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NHL Power Rankings: A Calm Stillness At The Top

The West keeps beating each other up, the East is beating up on the also-rans.

By Derek Zona
Kirk Irwin

If you're interested in a late-season charge from a team in the back, watch the Rangers. They're a deep team with proven goaltending and they're sprinkled in amongst a bunch of terribly flawed teams and Boston. At 20-1, they're offering far more value than the Penguins at 11-2 or the Bruins at 8-1.

1-30

Rank Team Record Even Strength Special Teams Goaltending
1 St. Louis Blues 2 6 7 10
2 Anaheim Ducks 1 13 13 6
3 Chicago Blackhawks 4 2 9 23
4 San Jose Sharks 5 3 3 10
5 Pittsburgh Penguins 3 10 7 25
6 Boston Bruins 7 4 10 1
7 Los Angeles Kings 9 1 15 2
8 Vancouver Canucks 10 9 1 10
9 Colorado Avalanche 6 21 25 7
10 Tampa Bay Lightning 8 10 28 3
11 Montréal Canadiens 12 23 6 14
12 Minnesota Wild 11 20 23 4
13 Detroit Red Wings 15 15 5 16
14 Phoenix Coyotes 13 18 21 17
15 New York Rangers 17 8 4 10
16 Toronto Maple Leafs 14 29 22 4
17 Carolina Hurricanes 15 25 20 17
18 Dallas Stars 19 7 17 22
19 Columbus Blue Jackets 18 12 26 20
20 Philadelphia Flyers 19 25 2 19
21 Ottawa Senators 21 16 10 14
22 New Jersey Devils 23 5 19 26
23 Washington Capitals 21 21 17 7
24 Winnipeg Jets 24 19 13 21
25 Nashville Predators 25 17 12 26
26 Florida Panthers 26 14 28 23
27 New York Islanders 27 23 16 29
28 Calgary Flames 28 27 23 30
29 Edmonton Oilers 29 28 27 28
30 Buffalo Sabres 30 30 30 9

A few interesting notes:

  • Lessons in the goaltender market, part ∞ + 1: Chicago and Pittsburgh look like teams that could meet in the Stanley Cup Finals except that albatross that is goaltending. Crawford and Fleury stand out as likely to be the undoing of their teams.
  • Poor Calgary. They finally give up and tank it and their efforts for the first overall are usurped by incompetence and a bigger tank.

The Western Conference

Rank Team Record Even Strength Special Teams Goaltending
1 St. Louis Blues 2 6 7 10
2 Anaheim Ducks 1 13 13 6
3 Chicago Blackhawks 4 2 9 23
4 San Jose Sharks 5 3 3 10
7 Los Angeles Kings 9 1 15 2
8 Vancouver Canucks 10 9 1 10
9 Colorado Avalanche 6 21 25 7
12 Minnesota Wild 11 20 23 4
14 Phoenix Coyotes 13 18 21 17
18 Dallas Stars 19 7 17 22
24 Winnipeg Jets 24 19 13 21
25 Nashville Predators 25 17 12 26
28 Calgary Flames 28 27 23 30
29 Edmonton Oilers 29 28 27 28
  • The Canucks are stuck on the outside looking in. When healthy, they're well-ahead of the bottom seven teams in the West, but they're not close to the top five. They have limited cap space, but they're not going to be able to do much at the trade deadline because they don't have much to trade. I can see them going after Matt Moulson or Ron Hainsey, but what can they trade for them?
  • Mike Smith can't save the Coyotes and it shows.
  • Colorado is lucky the state didn't move forward.

The Eastern Conference

Rank Team Record Even Strength Special Teams Goaltending
5 Pittsburgh Penguins 3 10 7 25
6 Boston Bruins 7 4 10 1
10 Tampa Bay Lightning 8 10 28 3
11 Montréal Canadiens 12 23 6 14
13 Detroit Red Wings 15 15 5 16
15 New York Rangers 17 8 4 10
16 Toronto Maple Leafs 14 29 22 4
17 Carolina Hurricanes 15 25 20 17
19 Columbus Blue Jackets 18 12 26 20
20 Philadelphia Flyers 19 25 2 19
21 Ottawa Senators 21 16 10 14
22 New Jersey Devils 23 5 19 26
23 Washington Capitals 21 21 17 7
26 Florida Panthers 26 14 28 23
27 New York Islanders 27 23 16 29
30 Buffalo Sabres 30 30 30 9
  • Toronto is so bad but their goaltending is so good - this is a lottery team without Bernmer.
  • Poor Ryan Miller. Put him in Columbus or New Jersey and he wins a Vezina and a Hart.

Stanley Cup Playoff Matchups

Western Conference
2 Anaheim Ducks
1 St. Louis Blues
8 Vancouver Canucks
12 Minnesota Wild





4 San Jose Sharks
3 Chicago Blackhawks
7 Los Angeles Kings
9 Colorado Avalanche
Eastern Conference
5 Pittsburgh Penguins
6 Boston Bruins
17 Carolina Hurricanes
13 Detroit Red Wings





15 New York Rangers
10 Tampa Bay Lightning
16 Toronto Maple Leafs
11 Montréal Canadiens