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NHL Power Rankings: Steady As She Goes

Movement from 10-27, but the top 9 remain stable.

Stephen Dunn

The balance of power still sits in the Western Conference as the Pacific and Central each have three teams in the top 8. If this was NCAA Football, those division commissioners would branch off and form their own Cup Championship Series.

My power rankings use a model based on underlying statistics and their predictive ability. The rankings were built on points earned, special teams, even strength play and goaltending, so they were constantly in flux. I'm still playing around with the model, and I've added opponents remaining this season. I've also updated the special teams evaluation so it's shots-based, not solely conversion based. Here is my best effort at predicting the standings and playoff pairings at the end of the season.

Rank Team Share Last Move
1 San Jose 2.2 1 0
2 Chicago 2.6 2 0
3 Minnesota 3.8 3 0
4 St Louis 4.2 6 2
5 Pittsburgh 4.6 7 2
6 Vancouver 5.6 8 2
7 Anaheim 5.7 4 -3
8 Los Angeles 6.1 5 -3
9 Boston 6.2 9 0
10 Detroit 6.3 11 1
11 Colorado 9.2 14 3
12 Nashville 9.3 13 1
13 Montreal 10.5 10 -3
14 Dallas 10.8 19 5
15 New Jersey 10.8 16 1
16 NY Rangers 11.2 27 11
17 Phoenix 11.6 12 -5
18 Ottawa 12.3 15 -3
19 Washington 12.7 22 3
20 Tampa Bay 12.8 18 -2
21 Calgary 13.1 21 0
22 NY Islanders 13.2 17 -5
23 Columbus 14.2 25 2
24 Philadelphia 14.6 26 2
25 Winnipeg 14.6 23 -2
26 Toronto 14.8 24 -2
27 Carolina 15.8 20 -7
28 Florida 16.8 28 0
29 Edmonton 17.8 29 0
30 Buffalo 20.2 30 0
  • The Sharks have Dan Boyle back and continue their dominance at the top.
  • The bottom three remain the worst in the league and it doesn't look like that will change soon. However, big news for fans of the bottom three, the #Oilers play both the Panthers and Sabres on their upcoming road trip, so exciting last place hockey, huh?
  • Carolina is falling apart and it's not all injuries. The Staals need to be better.
  • The Rangers are finally home and it's having an impact. Now, if they can just avoid the West...

The rankings predict the following playoff matchups, and those Western Conference series look like wars:

Western Conference
Eastern Conference
Pacific Division
Atlantic Division
1 San Jose Sharks
9 Boston Bruins
8 Los Angeles Kings
18 Ottawa Senators





6 Vancouver Canucks
10 Detroit Red Wings
7 Anaheim Ducks
13 Montreal Canadiens





Central Division
Metro Division
2 Chicago Blackhawks
5 Pittsburgh Penguins
12 Colorado Avalanche
19 Washington Capitals





3 Minnesota Wild
15 New Jersey Devils
4 St. Louis Blues
16 New York Rangers