Ranking Top 5 Stanley Cup Contenders With One Week to Play
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are inching nearer by the day.
With the regular season only a week away from its conclusion, playoff teams and matchups are being solidified, and the way teams are playing right now will be critical to their playoff success.
In the Eastern Conference, all eight playoff spots are officially locked up. The reality is that they’ve been set for months, but the clubs in the East are now looking to solidify their spots in the standings. What we know for sure is that the Florida Panthers will be the number one seed, having locked that up on Thursday.
Entering the final Saturday of the regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers are deadlocked in the race for the Metropolitan Division crown, while the races between the four teams that are most likely to land in the wild card slots are all within three points.
Which teams are in the best positions ahead of the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
Out West, the Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames have already clinched division titles. They are joined by the Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, and Edmonton Oilers as Western Conference teams that have punched their ticket to compete for the Stanley Cup.
Still in contention for the remaining playoff berths are the Los Angles Kings, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, and Vancouver Canucks. All five of those teams have five games or fewer remaining, making each one that much more important.
The first step is simply getting into the playoffs, but seeding is key, and momentum can sustain a playoff run or halt it before it even gets started. People always say that it’s important to be playing your best hockey at the right time, and that time has arrived.
Which teams are poised to make deep runs? Here are the top five Stanley Cup contenders entering the final week of the 2021-2022 regular season.
Honorable Mentions: Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers
The Canes have been one of the best teams in hockey all season, which makes it difficult to leave them off the list of the top five contenders. However, recent events drop Carolina down a bit.
With a record of 5-5 in the month of April, the Hurricanes are not playing their best hockey at the moment. It could certainly be worse in terms of on-ice performance, but other teams are absolutely on fire, and any team hoping to contend has to be able to match that output.
The more troublesome news, however, is that goaltender Frederik Andersen is currently injured. Antti Raanta has been more than capable this season, and in his career, but Andersen had been lights out for a Canes team that thrives on strong defense and elite penalty killing.
Meanwhile, Carolina’s Metropolitan Division rivals, the New York Rangers, wind up here as an honorable mention for a very different reason. I had picked New York to miss the postseason before the year began, so this early arrival on the playoff stage has been a pleasant surprise.
With that in mind, I feel as though the Rangers are playing with house money. On one hand, I think the conference’s depth will prevent New York from reaching the Stanley Cup Final, but on the other hand, the Rangers can play looser than the veteran teams and that lack of pressure makes them dangerous.
5. Calgary Flames
The Flames have been in control of the Pacific Division for several weeks now, and with the Golden Knights scrambling to even qualify for the playoffs, Calgary is the clear favorite in its division.
This team plays an impressive brand of defense, which has proven to be a winning formula in the playoffs in the past. Beyond that, there are two 100-point scorers on the roster, making Calgary a team that can be dangerous offensively as well.
In addition, the Flames have managed to take their game to the next level, as they are 8-1-1 in their last ten games. Calgary is playing well and has the best goal differential and defense in the Western Conference, so I look for this team to gain some momentum in the Pacific.
With home ice locked up for the first two rounds of the playoffs and the team playing at a high level as April winds down, Calgary takes the fifth spot on this list.
4. Minnesota Wild
The Wild find themselves at number four on this list, though they could probably be as high as number two. With elite goal-scoring and a three-time Stanley Cup champion now in goal, there is little to dislike about the Wild.
Forward Kirill Kaprizov just eclipsed the 100-point mark for the first time in his career, and players like Kevin Fiala and Mats Zuccarello have helped this club score 3.7 goals per game this year, which is tied for the fourth-best mark in the league.
The Wild have won seven of their last nine games, and the two losses were both overtime games, giving Minnesota a nine-game point streak. This is a team peaking at the right time, as it is 16-1-3 since March 16.
My biggest concern here is that the Wild are 17th on the power play (20.6%) and 24th on the penalty kill (75.7%). If Minnesota wants to get past the Blues and (potentially) the Avalanche, those figures, especially the PK numbers, will have to improve.
3. St. Louis Blues
Narrowly edging out the Wild are their Central Division rivals, the Blues. Like Minnesota, St. Louis scores 3.7 goals per game this season, giving the Blues an asset that they don’t typically have.
What makes St. Louis a little more enticing at this point is the defense, which is slightly better, statistically, than Minnesota’s. The Blues surrender only 2.8 goals per contest, which is seventh-best in the NHL.
The special teams also give St. Louis an edge, as the Blues boast the second-best power play in the NHL (26.6%) and the fifth-best penalty kill (84.0%). Both of those marks are clearly superior to that of their first-round opponents from Minnesota.
In their last 14 contests, the Blues are 12-0-2, having not lost in regulation since March 26. Keep an eye on netminder Ville Husso, whose 2.46 goals against average and .923 save percentage have helped the Blues to that dominant stretch, to be the x-factor for St. Louis this postseason
2. Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche offer everything a fan could want in terms of on-ice performance. Darcy Kuemper (36 wins, 2.48 goals against average, and .923 save percentage) has been fantastic in goal for the Avs, while the offense, led by Nathan MacKinnon, can go toe to toe with any team in the league.
Unfortunately for the Avalanche, they have dropped three straight contests, all in regulation. Losses to the Washington Capitals, Seattle Kraken, and Edmonton Oilers leave Colorado with four games to get back on track.
I feel a little uncomfortable with the Avs, knowing that they are losing games that they shouldn’t be losing ahead of the playoffs. That is especially concerning, knowing that Colorado’s second-round opponent would be one of the two teams ranked right below them on this list.
There is no doubting the Avs’ ability, but recent playoff letdowns and the current losing streak are reasons to keep them out of the top spot.
1. Florida Panthers
This is a no-brainer, as Florida has been on an absolute tear in the last two months. I’ve listed the streaks that various teams are on already, but those pale in comparison to what the Cats have been able to do since the start of March.
Florida has won 21 times in its last 24 games, and as a result, has clinched the top spot in the Eastern Conference. That success, combined with Colorado’s recent skid, has the Panthers in line to claim the Presidents’ Trophy.
Offensively, I have never seen anything like what the Panthers have been able to do this season. Their relentless attack has blown teams out, staged unbelievable comebacks, and been overall dominant, as Florida scores 0.4 goals per game more than any other team.
I see no team that is on the same level as the Panthers at this moment, and as long as Florida doesn’t somehow get in its own way, I don’t see a team beating the Cats in a best-of-seven series.
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The regular season will make way for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the blink of an eye, so watch these teams as the quest for a championship begins.