1
|
Stars
| Offense is a team effort in Dallas. The Stars’ depth is once again proving to be the best in the NHL with multiple lines capable of putting the puck in the net regularly. Seven players are scoring at a 20-goal pace, and Wyatt Johnston just misses the cut at 10 goals in 42 games. In the postseason, opposing defenses won’t be able to hone in on one or two lines because everyone in the Stars lineup is capable of lighting the lamp. | 5 | 28-14-1 |
2
|
Oilers
| Forget the loaded stat sheet. Leon Draisaitl is doing preposterous things at five-on-five every single night. In his over 700 minutes of ice-time in those situations, Draisaitl owns a 62.0% expected goals share, and the Oilers are outscoring opponents at a rate of nearly 2-to-1. Right now, Draisaitl is on pace for his second Hart Trophy. | 1 | 27-13-3 |
3
|
Avalanche
| When the Avalanche acquired Casey Mittelstadt last season, I thought he would be a great fit for them, but that hasn’t been the case. Instead of giving Colorado stability in the second-line center spot, he’s been getting caved in at five-on-five. With Mittelstadt on the ice in those situations, Colorado has a minus-8 goal differential and a 42.7% expected goals share. | 1 | 27-17-1 |
4
|
Golden Knights
| Vegas is a Western Conference powerhouse, but it could still use a little more out of William Karlsson, who has struggled offensively. Karlsson has seven goals in 34 games, and he hasn’t scored in his last 10 games. In fact, he has just three assists in that span. Overall, Wild Bill is on the way to his least productive season in a few years. | 3 | 29-12-3 |
5
|
Kings
| Los Angeles hasn’t played in a game featuring more than three total goals since Dec. 29. As impressive as the team’s defense is, it does need to find more at the other end of the ice. The biggest concern right now is Kevin Fiala, who hasn’t recorded a single point in the last five games, and he hasn’t notched an assist since Dec. 7. The Kings need him to elevate his game to contend for a Cup. | 3 | 24-12-5 |
6
|
Jets
| On Tuesday night, Kyle Connor recorded a natural hat trick before the Canucks could even blink. Connor scored the game’s first three goals in just 13:37, marking the second-fastest hat trick in Jets/Thrashers history. Connor is now up to 26 goals in 45 games, putting him on pace for the best goal-scoring season of his already impressive career. | 2 | 30-12-3 |
7
|
Capitals
| Tom Wilson seems to have revived his career and then some. Wilson has 19 goals in 43 games, meaning he’s on track for 36. Wilson, now 30, hasn’t even scored more than 24 in a single season. He’s been superb for the Capitals, and his 55.5% expected goals share at five-on-five is only more evidence that this is no fluke. | 2 | 29-10-5 |
8
|
Wild
| With this being his last NHL season, let’s give a nod to the legendary Marc-Andre Fleury. In a backup role behind Filip Gustavsson, Fleury is in the midst of a bounce-back campaign. Fleury boasts a .910 save percentage and has posted 3.18 goals saved above average. That’s a massive improvement from where Fleury was at this time last season, when he was toward the bottom of the NHL in both categories. | 1 | 27-13-4 |
9
|
Hurricanes
| Jack Roslovic, whose career high is 22 goals in a single season, currently leads the Hurricanes with 17 goals. First of all, that’s a testament to how well Roslovic has adjusted to his new environment in Carolina. He’s thriving under Rod Brind’Amour. On the other hand, it’s also a reminder that Martin Necas has one goal in his last 18 games after notching 14 in 26 games to start the season. | 1 | 26-15-3 |
10
|
Panthers
| The Panthers have very few weaknesses (duh), but they haven’t exactly been impenetrable between the pipes. Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight have combined to allow 3.73 goals above average. Those two don’t need to be elite for Florida to repeat as Cup champs, but Florida needs a little bit more than what they’ve shown to this point. | 1 | 26-16-3 |
11
|
Maple Leafs
