NHL power rankings: Boston Bruins take over top spot

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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.

Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images /

25. Buffalo Sabres

Here’s a crazy idea. The Buffalo Sabres front office is a mess because there’s no accountability. How about the Sabres give current head coach Ralph Krueger a promotion to President of Hockey Operations and hire Bruce Boudreau to be their head coach? Krueger did well in a similar role for a soccer team and say what you want about Boudreau, but his teams win games.

24. Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks apparently weren’t too interested in giving Robin Lehner an extension. This begs the question, who’s going to be their starting goalie next year? They need someone other than Corey Crawford, who’s 35 years old and whose best days are behind him.

23. Montreal Canadiens

This offseason, the Montreal Canadiens are going to have to make some important decisions. They’ve been treading the waters of mediocrity for a few seasons now. That ain’t going to cut it with an aging Shea Weber and Carey Price. Either rebuild or load up for a Stanley Cup run.

22. Winnipeg Jets

The Winnipeg Jets are a hard team to figure out. They have flaws, but they have a ton of talent. Their underlying stats are downright dreadful. This team is way too good to have to rely on Connor Hellebuyck to steal games for them. Good thing they gave head coach Paul Maurice an extension!

21. Florida Panthers

This has to be rock bottom for the Florida Panthers, right? They failed to bank points when the Toronto Maple Leafs were struggling. Now the Leafs are rolling and have a five-point lead over the Panthers. They gave way too much money to way too many guys this offseason to not make the playoffs.

20. Arizona Coyotes

You have to feel bad for the Coyotes. They made a bold move by trading for Taylor Hall early in December. In hindsight, that was the right move. Trading for a guy early is better than trading for them at the deadline. But injuries are likely going to keep them out of the postseason. Hockey can be such a cruel sport.

19. New York Rangers

Though the New York Rangers have lost two straight, they’re still very much in the postseason conversation. If the Rangers can fix their defense and even make it competent this offseason, they could be a dark-horse Stanley Cup contender as soon as next season.

18. Minnesota Wild

Goaltending can save a team or it can kill it. For the Wild, it’s been the latter. Alex Stalock has been hot as of late, but he’s going to need to be even better for them to make the postseason.

17. Carolina Hurricanes

I like a lot of what the Carolina Hurricanes have done with Don Waddell as their general manager. But he deserves to be roasted over an open fire if they don’t make the postseason because of bad goaltending. The Hurricanes could have and should have traded for a goaltender at the trade deadline.

16. Nashville Predators

The secret to the Nashville Predators recent success? Capable goaltending. Juuse Saros has been great in goal as of late. Lo and behold, the Predators are winning games. Surprising, huh?

15. Columbus Blue Jackets

All you need to do to make a Jack Adams case for John Tortorella is look at where the Columbus Blue Jackets are in the standings. They’ve lost a ton of players to injury this year. Yet the Blue Jackets are right in the thick of the Eastern Conference postseason hunt.

14. Vancouver Canucks

Jacob Markstrom’s injury is huge for the Vancouver Canucks. He’s been a cornerstone in goal for them. Thatcher Demko is quite capable, but he’s not Markstrom. The Canucks need their best players to step up huge right now if they want to make the playoffs.

13. Calgary Flames

With five points in his last five games, Johnny Gaudreau is starting to look like the dominant player he’s capable of being. They need him to continue to be dominant if they want to make the playoffs and do anything in it.

12. New York Islanders

The New York Islanders have hit a rut. They’re still having trouble scoring goals. And ever since the Islanders won 10 straight games from Oct. 12 to Nov. 5, they’ve been rather mediocre. Worst of all, their goaltending, which was their greatest strength last season, is starting to falter them a bit.

11. Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are going to go as far as Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid can carry them. Mike Smith has been surprisingly good in goal for them. If the Oilers can continue to manage his workload and he gets the hot hand at the right time, the Oilers could make a playoff run. But they’ll need their depth players to step up to be contenders.

10. Pittsburgh Penguins

Man, are the Pittsburgh Penguins slumping. They’ve lost six straight games, with three of those games in what should have been a relatively easy California road trip. That said, the Penguins blueline is shorthanded right now. Once everyone gets healthy, they should be fine.

9. Toronto Maple Leafs

Losing to an emergency backup goalie is never good. It appears that was the kick in the pants the Toronto Maple Leafs needed, though. They’ve looked a lot better since then. If the Leafs can get solid goaltending, they could be a Cinderella team in the playoffs. They certainly have the depth to make a run. But do they have the defense and goaltending?

8. Dallas Stars

I still have a lot of questions about the Dallas Stars offense. However, their defense is good enough to make a Stanley Cup run. And so is their goaltending. The Stars have got to find a way to get Denis Gurianov more playing time. There’s no reason a 20 goal scorer should be playing under 13 minutes a night on a team like the Stars. Gurianov, by the way, leads the Stars in goals.

7. Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers are on fire. But they’re about to face a huge test on Wednesday against the Washington Capitals. It’s not a secret the Flyers have been a Jekyll and Hyde team this season – they’re incredible at home (23-5-4) but mediocre on the road (15-15-3). A big win on Wednesday could change that narrative.

6. Vegas Golden Knights

Mark Stone’s injury is heartbreaking. He’s been Hart Trophy good this season. Even without him, though, the Knights forward depth is pretty impressive. Also, they now have Robin Lehner as an option in goal. He’s capable of making the big saves Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban haven’t been giving them.

5. Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals have only won four of their last 10 games. But they’ve been playing a bit better lately, even if their results aren’t showing it. If the Capitals can figure things out defensively, they’ve got the pieces necessary to make a Stanley Cup run. They’ve also got two very capable goaltenders, which could be a huge advantage in the postseason.

4. Colorado Avalanche

Despite not having Mikko Rantanen or Nazem Kadri (among others), the Colorado Avalanche have won six straight. Everyone’s Hart Trophy ballot better have Nathan MacKinnon in the top three. He’d be at the very top of mine. The Avalanche would be dead without him.

3. Tampa Bay Lightning

Losing Steven Stamkos is huge for the Lightning. They’ve still got very impressive forward depth, but I’m not sure if it’s enough to overcome losing their captain.

2. St. Louis Blues

It’s incredible how good the St. Louis Blues have been without Vladimir Tarasenko. That tells you how good they are defensively. Now, imagine how good they’ll be once their most valuable offensive weapon gets healthy. It’s so darn hard to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in today’s NHL, but the Blues have a good shot at doing so.

Next. Grading Each Team's Trade Deadline. dark

1. Boston Bruins

Trading for Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase seems to have given them some life. Ritchie’s the skilled, physical presence they were missing. Once Kase gets comfortable, he should give them some much-needed scoring depth. The Bruins are still a team that relies quite heavily on David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, and Brad Marchand, but if you’re going to hitch your wagon on your best players, I can’t think of a better trio to hitch my wagon to.

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