NHL Power Rankings: Highs and Lows for each team

The NHL All-Star events have come and gone, the glow puck from the mid 90’s made a startling comeback, and bye weeks are in full effect. Here are this week’s NHL Power Rankings.

Happy Monday, everyone. It’s time for the NHL power rankings and week in review. A long time ago, I was given the task of coming up with a highlight and lowlight from the previous week, to really put things into perspective of how everyone’s week is different, and every week to each person is different. So we’re taking that to the NHL.

Here’s how the past week looked like for each team.

More from Puck Prose

• Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
• This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
• 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
• 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
• This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (0-0-0, Even Goal Difference)
Last Week: 1

Highlight: Andrei Vasilevskiy putting up a solid eight spot in the Save Streak competition Friday Night, holding the lead for most of the way.

Lowlight: Henrik Lundqvist (the only Ranger left who the Lightning wouldn’t trade for) won the event.

2. Calgary Flames (1-0-0, +1 GD)
Last Week: 2

Highlight: This save by Big Save Dave Rittich, robbing Carolina’s Justin Williams.

Lowlight: James Neal missing a wide open net after the puck hops over his stick.

3. Winnipeg Jets (0-0-0, Even GD)
Last Week: 3

Highlight: Took a week off, relaxed and recovered.

Lowlight: Nashville won twice, so the teams are now tied at the top of the Central (Jets do have 4 games at hand).

4. Toronto Maple Leafs (1-0-0, +3 GD)
Last Week: 4

Highlight: Nazem Kadri potting a hat trick against Washington.

Lowlight: This Matt Niskanen shot would’ve gone 5 feet wide, if not for Ron Hainsey deflecting it in by accident.

5. Nashville Predators (2-0-0, +4 GD)
Last Week: 9

Highlight: Goaltending in both games. Rinne stopping 35/36 on Colorado, and Saros stopping 47 of 48 (!!!) on Vegas

Lowlight: This whole biting incident between P.K. Subban and Bellmarre

6. New York Islanders (0-0-1, Even GD)
Last Week: 5

Highlight: Mat Barzal doing it all himself against the Blackhawks, making his own breakaway and finishing it.

Lowlight: Couldn’t seal the deal in the shootout, snapping their win streak against a weak Chicago team.

7. San Jose Sharks (1-1-0, -3 GD)
Last Week: 6

Highlight: Evander Kane tying the game with a second left against Washington, Tomas Hertl winning the game in overtime just a few minutes later.

Lowlight: This magnificent whiff by Lukas Radil leading to a second Panthers PP goal in 9 seconds, which ultimately decided the game.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins (0-0-0, Even GD)
Last Week: 8

Lowlight: Sidney Crosby no-showing the skills competition.

Highlight: Sidney Crosby winning a car as the All-Star MVP.

9. Vegas Golden Knights (0-2-0, -3 GD)
Last Week: 7

Highlight: Alex Tuch showing soft mitts on this PPG vs Minnesota.

Lowlight: The feed on Nick Bonino’s goal squeaking by the post on Marc Andre Fleury, leading to what would be the game-winning goal.

10. Boston Bruins (0-0-0, Even GD)
Last Week: 10

Lowlight: Only one representative to the All Star Game, David Pastrnak.

Highlight: Brad Marchand wasn’t viscerally booed at all like he was last year.

11. Columbus Blue Jackets (0-0-0, Even GD)
Last Week: 12

Lowlight: Didn’t play, therefore didn’t win.

Highlight: Moved up in the rankings due to a division rival mired in a nasty winless streak.

12. Washington Capitals (0-1-1, -4 GD)
Last Week: 11

Highlight: Alex Ovechkin continues to fill the net, including a hat trick against San Jose.

Lowlight: They can’t seem to keep the puck out of their net, giving up 13 goals in just two games.

13. Montreal Canadiens (1-0-0, +1 GD)
Last Week: 14

Highlight: Alex Galchenyuk’s revenge goal being taken off the board on an offside challenge.

