no points since January 17, but that skid ended with an overtime winner in Washington. We will see if the Flyers can build on that following the break. Jakub Voracek hopes so. He had two goals, including a huge game-winning overtime goal, to finish the Caps.
24. Montreal Canadiens (52 points)
Last week: 23 (50 points)
How much farther do the Habs want to fall? Here is some perspective. Remember when the Habs won their first nine games of the season and the Blue Jackets fired their head coach because they could not win a game? Now the Jackets are just nine points behind the “contenders”. To top it all home, Columbus won BOTH games of a home-and-home.
25. Winnipeg Jets (47 points)
Last week: 26 (45 points)
The win against Arizona helped, but they need to win more often to contend and keep their players. With the trade deadline coming up soon, it may be too late. At least there is young talent producing at the top stage. Nikolaj Ehlers got himself a hat trick in the win over the Coyotes.
26. Calgary Flames (45 points)
Last week: 25 (45 points)
Three straight losses to Carolina, Dallas, and Nashville was not quite the nail to the coffin, but it may be a foreshadowing if the All-Star break does not help them. It will be interesting to see how long Karri Ramo’s leash is. His bad games are few and far between, but he recently sat out three straight games in favor of Jonas Hiller. It may be one too many questions for the Flames.
27. Buffalo Sabres (44 points)
Last week: 29 (42 points)
After losses to the superior Red Wings and Rangers, they came out on top against the Senators. Had they lost, the Sabres would have had the fewest points in the NHL. Zemgus Girginsons had two goals to make the Rangers sweat, but the Blue Shirts eventually broke free.
28. Edmonton Oilers (43 points)
Last week: 27 (37 points)
Lick your wounds. They went into the break on another sour note, losing 4-1 to Nashville. This included a Preds goal that went in off the face of Andrej Sekera.
29. Columbus Blue Jackets (43 points)
Last week: 30 (38 points)
The Blue Jackets played like they were on a mission. The Bruins needed a shootout to stave them off, and the Canadiens looked lost (what else is new?). Columbus got two 5-2 wins over the failing Habs. Scott Hartnell scored his 17th goal of the season in the second win over Montreal, and Cam Atkinson had a hat trick in the first win.
30. Toronto Maple Leafs (43 points)
Last week: 28 (42 points)
A 3-2 shootout loss to Montreal (which figures to look worse in April), a 5-1 loss to Florida, and a 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay was what happened this week. Columbus look like they still want a playoff spot, and it may not be impossible. Toronto, on the other hand, looks like they really want the #1 pick in the draft.