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Here's how you create the #1 ranked team in the NHL:
- Draft a skilled and deep defense.
- Sign more centers than you have roster spots for.
- Find agile wings wherever you can.
- Obtain Finnish goaltender who absorbs more rubber than an NHRA dragstrip.
About these rankings:
Two seasons ago, I set out to eliminate the non-sense behind power rankings by building a power rankings 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, but here is my best effort at predicting the standings and playoff pairings at the end of the season. One item of note - 38% of the game is luck, and I don't attempt to predict or model that 38%, and I don't plan to.
Rank | Team | Share |
1 | Nashville Predators | 2.2 |
2 | Anaheim Ducks | 3.7 |
3 | New York Islanders | 4.4 |
4 | Detroit Red Wings | 5.1 |
5 | St. Louis Blues | 5.9 |
6 | New York Rangers | 7.5 |
7 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 7.6 |
8 | Chicago Blackhawks | 7.6 |
9 | Montreal Canadiens | 7.6 |
10 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 7.9 |
11 | Winnipeg Jets | 8.4 |
12 | Washington Capitals | 8.4 |
13 | San Jose Sharks | 10.3 |
14 | Vancouver Canucks | 10.4 |
15 | Boston Bruins | 10.8 |
16 | Minnesota Wild | 13.0 |
17 | Florida Panthers | 13.3 |
18 | Los Angeles Kings | 13.5 |
19 | Calgary Flames | 14.5 |
20 | Dallas Stars | 16.3 |
21 | Ottawa Senators | 18.3 |
22 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 18.3 |
23 | Colorado Avalanche | 18.7 |
24 | Philadelphia Flyers | 20.0 |
25 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 20.3 |
26 | New Jersey Devils | 20.4 |
27 | Carolina Hurricanes | 21.1 |
28 | Edmonton Oilers | 21.5 |
29 | Arizona Coyotes | 21.6 |
30 | Buffalo Sabres | 24.6 |
- Garth Snow - super genius. It helps that other GMs seem to gift him players.
- Who do you like of the mishmash of teams ranked 6-10?
- Dallas desperately needs a defender in the top four, and time is running out. Can they swing a deal in the next week?
Playoff Matchups:
Western Conference | |||||
Central | Pacific | ||||
1 | Nashville Predators | 2 | Anaheim Ducks | ||
11 | Winnipeg Jets | 16 | Minnesota Wild | ||
5 | St. Louis Blues | 13 | San Jose Sharks | ||
8 | Chicago Blackhawks | 14 | Vancouver Canucks |
- The Wild as a crossover? Hm, I was sure that last year's Oilers' collapse was all Devan Dubnyk's fault.
Eastern Conference | |||||
Metropolitan | Atlantic | ||||
3 | New York Islanders | 4 | Detroit Red Wings | ||
12 | Washington Capitals | 15 | Boston Bruins | ||
6 | New York Rangers | 7 | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||
10 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 9 | Montreal Canadiens |
- The first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs will not feature defense. Good luck to the goaltenders.