NHL 2022-23 Season Weekly Power Rankings: Monday 2/20
28. San Jose Sharks (29)
Like the Blackhawks, the most interesting thing about the San Jose Sharks is the trade deadline fate of their star players. Will Erik Karlsson be traded within the next week or so? Is Timo Meier on his way out of town? Expect the Sharks to be big sellers as the team is one of the worst in hockey.
27. Arizona Coyotes (31)
The Arizona Coyotes are not a good hockey team, but every once in a while, they turn into a group that teams don’t necessarily want to see. Since February began, the Yotes have been a tricky opponent, picking up at least one point in each game they’ve played this month.
26. Montreal Canadiens (26)
Last week, the Montreal Canadiens lost a pair of games that one would expect them to lose, as they took losses against the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs. Early in the week, however, the Habs defeated the Edmonton Oilers and Blackhawks.
25. Philadelphia Flyers (24)
The Philadelphia Flyers went 0-3 last week and were outscored 7-16. It was not a good week for John Tortorella’s team, but as is the case in the NHL standings, Philly stays just above the aforementioned teams.
24. St. Louis Blues (23)
As this season has gone on, the St. Louis Blues slowly fell further and further out of the postseason picture in the Western Conference. Now that Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly have been traded, don’t expect to see the Blues in any playoff races in 2023.
23. Ottawa Senators (25)
The Ottawa Senators had a successful last week and are now 27-24-4 on the season. It’s by no means a lock, but the idea of the Senators making a legitimate bid for a postseason berth is not out of the question like it once seemed to be.
22. Washington Capitals (14)
The Washington Capitals were a horrific 0-4 last week. The team is just barely on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture looking in, but the problem is that there is a hoard of teams on their heels that have more than enough games in hand to surpass the Caps.
Those teams also happen to be playing better hockey right now than the 2018 Stanley Cup champions.
21. Florida Panthers (21)
One of those teams is the Florida Panthers, which actually beat the Capitals last week, 6-3. Overall, the Cats were 2-2, demonstrating how wildly inconsistent this club has been.
Maybe the trade deadline will change something, but right now, I don’t think this Panthers team can be trusted.
20. Nashville Predators (19)
The Nashville Predators sandwiched a dominant 7-3 win over the Panthers into an otherwise underwhelming week. The Preds are very much in the hunt for a wild card spot, but until they can find some consistency as a team, they’ll remain on the outside, chasing their rivals.
19. Detroit Red Wings (22)
If there was any team in need of a strong week, it was the Detroit Red Wings. That’s exactly what they got, going 3-1 and defeating teams like the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers.
Like the Senators, the Wings seemed to be down and out when it came to the playoff hunt, but it’s starting to seem as though they have some life.
18. Buffalo Sabres (20)
The Buffalo Sabres only faced one playoff team last week, losing to the Los Angeles Kings. As a result, their games don’t turn heads, but as some teams ahead of them struggle to extend the gap in the playoff race, Buffalo is another team feeling good about its position in the wild card hunt.
17. Calgary Flames (18)
With a record of 1-1-1 last week and 2-2-2 this month, I have no idea what to make of the Flames. Everything about the 2022 Pacific Division champions has been average this year, and this is a team whose outlook could be shaped by the NHL trade deadline.
16. New York Islanders (16)
As was the case with the Flames, the New York Islanders were 1-1-1 last week. For now, the Isles are clinging to the second wild card spot in the East, but as I have mentioned a few times already, there are several teams right behind them.
New York will hope that in the long run, the Bo Horvat addition will prove to be the difference between them and their rivals. Perhaps another move will be necessary for the Islanders to reach the postseason.
15. Pittsburgh Penguins (15)
The Pittsburgh Penguins lost to the Islanders last week in one of two Metropolitan Division matchups in which Sidney Crosby and company were unable to pick up points in the standings.
The Pens have long been one of the best teams in the NHL, but they have some depth issues to address in the coming weeks if they are to remain a threat in the spring.
14. Minnesota Wild (17)
As this list continues through a stretch of teams that are seemingly in no man’s land, the Minnesota Wild clock in at 14. This is another team that was average last week and finds itself in a wild card position.
