NHL Power Rankings: What Went Right or Wrong for Each Team

If it weren’t for a snowstorm and a burst pipe, the NHL regular season would’ve ended last night. The only seed left to decide will be the Central Division title, which the Avalanche can lock up if they earn a single point against the Predators.

It’s been a wildly entertaining season, from the Bruins’ historic run to the tank job for Connor Bedard in the final weeks of the season. The bottom four teams in this week’s power rankings did not win a single game over the past week, going a combined 0-13-2.

While it is disappointing that Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2006, Connor McDavid’s record-breaking season and a slew of breakout seasons – Tage Thompson, Jack Hughes, Elias Pettersson, to name a few – also signalled a beginning of a new era. 

We had been waiting for the moment when one generation passed the torch to the next, and in retrospect, perhaps the 2022-23 season will be just that. We also saw the Kings break ties with their franchise goalie in Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Toews play his final game in a Blackhawks sweater, two other teams that dominated the previous decade.

Like many seasons before it, the ending may be bittersweet, but tomorrow proves to be more exciting with the playoffs just around the corner. The first games are set to begin Monday.

Here’s the final edition of THN’s power rankings for 2022-23, highlighting what went right and what didn’t go so right for every team.

(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. Boston Bruins (65-12-5, +128. CF% league rank: 15, xGF% league rank: 8)

What didn’t go right for the Bruins? Their 65 wins is a new NHL record, and their .823 points percentage is second-best in the Modern Era. No other team in the cap era had even breached .800 in points percentage until this season.

2. Edmonton Oilers (50-23-9, +65. CF%: 7, xGF%: 6)

They head into the playoffs on a nine-game winning streak and have not lost in regulation since March 11. It’s also hard to go wrong when Connor McDavid leads the league in goals and assists and showed he’s on another level than everyone else. Only three other players in history have scored more points in a single season: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman.

3. Toronto Maple Leafs (50-21-11, +57. CF%: 16, xGF%: 7)

Their goaltending held. Matt Murray missed a big chunk of the season, but they somehow managed to make it work with Erik Kallgren and Joseph Woll as well. Now the fun really begins and, ultimately, the playoffs will be what they’re judged on.

4. New York Rangers (47-22-13, +58. CF%: 17, xGF%: 22)

Two separate seven-game winning streaks were highlights during a rather up-and-down season, though nobody was particularly bad or disappointing. Staying healthy was big, too; Ryan Lindgren was the only regular who played fewer than 74 games.

5. Colorado Avalanche (50-24-7, +53. CF%: 9, xGF%: 15)

A lot of things went wrong, particularly with injuries, but the Avs overcame it with elite talent and really good top-six depth. It’s really impressive what they’ve done all season without their captain.

6. Dallas Stars (47-21-14, +67. CF%: 10, xGF%: 10)

Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen both proved themselves to be elite superstars. While their play did seem shaky at times, captain Jamie Benn kept the boat steady in an incredible bounce-back season that saw him improve by 32 points from last season’s point total.

7. Vegas Golden Knights (51-22-9, +43. CF%: 22, xGF%: 16)

Bruce Cassidy’s goalie-friendly system worked out well, to be sure. They had a good chance of winning regardless of who was in net. It’s crazy to think, but given the Knights’ penchant for going big-name hunting, William Karlsson’s 78 points in their inaugural season is still a franchise record.

8. New Jersey Devils (52-22-8, +65. CF%: 4, xGF%: 2)

A breakout season from Jack Hughes led to the biggest turnaround in history, improving by 49 points and nearly doubling the number of wins they had last season.

9. Carolina Hurricanes (52-21-9, +53. CF%: 1, xGF%: 1)

Overall, the Canes had an excellent season but floundered near the end. What went wrong? Max Pacioretty and Andrei Svechnikov’s season-ending injuries cannot be overstated, and their goaltending was a mixed bag.

10. Minnesota Wild (46-25-11, +21. CF%: 20, xGF%: 18)

They were pretty mild in almost every regard, but what separated them from the rest of their pack was goaltending and elite scoring when they needed it, be it from Kirill Kaprizov or Matt Boldy.

11. Seattle Kraken (46-28-8, +33. CF%: 5, xGF%: 14)

An excellent shooting percentage and a balanced forward corps brought the Kraken from the depths after a relatively disappointing first season. Their good fortune really started at the draft when Shane Wright fell into their laps. Their goaltending, while mediocre, never really sank them.

12. Los Angeles Kings (47-25-10, +23. CF%: 6, xGF%: 9)

Anze Kopitar epitomizes consistency, and the Kings keep chugging along without a huge drop or spike in performance. Their scoring was balanced, and young players such as Gabe Vilardi and Quinton Byfield took obvious steps forward.

13. New York Islanders (42-31-9, +21. CF%: 19, xGF%: 20)

What went right for the Isles was Ilya Sorokin and everyone else around them being really disappointing, particularly the Penguins and Panthers.

14. Tampa Bay Lightning (46-30-6, +29. CF%: 13, xGF%: 11)

Our standards are too high when they don’t enter the playoffs as the favorite, but that doesn’t make the Lightning bad, either. It just seemed natural the Lightning took a step back after three finals appearances because nothing stays gold, Ponyboy.

