Regular-season games will resume Saturday following time off for the NHL’s inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off. Meanwhile, we roll out our latest edition of NHL power rankings.
We again separate the 32 teams into tiers. They are:
- Lifting 34.5 Pounds
- They’re Going to Be a Problem
- Second-round Fodder
- Just Happy to Be Here
- Mushy Middle
- Lottery Curious
- This Might Actually Get Worse
Lifting 34.5 Pounds
They’re equipped to make a deep run and get those arms ready to lift the greatest trophy in sports.
1. Winnipeg Jets: 39-14-3, 81 points (Previous rank: 1)
They’re 8-2-0 in the past month, have a goaltender who looks like the runaway favorite for the Vezina Trophy (Connor Hellebuyck) and the top power play in the league (33.3 percent).
2. Washington Capitals: 36-11-8, 80 points (Previous rank: 4)
Even with concerns about their ability to control the territorial battle, Washington continues to be led by elite goaltending and underrated special teams — 11th in the league in power-play conversion rate (23.2 percent) and fifth best at killing penalties (82.6 percent).
3. Edmonton Oilers: 34-17-4, 72 points (Previous rank: 3)
The Oilers cooled in the past month because of an uneven penalty kill (75.6 percent, 23rd). But why worry about one uneven month from a team that was so close to winning the whole thing last season?
4. Florida Panthers: 34-20-3, 71 points (Previous rank: 5)
Their winter doldrums ended thanks to an 8-3-0 stretch in the past month in which they were dominant in seemingly every statistical category.
They’re Going to Be a Problem
It’s easy to envision these teams playing in the Stanley Cup Finals even if they might not enter as favorites.
5. Carolina Hurricanes: 33-19-4, 70 points (Previous rank: 10)
Carolina pushed its chips in for the second year in a row, this time shocking the NHL with a reasonably affordable deal for superstar forward Mikko Rantanen. It’s a coup, but Rantanen has struggled acclimating so far with just two points in his first six games.
6. Dallas Stars: 35-18-2, 72 points (Previous rank: 6)
Dallas is 7-3-1 in the past month and already took a big swing in a trade, acquiring forward Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci from San Jose. The roster still seems incomplete because of injuries to center Tyler Seguin and defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
7. Vegas Golden Knights: 33-17-6, 72 points (Previously rank: 2)
The Knights process and territorial play still seem to be good, but they went 4-4-3 in the past month and were 24th in shooting percentage and 29th in save percentage in all situations.
8. Colorado Avalanche: 33-22-2, 68 points (Previous rank: 7)
Colorado is a respectable 6-4-1 in the past month. In eight games since the shocking trade of Mikko Rantanen for Martin Necas and Jack Drury, they’re 5-3-0.
Second-round Fodder
They’re good enough to win a round, but it would take something extraordinary to see them get beyond the second round.
9. Minnesota Wild: 33-19-4, 70 points (Previous rank: 11)
The Wild have benefited from the third-best 5-on-5 save percentage (93.18%) in the past month. Territorially, they have struggled, as injuries to key players (star winger Kirill Kaprizov included) mount.
10. Tampa Bay Lightning: 31-20-4, 66 points (Previous rank: 13)
Tampa is not at the top of the food chain any longer, but the resurgence of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (.918 save percentage) and the fifth-best power play (26.9 percent), anchored by forwards Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, has Tampa riding high.
11. Toronto Maple Leafs: 33-20-2, 68 points (Previous rank: 9)
They’ve struggled to score — 18th in the NHL in goals scored per hour at 5-on-5 while going 5-4-0 in the past month. That’s notable for a team that has struggled to score during the playoffs.
12. Los Angeles Kings: 29-17-7, 65 points (Previous rank: 8)
Los Angeles is 4-5-2 since Jan. 18 and struggling to score at 5-on-5 and on the power play — 23rd in the NHL in goals scored per hour (2.02) and 29th in power-play efficiency (14.6 percent).
13. New Jersey Devils: 31-20-6, 68 points (Previous rank: 12)
New Jersey is 5-5-0 in the past month while watching its offense sputter and the defense spring a few leaks. The goaltending is the big story. Starter Jacob Markstrom is recovering from an MCL sprain.
Just Happy to Be Here
For these teams, winning a round would probably be more akin to winning the Stanley Cup at this point — that’s how low the expectations are for any of these teams in a first-round series.
14. Detroit Red Wings: 28-22-5, 61 points (Previous rank: 19)
The Wings are hot again — 7-3-1 in the past month and 15-5-1 since firing Derek Lalonde and replacing him with Todd McLellan. This team faded down the stretch last season after an injury to star centerman Dylan Larkin — an outcome they’d hope to avoid a repeat of this season.