Minnesota appears to be in a decent position in the long term, but their potential in 2023 still seems to be a bit of a mystery.
13. Edmonton Oilers (12)
Edmonton couldn’t hold a lead to save its life this past week, despite Connor McDavid becoming the NHL’s first 100-point scorer (yes, already). The Oilers are the same team they’ve been for years, as they lean on McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and a handful of others and always come up short.
This club has more talent at the top of the roster than any other team in the NHL, yet it’s barely a playoff team. Keep an eye on Edmonton at the deadline.
12. Los Angeles Kings (13)
The Kings jump their division rivals in these rankings after putting together a 3-0 week. With that, LA is back in second place in the Pacific, just one point behind the first-place Vegas Golden Knights. Since the start of 2023, the Kings are 11-5-1.
11. Winnipeg Jets (9)
Like their calendar year so far, the past week for the Winnipeg Jets was underwhelming. I would hesitate to say that the magic is wearing off for this team, but with the Colorado Avalanche breathing down their neck in the Central Division, the Jets need a boost at the trade deadline.
10. Seattle Kraken (10)
The Seattle Kraken bounced back nicely last week after a troublesome return from the NHL All-Star Game the week before. At 3-0-1, Seattle kept pace in the Pacific, where it sits in third place, just two points out of first.
9. Colorado Avalanche (8)
After losing in a shootout to the Bolts at the beginning of the week, the Avalanche won the rest of their games last week. It seems that the Avs are officially leaving the wild card race behind and shifting their focus to the Central crown.
Colorado is four points out of first place and has two games in hand over the Stars.
8. Dallas Stars (6)
Speaking of the Stars, things did not go as well in Texas as they did in Colorado last week. Dallas posted an 0-1-2 record and has picked up only two wins in its last nine contests.
Give this team credit for picking up points in losing efforts (five overtime losses in that nine-game span), but don’t lose sight of the fact that it only has 30 wins this year in 57 games (30-15-12).
7. Vegas Golden Knights (11)
Vegas makes a four-spot jump this week thanks to a 3-0 record that included a victory over a solid Tampa Bay Lightning squad. The Golden Knights have won all five of their games this month, which is especially important after their 1-5-2 stretch to end the month of January.
6. New Jersey Devils (5)
The New Jersey Devils posted yet another winning week. Their most important victory came on Saturday against the Penguins, as that was their only game this week against a team in the East that has a shot at the playoffs.
The Devils have the third-best record in the NHL (37-14-5) but trail the Carolina Hurricanes in the Metro despite playing more games than their rival.
5. New York Rangers (3)
During their three-game western Canadian road trip, the New York Rangers went 2-0-1. With that, they have a ten-game point streak intact. Unfortunately, they were unable to make up much ground on their Metro rivals and still have only the fifth-best record in the East (also in the NHL).
4. Tampa Bay Lightning (4)
Last week, the Lightning had a 1-1-1 record to close out their four-game road trip. Tampa Bay remains one of the NHL’s best teams, however, and their big win over the Avalanche, the second such victory in the last two weeks, speaks to the elite nature of this team.
3. Toronto Maple Leafs (7)
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been trying to win the Stanley Cup for years, but they took a massive swing at the 2023 championship this week. In a complex deal, the Leafs added Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari to their lineup.
I love that the Maple Leafs added playoff players, including one in O’Reilly that has won the Stanley Cup. They have to make it out of the first round this year, right?
2. Boston Bruins (2)
They’re listed here as number two, but everyone knows that the Boston Bruins are 1B to the Hurricanes’ 1A, and that would be a worst-case scenario. The dominance of the B’s cannot be understated, and the gap between them and the 30 teams below them is incredibly large.
1. Carolina Hurricanes (1)
For the fourth week in a row, it’s the Hurricanes coming in at number one. They took over the top spot after beating Boston head-to-head in January, and they have done nothing since that time to relinquish the number-one ranking.
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Carolina’s season may not be as dominant as Boston’s as a whole, but I still think the Canes are the slightly more dangerous team.