NHL Player Rankings: Week 18 Risers, Fallers, Players of the Week

NHL Player Rankings: Who’s Trending up and Down? And Who Are the Top Players as Well? We’re Here to Let You Know With Our Weekly Risers and Fallers!

Welcome to our weekly NHL Player Rankings, a compilation of lists showing you who is on top, as well as who is on the bottom in every position. We’ll also show you the best player of the week for all three zones of the ice.

For forwards and defenseman, the deciding factor will come down to points-per-game averages. This statistic shows us how well a player has scored in the games they have played when given an advanced look it lets us know their potential to lead the league in points.

Goalies will be decided by goals-against-average and shutouts. While goalies are obviously going to let in pucks, this stat is fundamental in watching their overall success and potential to where they could be in the league if playing for a better defensive team.

Legend:
LW = Last Week
NR = Not Ranked

**Minimum 45 Games Played** (Forwards/Defense)
**Minimum 35 Games Played** (Goalies)

Oct 22, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right winger Phil Kessel (81) skates during warmups prior to the game against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

Top 10 Centers:

1 (LW/-) – Sidney Crosby (PIT) – 45GP, 30G, 29A, 59PTS, 1.31PPG
2 (LW/+1) – Evgeni Malkin (PIT) – 47GP, 22G, 32A, 54PTS, 1.15PPG
3 (LW/-1) – Connor McDavid (EDM) – 55GP, 18G, 42A, 60PTS, 1.09PPG
4 (LW/-) – Mark Scheifele (WPG) – 52GP, 25G, 28A, 53PTS, 1.02PPG
5 (LW/-) – Nicklas Backstrom (WSH) – 53GP, 15G, 38A, 53PTS, 1.00PPG
6 (LW/-) – Tyler Seguin (DAL) – 53GP, 19G, 31A, 50PTS, 0.94PPG
7 (LW/+2) – Mikael Granlund (MIN) – 51GP, 15G, 33A, 48PTS, 0.94PPG
8 (LW/-) – Jeff Carter (LA) – 53GP, 27G, 20A, 47PTS, 0.89PPG
9 (LW/NR) – Mitch Marner (TOR) – 50GP, 13G, 31A, 44PTS, 0.88PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Joe Pavelski (SJ) – 53GP, 17G, 29A, 46PTS, 0.87PPG

Top 10 Left Wingers:

1 (LW/-) – Brad Marchand (BOS) – 55GP, 23G, 32A, 55PTS, 1.00PPG
2 (LW/+1) – Jamie Benn (DAL) – 49GP, 16G, 30A, 46PTS, 0.94PPG
3 (LW/-1) – Alex Ovechkin (WSH) – 53GP, 25G, 23A, 48PTS, 0.91PPG
4 (LW/-) – Artemi Panarin (CHI) – 54GP, 18G, 29A, 47PTS, 0.87PPG
5 (LW/+3) – James van Riemsdyk (TOR) – 50GP, 19G, 24A, 43PTS, 0.86PPG
6 (LW/NR) – Nikolaj Ehlers (WPG) – 55GP, 19G, 28A, 47PTS, 0.85PPG
7 (LW/+2) – Mike Hoffman (OTT) – 45GP, 18G, 19A, 37PTS, 0.82PPG
8 (LW/-3) – Nick Foligno (CBJ) – 49GP, 18G, 22A, 40PTS, 0.82PPG
9 (LW/NR) – Max Pacioretty (MTL) – 54GP, 25G, 19A, 44PTS, 0.81PPG
10 (LW/-) – Chris Kreider (NYR) – 46GP, 21G, 16A, 37PTS, 0.80PPG

Top 10 Right Wingers:

1 (LW/-) – Nikita Kucherov (TB) – 46GP, 19G, 28A, 47PTS, 1.02PPG
2 (LW/+3) – Phil Kessel (PIT) – 51GP, 17G, 33A, 50PTS, 0.98PPG
3 (LW/-1) – Patrick Kane (CHI) – 54GP, 17G, 35A, 52PTS, 0.96PPG
4 (LW/-1) – Vladimir Tarasenko (STL) – 52GP, 23G, 27A, 50PTS, 0.96PPG
5 (LW/-1) – Cam Atkinson (CBJ) – 51GP, 25G, 22A, 47PTS, 0.92PPG
6 (LW/+3) – David Pastrnak (BOS) – 48GP, 22G, 22A, 44PTS, 0.92PPG
7 (LW/-1) – Patrik Laine (WPG) – 47GP, 23G, 20A, 43PTS, 0.91PPG
8 (LW/-1) – Jakub Voracek (PHI) – 53GP, 14G, 31A, 45PTS, 0.85PPG
9 (LW/NR) – Blake Wheeler (WPG) – 55GP, 16G, 30A, 46PTS, 0.84PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Mark Stone (OTT) – 49GP, 18G, 21A, 39PTS, 0.80PPG

Top 10 Defensemen:

