The Central Division is going to be a dogfight into April. The St. Louis Blues have jumped into the #2 spot in the NHL Power Rankings this week. The Chicago Blackhawks are now fourth, but do not have far to go in order to jump the Dallas Stars and the Blues once more. The Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins also made big jumps, while the Anaheim Ducks fell back to eighth.
1. Washington Capitals (103 points)
Last week: 1 (98 points)
Barring a late meltdown, the Capitals have everything (the Metropolitan Division, the Eastern Conference top seed, and the Presidents’ Trophy) wrapped up, and they already have passed the century mark in points. Their West Coast trip has been a challenge, though, since they needed a shootout to beat Anaheim before getting just one point against Los Angeles and San Jose. Another Matt Niskanen overtime goal gave Philipp Grubauer the win in Boston after another great showing. He saved 32 of Boston’s 33 shots, and with just a 2.02 GAA in 13 starts, he could get looks from other teams assuming that Braden Holtby remains the starter in Washington.
2. St. Louis Blues (91 points)
Last week: 4 (83 points)
Their offense has been an issue this year (23rd in goals per game), but their recent surge has turned the Central Division into an all-out war. Their overtime victory over the Stars puts the two teams in a tie for first, and it capped off a four-win week for the Blues. They have now won six straight games and are undefeated in March. Vladimir Tarasenko continued his torrid season with three goals and three assists this week, including two goals in a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
3. Dallas Stars (91 points)
Last week: 3 (83 points)
They are tied for first in the Central Division because they found a way to get points in all of their five games despite winning just three of them. With every point mattering in the division, their overtime loss to the Blues, which blew a two-goal lead in the third period, could be a real killer with their playoff seeding. Jason Spezza is one of the hottest scorers this month, scoring in all of Dallas’s six March games. This included two goals in the loss to St. Louis.
4. Chicago Blackhawks (88 points)
Last week: 2 (85 points)
They swept the Detroit Red Wings, but that is really the only thing worth celebrating this week. They lost key games to St. Louis and Dallas to bump them back to third in the Central Division. Michal Rozsival had three assists this week, including two against Detroit.
5. Los Angeles Kings (85 points)
Last week: 6 (80 points)
They lost to Anaheim, again. However, they made up for it with wins over Vancouver and Washington before falling to the Devils in overtime. They now have a two-point lead in the Pacific Division. Milan Lucic has an assist in five straight games.
6. Boston Bruins (86 points)
Last week: 10 (80 points)
Thanks to two divisional overtime wins and some clutch goaltending from both Jonas Gustavsson and Tuukka Rask. The Bruins now have grabbed first place in the Atlantic Division and only trail Washington in the Eastern Conference. Gustavsson saved all of Tampa Bay’s 42 shots on goal on Tuesday, and David Pastrnak had two goals in the B’s win over the Islanders on Saturday. The 19-year-old also scored against Carolina and Florida as he attempts to break out in the final month of the season.
7. New York Rangers (85 points)
Last week: 8 (80 points)
It was a decent week for the Blue Shirts. Antti Raanta filled in for injured Henrik Lundqvist and got two wins in three games. Then Lundqvist returned and lost in overtime to Detroit. The playoffs are not in serious doubt, but the Rangers would like to rebound from an ugly performance in Consol Energy Center earlier in the month and take out the Pittsburgh Penguins at home. Derick Brassard has been unstoppable versus the Buffalo Sabres, scoring his third goal in two games against Buffalo on Tuesday. He was out with the flu against Detroit.
8. Anaheim Ducks (83 points)
Last week: 5 (80 points)
After ripping off 11 straight wins, the Ducks are beginning to come back to Earth. They only salvaged one point in games against Washington, Colorado, and St. Louis, and they once again trail the Kings in the Pacific Division. John Gibson has been outstanding in 30 appearances this season (a slim 2.07 GAA and 16 wins), and he allowed just one goal to the mighty Capitals before falling short in a shootout.
9. Florida Panthers (85 points)
Last week: 9 (78 points)
Things looked bad after Arizona tore them apart and Boston beat them in overtime, but the Panthers have kept up with the Bruins. They took care of Ottawa and defeated Philadelphia in a high-scoring affair that ended with an Aleksander Barkov game winner in the shootout. Barkov also scored earlier in the Philly game and against Boston.
