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NHL Power Rankings Week 17: Vancouver Takes Top Spot in NHL, West is Wild

This week, the East's Playoff Bubble finally expands, while the West's runs from 3rd place to 14th. Needless to say, the West sees a lot of shuffling while the East sees a few swaps.

Oh, and Vancouver has overtaken the top spot.

Eastern Conference


This Week Last Week Rationale
Rating
Flyers_medium 1 1
The Flyers no longer hold the top spot in the NHL, but they continue to hold the top spot in the East. Back-to-back wins over Nashville and Dallas kept them on top.
1.927
 Bruins_medium
2
2
Boston won a wild game against Dallas, but then got shut out by San Jose. They're going to have to find a fix for their 20th ranked power play though.
1.843
 Penguins_medium
3
3
The Penguins will be tested in the coming weeks, playing without Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Mark Letestu, and now Matt Cooke. Time for Jordan Staal and Max Talbot to step up.
1.471
Canadiens_medium 4
5
Montreal has gotten 14 points in their last 10 games, helping to solidify their spot in the standings.
1.248
Capitals_medium 5
4
The Capitals fell into a tie with Montreal, trailing by 0.0003. They're only 4 points behind Pittsburgh for the coveted 4th spot in the East, which they could steal.
1.248
Lightning_medium 6
7
Tampa Bay continues to climb, as their 5-on-5 ratio is now a respectable 0.94. Despite them climbing, they still only received 1 point in their last three games.
1.128
Rangers_medium
7
6
The Rangers are sitting in 7th, 4 points up on Atlanta, but they are at the top of the Playoff Bubble. A large goal-differential, but a slightly above average 5-on-5 ratio are keeping them where they are.
1.069
Sabres_medium 8
10
The Sabres made a move this week, winning two of three games, but mostly benefited from Florida and Atlanta's fall. They are four points out with two games in hand.
1.040
Panthers_medium 9
8
Florida has finally been separated from the playoff race, 7 points out with a game in hand. They look to be selling as well, but hopefully that doesn't mean Stephen Weiss.
0.943
Thrashers_medium 10
9
The Thrashers have fallen three spots in the last two weeks, largely due to them only getting 1 point in their last four games. How they are even in the East's playoff race (1 point out, two additional games played) is shocking considering their minus-21 goal differential.
0.923
Hurricanes_medium 11
11
Carolina is clinging to the 8th and final playoff seed, with a 4-point lead over Buffalo, who has two games in hand. Carolina will need to improve their 5-on-5 play (0.90 ratio) if they want to make a run though.
0.917
Maple_leafs_medium
12
12
Toronto has now won 3 of their last 4, effectively putting them in between the East's worst and the East's Playoff Bubble. Middle ground?
0.637
Devils_medium 13
15
The Devils finally got out of the basement! They're on quite the roll lately, which Gabe Desjardins predicted recently.
0.560
Senators_medium
14
13
Ottawa is out of the playoff race, so they are going to be selling at the deadline. But do they have anything of value to sell?
0.521
 Islanders_medium 15 14
The Islanders have now seen goalies Dwayne Roloson (traded), Rick DiPietro (Broken Face), Nathan Lawson (Knee), and Kevin Poulin (Leg) leave their crease this calendar year. Evgeni Nabokov continues to smile.
0.498

 

Western Conference


This Week Last Week Rationale
Rating
Canucks_medium
1 1
The Canucks move atop the NHL, maintaining a huge lead in the West. Three straight wins, over Phoenix, Chicago, and Ottawa were enough to put them above Philadelphia.
1.954
Red_wings_medium
2
2
Detroit went 2-2 last week, suffering through back-to-back 3-0 losses. At least Jimmy Howard is back.
1.411
Stars_medium
3
3
The Stars are dealing with a few injuries. Okay, a lot of injuries.
1.232
 Blackhawks_medium 4
5
Chicago finds themselves in 11th place in the West, and yet they are 4th here. They are 3 points out of the 8th spot with two games in hand, and they are only 5 points out of 6th, with two games in hand. At some point, the Defending Cup Champs will make their run. They just hope it's in time to make the playoffs.
1.193
Coyotes_medium 5
6
The Coyotes are in 6th place in the West, but they are only 3 points up on 9th place, with two more games played. A good club, but they are just another in a crowded West.
1.187
Predators_medium 6
4
Nashville is in 5th place, but they're only 4 points up on 10th place Minnesota, who has two games in hand. Another good team who will have to prove they belong in a battle for home ice. Just like everybody else in the West.
1.140
Kings_medium 7
8
The Kings are the second team out of the playoffs to be in the top-8 here, and their 2nd best goal-differential in the West has a lot do with that. With a better 5-on-5 than Detroit and a better goal differential, the Kings just haven't found a way to stand out in the West.
1.131
Sharks_medium 8
10
San Jose is in 4th in the West, but they're going to want to improve their 5-on-5 play (0.95) if they want to find success.
1.073
Wild_medium 9
9
The Wild need to improve their 5-on-5 play (just like the Sharks), but two one-goal games last week left them with 2 points in two games.
1.048
Avalanche_medium 10
7
Colorado continues falling, and they now find themselves in 14th in the West. Maybe Peter Forsberg can help. Maybe.
1.040
Blue_jackets_medium 11
14
The Blue Jackets are in 12th, but they're going to need a major shakeup and an extended hot streak to sneak in. Maybe they can, but it's unlikely.
0.990
Flames_medium 12
13
Calgary has found a way to climb into the 8th spot in the West by one point, but they have played more games than anybody behind them. It's a tenuous situation at best, but they're there.
0.982
Blues_medium 13
11
The Blues are another team that finds themselves in the Playoff Bubble, 5 points out with 6 games in hand. From 3rd to 14th in the West, only 9 points separate the teams.
0.968
Ducks_medium 14
12
Anaheim is the loser this week, but they're still in 7th place in the West, two points up on 9th place, with one additional game played. And they added Ray Emery as insurance.
0.924
Oilers_medium
15 15
The Oilers and Canucks are probably the only two teams who solidified their spots in the Power Rankings. They're looking to unload some players as well.
0.611