In this week’s NHL power rankings and week in review, Paul Byron has to answer a code, Alex Ovechkin hits some milestones, and much more!
Happy Monday, everyone. It’s time for the weekly NHL power rankings and our week in review. A long time ago, I was given the task of coming up with highlights and lowlights for each week to really put things into perspective of how everyone’s week is different, and every week to each person is different.
It’s difficult, but highlighting each teams highs and lows is a good way of doing it. Here’s how the past week looked like for each team.
NHL Power Rankings
1. Tampa Bay Lightning (1-1-0, -2 Goal Differential)
Last week: 1
Highlight: Anthony Cirelli banging home a late one timer to win the game for Tampa against potential second round matchup Boston.
Lowlight: They kinda took the night off against Washington. They can afford to do that, though.
2. Calgary Flames (2-2-0, +3 Goal Differential)
Last week: 2
Highlight: Sunday’s win in San Jose sealed up the Pacific and Western Conference top seed overall.
Lowlight: Despite putting 42 shots on Jack Campbell, the Flames were unable to score against the Kings.
3. Boston Bruins (1-3-0, -4 Goal Differential)
Last week: 3
Highlight: David Pastrnak’s hat trick plus assists for a five point night against the Rangers.
Lowlight: Their third period against Tampa was definitely one to forget.
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (1-1-1, Even Goal Differential)
Last week: 4
Highlight: John Tavares potting four against the Panthers.
Lowlight: Despite winning the crowd in Ottawa, the Leafs seem to have trouble winning hockey games there. A weird storyline.
5. Washington Capitals (3-0-0, +7 Goal Differential)
Last week: 9
Highlight: Alex Ovechkin tying Brendan Shanahan on the all time goal list with his one timer against Carolina.
Lowlight: Hard to find anything wrong with their play this week. They get a pass.
6. Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1-0, +3 Goal Differential)
Last week: 7
Highlight: Matt Cullen doing some work and then finishing a great play to give the Penguins a lead over the Rangers.
Lowlight: Viktor Arvidsson’s late second period goal would prove too much to overcome for Pittsburgh in the yellowest game ever.
7. San Jose Sharks (1-3-0, -3 Goal Differential)
Last week: 6
Highlight: Brent Burns’ overtime winner against Vegas looks to loom large for home ice in their upcoming first round matchup.
Lowlight: Logan Couture eating a big hit from his own teammate Joonas Donskoi.
8. Winnipeg Jets (0-3-0, -6 Goal Differential)
Last week: 5
Highlight: Mark Scheifele’s redirect goal gave the Jets a late two goal lead over the Islanders.
Lowlight: The Islanders would score three goals after that in regulation to take the game in Winnipeg.
9. New York Islanders (2-1-0, +1 Goal Differential)
Last week: 8
Highlight: The Islanders clinched a playoff spot with an exclamation point by blowing the doors off the Sabres.
Lowlight: This Artemi Panarin goal off a turnover was a nail in the coffin for the Islanders that night in Columbus.
10. Columbus Blue Jackets (4-0-0, +15 Goal Differential)
Last week: 14
Highlight: Artemi Panarin’s one time snipe gave Columbus a lead over Montreal that they’d never relinquish. This game was huge for playoff implications also, adding that much more to the goal.
Lowlight: The Canadiens won every other game they played this week, keeping pace for a final week full of drama.
11. St. Louis Blues (2-1-0, +1 Goal Differential)
Last week: 12
Highlight: Ryan O’Reilly finishing a great breakout pass to give the Blues a game winning goal against Vegas.
Lowlight: The Blues showed an example of sloppy defense and rebound control with this goal by Rangers’ Ryan Strome.
12. Nashville Predators (2-1-0, Even Goal Differential)
Last week: 13
Highlight: Ryan Johansen’s early tally against Minnesota standing up as the only goal of the game.
Lowlight: This late first period sequence against Columbus included the Preds getting both robbed of a tying goal and scored upon moments later.
13. Vegas Golden Knights (0-3-1, -5 Goal Differential)
Last week: 10
Highlight: Paul Stastny scoring in his former home Colorado on a nice backhand wraparound.
Lowlight: Malcolm Subban giving away a puck behind the net to the Blues, who would feed Ivan Barbashev a very stoppable one timer. Bad play on both ends for Subban.
