NHL Power Rankings: Panthers Stay Hot, Even Before Adding Tarasenko

For the third straight week, the Florida Panthers found themselves at the top of The Hockey News' NHL power rankings, and you’d be hard-pressed to find many who would disagree.

They tick off all the boxes and rank top-10 in virtually every key metric without any real weaknesses on their roster and they just acquired Vladimir Tarasenko to shore up their offense. When the league’s top-ranked team gets aggressive and adds significant pieces, it puts the league on notice.

Of course, this can always backfire. Remember the New York Rangers went all-in acquiring Tarasenko and Patrick Kane, and it looked great on paper, but the pieces never gelled and the playoff run fell short. The Presidents’ Trophy curse is also alive and well, with only one team (2014-15 Rangers) advancing past the second round of the playoffs after winning the league title over the past 10 seasons.

Among the top risers this week are the Kings, who have bumped the Golden Knights into a wild-card spot, the Kraken, who are 7-2-1 in their last 10 and perhaps the biggest challenger in the wild-card race, and the Islanders, who have won four straight and now four points back from a wild-card spot with two games in hand on the Lightning.

The playoff race in the East will be very tight, but at least two teams look like they’re going to back out of the race. The Capitals just traded Anthony Mantha, and it sounds like the Penguins are very close to trading Jake Guentzel. That leaves the Devils and Islanders, with the latter looking like they have the best shot right now. 

(All fancy stats are 5-on-5 and courtesy naturalstattrick.com. CF% stands for Corsi-for percentage and xGF% represents expected goals-for percentage.)

1. Florida Panthers (43-16-4, +61 goal differential. CF% league rank: 2, xGF% league rank: 3)

The Panthers have had three separate winning streaks of at least six games this season, including their current run. They did that once last season, and not until the final two weeks. In fact, they didn’t even win three consecutive games until early February.

2. New York Rangers (40-18-4, +34. CF%: 20, xGF%: 24)

A lost opportunity to claim top spot in the power rankings in a 4-2 loss to the Panthers, but they also blew two separate one-goal leads in a shootout loss to the Leafs. To be fair, we’ve all been too pre-occupied with Matt Rempe lately.

3. Edmonton Oilers (38-20-2, +41. CF%: 3, xGF%: 1)

Name a duo more unstoppable than Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. I’ll wait.

4. Colorado Avalanche (38-20-5, +38. CF%: 9, xGF%: 12)

What’s much more exciting than seeing the Avs shut out the Hawks 5-0 twice is seeing Nathan MacKinnon re-writing the Avs’ history books. At his current pace, he’s going to set a new franchise record points in a season, currently held by Joe Sakic with 120 points.

5. Winnipeg Jets (39-17-5, +42. CF%: 7, xGF%: 8)

With the way Sean Monahan’s been playing, there’s a chance he’s already the best trade deadline pickup. Despite losing Gabriel Vilardi, the Jets are 9-3-0 since their five-game losing streak and held their opponents to two goals or less five times.

6. Vancouver Canucks (40-17-7, +49. CF%: 14, xGF%: 11)

The Canucks have not looked good at all since the All-Star Game, and finally won in regulation after going seven games without doing so. Any more losses and Jim Rutherford might flip the whole team to the Penguins for Jake Guentzel.

7. Carolina Hurricanes (36-19-6, +29. CF%: 1, xGF%: 2)

Blowing a 3-0 lead to the Jets was inexcusable, but otherwise, the Canes have been excellent. Since Jan. 1, they’re tied-third with the Wings in points percentage and lost consecutive games just once.

8. Dallas Stars (38-17-9, +36. CF%: 6, xGF%: 5)

It’s hard to get a good pulse on the Stars because their play can swing so wildly in both directions. After going 1-3-3, they’ve won three straight, including a big win over the Jets, 4-1, but then go on to just narrowly defeat the Sharks in a shootout and in overtime. One of their biggest difference makers? Logan Stankoven.

9. Toronto Maple Leafs (35-18-8, +31. CF%: 16, xGF%: 14)

The issue with their goaltending now isn’t really quality; it’s deciding who they want to go with. Do we now see a tandem with Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll?

10. Boston Bruins (36-13-15, +36. CF%: 23, xGF%: 17)

Truth be told, the Bruins were surprisingly good earlier this season, and maybe they’re just coming back down to earth. Over the past month, the Bruins are 5-4-6 with a minus-8 goal differential.

11. Detroit Red Wings (33-22-6, +21. CF%: 29, xGF%: 29)

Losing Dylan Larkin is going to hurt a lot. It’s also interesting that the Wings don’t seem to be big hunters in the goalie market, though Steve Yzerman is known to be as secretive as they get. The Wings cannot go to this trade deadline as sellers again, can they?

12. Los Angeles Kings (31-19-11, +25. CF%: 4, xGF%: 4)

If the Kings play their trademark suffocating style, they’re going to be really hard to beat in the playoffs. Cam Talbot has taken the net back from David Rittich, which is great, because they really had us worried for a minute.

13. Vegas Golden Knights (33-22-7, +16. CF%: 24, xGF%: 16)

They’re 1-5-1 in their last seven, including some really ugly defeats: 7-3 to Toronto, 7-2 to Buffalo and 6-3 to Columbus with their third-string goalie. It’s very uncharacteristic for a Bruce Cassidy club.

14. Nashville Predators (35-25-3, +8. CF%: 17, xGF%: 10)

It took a flukey goal from David Savard and Joshua Roy’s second goal of the season to snap the Preds’ eight-game winning streak. Otherwise, the Preds have been fantastic lately, and all they need to do is to not go on a prolonged slide to make the playoffs.

