NHL 2022-23 Season Weekly Power Rankings: Monday 1/2
After a quick break for the holidays, our NHL Power Rankings are back for week 12! This week we have another new team in the top spot, as well as the same team on the bottom for the third week in a row. Without further ado, let’s dive in with the power rankings.
NHL 2022-23 Season Weekly Power Rankings: Monday 1/2
32. Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are doing great at their goal for the 2022-23 NHL season, losing as many games as possible. They finished 2022 with a record of 8-23-4, and they have one loss already in 2023.
31. Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets are another struggling team. They have just three wins in their last ten games, including their latest win on Saturday, Dec. 31, against the Chicago Blackhawks. Beating the Blackhawks is becoming a bit of a theme for some of the bottom teams in our power rankings.
30. Anaheim Ducks
This past week the Anaheim Ducks played just two games. They beat the Vegas Golden Knights in a shootout and lost big against the Nashville Predators on Friday. Considering the win against Vegas marked the Ducks’ tenth win of the season, I had to put them above the Hawks and Jackets.
29. San Jose Sharks
In their last four games, the Sharks have just one win. You guessed it, the Sharks beat the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday, marking their first win of 2023. The Sharks have struggled during the past month, but overall this rebuilding team does have something to be thankful for, with Erik Karlsson setting records and playing great.
28. Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens have lost five straight games, including three this past week. Since the Holiday pause, the Canadiens are winless and are falling in the standings. While there is no doubt this team is not going to contend, this is the longest losing streak of the season.
27. Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers find themselves on a two-game win streak after beating the Kings and Sharks on a road trip out west. Their next matchup comes on Monday night against the Ducks to see if the Flyers can keep building on some momentum.
26. Arizona Coyotes
For better or worse, the Arizona Coyotes are winning games. In their last four games, the Flyers are 3-1-0, with three wins at home against LA, Colorado and Toronto. While the Coyotes are 13-17-5 on the year with a losing record, their record at home is actually pretty good as the team is 7-3-2 on home ice.
25. Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks keep taking a step forward and then two steps back. They currently have 35 points but sandwiched in between some three game winning streaks are two or three losing streaks as well.
24. Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa actually had a really strong last week. They were 3-1-0, picking up wins against the Sabres, Capitals and Bruins. Their one loss came at the hands of the Red Wings. After the Holiday pause, this team has been great, especially considering they lost three straight ahead of the break. It will be interesting to see if the Senators can keep building on their momentum in 2023.
23. Florida Panthers
There is a real case to be made the Florida should fall farther down on this list. The Panthers are actually behind the Senators, Sabres and Red Wings in the standings. They are in seventh place and have the potential to go from Presidents’ Trophy winner to draft lottery contender. In their last six games, the Panthers have just one win.
22. Nashville Predators
The Predators are another team that has the potential to miss the playoffs after being in the mix last season. Currently, Nashville is 15-14-6, good enough for 36 points. Their last handful of games have been rather up and down, and they are not playing well consistently.
21. St. Louis Blues
The Blues are the third team in a row on this list that could go from playoff team to draft lottery contender. St. Louis currently sits in fifth place in the Central Division, with teams like Seattle, Edmonton and Colorado in front of them contending for the Wild Card, it does not seem likely that the Blues sneak in.
20. Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres are playing some really good hockey as of late. Currently, they have won 7 of their last ten games, including two wins after the Holiday break beating the Red Wings and Bruins. Buffalo has been led by the great play of Tage Thompson, and they are definitely becoming a team that can score a lot of goals.
19. Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken are faltering a little. In their last four games, they have a record of 1-2-1. While their last game was a win on Sunday against the Islanders, this team has fallen out of the top three in the Pacific and into the Wild Card. They are going to need to play above 500 hockey from here to make the playoffs and who knows if they can pull it off.
18. Calgary Flames
The Flames have come back better than ever post-holiday break. They have won two of three games with wins against the Kraken and Canucks. While losing to Edmonton was not a great way to kick off things, they did get back on the right path quickly with two wins. Calgary is starting to find its rhythm, having not allowed more than two goals in five of their last seven games. Now they are going to have to take things to another level.
17. Edmonton Oilers
Out of all the teams in the bottom 16 of the power rankings, the Edmonton Oilers are the most concerning. Connor McDavid has registered over 70 points this season, which in itself is an incredible task, yet the Edmonton Oilers are just a middle-of-the-pack team right now. I am not blaming McDavid for the Oilers’ struggles, but rather saying that this team is not as good as a team with that kind of star should be.
16. Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are the first team in the top 16 of our rankings. Detroit has won two of their last three games, including matchups against Ottawa and Pittsburgh. Their big win has to be the comeback win against the Penguins that saw the Red Wings score five unanswered goals.
15. New York Islanders
The Islanders are in a good division battling for a playoff spot, yet they look like the one team that could be left behind depending on win the Penguins snap back out of their losing streak. Pittsburgh and the two New York teams are currently the wild card competing teams in the Metro.
14. New York Rangers
The Rangers beat the Florida Panthers this past week but lost to the Lightning and Capitals. I think the worst of them all has to be the 4-0 showing against the Capitals. If the Rangers want to be back in the playoffs and rise on the power rankings, they need to beat teams like Washington and not get shut out.
13. Washington Capitals
The Capitals have turned things around after a tough start of the season. They are 8-1-1 in their last ten games and have been playing some really strong hockey. The Capitals have gotten a point every game since their last loss in regulation on December 15 against the Dallas Stars.
12. Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are 6-2-2 in their last ten games, but they most recently lost 4-2 to the Flyers. The good thing for the Kings is they seem to have gotten their goaltending situation under control with Phoenix Copley in the net along with Jonathan Quick.
11. Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche find themselves on a three-game losing streak. Out of all the teams that are true contenders for the Stanley Cup, the Avalanche are probably in the worst position right now. However, I do think they still will figure it out in time for the playoffs.
10. Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg sits in second place in the Central Division, a place they have been in for a while now. They have won two straight games this past week, beating the Canucks and Oilers. With another matchup against a Canadian team on Tuesday, the Jets can hopefully keep the win streak going against the Flames.
9. Minnesota Wild
Minnesota’s last three games tell a story of winning the big matchups. The Wild played three divisional rivals in Winnipeg, St. Louis and Dallas. They ended up beating both the Blues and Jets but lost to the Stars. With Winnipeg, the Wild beat a team they are closely battling with for home ice, which is a big win. The same is true for the Blues, a team trying to get back into the mix for the playoffs. Winning these divisional games matters for the Wild and their next one comes on Sunday against the Blues.
8. Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins being in the top ten might be generous, considering how their last four games have gone. The Penguins lost to the Hurricanes, Islanders, Red Wings and Devils in their last four games, including a game they were winning 4-0 against the Red Wings.
7. Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas is another team playing a bit under par right now They won their last game against the Nashville Predators but outside of that they lost against the Ducks and Kings, two divisional rivals that the Golden Knights should have beat.
6. New Jersey Devils
The Devils are 2-6-2 in their last ten games. After going on a long winning streak, one would expect they are going to figure out their issues right now. The main problem seems to be goaltending, and while it might take a bit to resolve their problems, they did stack up a lot of points before this skid.
5. Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars have been one of the most consistent teams of the 2022-23 NHL season. While teams like New Jersey and Carolina have had their ups and downs, Dallas has been great all around this season. They are currently on a four-game win streak.
4. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Atlantic Division is definitely shining bright in the power rankings this week. Tampa Bay is on a three-game win streak, including wins against the Coyotes, Rangers and Canadiens. These are all wins you expect your team to make at this point, so that is good for the Lightning. Now they need to win more of their matchups against divisional rivals. In their last ten games, their two losses were against divisional teams in Toronto and Detroit.
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto enters 2023 third in our power rankings. Now we really get to the point where there is not much else to be said about this team besides it does not matter what happens until the playoffs start. The main issue for the Leafs has to be their prize for being the second-best team in the Atlantic and third on our power rankings is going to be another first-round matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. While it might still be early, based on how well the Bruins have played, this matchup already seems like a lock.
2. Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins have been the team of the year. In their last ten games, they have gone 7-0-3, and they only lost four games in 2022. The Bruins have been playing great hockey, and now they get a big matchup in the winter classic to show just how good they are.
1. Carolina Hurricanes
While the Bruins might be the top team of 2022, the top team of this past week has to be the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina is on an 11-game win streak that included wins against New Jersey, Florida and Chicago after the Holiday pause. It seemed like destiny that the Hurricanes would go on a long win streak this season. Their next game comes on Tuesday against the Rangers, a team that ended Toronto’s long point streak back on Dec. 15.