NHL 2022-23 Season Weekly Power Rankings: Monday 4/10
Another week of hockey is in the books, which means that it’s time for the next round of power rankings for the 2022-2023 NHL season.
This list is a combination of my rankings and rankings done by Jim Lynch, and stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Eastern Conference still owns the top spot.
Where does each NHL team stand ahead of the final week of the regular season?
By now, all non-contenders are awaiting the offseason, and the playoff teams have their rosters in place. Some know where they will stand, while others are still battling for position. Here are the updated NHL power rankings.
32. Chicago Blackhawks (Previous Rank: 32)
The Chicago Blackhawks, in the last few weeks of the season, have grabbed their position as the worst team in the NHL, at least in these rankings, and have not relinquished that spot. Chicago’s roster is bad, and wins have been hard to come by, so the Hawks remain at the bottom.
31. Columbus Blue Jackets (31)
This is surely not where the Columbus Blue Jackets thought that they would be at the end of the season. Unfortunately, the Jackets could never quite figure things out. The future is bright in Ohio’s capital, but the 2022-2023 campaign did not go as Columbus had hoped.
30. Anaheim Ducks (30)
Like the Blue Jackets, the Anaheim Ducks had higher hopes coming into this season, but it quickly became apparent that it wasn’t meant to be. There is plenty of young, exciting talent on this roster, and the Ducks will hope to make a move up the standings next season.
29. San Jose Sharks (29)
The San Jose Sharks do not fit the same mold as the Jackets and Ducks. This was supposed to be a long season for a Sharks team coming out of its prime, and it has been. Even a historic effort by Erik Karlsson couldn’t save San Jose from a bottom-four position.
28. Montreal Canadiens (28)
The Montreal Canadiens have been banged up for most of the season, and they haven’t had the talent to overcome that. Montreal has had its moments this year, so it avoids the first slide of this list, but things have still been ugly for one of the NHL’s most storied franchises.
27. Philadelphia Flyers (25)
At times this season, the Philadelphia Flyers have looked like a team with some potential. Recently, however, they have strung together a series of regulation losses and looked more like the team fans expected. Overall, it’s been a difficult season in the City of Brotherly Love.
26. Arizona Coyotes (27)
The Arizona Coyotes have also shown promise off and on this season. While they’ll ultimately be the seventh-place team in the Central Division, the 2022-2023 campaign wasn’t all bad in the desert.
25. Detroit Red Wings (26)
The Detroit Red Wings have put together back-to-back winning weeks, but it’s too little too late. Detroit started hot but wasn’t able to keep the momentum rolling. Could next year be the year that the Wings return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
24. Vancouver Canucks (24)
The Vancouver Canucks have quietly been a solid team since Rick Tocchet took over behind the bench, but the hole was too deep to climb out of. Vancouver will have questions to answer this summer, and I expect them to be a bit of a wild card when play resumes next season.
23. Washington Capitals (22)
For only the fourth time in the career of Alex Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals will not be a playoff team. I don’t believe that this is the end of the line for the Caps as contenders, but they never seemed to truly be in the mix this season.
22. St. Louis Blues (23)
Also not in the mix this season were the St. Louis Blues. I had high hopes for this team after they were surprisingly complete last season, but Jordan Binnington cannot get himself on track, and the team became a seller at the NHL Trade Deadline. It may be a long summer for the Blues.
21. Ottawa Senators (21)
Every time it looked like the Ottawa Senators were picking up some momentum, they slowed down. This season was by no means a failure in Ottawa, but the playoff drought continues. The Sens will hope to build off of this season and should be in playoff contention in 2024.
20. Buffalo Sabres (20)
Mathematically, the Buffalo Sabres are still alive in the race for a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, but with several teams ahead of them and games running out, it feels unlikely that they’ll get in. With that said, this was a productive breakout year for Buffalo and its young stars.
19. Nashville Predators (19)
The Nashville Predators had a respectable week, but a loss on Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets is a major blow to the team’s playoff hopes. The Preds are three points out of a playoff spot with three games remaining, so it’s possible, but they missed an important opportunity last week.
18. Calgary Flames (17)
Like the Predators, the Calgary Flames played a game against the Jets last week, but they pulled out the win. Still, Calgary is at a disadvantage in terms of points and games remaining, and that’s a troublesome combination entering the last week of the regular season.
