For the NHL Power Rankings two weeks ago, I warned the Kings about possibly losing their lead in the Pacific Division. Now it is time for the City of Angels to raise the red flag. The Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks are primed for a comeback and are now two and three points, respectively, behind Los Angeles. Meanwhile, it is the Vancouver Canucks’ turn to hit rock bottom.
1. Washington Capitals (88 points)
Last week: 1 (84 points)
Another strong week for Washington. With defensive wins to LA and the Islanders, the Capitals are about to start a four-game home stand, with New Jersey, Arizona, Montreal, and Minnesota on the schedule. No other team in the Eastern Conference is within 15 points of the Caps, so a strong four games will most likely wrap up the top seed. Philipp Grubauer was stellar against the Kings, saving 39 of their 40 shots. He has a 2.13 GAA for the season, which is actually lower than Braden Holtby’s now.
2. Chicago Blackhawks (81 points)
Last week: 2 (77 points)
After a clunker of a week, the Hawks got a confidence booster against Toronto (How about 7-2 for a score?). Then they went into Manhattan and won with three straight third period goals. This included two goals from Artemi Panarin, who used the second goal (an empty netter) to seal the hat trick. Teuvo Teravainen, another youngster for the Blackhawks, also had a big week, scoring a goal against the Maple Leafs and added two assists against the Rangers.
3. Dallas Stars (80 points)
Last week: 3 (77 points)
The road trip could have been better. After an overtime thriller in Tennessee, the defense could not keep it together in losses to St. Louis (in overtime) and Arizona. They got Boston, an excellent road team, coming up before a home-and-home with Winnipeg. Over his past six games, Kari Lehtonen has alternated between giving up two and three goals, but the second goal for the Blues against Lehtonen was the game-ender.
4. St. Louis Blues (77 points)
Last week: 4 (71 points)
After an offensive explosion in South Florida, the Blues ripped of three straight 2-1 victories, including two overtime winners. Brian Elliott has started every game since January 8, and he is just getting better. Is this the year the Blues make it out of the first round? With Elliott in goal?
5. Florida Panthers (73 points)
Last week: 5 (70 points)
The Panthers have suddenly hit the skids. Their shootout win on Monday was their only win in four games (at least they got a point in their shootout loss to San Jose). The Rangers are just one point behind them. With just four goals allowed in his last three starts, is Al Montoya possibly making a run for the starting position? For a team that already has a surprising lead in the Atlantic Division, anything is possible.
6. Los Angeles Kings (70 points)
Last week: 6 (69 points)
Since they beat the Rangers head-to-head, they still have the advantage…for now. Unfortunately, the Kings could only collect one point as their East coast road trip is beginning to wear on them. They had just two goals in three games this week. Jonathan Quick returned from a lower body injury and has 59 saves on 63 shots in his last two games.
7. New York Rangers (72 points)
Last week: 9 (68 points)
New York will need to do better in games against teams like the Blackhawks (they lost 5-3 to Chicago this week) if they want to hoist the Stanley Cup, but at least they have a leg up in the playoff race. While Philadelphia is not exactly a strong team, there is always a buzz in Manhattan when they come to town, so New York’s 3-1 victory in a matinee will bring positive vibes. J.T. Miller had four assists this week, but Ryan McDonough took another shot to the face. A sweet year for the captain is beginning to turn sour.
8. Boston Bruins (68 points)
Last week: 8 (66 points)
Another team that is ready for a return home (although they are awful at TD Garden). After wins against Winnipeg and Minnesota, they needed overtime to finish Columbus, lost to Detroit in a high-scoring affair, and were shut out in Nashville. Beating Dallas in Texas will be a sure challenge. Before that forgettable game against the Preds, David Krejci had points in every game on the road trip, with a goal and five assists in that span.
9. Tampa Bay Lightning (66 points)
Last week: 7 (64 points)
The Lightning had a long string of Western Conference teams come to town this week, and it was not pretty. After an overtime thriller against Nashville, St. Louis and San Jose had no problems burying the Lightning. Tampa Bay should have had an easy win against Winnipeg after three goals in the first five minutes, but the Jets forced a shootout before finally falling short. Alex Killorn had a goal, his tenth of the season, and two assists for the week.
