The Boston Bruins are peaking at the right time, which is why they have the top spot in our weekly NHL power rankings.
March has begun. It’s the best time of the regular season – the push for the Stanley Cup Playoffs has begun. This is when the best separate themselves from the rest. That’s precisely what the Boston Bruins have done in our weekly NHL power rankings.
Though the Bruins, like all teams, are flawed, they’ve reminded everyone why they were one win away from winning the Stanley Cup last season. They’ve lost just thrice all season in regulation at home and also have one of the best road records in the NHL at 19-10-3.
If this is your first time checking out our power rankings, welcome aboard! If it isn’t, then welcome back! My rankings are based on who I think will win the Stanley Cup. I look at a variety of factors, including underlying numbers, strength of schedule, and record.
NHL POWER RANKINGS
31. Detroit Red Wings
I think we need to fully appreciate just how bad and unlucky the Detroit Red Wings have been. PDO is calculated by combining a team’s on-ice shooting percentage and on-ice save percentage at 5v5 with a player on the ice. Among the 517 skaters with at least 500 5v5 minutes, six skaters in the bottom seven in PDO have played for the Red Wings.
30. Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are going to be a fascinating team to watch this offseason. They’ve got to spend money to reach the cap floor, but most of their best players are already locked up. Anthony Duclair, Connor Brown, and Chris Tierney aren’t going to take up that much cap space. That’s probably about $12 million a year combined for all three. Their future is already pretty bright, but if they play their cards right, it could be even brighter after this offseason.
29. Los Angeles Kings
Quietly, Adrian Kempe is having a solid season. He’s on pace to challenge his career-high in points. Kempe fulfilling his potential as a top-six forward would be a huge boost for the Kings, who need their young players to step up.
28. Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are a rebuilding team that needs to get younger. It’s not ideal for a rebuilding team to have each of their top five leaders in points over 25 years old.
27. San Jose Sharks
It wouldn’t surprise me if the San Jose Sharks get back into the playoff conversation next season. They have a lot of good veteran players. But first, the Sharks have to do something about their goaltending.
26. New Jersey Devils
On paper, the New Jersey Devils have been nearly a .500 team under interim head coach Alain Nasreddine (17-14-8). But once you take a dive into their underlying stats, it’s easy to see why they’ve been doing well – they’ve been propped up by their goaltending. Tom Fitzgerald deserves an interview for their full-time GM position. But they need a new coach.