15. Seattle Kraken (28-23-11, -2. CF%: 12, xGF%: 13)

The Preds were the talk of the town, but nobody seemed to give the Kraken any credit, who are suddenly winning a lot of games going 7-2-1 in their last 10. It might be too little, too late, but the good news is they look like they actually have two goalies who can stop pucks for the first time in franchise history.

16. Calgary Flames (30-26-5, even. CF%: 15, xGF%: 19)

With big thanks to Jacob Markstrom and Nazem Kadri, wins over the Oilers and Kings keep the Flames in it. The next two weeks will make or break their season with a road trip through the old Southeast Division with stops in Tampa, Miami and Raleigh before hosting Colorado and Vegas.

17. New York Islanders (27-20-14, -19. CF%: 26, xGF%: 20)

Ilya Sorokin has been excellent, and the Isles have suddenly moved within striking distance of a wild-card spot, sitting four points behind the Lightning with two games in hand. They’re on pace for just 25 regulation wins; if they make the playoffs, I believe that’s the lowest number ever in an 82-game schedule in the cap era.

18. St. Louis Blues (32-27-3, -13. CF%: 30, xGF%: 30)

Just when you thought the Blues have finally put it together, they implode with seven losses in their past 11 games, though they’ve played some really tough teams.

19. Philadelphia Flyers (32-23-8, +4. CF%: 10, xGF%: 7)

The Flyers just need to hold on, and if there’s any coach in the league who can squeeze every last drop out of his team, it’s John Tortorella. Even a first-round sweep should be a considered a win for the Flyers this season.

20. Tampa Bay Lightning (33-24-6, +1. CF%: 13, xGF%: 21)

The Lightning are in real danger of missing the playoffs without a drastic move or a turnaround. They’re leaving big points on the table with losses to lower-tier teams such as the Sens and Caps, and losing to the Flyers and Sabres just seemed unfathomable last season.

21. New Jersey Devils (30-28-4, -14. CF%: 5, xGF%: 6)

Jerry Springer voice: Travis Green, you are not the problem! Without good goaltending, no coach can win with this team. Despite excellent possession stats and a roster full of talent, the Devils’ 5-on-5 save percentage ranks third-last in the league, according to naturalstattrick.com.

22. Buffalo Sabres (29-29-4, -4. CF%: 11, xGF%: 18)

It was tempting to bump the Sabres up with impressive wins against the Canes, Lightning and Knights, and they lost to the Panthers by just one goal. The Sabres came into the season with a lot of hype but they could never get enough momentum to put together a proper winning streak, and they were too talented to go on a losing streak for too long. At no point this season has their record been above .500, but they do get a chance Wednesday against the rival Leafs.

23. Minnesota Wild (29-27-6, -14. CF%: 19, xGF%: 15)

They lost two key games to divisional opponents and now sit nine points out of a wild-card spot. Unless you live in Minnesota, they’re mildly interesting yet again.

24. Washington Capitals (28-23-9, -33. CF%: 25, xGF%: 27)

This ranking seems low, but the middle tier is really dense. The Caps already move up two spots from the previous week even though they’ve gone 2-2-1 in their past five. The silver lining: Hendrix Lapierre and Connor McMichael look like legit NHL players.

25. Pittsburgh Penguins (28-24-8, +10. CF%: 8, xGF%: 9)

After the loss to the Flames and Oilers, you could hear the frustration, desperation and exasperation in Sidney Crosby’s voice. Once the Jake Guentzel trade happens, the Pens’ season is done, and a busy off-season looms for Kyle Dubas as he tries to pry that Stanley Cup window open once again.

26. Montreal Canadiens (24-28-10, -45. CF%: 28, xGF%: 26)

The Habs have only three regulation wins since Feb. 1 and two of them were against teams lower than them in the standings.

27. Columbus Blue Jackets (21-31-10, -41. CF%: 22, xGF%: 25)

Sometimes, it feels like the Jackets are just… there. Beating the Knights must’ve felt great, though it was just only the third time they’ve managed to win consecutive games this season. The real show will begin in the off-season when the Jackets revamp their front office and roster… again.

28. Anaheim Ducks (22-36-3, -54. CF%: 27, xGF%: 28)

The results weren’t always there, but they’ve played some tight games against the Kings and Canucks, who are several tiers above them. You have to be curious how they look at full strength when Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish and Trevor Zegras are healthy, combined with a pair of excellent blueliners in Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger. The offensive talent and potential are tantalizing.

29. Chicago Blackhawks (16-42-5, -95. CF%: 31, xGF%: 31)

Bless their hearts, the Hawks try very hard, but when your second-best goal-scorer this season has been *checks notes* Jason Dickinson, you are in a world of hurt.

30. Arizona Coyotes (25-32-5, -24. CF%: 21, xGF%: 22)

If their 14-game losing streak wasn’t a cry for help, I’m not sure what else they need to do to get relocated to Salt Lake City.

31. Ottawa Senators (25-31-3, -17. CF%: 18, xGF%: 23)

It’s my duty to point out Joonas Korpisalo is signed through the 2027-28 season.

32. San Jose Sharks (15-39-7, -107. CF%: 32, xGF%: 32)

The funniest (saddest?) thing about the Sharks this season is despite losing streaks of eight, 11 and 12 games this season, they are still not the worst team ever in the cap era.

(Still waiting for anyone to name a better duo than McDavid and Draisaitl).