10. Detroit Red Wings (67 points)
Last week: 10 (65 points)
What a letdown. Beating Boston boosted morale, but the Wings had no other points this week. In fact, they were outscored 10-4 in losses to the Islanders and Penguins. Darren Helm had two goals in the win against the Bruins, but Pavel Datsyuk’s two goals (and one assist) now gives him 900 career points.
11. New York Islanders (69 points)
Last week: 11 (64 points)
The Brooklynites had fallen back with the bubble teams recently, but they are now doing all they can to separate themselves again. Two defensive masterpieces from Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss, who has become a surprise possibility for starting goalie should the Islanders make the playoffs, sandwiched a challenger against the Capitals. Thankfully, they at least got one point against the best team in hockey. Nick Leddy has relied on assists to be productive this season, and February has been no different for the veteran defenseman. Despite just four goals this season, his eight assists this month now gives him 23, the most for Islander defensemen.
12. San Jose Sharks (67 points)
Last week: 12 (63 points)
The Sharks had been blazing, winning three straight to Arizona, Tampa Bay, and Florida, before hitting a brick wall on Friday. The Hurricanes blew by them with a big third period, and San Jose are now third in the Pacific Division. Matt Nieto had a goal and an assist win San Jose’s win in Tampa, and he added an assist in Carolina.
13. Anaheim Ducks (68 points)
Last week: 16 (62 points)
The brutal start to the season is well behind the rear-view mirror, now. The Ducks now have points in all of their last six games, including five wins. They have a slim lead for second place in the division, but there is more. With LA’s bad week, the Ducks are just two points behind the Kings. Who saw this coming in November? Defenseman Hampus Lindholm had two of Anaheim’s 16 goals this week (three games).
14. Pittsburgh Penguins (66 points)
Last week: 14 (63 points)
It was a quiet week for Pittsburgh, but they got points in both of their games. After a shootout loss to the lively Panthers, the Penguins’ offense came alive against the Red Wings. Phil Kessel broke out of a scoring skid (one goal in just seven games) with two scores against Detroit. He will likely need more games like that for Pittsburgh to make a playoff run.
15. New Jersey Devils (65 points)
Last week: 13 (63 points)
The Devils have returned from the NHL’s irrelevant to become a defensive juggernaut. They have the lowest GAA in the NHL, but not every team can be like the Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens of 2000. If New Jersey wants to return to the playoffs and make noise, their offense, which is dead last in goals per game, has to improve. It did just enough (as in one goal) to give Keith Kinkaid his first career shutout, but Corey Schneider’s effort against New York was wasted on Friday, as the Devils lost 1-0. Need any more proof? Despite a 2.28 GAA, Kinkaid is just 4-5-1 this season.
16. Colorado Avalanche (64 points)
Last week: 15 (62 points)
December and January may have saved Patrick Roy’s job, but February has been unkind. Losing to Buffalo was enough for Nashville to pass them. Despite beating Montreal, the Avalanche are now clinging to the second wild card spot. Gabriel Landeskog has had a tough month, himself. With an assist against the Canadiens, he now has only one goal and two assists.
17. Nashville Predators (64 points)
Last week: 17 (61 points)
The Predators now have the first wild card spot, and all signs point towards the goalies on this one. While the offense went to work, Carter Hutton shut out the Panthers on Saturday. After Hutton lost in overtime to Dallas, Pekka Rinne returned and gave the crowd of visiting Bruins fans nothing to celebrate. He had 29 saves in a 2-0 shutout against Boston.
18. Arizona Coyotes (60 points)
Last week: 19 (56 points)
The fact that there could be a wild card team from the Pacific Division sounds like bogus, but the Coyotes ripped off six goals, EACH, in wins against the Canadiens and the Stars. Most NHL followers would be surprised to know that Arizona is ninth in goals per game this season. Max Domi gets some of the credit, and he scored two goals in Arizona’s 6-3 win over Dallas. It was, however, his first goals since getting a hat trick against Edmonton on January 12. He also has goals in only three games since November 12.
19. Carolina Hurricanes (64 points)
Last week: 18 (60 points)
It would be frustrating for the entire franchise if they fell short of the postseason. They have not been in the playoffs since 2009, and the attendance took a nose dive last season. Even in their win against the Sharks on Friday, attendance was only 11,756. A return to the playoffs could regain fan interest. Jeff Skinner had two goals against San Jose, and it was his first multi-goal game since his hat trick barrage in December.