| Mitch Marner is playing like prime John Stockton for the Maple Leafs. He’s been dishing out helpers left and right, and now he is on track for 83 assists. Marner has always been an elite playmaker, but he’s never come close to averaging an assist per game. Marner has been the WD-40 keeping the gears of this Leafs offense turning. | 6 | 27-16-2 |
12
|
Devils
| Since the Christmas break, Timo Meier has just one goal and one assist. It’s been a frustrating slump for Meier, who looked like he had figured it out in New Jersey through the first 36 games. Despite the sagging stats, Meier’s five-on-five impacts remain some of the best on the entire team, so he is doing other things to contribute. | — | 26-15-5 |
13
|
Lightning
| With a cap hit of $6.5 million per season, Brandon Hagel might be one of the more underrated bargains around. He’s already up to 20 goals and 28 assists on the season, and those totals put him on pace for 93 points. That would be an 18-point improvement over his impressive 2023-24 campaign, and he has picked up some of the offensive slack left behind by Steven Stamkos. | 2 | 23-16-3 |
14
|
Canadiens
| I think the Canadiens are officially a problem. Since Dec. 17, Montreal is 10-2-1, which is the best record in the NHL over that span. That record is not the result of some good puck luck either. The Habs have controlled 51.6% of the expected goals over this stretch, and the team defense has taken a clear step forward. Whether Montreal can sustain this level of play remains to be seen, but it is a fun group to watch. | 5 | 21-18-4 |
15
|
Red Wings
| Since the Christmas break ended, Patrick Kane and the Red Wings have been on a heater. Over that span, Kane has five goals and eight assists. Just as importantly, Lucas Raymond has found his game with five goals and nine assists. It’s not a coincidence Detroit is 7-2-0 in its last nine, and the team is right back in the midst of a muddy East playoff race. | 5 | 20-19-4 |
16
|
Blues
| One of the offseason’s biggest blunders might have been the Oilers letting the Blues pluck Dylan Holloway from right under their noses. Holloway, in his third NHL season, has been a bona fide top-six forward for St. Louis. His 15 goals are second on the team, and his 32 points are good for third. Holloway has been a tremendous addition for the Blues. | 3 | 21-20-4 |
17
|
Senators
| The Grinch stole Christmas and the Senators’ ability to put the puck in the net. Ottawa couldn’t be stopped heading into the holiday break, and now it can’t buy a goal. The Sens have scored just 19 goals in nine games since Christmas, and their depth scoring has completely fallen by the wayside. | 3 | 22-18-3 |
18
|
Blue Jackets
| I’ve written about Zach Werenksi already this season, but I need to take another look at what he’s doing. Thanks to four goals in his last six games, Werenski has 15 goals in 44 games. He should easily pass the 20-goal mark, and he might even sniff 30. The last time a defenseman hit that number was Mike Green in 2008-09. | 3 | 21-17-6 |
19
|
Flames
| After looking dead in the water through his first couple seasons with the Flames, Jonathan Huberdeau is now on pace for 34 goals, which would be a career high. Huberdeau is shooting 24.3%, almost double his career average of 12.7%, but it’s good to see him producing again after a disastrous start to his time as a Flame. | 5 | 21-15-7 |
20
|
Bruins
| Boston has exactly two players on pace for 20-plus goals: Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. That’s not going to get the job done. Actually, given the state of the playoff race in the East, it might. Still, it’s clear this team is nowhere near true Cup contention at the moment. It’ll be interesting to see the direction this team takes ahead of the trade deadline. | 2 | 22-19-5 |
21
|
Canucks
| Elias Pettersson has two goals in his last 10 games. J.T. Miller has two goals in his last 17 games. Now the Canucks are outside of the playoffs. I’m not totally sure what to believe about the chemistry in that locker room, but I do know something has to change quickly because Vancouver’s season is heading south. | 5 | 19-14-10 |
22
|
Islanders
