After a three-day sojourn, the NHL is back and so are my
Power Rankings
1. Tampa Bay
Lightning
Previous ranking: 1
They're on pace for 129 points. They've gone a month without
a regulation loss. Eighteen players have double-digit points. What else is
there to say?
2. Toronto Maple
Leafs
Previous ranking: 2
How good has Mitch Marner been?
He's only the fourth Maple Leafs player all time to have 50 points before
Christmas (the others: Mats Sundin, Dave
Andreychuk and Doug Gilmour)
3. Washington
Capitals
Previous ranking: 6
Yes, Alex Ovechkin has
been ridiculously good. But this team isn't tethered to the star winger for
success. Fourteen players have double-digit point totals, including surprises
like Brett
Connolly (22 in 36 games).
4. Winnipeg Jets
Previous ranking: 3
Is this the season Mark
Scheifele emerges as a serious Hart Trophy candidate? Through 37
games he has 22 goals and 49 points while shouldering a massive workload (22:43
per game, fourth among all NHL forwards).
5. Calgary
Flames
Previous ranking: 5
They have the league's most explosive offense, having scored
five goals in a period on four different occasions. Defensively, Calgary ranks
third in the league, allowing only 2.68 goals per game.
6. Nashville
Predators
Previous ranking: 4
The banged-up Preds have been without at least one of their
top players for the last six weeks. Even with a four-game slide heading into
the break, they're comfortably in a playoff spot.
7. San Jose
Sharks
Previous ranking: 7
Erik Karlsson is
set to return from a two-game suspension; the defenseman is starting to find
his offensive game with the Sharks, notching 11 assists in his past 10 games.
8. Buffalo
Sabres
Previous ranking: 9
The Sabres sure are keeping fans on their toes in their
breakout season. More than a third of their games have gone to overtime, in
which Buffalo is 8-5.
9. Boston Bruins
Previous ranking: 10
The B's are getting healthier. The return of
defenseman Zdeno Chara
will be huge, but don't overlook winger Jake DeBrusk (sidelined
three weeks with a concussion), who has 10 goals in 28 games.
10. Colorado
Avalanche
Previous ranking: 8
Can Mikko
Rantanen become the first Avs player to win the scoring title
since Peter
Forsberg in 2003? Nikita
Kucherov has taken the scoring lead with 61, while Rantanen has
60 and Avs teammate Nathan
MacKinnon has 57.
11. Columbus Blue
Jackets
Previous ranking: 12
Bob is back! After an inauspicious start, Columbus Blue
Jackets netminder Sergei
Bobrovsky is 5-0-1 with a .962 save percentage in his last six
starts.
12. Vegas Golden
Knights
Previous ranking: 13
Marc-Andre
Fleury's workload has been Herculean so far. He has already
surpassed his 2017-18 starts total while leading the league with 2,078 minutes,
299 more than any other netminder.
13. Pittsburgh
Penguins
Previous ranking: 19
The inevitable second-half surge begins as Pittsburgh has
posted a plus-13 goal differential over its last 12 games, winning nine of
them.
14. New York
Islanders
Previous ranking: 15
The biggest improvement for the Islanders this season? Goal
prevention. They've allowed only 95 goals in 35 games this season after letting
in a whopping 124 in the same span last season.
15. Montreal
Canadiens
Previous ranking: 18
The Habs have won eight of 12 games this month (with three
to go on the calendar). Keep it up, and this will be Montreal's most successful
December in a decade.
16. Edmonton
Oilers
Previous ranking: 14
And just like that, the Oilers looked like their old selves
again, allowing 14 goals in three games before the break (while scoring just
six).
17. Anaheim Ducks
Previous ranking: 11
It still feels like the John Gibson show,
especially as Anaheim's leading scorer (Ryan Getzlaf,
nine goals and 20 assists) ranks 78th in the league in points right now.
18. Minnesota
Wild
Previous ranking: 17
The Wild had a league-worst nine points (4-8-1 record)
between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and look to turn things around, though
they'll be without one of their top defensemen, Matt Dumba,
for at least three months.
19. Dallas Stars
Previous ranking: 16
The Stars are a good team that takes some time to get going.
They have a league-low 19 goals in the first period. (For comparison, Tampa Bay
leads the league, with 50).
20. Vancouver
Canucks
Previous ranking: 21
The Canucks aren't looking to next season just yet, but we
must note 2018 first-round pick Quinn Hughes was the most noticeable player for
Team USA in its first game at the world junior championship this week.
21. New York
Rangers
Previous ranking: 20
The next two weeks look daunting, with seven of nine games
away from Madison Square Garden. That stretch could make or break the
Blueshirts' season.
22. Carolina
Hurricanes
Previous ranking: 23
The Canes have been streaky, and, at least a bit unlucky;
they have a league-low 96.73 PDO at even strength.
23. Florida
Panthers
Previous ranking: 25
The Panthers need an extra scoring kick, and maybe they have
it in-house with rookie Jayce
Hawryluk, who scored two goals in his NHL debut last week.
24. Detroit Red
Wings
Previous ranking: 24
How is the Red Wings' season going? Even though the team is
playing better, according to the eye test, than last season, the Wings' record
doesn't reflect it, and they are below average in nearly every statistical
category.
25. Philadelphia
Flyers
Previous ranking: 28
Carter Hart might
just be as good as advertised, and there's more help to come. Philly has a league-high
seven prospects participating in the world junior championship.
26. Ottawa
Senators
Previous ranking: 22
Let's not get into winners and losers of the Erik Karlsson trade,
but the Sens did find a gem in Dylan DeMelo,
who is thriving in a larger role and bringing out the best in partner Thomas Chabot.
27. Arizona
Coyotes
Previous ranking: 26
The Yotes have done a lot to improve their forward corps
this season, and yet they rank 29th in goals per game, despite doing enough in
the back end to win. That's extra impressive given that they've been without
top netminder Antti Raanta for
much of the season.
28. St. Louis
Blues
Previous ranking: 27
The Blues remain the only NHL team that has not strung
together more than two consecutive wins.
29. New Jersey
Devils
Previous ranking: 31
The latest in the Devils' goaltending saga: Could
rookie Mackenzie
Blackwood be the savior? Too early to tell, but coach John Hynes
says he'll get a "real good look" after the Christmas break.
30. Chicago
Blackhawks
Previous ranking: 30
Hey, 2018 was a tumultuous calendar year for the Blackhawks.
Perhaps a reasonable goal for 2019: Any noticeable improvement under new
coach Jeremy
Colliton.
31. Los Angeles
Kings
Previous ranking: 29
The league's lowest-scoring team scored at least three goals
in all four games before the Christmas break for the first time all season.
Small steps.
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