1 (LW/-) – Brent Burns (SJ) – 53GP, 22G, 33A, 55PTS, 1.04PPG
2 (LW/-) – Erik Karlsson (OTT) – 50GP, 8G, 36A, 44PTS, 0.88PPG
3 (LW/-) – Victor Hedman (TB) – 50GP, 7G, 34A, 41PTS, 0.82PPG
4 (LW/+1) – Justin Schultz (PIT) – 51GP, 9G, 28A, 37PTS, 0.73PPG
5 (LW/+2) – Kevin Shattenkirk (STL) – 52GP, 11G, 24A, 35PTS, 0.67PPG
6 (LW/+2) – Duncan Keith (CHI) – 54GP, 4G, 32A, 36PTS, 0.67PPG
7 (LW/NR) – Dustin Byfuglien (WPG) – 55GP, 7G, 27A, 34PTS, 0.62PPG
8 (LW/+1) – Dougie Hamilton (CGY) – 54GP, 8G, 25A, 33PTS, 0.61PPG
9 (LW/NR) – John Klingberg (DAL) – 51GP, 8G, 23A, 31PTS, 0.61PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Zach Werenski (CBJ) – 51GP, 8G, 23A, 31PTS, 0.61PPG

Top 10 Goalies:

1 (LW/+2) – Peter Budaj (LA) – 46GP, 25W, 2.02GAA, 7SO, .920SV%
2 (LW/-1) – Braden Holtby (WSH) – 40GP, 26W, 1.99GAA, 6SO, .929SV%
3 (LW/+1) – Tuukka Rask (BOS) – 44GP, 25W, 2.31GAA, 5SO, .911SV%
4 (LW/+1) – Cam Talbot (EDM) – 49GP, 27W, 2.32GAA, 5SO, .921SV%
5 (LW/-3) – Devan Dubnyk (MIN) – 40GP, 28W, 1.99GAA, 5SO, .932SV%
6 (LW/NR) – John Gibson (ANA) – 41GP, 20W, 2.27GAA, 3SO, .921SV%
7 (LW/-) – Frederik Andersen (TOR) – 42GP, 22W, 2.73GAA, 3SO, .916SV%
8 (LW/+2) – Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ) – 41GP, 28W, 2.19GAA, 3SO, .926SV%
9 (LW/-1) – Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) – 35GP, 17W, 2.82GAA, 3SO, .908SV%
10 (LW/NR) – Henrik Lundqvist (NYR) – 39GP, 23W, 2.74GAA, 2SO, .907SV%

**Minimum 35 Games Played** (Forwards/Defense)
**Minimum 15 Games Played** (Goalies)

NHL Power Rankings: Detroit Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek (34) makes a save during the second period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

Bottom 10 Centers:

1 (LW/-) – John Mitchell (COL) – 41GP, 1G, 0A, 1PT, 0.02PPG
2 (LW/+3) – Derek Grant (NSH) – 41GP, 0G, 4A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
3 (LW/+4) – Michael Chaput (VAN) – 40GP, 1G, 3A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
4 (LW/+4) – Sergey Kalinin (NJ) – 39GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
5 (LW/+4) – Joe Colborne (COL) – 39GP, 3G, 1A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
6 (LW/-4) – Brendan Gaunce (VAN) – 47GP, 0G, 5A, 5PTS, 0.11PPG
7 (LW/-1) – Steve Ott (DET) – 37GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
8 (LW/+2) – Jay McClement (CAR) – 50GP, 4G, 2A, 6PTS, 0.12PPG
9 (LW/NR) – Lance Bouma (CGY) – 37GP, 3G, 2A, 5PTS, 0.14PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Riley Sheahan (DET) – 50GP, 0G, 7A, 7PTS, 0.14PPG

Bottom 10 Left Wingers:

1 (LW/+1) – Vernon Fiddler (NSH) – 39GP, 1G, 2A, 3PTS, 0.08PPG
2 (LW/+1) – Andreas Martinsen (COL) – 43GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS 0.09PPG
3 (LW/+1) – Brandon Tanev (WPG) – 39GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
4 (LW/+1) – Cody McLeod (NSH) – 38GP, 3G, 1A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
5 (LW/+1) – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (PHI) – 53GP, 3G, 3A, 6PTS, 0.11PPG
6 (LW+3) – Roman Lyubimov (PHI) – 39GP, 4G, 1A, 5PTS, 0.13PPG
7 (LW/-) – Matt Martin (TOR) – 50GP, 4G, 3A, 7PTS, 0.14PPG
8 (LW/+2) – Joakim Nordstrom (CAR) – 51GP, 3G, 5A, 8PTS, 0.16PPG
9 (LW/-1) – Lawson Crouse (ARI) – 47GP, 3G, 5A, 8PTS, 0.17PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Drew Miller (DET) – 35GP, 5G, 1A, 6PTS, 0.17PPG

Bottom 10 Right Wingers:

