This week, we actually see some movement in the East. The Bruins move up to the second seed, while the Caps make a charge and the Canadiens fall. The West sees a ton of shuffling, not least of which is the Kings falling two spots.
The Canucks are also close to taking over the Flyers for the NHL's best, and when you factor in all that the Canucks do better, they're probably already better (their one-game sample not-withstanding) based, among other things, on their more difficult schedule.
Eastern Conference
This Week | Last Week |
Rationale | Rating | |
---|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 1 |
The Flyers maintain the top spot in the East (and the league) despite a sloppy win against the Kings and an ugly loss to the Ducks for a few reasons: They outscored their opponents 12-11 for the week, they beat the two best opponents they played, and they had a really huge lead. But Vancouver is very close behind. |
1.893 |
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2 |
3 |
The Bruins leap over the Penguins despite being 5 points back in the standings. But the Bruins have a better 5-on-5 ratio, and only a slightly worse adjusted points per game. It's very tight, and the Bruins lost two shootouts last week. Look for the Bruins-Penguins matchup on Monday. |
1.682 |
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3 |
2 |
Going 0-1-1 dropped the Penguins out of the number 2 spot, but with 5 games in the next 8 days, they will have plenty of opportunity to regain it. |
1.638 |
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4 |
7 |
Welcome back to the top of the East, Washington. After a long, long skid, the Caps beat the Penguins in the Winter Classic, then lost an overtime game. Next week, they face off against the Panthers, Panthers, and Lightning. Games they should win, but could easily lose. |
1.268 |
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5 |
5 |
Just barely behind the Caps, the Rangers missed a chance to move up for the second straight week after only scoring one goal against the Panthers and Lightning. Back-to-back games against Dallas and St. Louis on the road this weekend won't be easy. |
1.260 |
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6 |
6 |
What to make of the Thrashers. They beat the Bruins in a shootout and beat the Canadiens in OT on the road, but lose to the Devils. They play Florida, Toronto, and Carolina this week, looking to separate themselves from the bubble teams. |
1.150 |
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7 |
8 |
The Panthers just keep moving up the power rankings, and they're moving up the standings too. They beat Carolina, lost to Montreal in overtime, and shutout the Rangers. A little more consistency from the Panthers, and they're within striking distance of 8th place. | 1.129 |
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8 |
4 |
The biggest loser in the East this week, the Canadiens are 2-5-1 in their last 8 games. They're not far behind the Panthers here, but they aren't far ahead of them in the standings either. |
1.125 |
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9 |
9 |
Everybody seems to be in love with the Lightning, and I have to admit, I'm pretty impressed as well. Unfortunately, it isn't translating to the Power Rankings, as the Lightning are still suffering from a 0.85 five-on-five goal ratio. Only Philadelphia has a higher adjusted points per game ratio than the Lightning in the East, but their 5-on-5 play is 25th best in the League. |
1.084 |
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10 |
11 |
|
0.950 |
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11 |
10 |
|
0.872 |
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12 |
12 |
|
0.675 |
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13 |
13 |
Two one-goal losses to Columbus and Boston are tough to swallow, but it isn't difficult to see Toronto jumping over Ottawa soon. It probably won't be next week though, as Toronto goes West. |
0.624 |
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14 |
14 |
Don't look now, but the Islanders are 5-1-1 in their last 7. An OT win in Detroit and a SO win against Pittsburgh highlighted the last week, but with a Western swing (Edmonton, Colorado, Chicago, and Vancouver) upcoming, the Islanders run appears over. | 0.533 |
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15 | 15 |
At least the Devils won a game this week. They're that bad. See that number to the right? The Islanders are the second worst team in the league, and they're twice as good as the Devils. It's fascinating. | 0.246 |
Western Conference