10. Tampa Bay Lightning (83 points)
Last week: 7 (80 points)
They nearly had a double-digit winning streak of their own, but they went on to lose to Boston in overtime (in which they had plenty of chances to best Jonas Gustavsson) and had no answers in two match-ups with Philadelphia. They now have both Florida and Boston to pass in the Atlantic Division. Tyler Johnson had two assists in the road game against the Flyers and forced overtime on the Hurricanes with a late goal in the third period.
11. New York Islanders (82 points)
Last week: 11 (77 points)
Maybe the week ended with a thud (losses to Toronto and Boston), but the Islanders came out fairly strong considering how few home games they have had lately. Their offense was great in Madison Square Garden, which included two Islander goals in the final two minutes, before winning a defensive battle against Pittsburgh in their lone home game in a six-game span. Nikolay Kulemin helped seal the victory against the Rangers with an assist to Frans Nielsen for an empty net goal. It was the Russian winger’s tenth assist of the season.
12. Detroit Red Wings (79 points)
Last week: 12 (75 points)
The wild card race in the Eastern Conference is heating up, and the Wings will need a strong finish to extend their lengthy 24-season playoff streak. They were lifeless in their two games against the rival Blackhawks, but they redeemed themselves with two huge 3-2 victories over Winnipeg and the Rangers. It was Darren Helm who played hero over New York, scoring two goals, including the overtime winner off his leg.
13. San Jose Sharks (82 points)
Last week: 13 (76 points)
Despite consistency issues all season, the Sharks still have a great chance at winning the Pacific Division. It helps to beat up on the weaker division rivals, like Edmonton and Calgary, but it also helps to have a huge third period against Washington, the best team in the league. The three wins sandwiched an awful performance against New Jersey. Brent Burns is hunting for the Norris Trophy, and he showed it with a slick Gordie Howe hat trick in Calgary. He then sealed the game on an empty net goal against the Caps. He now has an astounding 25 goals for the year.
14. Nashville Predators (81 points)
Last week: 14 (73 points)
The Preds have spent most of the year as an average and disappointing team following a huge 2014-2015 season. After winning eight games out of ten in February/March, they now have a good grasp on one of the wild card positions. Filip Forsberg has also improved with the season’s progress, and he had a goal and a hectic assist in the win against the Colorado Avalanche.
15. Pittsburgh Penguins (78 points)
Last week: 15 (74 points)
Nothing good to report here. Evgeni Malkin will miss up to two months with an arm injury after leaving the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has been one of the key pieces to Pittsburgh’s success in the postseason, and the Penguins, which are currently in the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, will now have to make the playoffs without him. Unless Pittsburgh can make the playoffs for the tenth straight season and make a big run, Malkin may be done for the season. Tough blow.
16. Philadelphia Flyers (76 points)
Last week: 19 (69 points)
Apparently Ghost + Bear = Good NHL Player. Shayne Gostisbehere is now the franchise leader in goals for rookie defensemen with 15. His biggest game of the week was at home against Tampa Bay, where he had his first career multi-goal game. He also forced overtime with a goal against against the Panthers. The Flyers are suddenly within striking distance of a playoff spot.
17. Minnesota Wild (74 points)
Last week: 17 (70 points)
The Wild can feel good knowing they still have five games left against the Eastern Conference. They went undefeated against teams in that conference this week, winning in a shootout at Buffalo and having no problems against Montreal. Unfortunately, they were winless in their own conference, and they will not get the second wild card spot if that continues. David Jones got his first goal as a member of the Wild in the win against the Sabres. He had been acquired from Calgary just before the trade deadline.
18. Colorado Avalanche (74 points)
Last week: 16 (68 points)
The Avalanche have a similar scenario to Minnesota. They can beat teams in the Pacific Division, but not their own. Not even the dang Winnipeg Jets. Fortunately, they have the three Western Canada teams (at Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton, all in the Pacific Division) next on their schedule. After Calvin Pickard had problems against Nashville, Semyon Varlamov returned and saved 74 of 75 shots on Arizona and Anaheim combined. This included shutting out a Ducks offense that had been scorching of late. Gabriel Landeskog has been suspended three games for a cross check to the head of Simon Despres.
19. Carolina Hurricanes (74 points)
Last week: 20 (68 points)
The Hurricanes are still behind Philly in the standings, but they can feel good knowing they got points in all of their games this week. Also of note: they played extra time in all of their four games. Phil Di Giuseppe knocked in the overtime goal against the Bruins, and he has at least one point in his last four games. He may be benefitting from the fact that Carolina is still in selling mode despite actually being close to the playoffs.