14. Carolina Hurricanes (1-3-0, -3 Goal Differential)
Last week: 11
Highlight: Warren Foegele put together one for the highlight reels against Washington, giving the Canes a 2-1 lead.
Lowlight: Justin Williams telling the media that the Storm Surge would not continue into the playoffs. Two thoughts: Boo, and they have to make it there first.
15. Montreal Canadiens (2-1-0, +3 Goal Differential)
Last week: 15
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Highlight: Chasing James Reimer from the Florida net early in their 6-1 blowout win on Tuesday.
Lowlight: A late collapse in Columbus may cost Montreal a playoff spot.
16. Dallas Stars (3-0-1, +4 Goal Differential)
Last week: 17
Highlight: Radek Faksa finishing off a passing play from both Mattias Janmark and Ben Bishop to extend Dallas’ lead in Winnipeg.
Lowlight: Ben Bishop getting hurt yet again, this time against Calgary.
17. Colorado Avalanche (2-0-0, +1 Goal Differential)
Last week: 16
Highlight: Gabriel Landeskog returning to the lineup not a moment too soon for a late push for the playoffs.
Lowlight: A last minute goal by Oliver Ekman-Larsson gave the Coyotes a point that may become important late this week for the Wild Card race.
18. Arizona Coyotes (2-0-1, +5 Goal Differential)
Last week: 19
Highlight: Nick Cousins opening the scoring in the third for Arizona against Chicago in a crucial game the Coyotes needed.
Lowlight: Not that we like to point out shootout results here, but they still count for standings points, and losing one to Colorado hurts the Coyotes big time this late in the year.
19. Florida Panthers (2-2-0, -1 Goal Differential)
Last week: 18
Highlight: Here’s your weekly Sasha Barkov highlight.
Lowlight: Samuel Montembault getting pulled after just four minutes against the Leafs.
20. Minnesota Wild (1-2-0, -4 Goal Differential)
Last week: 20
Highlight: Jason Zucker and Eric Staal combining for a late first period goal in Vegas that vaulted the Wild to a win.
Lowlight: Getting shut out by Arizona, which all but kills their playoff chances.
21. Chicago Blackhawks (1-1-1, -1 Goal Differential)
Last week: 22
Highlight: Jumping out to an early 3-0 lead against San Jose, and staving off the Sharks’ late push to win 5-4.
Lowlight: Getting shut out by Arizona, which all but kills their playoff chances.
22. Philadelphia Flyers (1-2-0, -6 Goal Differential)
Last week: 21
Highlight: A three goal second period lead the Flyers to a shootout win against Toronto.
Lowlight: Gritty having a run-in with what looks to be a clone of Ron Hextall at age 8.
23. Vancouver Canucks (2-1-0, -1 Goal Differential)
Last week: 23
Highlight: Brock Boeser finishing off some slick work by debutante Quinn Hughes to give Hughes his first NHL point.
Lowlight: Markus Granlund flicking a broken stick into the passing lane, which gave the Ducks a penalty shot that Sam Steel would convert.
24. Edmonton Oilers (1-1-1, Even Goal Differential)
Last week: 24
Highlight: Connor McDavid is unfair, as proven by this casual between the legs goal against Dallas.
Lowlight: Rickard Rakell scoring a natural hat trick in the second period of Anaheim’s win.
25. New York Rangers (2-2-0, -1 Goal Differential)
Last week: 26
Highlight: Taking an early 2-0 lead against Pittsburgh on Monday.
Lowlight: Giving up the next five goals to the Penguins, leading to a 5-2 loss.
26. Detroit Red Wings (4-0-0, +9 Goal Differential)
Last week: 29
Highlight: A four goal third period against Boston included an Anthony Mantha hat trick and Taro Hirose’s first career goal.
Lowlight: Conceding a spot in the draft lottery to New Jersey with all this winning this week.
27. Anaheim Ducks (2-1-0, Even Goal Differential)
Last week: 27
Highlight: Sam Steel putting home a hat trick against Vancouver.
Lowlight: Getting torched by the Flames in Calgary.
28. Ottawa Senators (2-1-0, +3 Goal Differential)
Last week: 30
Highlight: Craig Anderson posting a shutout of the Buffalo Sabres.