| Noah Dobson’s offense has cratered after posting 70 points in 2023-24. He’s sitting on five goals and 16 assists through 43 games, meaning Dobson is now tracking for his worst offensive season since the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign. An already offensively-challenged team like the Islanders can’t afford that kind of drop-off. | 5 | 17-19-7 |
23
|
Ducks
| This is shaping up to be another disappointing season in Anaheim, but the goaltending can’t be blamed. Lukas Dostal and John Gibson have been a solid tandem, combining for 9.74 goals saved above average. Anaheim’s team save percentage of .902 ranks eighth in the NHL. Things aren’t going well for the Ducks, but the crease has been solid. | — | 18-21-5 |
24
|
Sabres
| Dylan Cozens is on the trade block, and it’s not hard to see why. The 23-year-old seems to have taken a step back with nine goals and 12 assists, and that is on the back of a somewhat concerning 2023-24 campaign. The issue is that the potential return for Cozens is probably dropping by the day. Buffalo may be better served to hang onto Cozens and see if he can get his young career back on track. | 2 | 16-22-5 |
25
|
Flyers
| After a hot start, rookie Matvei Michkov has cooled off quite a bit. Over the last month, Michkov has tallied two goals and two assists in 14 games. He’s now lagging behind Macklin Celebrini and Lane Hutson in the Calder Trophy race, but it’s not uncommon for rookies to hit a wall. If he closes well, Michkov will be back in the mix for the award. | — | 19-20-6 |
26
|
Hockey Club
| Speaking of streaky young players, Dylan Guenther has been on a roller coaster in Salt Lake City. He started the season with five goals in three games. Then he scored two in his next 16 games. Then he heated up. Then he cooled off. So on and so forth. At the moment, Guenther is experiencing a cold spell with no goals and two assists in his last eight games. If Guenther can find some consistency, he will put up some mammoth numbers. | 9 | 18-18-7 |
27
|
Penguins
| The story of the season in Pittsburgh really has been goaltending, especially the poor play of Tristan Jarry. In his 22 appearances, Jarry has a .887 save percentage with 11.5 goals allowed above average. Both numbers put him in the NHL’s basement. If Jarry was playing anywhere near average, the Pens would very likely be in a playoff spot. | 5 | 18-20-8 |
28
|
Rangers
| If I could get a little spicy here, I’d like to wonder about the future of Atremi Panarin in New York. In a season with everything collapsing around him, Panarin has still been very good. He’s on pace to put up 90 points for the fourth time in his career, and he has one more year left on his deal at $11.6 million. That’s a lot of money, but the 33-year-old could fetch a large return if the Rangers really wanted to shake things up. | 3 | 20-20-3 |
29
|
Predators
| Nashville was hoping Tommy Novak could step up into a second-line center role, but he was unable to take advantage of his opportunity. Instead, Steven Stamkos was moved over to center, and Novak was bumped to the third line. He now has nine points in 34 games and could be on the trade block as the deadline gets closer. | 1 | 14-22-7 |
30
|
Kraken
| The Kraken have a lot of issues, hence their place in these power rankings, but Philipp Grubauer might be their biggest one. He is dead last amongst all NHL goalies with 17.7 goals allowed above average in just 20 appearances. In his last five games, Grubauer has allowed 17 goals on just 105 shots against. Just ride Joey Daccord until the wheels fall off. | 1 | 19-23-3 |
31
|
Sharks
| Veteran defenseman Mario Ferraro gets a lot of the tough minutes for the Sharks, and he hasn’t fared well. In 793 minutes with Ferraro on the ice at five-on-five, the Sharks have been outscored 46-24. Ferraro does have a borderline impossible job, but his five-on-five performance has been among the worst in the league. | 1 | 14-26-6 |
32
|
Blackhawks
| Thanks to their three-game losing streak, the Blackhawks are now in last place and four points behind the 31st-place Sharks. The good news for Chicago is that another No. 1 pick could be on the way, but the other side of the coin is that this team looks to be forever and a mile away from being competent again. | — | 14-28-2 |
