THN.com/podcast. From The Hockey News Podcast: Recapping a Wild World Juniors Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk1MjU3MDI3NzAwNzI5NTcw/usatsi_19793604.jpg] Guess who’s back, back again? Jersey’s back, tell a friend. OK, the Bruins still hold the top spot, but this is shades of November where the Bruins and Devils were neck-and-neck with each other. In all likelihood, the Bruins will end up having one of the best seasons in the cap era and win their second Presidents’ Trophy in four years. But the Devils are closing the gap again, the Canes remain the top-ranked team in analytics and the Jets have a healthy lineup. They’re your top four teams this week, going a combined 10-2-1. Once again, there’s some shifting in the middle. The Flyers, Oilers and Avs jump up quite a few spots for their strong play recently while the Pens and Blues nearly drop out of the top 20. It’s a fickle league – there are (by my count) eight teams who are clearly a cut above the rest, and then about 12 teams who could beat each on any given night because there’s so much parity in the middle class. Here are this week’s THN power rankings. (All fancy stats are 5v5 and courtesy naturalstattrick.com. CF% stands for Corsi For Percentage [http://www.naturalstattrick.com/glossary.php?teams] and xGF% represents Expected Goals For Percentage.) 1. Boston Bruins (34-5-4, +72. CF% league rank: 7, xGF% league rank: 3) They ran into a red-hot Kraken team, but we all know who the best team in the league really is. There’s zero debate, and I don’t think a team has finished first and also been held with such universal regard since the 2018-19 Lightning. 2. New Jersey Devils (29-12-3, +40. CF%: 3, xGF%: 2) They’ve won five in a row and settled on the Vancek-Blackwood debate, and it’s actually nice that they got a bad losing streak out of the way early in the season. We knew they were flying high, and there would’ve been an inevitable bump in the road, and it’s better sooner than later when the playoff races really heat up. 3. Carolina Hurricanes (27-9-8, +21. CF%: 1, xGF%: 1) A real mixed bag but still better than last week when they lost three straight. The curiosity now (and again) is how long Frederik Andersen can keep all his limbs in working order. Pyotr Kochetkov was demoted to the AHL, but like any MCU film, we all know a sequel is coming. 4. Winnipeg Jets (29-15-1, +30. CF%: 18, xGF%: 20) I think having a healthy lineup helps, don’t you? They’ve won eight of their past 10, but the two losses against Detroit and Montreal were a little perplexing. 5. New York Rangers (25-13-7, +24. CF%: 8, xGF%: 17) They’re the third-best team since Dec. 1, with a 14-4-3 record, and they’re talking about Timo Meier?! That’s one way to turbo-charge your scoring – who would they give up, though? Jaroslav Halak has been playing very well lately, the best he’s looked in three seasons. 6. Dallas Stars (26-12-7, +37. CF%: 15, xGF%: 15) A 4-0 win against Vegas was a statement game because it pretty much reaffirmed the Western Conference representative in the final will be from the Central Division. Of minor concern: Roope Hintz is hurt, and they don’t quite have the depth at center to cover for him. 7. Toronto Maple Leafs (27-11-7, +31. CF%: 12, xGF%: 5) The Bruins needed a late goal to knock off the Leafs, but they really shouldn’t have lost to the Wings. The win against the Panthers was fun, but the Panthers are bad right now, and Matt Murray was… well, this is why they signed two goalies, right?! 8. Tampa Bay Lightning (28-13-1, +30. CF%: 6, xGF%: 4) They swept the week 3-0-0 but still have a little more ways to go to join the Carolina/New Jersey tier. Milestone watch: Steven Stamkos is one goal shy of 500. He’s scored 13 goals in 17 career games against the Canucks. (I think he does it). 9. Vegas Golden Knights (28-15-2, +17. CF%: 20, xGF%: 11) That roster takes a huge hit if Mark Stone is out for an extended period. They’ve already lost three of their past four, scoring is an issue, Logan Thompson has cooled off considerably since the beginning of the season and the Pacific Division title is up for grabs. Strange to think that finishing second or third in the Pacific might be better than finishing first because that might mean a matchup against the Avs if they claim one of the wild-card spots. 10. Minnesota Wild (25-14-4, +18. CF%: 17, xGF%: 18) Filip Gustavsson has been key to their success, and Minnesota does have a history of outstanding tandems in net. Gustavsson and Fleury were a perfect 3-0-0 over the past week and allowed just four goals. 11. Los Angeles Kings (25-15-6, -3. CF%: 11, xGF%: 8) The Kings should back Jonathan Quick even if it’s just for optics, but the fact is, he hasn’t won a game since Dec. 1. Pheonix Copley continues to hold the fort, but it’s also put some pressure on the Kings' offense to score more goals. 12. Edmonton Oilers (25-18-3, +18. CF%: 16, xGF%: 14) The Oilers make a huge jump going 4-0-0, including wins against Vegas and Seattle with Jack Campbell (!) in net. We must consider the massive impact of Evander Kane returning to the lineup and Klim Kostin’s contributions. Now, is it a flash in a pan or really a sign of what’s to come? 13. Seattle Kraken (26-14-4, +22. CF%: 14, xGF%: 19) The Kraken are just a wild ride. After winning a historic seven straight games on the road, they get dismantled at home by the veteran Lightning and then score only two goals against Jack Campbell. They won’t survive in the playoffs with this kind of inconsistency. 