15. Vancouver Canucks: 26-18-11, 63 points (Previous rank: 21)
The Canucks are 7-3-1 in the past month, including a 3-1-1 record since trading center J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers and acquiring defenseman Marcus Pettersson from Pittsburgh. In the past month, Vancouver is fourth best in the NHL in Natural Stat Trick’s high-danger chances against per hour (8.92).
16. Ottawa Senators: 29-23-4, 62 points (Previous rank: 14)
They’re 7-5-0 in the past month, but they are starting to show concerning signs. They’ve scored just 1.4 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 in the past month — 31st in the NHL in that span.
Mushy Middle
All these teams have played themselves out of a realistic shot at the No. 1 overall pick. They’re compelling in their own way but certainly flawed.
17. New York Rangers: 27-24-4, 58 points (Previousy rank: 18)
Consistency is an issue for the Rangers, but they’re somehow still alive despite a seven-week stretch as the worst team in hockey by points percentage. The Rangers experimented with struggling center Mika Zibanejad on their top line at wing after the J.T. Miller trade — a development worth monitoring.
18. New York Islanders: 25-23-7, 57 points (Previous rank: 25)
You could have stuck a fork in the Islanders a month ago. Instead, they’re 8-3-0 recently thanks to savvy additions on defense (Tony DeAngelo, Scott Perunovich and Adam Boqvist).
19. Calgary Flames: 26-21-8, 60 points (Previous rank: 17)
The Flames took a nice, big swing by trading with Philadelphia for forwards Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. They’re 1-3-1 since making the deal.
20. Columbus Blue Jackets: 26-22-8, 60 points (Previous rank: 16)
Health and good fortune — something the Jackets have lacked for their entire existence — would be welcome for a team that lost two star players to injury. Center Sean Monahan’s injury was bad enough, but star winger Kirill Marchenko got hurt by a stray puck that broke his jaw while he was on the bench. That’s putting a playoff run in jeopardy.
21. Utah HC: 24-23-9, 57 points (Previous rank: 24)
Utah is 6-4-2 in the past month, but it might be a little too late to make a serious push for a team missing one of its key players (center Logan Cooley) to injury.
22. Boston Bruins: 27-24-6, 60 points (Previous rank: 23)
It’s a testament to Boston’s overall talent level, improving goaltending and a weak Eastern Conference that they’re hanging around the playoff race at all.
23. Anaheim Ducks: 24-24-6, 54 points (Previous rank: 30)
The return of winger Trevor Zegras has helped spur one of the best months in Anaheim in a long time (6-3 in their past nine games).
Lottery Curious
These are the teams browsing the trade market and trying to make a decision on whether or not they should become sellers.
24. Montreal Canadiens: 25-26-5, 55 points (Previous rank: 15)
It looked like the Canadiens had turned the corner, but Injuries to defensemen Kaiden Guhle and winger Emil Heineman have helped the Canadiens crash back to Earth.
25. St. Louis Blues: 25-26-5, 55 points (Previous rank: 20)
They’re 3-6-1 in the past month with only a single win coming outside the shootout.
26. Philadelphia Flyers: 24-26-7, 55 points (Previous rank: 22)
The Flyers’ fade continues — they are 4-6-1 in the past month and 26th in 5-on-5 save percentage (90.55%).
This Might Actually Get Worse
The teams in this tier are still getting pummeled on an almost-nightly basis. They are in the early stages of a rebuild, at the end of a competitive window without having actually begun the rebuild yet or generally appear aimless and lacking a plan.
27. Pittsburgh Penguins: 23-25-9, 55 points (Previous rank: 29)
The Penguins were 27th in points percentage in the past month (.450) and continued a sell-off dealing defenseman Marcus Pettersson to Vancouver.
28. Buffalo Sabres: 22-27-5, 49 points (Previous rank: 26)
Their season is basically over, but the Sabres went 5-4-0 in the past month. It’s not really enough to make up any ground for a team that will likely miss the playoffs for a staggering 14th consecutive season.
29. Seattle Kraken: 24-29-4, 52 points (Previous rank: 27)
They are 5-5-1 in the past month, 10-13-2 in their past 25 games and nothing really seems to be working. They’re 31st in the league at generating high-danger chances per 60 minutes in the past month, according to Natural Stat Trick.
30. Nashville Predators: 19-28-7, 43 points (Previous rank: 28)
They went 4-6-0 last month, and the sample size is now too big to think anything else: They’re just not very good.
31. Chicago Blackhawks: 17-31-7, 41 points (Previous rank: 31)
They’re 28th in the NHL in goals against per hour in the past month and 3-3-4 in that span.
32. San Jose Sharks: 15-35-7, 37 points (Previous rank: 32)
Without a time machine to speed up their rebuilding process, it’s just a numb slog for a team that went 1-8-1 in the past month.