17. Pittsburgh Penguins (16)
The Pittsburgh Penguins had a good week last week, but despite their wins, they made up little to no ground on the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference wild card race. The Pens are playing well, but they are quickly running out of time.
16. Winnipeg Jets (18)
My confidence level in the Jets is still low, and I don’t believe that they would be a competitive playoff team. With that said, the fact that they’re still clinging to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference is key at this stage of the season, so they move up on this list.
15. Florida Panthers (14)
The Panthers are also still holding onto a wild card position. The Cats were a perfect 3-0 last week, but with the Penguins and Islanders also winning games, they didn’t gain much ground. They have critical tests now awaiting them in the NHL’s final week.
14. New York Islanders (15)
The Islanders picked up two convincing wins at the end of last week and are currently tied with the Panthers, one point ahead of the Penguins. This team is built for the postseason, and it is one week away from punching its ticket and competing for the Stanley Cup.
13. Tampa Bay Lightning (11)
When it comes to playoff experience, few teams compare to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Unfortunately, an ugly 0-3 record last week is not what the Bolts were looking for right before the playoffs began. They’re tumbling down this list as a result.
12. Dallas Stars (12)
Every time fans look at the Central Division standings, things look different. A solid week by the Dallas Stars has them back in second place in the division, two points behind the Colorado Avalanche and two points ahead of the Minnesota Wild. Where they finish will be crucial.
11. Los Angeles Kings (9)
The Los Angeles Kings were as hot as any team in the NHL in March, but April has not been quite as kind. LA posted a 1-3 record last week, with all three defeats coming at the hands of playoff teams. The Kings need to get a couple of wins and some momentum in the final week.
10. Seattle Kraken (13)
Unlike the Kings, the Seattle Kraken had a great week last week. A 4-0 record gives Seattle a chance to catch LA and move into the top three in the Pacific Division. At the very least, it should give the first-time playoff participant some confidence heading into its first best-of-seven series.
9. Minnesota Wild (7)
Minnesota had been one of the hottest teams in the NHL, but it is now 1-2-1 in the last week and a half. That’s not a terrible stretch, but the Wild will surely need to get some of their momentum back this week if they hope to win in the postseason.
8. Toronto Maple Leafs (10)
The Toronto Maple Leafs did not play many playoff teams last week, but they had a good showing nonetheless. Few teams possess the talent that the Maple Leafs have, but with Tampa Bay on the docket again this postseason, the Leafs will be hard-pressed to shake the playoff blues.
7. Carolina Hurricanes (6)
Without a doubt, the Carolina Hurricanes are one of the best teams in the NHL. They’ll also likely win the Metropolitan Division crown. Despite that, I don’t love the way that the Canes have been playing as of late, including losses to Nashville and Buffalo to end last week.
6. New York Rangers (5)
The New York Rangers picked up points in each of their four games last week, marking another strong week for the 2022 Eastern Conference Final participants. It’s virtually a lock that they’ll finish third in the Metro, which will put them on the road against a quality opponent in round one.
5. New Jersey Devils (4)
One of those possible opponents is the New Jersey Devils. The Devils have been consistently good all season, though the last few weeks have been somewhat uninspiring for the NHL’s most surprising teams. Can they get back to playing championship-caliber hockey this week?
4. Colorado Avalanche (8)
The defending Stanley Cup champions are heating up. The Colorado Avalanche enter the final week of the season having won eight of their last nine games including five in a row. With a 14-2 record in the last month, the Avs make the biggest jump of the week in these rankings.
3. Vegas Golden Knights (2)
The Vegas Golden Knights would probably be my choice right now to represent the West in the Stanley Cup Final, but they’re no longer the hottest team in the conference. Still, watch out for the Golden Knights to have a major impact on the 2023 postseason.
2. Edmonton Oilers (4)
Taking Vegas’s title as the hottest team in the West is the Edmonton Oilers. I don’t think this team has enough behind its superstars to win it all, but you can expect the Oilers to play some of the most entertaining hockey games you’ll see all spring.
1. Boston Bruins (1)
Well, there’s no surprise here. The Boston Bruins have officially won more regular season games than any NHL team ever in a single season.
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The B’s have basically been waiting around for months for the games that actually mean something, and now that those games are a week away, we’ll get to see if all of the regular season success translates to a Stanley Cup championship.