14. Washington Capitals (24-17-6, +17. CF%: 13, xGF%: 13) It hasn’t been a good stretch with six losses in their past 10 games, including a home-and-home series against the Flyers. Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson have combined for three points and a minus-6 rating. They’re gonna need a little more time. 15. Calgary Flames (21-15-9, +5. CF%: 2, xGF%: 6) Dan Vladar has started three of their past five games, and Jacob Markstrom just lost again despite allowing only two goals. Just when things were looking good, it just suddenly stops. The Flames have been like this all season. 16. Colorado Avalanche (22-17-3, +10. CF%: 5, xGF%: 16) This time next week, the Avs might be in the top 10. It feels like they’re starting to ramp it up with Nathan MacKinnon finding his groove, and Pavel Francouz has provided some quality goaltending just when they needed it (again). They outscored their opponents 15-6 over the past week. 17. Florida Panthers (21-20-5, -6. CF%: 4, xGF%: 7) Tuesday’s game against the Leafs should’ve been their third straight win, which would’ve been their longest streak of the season. Yes, last year’s Presidents’ Trophy winners have not won more than two games in a row at any point this season. Let that sink in for a little bit more. 18. Buffalo Sabres (21-19-3, +13. CF%: 9, xGF%: 21) They’re starting to lose a lot of steam, with five losses in their past six games. It’ll be interesting to see how this three-goalie rotation works out because Eric Comrie’s played only once since returning from injury, and they will have to keep shuttling Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen back and forth from the minors. 19. Pittsburgh Penguins (22-15-6, +9. CF%: 19, xGF%: 10) They really need Tristan Jarry back. For the first time in a long time, the Pens lack goalie depth. Losses to the Jets and Canes and a narrow defeat of the Ducks show just how far behind they are against the rest of the top-tier contenders in the East. 20. St. Louis Blues (22-20-3, -19. CF%: 28, xGF%: 24) They’ve scored just five goals in their past three games and remain very poor at home with a 9-10-2 record. With a seven-game homestand, you’d think this is a change for them to make up some lost ground. The goal differential and analytics say the Blues just aren’t a good team, however. 21. Philadelphia Flyers (19-19-7, -18. CF%: 25, xGF%: 26) They’re an impressive 7-2-0 since Dec. 29, tied for the fourth-best points percentage in the league behind only the Jets, Devils and Bruins. You gotta hand it to John Tortorella sometimes, but this unfortunately puts Connor Bedard further out of reach for the Flyers. 22. Nashville Predators (21-17-6, -6. CF%: 22, xGF%: 22) The Preds needed spectacular goaltending from Juuse Saros and Kevin Lankinen to pull off two straight wins. It’s hard to figure out the Preds’ current identity; they’re not scoring enough like they were last season, but they also don’t play particularly well on defense. 23. New York Islanders (23-18-4, +12. CF%: 23, xGF%: 23) It’s been a bad stretch where they’ve lost six of their past eight and had a ton of trouble scoring goals. Worse, tankathon.com [https://www.tankathon.com/nhl/remaining_schedule_strength] has the Isles ranked third in remaining strength of schedule for the rest of the season. 24. Montreal Canadiens (19-23-3, -43. CF%: 24, xGF%: 29) Sam Montembeault has a .927 SP in 2023 and, at least temporarily, supplanted Jake Allen as the starter. Not sure what sort of resolutions Montembeault made for the new year, but it’s working. 25. Ottawa Senators (19-21-3, -13. CF%: 10, xGF%: 12) They’ve lost four of their past five, including blowout losses of 7-0 and 8-4, once with Cam Talbot in net and the other with Anton Forsberg. Good news: Josh Norris is back. 26. Vancouver Canucks (18-22-3, -21. CF%: 26, xGF%: 27) You could argue all the other teams at the bottom of this list are here by design. The Canucks are here because they’re incompetent. How ironic that years of lamenting a Leafs-centric media in Canada has only turned its attention more closely to the Canucks during one of the lowest points in their franchise history. 27. Chicago Blackhawks (12-26-4, -59. CF%: 32, xGF%: 31) They’ve won four of their past five, and just when Alex Stalock is about to take over the starting job, he gets hurt. Literally nothing is getting in the way of the Hawks’ tank job this season. 28. Columbus Blue Jackets (13-29-2, -61. CF%: 29, xGF%: 28) The Jackets are only here because they somehow beat Detroit. Did you know – Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine have combined for only one power-play goal this season?! Even Alex Wennberg has two power-play goals, and you practically have to shoot the puck off his skates into the goalie for him to register a shot because no other player in the league is as allergic to shooting as Wennberg. 29. Arizona Coyotes (14-25-5, -42. CF%: 30, xGF%: 30) They snapped their nine-game losing streak, so good for them. That’s about as exciting as it gets in the desert these days. 30. Detroit Red Wings (18-17-8, -15. CF%: 27, xGF%: 25) The ranking’s too harsh? Maybe. Their playoff chances are fading fast, having lost seven of their past 10, including losses to Columbus and Arizona. This is the opposite of what should happen when Robby Fabbri and Tyler Bertuzzi return to the lineup. 31. Anaheim Ducks (12-28-5, -85. CF%: 31, xGF%: 32) They’ve lost five straight with 28 goals allowed in that span. Reporting for duty, tank commander Eakins! 32. San Jose Sharks (13-23-9, -35. CF%: 21, xGF%: 9) They have three wins in their past 12 games and, combined with the Ducks, finished 0-5-2 over the past week.
