A special note to start this off. This will be the last power rankings posted before the playoffs begin. I will be jumping on The A2Z Program this Friday 4/14 to go over the finalized playoff picture as well as give opinions and takes and how I think it will play out.
Now let us jump into the power rankings. Boston is still the best team in hockey and broke the regular season wins record with their win Sunday night over the Flyers. The rest of the top 10 has some changes. Colorado is starting to look increasingly like the team that won it all last year, although an injury to franchise cornerstone defenseman Cale Makar could certainly change their playoff outlook. The Rangers and Golden Knights drop down (we will talk about them more down below). Also, the Florida Panthers have grabbed control of their playoff fate while Tampa and Toronto are both limping toward their first-round matchup. This week’s risers and fallers will focus solely on those teams in playoff contention.
Biggest Risers (Gearing up for playoff battle)
Edmonton Oilers #3 (previously #8) – This team has really hit a nice stride over the last few months. 20-6-4 since the All-Star Break. Only the Boston Bruins have been a better team over this stretch of time. Mattis Ekholm has really helped change their identity as a team as well. Their Goals against has dropped by more than half a goal (3.34 down to 2.79) since he joined the team. It looks like they will draw the Kings in round 1 a team who has hit some challenging times of late but whom the Oilers split the season series with 2-2. HOWEVER, they have won both matchups since Ekholm joined the team which took place on March 30th and April 4th by a combined score of 5 to 1. This team was dragged by Connor McDavid and a 1-legged Leon Draisaitl to the Western Conference Finals last year. So, maybe Ekholm is the missing piece that can push them over the top.
Florida Panthers #15 (previously #18) – There was a scene involving the Panthers that made the rounds around social media back at the end of March. Head Coach Paul Maurice absolutely laid into his team with an expletive-filled rant after he challenged a goal Toronto had scored against them. Exactly what he said not for me to say as I am no lip reader, but it clearly lit a fire under his team. The Panthers fought back to beat the Maple Leafs that night ending a 4-game skid. They have not lost since. This current 6 game win streak has put the Panthers back in control of their own destiny now as they can very simply win their last 2 games and lock up one of the last 2 playoff spots. Goaltender Alex Lyon also deserves a good bit of praise for this stretch as he has been red hot. He has allowed only 9 goals over this 6-game stretch, good for a .955 sv percentage. Between the Maurice explosion and some comments made by current Panthers team Alternate Captain Matthew Tkachuk’s dad (yes Keith Tkachuk) the spark has been ignited. The elder Tkachuk called the team “soft” and said “they were getting what they deserved” prior to this team’s current win streak. Certainly, seems like his son took those comments to heart as well as he has gone scorched earth since scoring 11 points in his last 5 games. Will this current hot streak be enough to take down one of the Eastern Conferences’ big 2 teams (Boston or Carolina) come playoff time? We shall see.
Biggest Fallers (not exactly cranking on all cylinders)
Vegas Golden Knights #7 (previously #3) – It figures as soon as I decide to stop focusing on their warts and just start looking at results that those “warts” would come back vigorously. They are likely to still hold off Edmonton for the Pacific crown but the issues I brought up prior to the last issue are still there. The Goaltending is still shaky and frankly, I am not even sure who will be their guy come playoff time. The injuries are still there. It doesn’t sound like Mark Stone is coming back this year. Aidan Hill was assigned to their AHL affiliate on Saturday to begin a conditioning stint so he in theory could be back for the playoffs but starting a goalie who has not seen an NHL shot in over a month seems risky. Shea Theodore has not played since leaving a March 28th game vs the Kings early. There is no update on their other Goalie Logan Thompson who appeared to reaggravate his injury in the March 23rd contest vs the Flames. Checking forward Will Carrier has not played since leaving a game vs the Devils back on March 3rd and there is no updates or news at this time suggesting he could be close to a return. It looks like they will draw the Seattle Kraken in round 1, a team they split with in their 2 head-to-head games this year. Oh, and did I mention Jack Eichel also missed the game Saturday vs Dallas?
New York Rangers #6 (previously #2) – Let me start this by saying I still feel of all the teams in the East this is the one I feel is best built to give Boston trouble. WITH THAT SAID I could no longer give this team a pass just because I like the construction of the roster. Yes, they are still winning more than they are losing and yes, they are still winning most of their games vs playoff teams. However, squandering games versus teams like Buffalo and St. Louis will end up being the reason this team will not win the Metro division and must face a team like New Jersey or Carolina in round 1 as opposed to drawing the Islanders, Panthers, or Penguins. They have had a real chance over these last few weeks to take control of the division and they just have not done it. If this team is going to truly compete with a team like Boston, they are going to have to show some more consistency.
Other teams with notes
Boston Bruins #1 – Special thing here with the Bruins win Sunday night they now hold the single-season wins record. No other team in NHL history has won 63 regular season games prior to this. Doing it on the back of a David Pastarnak hat trick also seems appropriate.
Winnipeg Jets #13 (previously #15) – With a huge win Saturday versus the Predators the Jets are back to controlling their own destiny. If they can get 3 of their 6 possible remaining points, they will be the last wild card in the West.
As always, I hope everyone enjoys these. I would love to hear some feedback from everyone or even just some ordinary questions that I would be happy to answer. ALSO, MAKE SURE YOU ARE TUNED IN FRIDAY for The A2Z Program I will be hopping on with the crew to talk about the NHL Playoffs.