20. Montreal Canadiens (60 points)
Last week: 21 (58 points)
Oo…Canada. Montreal is the first Canadian team on this list and it is possible that there will be zero Canadian teams in the playoffs this season. The Habs jump the Flyers after beating them in a shootout, but the rest of their week (road losses to Arizona and Colorado) was predictably bad. Veteran defenseman Andrei Markov has boosted his production in February. His two goals, including one against Colorado, have doubled his season total. His +/- has also improved, -2, after a dismal -8 in January.
21. Philadelphia Flyers (61 points)
Last week: 19 (58 points)
The Flyers had a long string of Eastern Conference rivals this week, but they only went 1-1-1. They took over the Turnpike Rivalry with an offensive spitfire against New Jersey, the best defensive team in the league, before losing in a shootout to Montreal. Ryan White had a goal and an assist in the win over the Devils.
22. Ottawa Senators (60 points)
Last week: 23 (56 points)
Are they doing it again? They still have a few teams to pass, but the Senators got key wins over Buffalo and Carolina. Their season is far from over. Third liner Alex Chiasson has had a quiet season, but he got the Senators off right against the Hurricanes, scoring the first of Ottawa’s four goals to give the Sens a rare win against Carolina (they were 1-9-2 in their last 12 games against the Canes). The goal also gave Nick Paul his first career point.
23. Minnesota Wild (62 points)
Last week: 24 (56 points)
Winning three straight against the Western Canadian teams is not exactly a major accomplishment, but it is something, especially since the Wild had a horrible slide before that. It is also worth mentioning that interim head coach John Torchetti is undefeated. Even before the coaching change, Matt Dumba had been adding to the offense. With a goal and an assist against Edmonton, the young defenseman has three goals and five assists in February. He was pointless in January. The Wild play outside against the Blackhawks on Sunday.
24. Vancouver Canucks (56 points)
Last week: 22 (56 points)
Now it is time to push the panic button. Losing at home to Toronto was bad, but the Canucks lost to the struggling Wild and then the Ducks. Their home losing streak has reached six. To top it all off, the Flames had no problems knocking them out for the second time this month and are bound to pass Vancouver any time now. For those keeping track, the Canucks have lost four straight games by a 5-2 score. Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom, as well as the Alexander Edler-less defensive unit, are falling apart.
25. Calgary Flames (55 points)
Last week: 25 (53 points)
Vancouver is falling out of it, but they still have more points than the Flames. That is a bad sign for Calgary. It did not help that their only points came against those same Canucks this week. Derek Engelland scored his first goal of the season in Calgary’s loss to Minnesota.
26. Winnipeg Jets (54 points)
Last week: 26 (53 points)
The road trip to Florida has been like a death wish to visitors, and the Jets looked like they were bound to follow the same route. Then they ripped off four unanswered goals in the third period against the Lightning before losing in a shootout. After not recording a goal in January, Andrew Ladd had two goals against Tampa Bay, giving him five in February.
27. Columbus Blue Jackets (53 points)
Last week: 28 (52 points)
Considering their awful start to the season, the Jackets cannot be perfect every game. After forcing overtime on the Bruins, they were lifeless against the Sabres. They knew it would be one of those nights when David Legwand fired and scored from 150 feet away. Sometimes bounces just do not go Joonas Korpisalo’s way.
28. Buffalo Sabres (55 points)
Last week: 29 (50 points)
The Sabres are suddenly one of the hottest teams in the NHL. They are 3-0-1 in their last four games. Rookie Sam Reinhart has led the stampede, scoring a goal against Colorado and Columbus in what were easy wins for Buffalo.
29. Edmonton Oilers (50 points)
Last week: 27 (50 points)
After a recent bottleneck for the worst team in the NHL, there is now a clear worst team in each conference, and both are from Canada. Edmonton, again, are the worst out West. Do not expect it save his career with Edmonton, but Nail Yakupov scored his first goal of the month in a loss to Minnesota. If the Oilers get the #1 pick, again, then the lottery needs to be modified or banned.
30. Toronto Maple Leafs (49 points)
Last week: 30 (49 points)
Playing Chicago and the Rangers is not supposed to be easy, but neither is losing 7-2. I would not be surprised to see two new goalies in Toronto next year. Jonathan Bernier still has a 3.09 GAA, and James Reimer gave up all of Chicago’s seven goals. He does, however, have a 2.45 GAA, which is somewhat respectable. P.A. Parenteau has two goals and two assists in his last three games, which is big considering the captain position is open right now.