NHL Power Rankings: Buckle Up For One Of The Best Wild-Card Races

What's the worst word in sports that starts with an 'L'? Nope, not 'losing.' It's 'luck.'

Luck, as in puck luck, where the Vegas Golden Knights virtually had none all season despite being one of the best teams in underlying possession and defensive metrics.

Not getting timely saves and their maddening inconsistency on offense eventually cost Bruce Cassidy his job, but as John Tortorella said in his opening presser, the Knights don't need to change their structure, only a few reminders and a renewed mindset.

And there's also the other kind of luck, as in injury luck, where the Columbus Blue Jackets are now without several key players at the most crucial time of the playoff race. After posting one of the best records in the league under Rick Bowness, they've now lost four straight and five of their past six.

As of Wednesday morning, they hold a two-point lead over the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers, all of which have a game in hand.

This is going to be one of the best wild-card races in recent memory. Buckle up.

The Avs faked everyone out with a 1-3-1 lull, then ripped off five wins in their next six games, including a revenge win against the Pens and a complete dressing down of the Flames with Nazem Kadri scoring two goals against his former club. Here's the bad news: Cale Makar left Tuesday's game with an upper-body injury.

Their charge up the standings may have lost a little steam, and four of their past five games have been decided by one goal. However, going with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in consecutive games means the Sabres are making final preparations for a playoff run, and it looks like they know who they're going with as their No. 1.

Absolutely incredible stuff from the Habs, which have won six straight against tough opponents ahead of them in the standings. If Jakub Dobes keeps playing like Carey Price reborn, the question isn't whether the Habs are a dark horse – it's whether or not they're a legit contender.

Following a stretch where the Canes won nine straight against the Habs from 2021 to 2024, the Habs have now won four straight and five of their past six dating back to the previous season. With the Kotkaniemi-Aho offer sheet affair still lingering, this should be a bigger rivalry.

Cause for concern: the Stars have lost seven of their past nine. Not a cause for concern: the Stars ended last season on a seven-game losing streak and still made it to the conference finals.

Jon Cooper admitted post-Olympic fatigue was a factor during their losing streak, but like a true champion, they're never out for long. Up until Tuesday's loss to the red-hot Habs, the Lightning had not lost in regulation for two weeks.

It's an incredibly crowded race for the Norris Trophy this season, but Charlie McAvoy has had an outstanding season and would be a top candidate had he not missed so much time due to injury.

The more you watch the Wild play, the more you wonder whether they have one too many holes in their lineup. They're an excellent team, but they lack centers, and their goaltending has suddenly looked very mortal. They have only won once in regulation over the past three weeks.

Amazing how the Pens keep doing this just when you think they're out. If it's not Sidney Crosby carrying them, it's Evgeni Malkin, and if it's not either of them then it's Erik Karlsson. Seriously, what year is this?

Guess who the second-best team in the league is following the Olympic break? The Flyers are 12-5-1 and grinding it out despite having only one player (Travis Konecny) in the top 50 in league scoring.

The Isles may be blessed with a perfect overtime record, but it's concerning how they've managed to lose games very quickly. Against the Habs, they allowed two goals late in the second period to relinquish the lead. Against the Hawks, they allowed two goals late in the first period to trail by two. Against the Pens, they allowed four goals in 6:17, and against the Sabres, they allowed two goals late in the third.

They battle hard but losing four of their past five is potentially devastating as they white-knuckle the rest of the season. There's no room for error from here on out with a key back-to-back matchup against the Habs and Bruins at the end of the season.

They blew a 2-0 lead against the Lightning, which were without Nikita Kucherov, and seemed stuck in another time zone in an embarrassing loss to the injury-depleted Panthers. If the Sens miss the playoffs, we might look at those two games as the big turning point, with Linus Ullmark's ability (and availability) a big talking point.

We've reached the point where we watch their games with one eye closed. The Red Wings have won consecutive games just once since Jan. 21, with seven losses in their past 10.

If the Oilers somehow manage to pull it off, they might put up a statue of Connor Ingram instead.

Sitting three points out with a chance to take points away from their division rivals in their last three games of the season, do not count out the Capitals. What a treat it would be to see Sid vs. Ovi in the playoffs again one last time.

They lost a vital divisional game to the Oilers, significantly hurting their chances of winning a division title, and then allowed the lowly Leafs to make a huge statement by avenging Radko Gudas' hit on Auston Matthews and come back to win from a 3-1 deficit.

The good news is the Mammoth are likely safe and will make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The bad news is they've recently lost to the Ducks and Oilers, their most likely first-round opponents.

Monday's loss to the Sharks was particularly disappointing because it allowed the Sharks to move two points ahead with a game in hand. It is, however, looking like the Joel Hofer era is officially dawning in St. Louis.

The Jets were counted out too soon following their three-game losing streak, and now Connor Hellebuyck is doing what he can to backstop them into the playoffs. If both the Jets and Capitals, the two best regular-season teams last season, somehow make the cut, they can at least avoid being the answer to a trivia question.

John Tortorella was victorious in his Vegas debut, and it's an easy schedule the rest of the way with only one game – April 11 in Colorado – presenting a big challenge. Whether or not Tortorella is the right voice in the room, or if their run of poor luck flips by coincidence, there's no doubt the Knights are one of the most intriguing teams heading into the post-season.

No doubt the Devils have been one of the most disappointing teams this season. While they've still got some great young players, the path forward is murky as Tom Fitzgerald remains on the hot seat.

A three-game losing streak has once again kept the door open for five (!) other teams to claim that last wild-card spot. Their most crucial stretch of the season is coming up with road games in L.A. (twice) and San Jose.

A six-game losing streak dampened their hopes, but their current two-game winning streak has brought it back again. Should the Sharks make the playoffs, there is a very strong case for Macklin Celebrini to be an MVP finalist.

An easy, unsurprising 4-0 win against the Canucks aside, the Kings have been quite poor and lucky enough to pick up an extra point here and there to stay in the race. With a six-game homestand and three more games against division opponents to finish the season, the task at hand can't be made any easier.

Sometimes, it really looks like they don't want to make the playoffs. Neither Joey Daccord nor Philipp Grubauer have been able to keep their opponents at bay, but also to no one's surprise, the Kraken can't score. Except maybe Bobby McMann.

Keith Pelley says the Leafs "didn't see the train coming." I don't think the Leafs train left the station at all this season.

Three straight wins, Igor Shesterkin allowing two goals in two games and pummeling Jacob Markstrom with his fists?! Where was this all season?

The ultimate icing on the cake for the Panthers to be the league's ultimate villains would be for them to win the draft lottery. I'm not saying the draft lottery is rigged, but if it does happen, the internet's going berserk.

Impressive 5-1-1 stretch that could've gone the other way with three overtime wins, and their remaining schedule is super tough with four more games against Central Division teams, including two against the Avs and one more against the Stars.

There was discussion that Connor Bedard didn't have a strong supporting cast surrounding him. It's still early stages in their ascension, but another decade or so of Bedard, Frank Nazar and Anton Frondell down the middle should be a terrifying prospect for other teams.

Sad!

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