Lowlight: PK getting cut straight through on Conor Garland’s PPG.

14. Colorado Avalanche (0-2-0, -6 GD)
Last Week: 13

Highlight: Carl Soderberg tying his career high in goals against the Wild.

Lowlight: Matt Nieto’s missed penalty shot against Nashville really seemed to have shot any momentum the Avs had in that game.

15. Minnesota Wild (2-0-0, +5 GD)
Last Week: 17

Highlight: Taking advantage of Colorado’s penalty trouble Wednesday night, leading to a big win.

Lowlight: Nino Niederreiter is scoring in buckets in Carolina.

16. Dallas Stars (0-0-0, Even GD)
Last Week: 16

Lowlight: Didn’t play.

Highlight: Didn’t lose.

17. Buffalo Sabres (0-0-0, Even GD)
Last Week: 15

Highlight: Didn’t lose.

Lowlight: Getting bumped down a couple of pegs in the rankings despite that.

18. Carolina Hurricanes (1-0-1, +2 GD)
Last Week: 18

Highlight: Signing Teuvo Terravainen to a great team friendly five-year contract.

Lowlight: Mikael Backlund wasting no time in OT dancing by the Canes’ defense for the game winner.

19. St. Louis Blues (1-1-0, +3 GD)
Last Week: 21

Highlight: Ryan O’Reilly’s snipe against the Kings to tie the game in the third.

Lowlight: A turnover and shoddy defense led to Tyler Toffoli’s slam dunk goal earlier that night.

20. Arizona Coyotes (1-1-0, Even GD)
Last Week: 20

Lowlight: Bobby Ryan’s goal on Tuesday was quite stoppable for Darcy Kuemper.

Highlight: Kuemper otherwise had a terrific night, stopping 25 of the other 26 Ottawa shots.

21. Vancouver Canucks (0-1-0, -3 GD)
Last Week: 19

Highlight: This NSFW passing play between Brock Boeser and Elias Petterson, feeding Sven Baertschi for a gorgeous goal

Lowlight: Giving up 3 goals in 3 minutes later in the game to fall 5-2 to Carolina.

22. Florida Panthers (1-0-0, +4 GD)
Last Week: 23

Highlight: Scoring two power-play goals in nine seconds to salt away a win against San Jose.

Lowlight: They didn’t play again this week, and couldn’t keep up momentum.

23. Edmonton Oilers (0-1-0, -1 GD)
Last Week: 22

Highlight: Finally firing GM Peter Chiarelli.

Lowlight: Placing Ryan Spooner on waivers, whom they acquired for Ryan Strome, whom they acquired for Jordan Eberle (who’s doing great for the playoff bound Islanders, thank you for asking).

24. New York Rangers (0-0-0, Even GD)
Last Week: 24

Highlight: Anything Henrik Lundqvist did at the All-Star Game.

Lowlight: Lundqvist was the oldest All-Star there.

25. New Jersey Devils (0-0-0, Even GD)
Last Week: 26

Highlight: Cory Schneider began his conditioning assignment in Binghamton.

Lowlight: He’s giving up buckets of goals in the AHL too…13 in 3 games. Yikes.

26. Detroit Red Wings (1-0-0, +1 GD)
Last Week: 27

Highlight: Shutting down Connor McDavid and the Oilers for a 3-2 win.

Lowlight: Shouldn’t they be trying to drop these games against lottery bound teams?

27. Anaheim Ducks (0-1-0, -4 GD)
Last Week: 25

Highlight: Getting to meet some of the cast of the original Mighty Ducks movie.

Lowlight: They may as well have tied John Gibson’s arms and legs to the posts, the way they no-showed against the Blues (1 goal scored, managing just 13 shots on Jordan Binnington).

28. Philadelphia Flyers (0-0-0, Even GD)
Last Week: 28

Highlight: Gritty’s packing list for the All Star festivities.