1 (LW/-) – Jordin Tootoo (CHI) – 36GP, 0G, 0A, 0PTS, 0.00PPG
2 (LW/-) – Jared Boll (ANA) – 36GP, 0G, 2A, 2PTS, 0.06PPG
3 (LW/-) – Chris Neil (OTT) – 46GP, 1G, 2A, 3PTS, 0.07PPG
4 (LW/-) – Jimmy Hayes (BOS) – 40GP, 2G, 1A, 3PTS, 0.08PPG
5 (LW/-) – Chris Thorburn (WPG) – 42GP, 3G, 1A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
6 (LW/-) – J.T. Brown (TB) – 40GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
7 (LW/-) – Dale Weise (PHI) – 43GP, 2G, 3A, 5PTS, 0.12PPG
8 (LW/+1) – Ryan Reaves (STL) – 50GP, 3G, 4A, 7PTS, 0.14PPG
9 (LW/-1) – Nikita Soshnikov (TOR) – 40GP, 3G, 3A, 6PTS, 0.15PPG
10 (LW/-) – Jack Skille (VAN) – 45GP, 4G, 3A, 7PTS, 0.16PPG

Bottom 10 Defensemen:

1 (LW/+1) – Mark Borowiecki (OTT) – 42GP, 1G, 1A, 2PTS, 0.05PPG
2 (LW/-1) – Josh Gorges (BUF) – 35GP, 0G, 2A, 2PTS, 0.06PPG
3 (LW/+2) – Luke Schenn (ARI) – 47GP, 0G, 3A, 3PTS, 0.06PPG
4 (LW/-1) – Kevin Gravel (LA) – 38GP, 0G, 3A, 3PTS, 0.08PPG
5 (LW/-1) – Adam McQuaid (BOS) – 50GP, 1G, 3A, 4PTS, 0.08PPG
6 (LW/NR) – Braydon Coburn (TB) – 51GP, 1G, 4A, 5PTS, 0.10PPG
7 (LW/NR) – Kris Russell (EDM) – 47GP, 0G, 5A, 5PTS, 0.11PPG
8 (LW/+1) – Kevin Bieksa (ANA) – 54GP, 2G, 4A, 6PTS, 0.11PPG
9 (LW/NR) – Roman Polak (TOR) – 45GP, 3G, 2A, 5PTS, 0.11PPG
10 (LW/-4) – Ben Lovejoy (NJ) – 53GP, 1G, 5A, 6PTS, 0.11PPG

Bottom 10 Goalies:

1 (LW/+5) – Louis Domingue (ARI) – 21GP, 5, 3.19GAA, 0SO, .897SV%
2 (LW/+6) – Antti Niemi (DAL) – 27GP, 10W, 3.20GAA, 0SO, .900SV%
3 (LW/NR) – James Reimer (FLA) – 21GP, 9W, 2.50GAA, 0SO, .918SV%
4 (LW/NR) – Keith Kinkaid (NJ) – 16GP, 6W, 2.59GAA, 0SO, .920SV%
5 (LW/NR) – Jacob Markstrom (VAN) – 23GP, 9W, 2.56GAA, 0SO, .913SV%
6 (LW/NR) – Michal Neuvirth (PHI) – 17GP, 8W, 2.84GAA, 0SO, .894SV%
7 (LW/-6) – Brian Elliott (CGY) – 27GP, 11W, 2.85GAA, 0SO, .895SV%
8 (LW/NR) – Ben Bishop (TB) – 28GP, 12W, 2.79GAA, 0SO, .904SV%
9 (LW/NR) – Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT) – 28GP, 14W, 3.15GAA, 0SO, .906SV%
10 (LW/-8) – Petr Mrazek (DET) – 30GP, 12W, 3.08GAA, 1SO, .899SV%

Top Forward of the Week: Mikael Granlund (MIN) – (3GP, 3G, 3A, 6PTS, +6)

Mikael Granlund had himself a very solid week for the Wild, he wasn’t the only player in the league to have a six-point week, but he was the only one to have a plus-six rating while doing so.

Top Defenseman of the Week: Erik Karlsson (OTT) – (3GP, 1G, 4A, 5PTS, Even)

It’s good to see Erik Karlsson leading the defenseman for a week because that’s where he belongs. He’s a top notch defenseman and if not for the rise of Brent Burns, he’d still be the bonafide number one in the league, now he has to share it.

Next: Week 17 NHL Power Rankings

Top Goalie of the Week: Peter Budaj (LA) – (3GP, 3W, 0.66GAA, .972SV%, 2SO)

For the second week in a row Peter Budaj has taken home goalie of the week honors. His 0.66 goals-against-average with a .972 save percentage and two shutouts in three games is just amazing. If LA makes the playoffs this season and runs deep, it’s because of him, Jeff Carter and Alec Martinez.

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NHL Player Rankings: Week 18 Risers, Fallers, & More

By Matt Duscharme | Feb 6, 2017