20. Ottawa Senators (72 points)
Last week: 21 (67 points)
They moved up in the NHL Power Rankings because of parity. Unfortunately, their only two wins of the week were both against Toronto. Not much of an accomplishment. Jean-Gabriel Pageau is having a huge breakout season. After not having more than 19 points in a season, he now has that number of assists after getting three in the home win over the Leafs.
21. New Jersey Devils (73 points)
Last week: 18 (69 points)
Well, they had been deadlocked with the Penguins, but New Jersey has now fallen to seventh in the Metropolitan Division and it will be a tough climb back to the second wild card spot. Thankfully, they are already 2-0 in California, as Keith Kinkaid has continued to make New Jersey’s defense look like a brick wall after Corey Schneider could be lost for the season with a knee injury. He shut out the Sharks on Thursday.
22. Montreal Canadiens (70 points)
Last week: 22 (66 points)
While there is still time to make a comeback, there will still be a sour taste in Montreal. It just got worse. PK Subban had to be taken out of Montreal’s win against the Sabres on a stretcher. Even the wins are bad. Fortunately, Subban is day-to-day after what had been a scary incident.
23. Vancouver Canucks (66 points)
Last week: 24 (60 points)
After splitting the road trip in San Jose and Los Angeles, the Canucks have started the home stand off right, getting wins against Arizona and Nashville. They ended Nashville’s 14-game point streak. Daniel Sedin had goals against both San Jose and Nashville.
24. Columbus Blue Jackets (64 points)
Last week: 23 (60 points)
Sergei Bobrovsky is back and Joonas Korpisalo was sent back to the AHL. What a joke. Korpisalo has done way better than Curtis McElhinney and he still gets the boot. We will see if this comes back to bite Columbus. At least the offense came alive against Edmonton and Detroit. David Savard had three goals in those two games after just one goal all season.
25. Arizona Coyotes (67 points)
Last week: 26 (60 points)
Arizona salvaged some of their dignity with three wins and getting points in four of their last five games. They still have a bit of a climb, with a seven-point deficit behind Minnesota and Colorado, and they have to clear both teams to make the playoffs. Mike Smith returned from a three-month absence (Core muscle surgery) and nonchalantly put up a 44-save shutout on Edmonton. If only the Coyotes were playing a tougher opponent…
26. Buffalo Sabres (65 points)
Last week: 27 (60 points)
It may not have any long-term effects, but Chad Johnson is looking like the better goalie. He has allowed fewer than three goals in five of his last seven appearances (the other two he took the victory), and he was sharp in Buffalo’s overtime victory over Carolina. He made 28 saves on 30 shots. He has also benefitted from three Jack Eichel goals in three appearances this week (he played against the Rangers after Robin Lehner was pulled).
27. Edmonton Oilers (61 points)
Last week: 25 (57 points)
Edmonton got two wins against Winnipeg and Minnesota, but they were also shut out at home twice. Did you know that the Oilers have not scored a goal at Rexall Place in March? That is not a good stat to see. Cam Talbot survived a barrage from the Winnipeg Jets and made 39 saves to get the win in Manitoba.
28. Calgary Flames (61 points)
Last week: 28 (56 points)
Nothing is sketchier than reducing Dennis Wideman’s suspension when the suspension period is pretty much expired. At least the Flames salvaged five points in as many games this week, which included a thriller against the Nashville Predators, the same team Calgary faced when Wideman cross-checked the linesman. Johnny Gaudreau scored twice in ten seconds and assisted the overtime winner to Mikael Backlund.
29. Winnipeg Jets (61 points)
Last week: 29 (57 points)
Wins against Montreal and Colorado sandwiched three regulation losses, and their home-heavy schedule has not resulted in many wins lately. At least the fans got to see a Mark Scheifele hat trick. Scheifele’s production has jolted since Andrew Ladd was traded, which could be a confidence booster for the franchise moving forward.
30. Toronto Maple Leafs (55 points)
Last week: 29 (52 points)
Shame on you, New York Islanders. You were the only team that had an L against the Leafs. I will give credit to William Nylander, who is perhaps one of the main pieces to building a contender in Toronto. He scored his first two career goals this week. He was the eighth pick in the 2014 NHL Draft.