We are past the halfway mark in the NHL season. Teams that we thought would be contenders have shaken off slow, nearly disastrous starts to get right back in the mix. Other teams we thought might fade are sowing they’re no pretenders. When play resumes in earnest after the bye weeks and All-Star break, teams on the bubble have little more than a month to decide whether they’re buyers or sellers at the March 8 trade deadline. So with the playoff races starting to crystallize, here are this month’s NHL Power Rankings:
1. Vancouver Canucks – The plus-59 goal differential gives the ‘Nucks the slight edge. Hard to imagine Rick Tocchet not getting the Jack Adams at this point.
2. Boston Bruins – Understandable that some folks can’t bring themselves to jump on this bandwagon yet considering what happened last spring. Still, what they’ve accomplished so far is no small feat. The B’s face Vancouver for the first time on Feb. 8 at the Garden.
3. Florida Panthers – The gut feeling here is that the Panthers are the best team in the East. But whenever they get close, the B’s create some distance between them.
4. Colorado Avalanche – The Avs are as explosive as any team in the league, but their mediocrity on the road (12-9-3) is a head-scratcher.
5. Edmonton Oilers – Pay no attention to their third-place standing in the Pacific. The Oilers have won 16 in a row and are performing like many of us expected – or better. They’re keeping the puck out of their own net and they haven’t been overly reliant on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Stuart Skinner still has to prove himself in the playoffs.
6. Carolina Hurricanes – After incorporating some new players, the ‘Canes are surging. Like the Oilers, goaltending will be the question about this team.
7. Dallas Stars – This team just chugs along, safely under the radar.
8. New York Rangers – The Blueshirts own two wins over the B’s, but they’ve been sliding. They’re still in first place, but it seems inevitable that the Canes bypass them.
9. Winnipeg Jets – The Jets have been in a mild, injury-induced tailspin, but they should get their mojo back when Mark Scheifele returns.
10. Vegas Golden Knights – After a torrid start, the long grind of the Stanley Cup run could be getting to the Knights. The 11-10-4 road record is telling.
11. Toronto Maple Leafs – It’s true that the Leafs swept the Jets in a home-and-home last week, but still not buying the top-heavy Leafs.
12. Tampa Bay Lightning – As one might expect, this proud team won’t go away. Though they’re giving up a lot of goals (23rd in the league at 3.29 GAA), they’ve still got a lot of proven winners in the lineup.
13. Detroit Red Wings – If the season ended now, the Wings would be a first round opponent of the B’s. And, yeah, it would be a tough, maddening one.
14. Philadelphia Flyers – What John Tortorella has done with this team has been remarkable. But thanks to some injuries, not to mention the Carter Hart situation, the Flyers are currently in a spin-out (five straight losses).
15. St. Louis Blues – The coaching just might get them into the playoffs. That’ the best the Blues can hope for.
16, Los Angeles Kings – The Kings aren’t getting much bang for the buck out of Pierre-Luc Dobois. And they’re only on the hook for $8.5 million for seven more years.
17. Pittsburgh Penguins – Sidney Crosby just might will the Penguins into the playoffs. The Pens still have four games in hand on the Flyers, who are holding third in the Metropolitan Division
18. Nashville Predators – The Preds have somehow been hanging in there without Juuse Saros needing to be other-worldly.
19. New York Islanders – So far the Patrick Roy bump has lasted for one game. Still, the Islanders have the netminding to make a run to the post-season.
20. Seattle Kraken – The Kraken started slowly, surged and now have leveled off again. They remain well within striking distance.
21. New Jersey Devils – The Devs would have been challenged with their goaltending anyway, but injuries (Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton) have really thrown their playoff hopes into a tailspin.
22. Washington Capitals – Alex Ovechkin has nine goals in 44 games and the Caps are 30th in offense. Times are changing.
23. Arizona Coyotes –After an interesting start, the ‘Yotes are slowly sliding into seller mode.
24. Buffalo Sabres – Sometimes I think the Bruins’ culture gets talked about a little too much. Then I look at the Sabres and think we don’t talk about it enough. All those first round picks and they’re headed for another DNQ.
25. Calgary Flames – Just waiting for the inevitable sell-off.
26. Montreal Canadiens – The Habs play with a lot of edge, sometimes too much (hello, Brendan Gallagher). They just don’t have enough talent yet, especially on the back end.
27. Minnesota Wild – Hard to believe this is still the team that handed the Bruins two losses in December.
28. Columbus Blue Jackets – The Jackets have a growing number of interesting pieces but they can’t seem to put it altogether. Hopefully Patrik Laine, who entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program last week, can get his life and career back on track.
29. Ottawa Senators – The installation of Jacques Martin as interim head coach has helped a bit defensively, but it’s another lost season in Canada’s capital.
30. Anaheim Ducks – Great to see Frank Vatrano having a breakout season but coach Greg Cronin, as expected, has a lot of work to do with this team.
31. Chicago Blackhawks – Not much to see here with Connor Bedard (broken jaw) on the sidelines.
32. San Jose Sharks – The Hawks are giving the minus-93 Sharks a run for the best lottery odds, but the Sharks don’t have a Bedard returning to their lineup at any point.