15. Florida Panthers (42-32-8, +17. CF%: 3, xGF%: 5)

Other than Matthew Tkachuk, Brandon Montour and late-season heroics from Alex Lyon, did anything really go right? They clinched a playoff spot, but Paul Maurice’s seat ranged from warm to red-hot all season.

16. Winnipeg Jets (46-33-3, +22. CF%: 11, xGF%: 12)

Are we talking first half or second half here? What went right for the Jets is that the Flames were discombobulated all season and had awful luck. Connor Hellebucyk should be their unanimous MVP.

17. Buffalo Sabres (41-33-7, -7. CF%: 14, xGF%: 21)

A lot of things went right, but just not quite enough. The Sabres are really on the verge of being a dominant team in the East after several breakout seasons, and now they’ve added a potential franchise goalie by signing Devon Levi.

18. Nashville Predators (42-31-8, -8. CF%: 24, xGF%: 24)

It took too many seasons to get there, but moving on from David Poile was the right move. What went wrong was their players had trouble replicating unsustainable shooting percentages from last season, and nobody should be surprised they failed to do so.

19. Vancouver Canucks (38-37-7, -22. CF%: 23, xGF%: 25)

Their defense stunk, and their cap management never got any better. A big identity shift following a coaching change and trading their captain was evidence that the Canucks are still trying to figure things out.

20. Calgary Flames (38-27-17, +8. CF%: 2, xGF%: 3)

Saying the big blockbuster trade didn’t work out was a huge understatement. The Flames dominated possession but had some really awful luck – 17 overtime losses?! – though let’s not gloss over the fact that Darryl Sutter didn’t seem like the right fit, and Jacob Markstrom looked really rough.

21. Pittsburgh Penguins (40-31-11, -2. CF%: 8, xGF%: 4)

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin played all 82 games, and this is what they have to show for it? By the time this article is published, Ron Hextall and Brian Burke might be gone already from the Pens' front office (editors note: Jason is spot-on). What a waste of a season from two franchise players inching closer to the end of their careers.

22. Ottawa Senators (39-35-8, -10. CF%: 12, xGF%: 13)

What went wrong was their defense was a little thin, and their goaltending wasn’t consistently good. But things are perking up with competing for a playoff spot and potentially having a new downtown rink in the years ahead.

23. Washington Capitals (35-37-10, -10. CF%: 18, xGF%: 19)

Injuries to key players, including a scary one to John Carlson, and bad goaltending are part of what cost them. The Caps don’t have a post-Ovechkin plan in place, but it’s time to really start thinking about it. For the Caps to be successful, they had to have a lot of things go their way, and it didn’t happen this season.

24. St. Louis Blues (37-38-7, -38. CF%: 27, xGF%: 27)

They’re so far removed from being a tough team to play against, it’s kind of baffling. Their defense was almost non-existent, and, at times, Jordan Binnington truly was their best player. The reins were given to Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas, but they just didn’t seem quite ready this season.

25. Philadelphia Flyers (31-38-13, -55. CF%: 25, xGF%: 23)

Hiring John Tortorella was the one thing they really got right this season. You could see the shift in culture when Noah Cates averaged more ice time than Kevin Hayes and when Tony DeAngelo was benched late in the season. The problem is that this is not going to be a quick or easy fix.

26. Arizona Coyotes (28-40-14, -71. CF%: 29, xGF%: 28)

All things considered, it was a pretty good season. They were very good at home even though everyone laughed at their small rink, and Clayton Keller had a brilliant season after a serious injury last season. They didn’t get enough attention this season, given how well some of their players played.

27. Chicago Blackhawks (26-49-7, -97. CF%: 31, xGF%: 31)

This season felt like a fait accompli because the Hawks needed to clean the slate and move on from the Toews-Kane era. They were never expected to be good, and they really weren’t.

28. Columbus Blue Jackets (25-47-9, -113. CF%: 30, xGF%: 29)

You hate to blame everything on injuries, but it was a tough start. Zach Werenski, Jake Bean and Justin Danforth, who was supposed to be one of the feel-good stories this season, suffered season-ending injuries early on. Patrik Laine and Nick Blankenburg were in and out of the lineup. Alex Texier took the season off to deal with personal matters. No amount of money spent in free agency would’ve rectified these things.

29. Detroit Red Wings (35-37-10, -39. CF%: 26, xGF%: 26)

Following a similar theme, throwing a bunch of money at players in free agency is not a guarantee for success. Steve Yzerman was at least smart enough to cut his losses and look ahead to next season. One big win: re-signing captain and local kid Dylan Larkin to maintain some continuity.

30. Montreal Canadiens (31-45-6, -75. CF%: 28, xGF%: 30)

The reclamation projects looked like they were working, but the injuries started to pile up, their lack of depth was exposed, and their goaltending was as good as expected.

31. San Jose Sharks (22-44-16, -87. CF%: 21, xGF%: 17)

Erik Karlsson was the only thing that went right for them. Everything else was pretty disastrous, and going into the season, the Sharks weren’t expected to be this bad. Any doubts that this team was headed toward a rebuild were vanquished within the first few months.

32. Anaheim Ducks (23-47-12, -129. CF%: 32, xGF%: 32)

If tanking for Bedard was the right thing to do, my goodness, did the Ducks pass with flying colors. The Ducks were historically bad, but the worst part was that, at times, they genuinely didn’t seem to care that they were this bad.