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NHL Power Rankings Week 8: Very Little Movement, But That Will Change

This week, no team moved more than two spots in the rankings. In the East, Ottawa moved up two spots while everyone else either went up one or down one. In the West, Vancouver and Minnesota moved up two, while everyone else either went up one or down one.

But a lot of teams are still waiting for the percentages to even out, so expect movement soon. Even if it's only in the official standings.

The new formula still includes adjusted points per game (regulation wins count for two while games going to overtime count for one) and five-on-five goal ratio, but it now includes the fenwick tied percentages. All three are weighted to give more importance to Fenwick tied, then to five-on-five ratio, and lastly to adjusted points per game.

Here we go:

Eastern Conference

This Week Last Week Rationale
Rating
Bruins_medium 1 1 The Bruins retake the top spot in the NHL from St. Louis, largely thanks to their league-leading 1.77 five-on-five ratio.
1.274
Rangers_medium 2 2
New York continues to sit in second place despite the 26th best Fenwick tied ratio. Beware a fall.
1.100
Flyers_medium 3 3
The Flyers continue to win despite the 19th best Fenwick tied, boosted by the 6th best five-on-five ratio.
1.047
Penguins_medium 4
5
Pittsburgh is 5th in the league in Fenwick tied, but they are only barely outscoring the opposition at 5-on-5.
1.020
Panthers_medium 5
4
The Panthers are breaking even at 5-on-5, but they're 8th in the league in Fenwick tied. A surprisingly solid team.
0.991
Sabres_medium 6
6
Buffalo sits 22nd in Fenwick tied but has the 7th highest 5-on-5 ratio. What separates them from Philly? Three fewer regulation wins.
0.969
Canadiens_medium 7
8
The Canadiens are 8th in 5-on-5 ratio (notice a trend yet?) and 11th in Fenwick tied. But they've lost five games after regulation, bringing them down.
0.964
Capitals_medium 8
7
Washington is an interesting case. They're 6th in Fenwick tied but losing the 5-on-5 goal battle. Normally, this is bad luck, but maybe they aren't generating chances.
0.940
Jets_medium 9
10
The Jets are barely outscoring the opposition at even strength and are 23rd in Fenwick tied.
0.908
Maple_leafs_medium 10
9
Toronto has fallen quite a bit, ranking 25th in Fenwick tied and 18th in goal ratio. Are they still a playoff team?
0.903
Senators_medium 11
13
The Senators make a move this week despite going 1-1-1. They rank 16th in Fenwick tied but aren't winning the goal battle.
0.845
Lightning_medium 12
11
Tampa Bay is just below the Rangers in Fenwick tied, but they are getting outscored at 5-on-5. Add both up and you have a bad team.
0.835
Devils_medium 13
12
The Devils are tenth in Fenwick tied but 25th in five-on-five goal ratio. They're better than this.
0.810
Islanders_medium 14 15 New York is no longer in the basement! But really, not much separates them from Carolina.
0.772
Hurricanes_medium 15 14 The Hurricanes drop to the bottom, but they aren't much worse than the Isle.
0.745

Western Conference


This Week Last Week Rationale
Rating
Red_wings_medium 1 2
The Red Wings are third in both Fenwick tied and 5-on-5 goal ratio. Remember when people were making lists for why they might be finished? Yeah, oops.
1.206
Blues_medium 2 1 St. Louis continues their strong play - started before Ken Hitchcock was hired - as expected, ranking second in 5-on-5 ratio and fourth in Fenwick tied.
1.194
Sharks_medium 3
3
The Sharks are 12th in Fenwick tied but fourth in goal ratio. Solid team, not challenging for the top team in the West though.
1.070
Canucks_medium 4
6
Vancouver is 5-1-0 in their last six, and with the league-leading Fenwick tied ratio, they're moving up. Watch out.
1.045
Blackhawks_medium 5
4
The Blackhawks are second in the league in Fenwick tied but are still getting outscored at 5-on-5. They are better than they appear.
0.993
Coyotes_medium 6
5
Phoenix is 15th in Fenwick tied and 11th in goal ratio. Playoff team again, but they aren't scaring many.
0.987
Oilers_medium 7
7
The Oilers continue to impress with the 7th best Fenwick tied and the 10th best 5-on-5 ratio. They just aren't winning enough games in regulation.
0.984
Stars_medium 8
8
Dallas is just below even in Fenwick tied and five-on-five ratio, putting them square in the middle of the league.
0.943
Wild_medium 9
11
The Wild continue to sit atop the NHL standings despite the 12th best five-on-five ratio and worst Fenwick tied. Going 10-2-3 in one-goal games sure helps, but won't last.
0.940
Kings_medium 10
9
Los Angeles continues to be below average, ranking 17th in Fenwick tied and 20th in five-on-five goal ratio.
0.930
Flames_medium 11
10
The Flames keep having closed-door meetings, but ranking 20th in Fenwick tied and 16th in five-on-five ratio means they aren't going far.
0.894
Predators_medium 12
12
Nashville is off to a poor start. They're 28th in Fenwick tied and 22nd in five-on-five ratio. There's trouble in Trotz-ville.
0.873
Avalanche_medium 13
14
The Avalanche are 14th in Fenwick tied but they just aren't outscoring their opponents. Something will change.
0.817
Blue_jackets_medium 14
13
Columbus isn't too difference from Colorado except for points. They rank 14th and 15th in Fenwick tied and 27th and 26th in five-on-five ratio, but are separated by ten points in the standings.
0.755
Ducks_medium 15 15 The Ducks continue to be one of the worst teams in the NHL, ranking 29th in both Fenwick tied and five-on-five ratio. They just have no depth.
0.697