Lowlight: Fans in attendance of Saturday night’s tilt with Toronto chanting “Sell the team”.
29. Buffalo Sabres (0-4-1, -15 Goal Differential)
Last week: 25
Highlight: They scored four goals against Detroit, earning them a point in the standings.
Lowlight: They scored two goals combined in their other four games this past week. Sabres are back to the old ways of tanking.
30. New Jersey Devils (1-1-1, -3 Goal Differential)
Last week: 28
Highlight: Corey Schneider making 45 saves to keep Buffalo from actually winning a game.
Lowlight: Mackenzie Blackwood getting another tough luck loss against Detroit, getting no offensive support.
31. Los Angeles Kings (2-1-1, Even Goal Differential)
Last week: 31
Highlight: Jack Campbell’s shutout of the powerhouse Flames.
Lowlight: Jonathan Quick getting shelled by the Oilers the very next night, giving up five goals on just 11 shots.
Schmooze of the Week: The Code
One of the more interesting aspects of hockey is the players’ ability to police themselves on the ice. A player who makes a dirty hit will often get his comeuppance sooner or later.
The sequence of events usually looks like this. Player A throws a dirty hit on Player B. Player B, or a teammate of player B, will take a run at player A, often in the form of challenging to a fight. Player A accepts, the two duke it out, things settle down. Hatchet buried.
This has been how hockey players keep the peace during games. But at what point do players forgo the code for a higher cause? This was called into debate this past week with Paul Byron and the Montreal Canadiens, when the Habs hosted the Florida Panthers Monday night.
In their previous meeting, on January 15 in Montreal, Byron threw a dirty hit on Panthers’ Mackenzie Weegar. Weegar got hurt on the play, and missed a little bit of time. Byron was served a three game suspension for his actions, apologized for the hit, and that seemed to be that.
However, we have The Code to check with. This past Monday, when Florida came back to Montreal for their first meeting since, and Weegar challenged Byron to a fight, which Byron accepted. It’s part of The Code, Byron knew it full well, as did everyone. By the letter of The Code, Byron had to accept in order to settle matters with some finality.
The two grabbed hold of each other, and started throwing. Weegar landed a beauty of an uppercut to Byron, which stunned Byron and won Weegar the fight. Byron would leave the game, and be forced to miss a big-time showdown in Columbus with playoff implications on the line. Montreal would end up getting run out of the building that night in Columbus by a 6-2 margin.
So the question stands, does an extenuating circumstance, such as playoff implications, excuse a player from answering to The Code?
In defense for the answer ‘Yes’, Byron is a key player for Montreal, and got hurt answering for a hit he had already paid for in a suspension and apology. Because of The Code, Byron had to fight Weegar, and Byron got hurt, which caused him to miss a big game that his team really could have used him in. Now, Montreal is on the outside looking in to the playoff picture, as opposed to having a stranglehold on their playoff bid like they would have been had they won against the Blue Jackets.
In defense for the answer ‘No’, Byron had not yet paid for his sin of that dirty hit, had to answer for himself. Additionally, it’s not because of The Code that Byron got hurt, it’s one stray punch that landed in the perfect spot. Could happen to anyone at any time.
Byron could have simply told Weegar “not tonight”. Montreal coach Claude Julien could have mentioned to Byron that he shouldn’t adhere to The Code that night because they were all hands on deck in a playoff race. Weegar could have backed off, knowing that Byron had owned up to his actions and paid the price with his suspension. This could have been avoided by one of a myriad of means.
Players do police themselves well on the ice. Having The Code in place is a fairly well established credo by which players prevent dirty hits and protect teammates. I won’t hurt your guy, because I don’t want to deal with the big guy on your team coming after me. It’s negative reinforcement that keeps players at bay, and out of situations where they throw that dirty hit with no recourse.
This is not by any means to say that Byron was hurt directly because of The Code, and that having Byron in the lineup Thursday in Columbus would have led to a Montreal victory. Byron got hurt from a well placed punch, and Columbus was the better team by a wide margin that night anyway. But the two events and their related lead-up events can be correlated rather clearly.
This situation was certainly one where The Code should have been set aside. All parties involved should have known better. Yet here we are, and Montreal may miss the playoffs because of it.