Lowlight: Gritty mugging a referee after losing at dodgeball.

29. Ottawa Senators (0-1-0, -1 GD)
Last Week: 29

Highlight: Thomas Chabot’s appearance at the All Star Game was a welcome sight, confirming the Senators may just have found their replacement for Erik Karlsson in no time

Lowlight: Brady Tkachuk serving up a big ol’ pizza to Derek Stepan and Vinny Hinostroza

30. Chicago Blackhawks (1-0-0, Even GD)
Last Week: 30

Highlight: They beat the Islanders (!?)

Lowlight: Henri Jokiharju falling trying to stop Valteri Filppula from walking in on Cam Ward. Didn’t work.

31. Los Angeles Kings (1-0-0, +1 GD)
Last Week: 31

Lowlight: Leaky power play led to just one goal on the Blues, despite the Blues committing 3 minor penalties in just 2 minutes.

Highlight: Kings would win the game anyway.

Schmooze of the Week: Edmonton Oilers

I could spend some time here talking about all the new player tracking technology from the All Star game. However, there is bigger news that happened over the last week.

(For what it’s worth, I think it’s neat, but a total distraction from the actual game. I want to see hockey, not flying name bars and comet pucks. It’s too much going on.)

The big news this week is that the axe finally fell early Wednesday morning for the now ex-GM of the Edmonton Oilers, Peter Chiarelli.

This news is coming off the heels of a brutal loss to the Detroit Red Wings, who came into the night in last place in the entire NHL. The Oilers didn’t muster nearly enough offense, the defense wasn’t great, and the goaltending was pretty leaky when called upon, giving up 3 goals that really should have been stopped.

So what now? The new interim GM Keith Gretzky (yup, Wayne’s brother) has a big hill to climb in terms of how to turn this team around into a playoff contender, after picking up whatever the heck Chiarelli did to this team.

Now, this is easier than you think, because of their one strength being a very important one, and that’s Connor McDavid being the best freakin’ player on the planet. Building a team around him shouldn’t be all that difficult for a somewhat competent GM.

However, that’s just about where the advantages end. Outside of McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, only Alex Chiasson has scored more than 6 goals, and that’s in large part due to him playing on McDavid’s line.

This can be attributed to Chiarelli making some really bad trades. Chiarelli traded for Adam Larsson, Ryan Strome (who turned into Ryan Spooner, who was put on waivers recently), and Griffin Reinhart. The Oilers gave away Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and a bunch of high draft picks including the one that the Islanders used on Mat Barzal. Imagine what the Oilers would look like with Hall, Eberle, and Barzal on the same team as McDavid. Yeesh.

So, going back to the original question, what does GM [Not-Wayne] Gretzky of the Oilers do?

The trade deadline is coming up, and the Oilers are actually not far out of a playoff berth. However, I would think that a minor tear-down is more appropriate for this team. The 9 other forwards not named McDavid, Draisaitl, or Nugent-Hopkins are clearly not working, and some of those guys have to go. I would keep Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi at least, because there is pretty good upside with those two.

On defense, the team has just been suffering through injuries and underperformance, but on paper, Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson, and Darnell Nurse aren’t bad.

The goalie situation? Well funny you mention that, because Chiarelli just saddled the team with Mikko Koskinen for 3 more years after this at $4.5M per year (this wasn’t a Chiarelli decision, according to most, considering the Oilers wouldn’t have let him sign a guy a week before he was canned). Additionally, there’s Cam Talbot, who’s been underperforming since that one season he was good, but totally overused. So, work to be done there.

The Oilers would do well with a lottery pick and some restocking on young up-and-coming talent, and finding better complementaries for McDavid should also be a part of the plan. The defense could always use bolstering, and finding a good goalie coach for Koskinen is a must.

There will be some time before the Oilers are true contenders. There’s gonna be a lot for the new management to clean out first. Be patient, Edmonton. Your time is coming.