The Pittsburgh Penguins improved to 13-3-1 with a 4-0 statement victory over the Montreal Canadiens to extend their win streak to three games. They’ve now won 10 of their last 11 games this season and have proven to the class of the Eastern Conference. That’s helped them leap over the Chicago Blackhawks and into the No. 1 spot for our NHL power rankings this week.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
This Week: +650
Last Week: +800
The league’s highest-scoring offense could potentially produce four 30-goal scorers this year as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz each already have six goals or more. Pascal Dupuis is in that range too but has a blood clot in his lung and will miss six months of action.
Pittsburgh is averaging a league-best 3.6 goals per game and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t continue to pace the NHL. The Penguins earned a measure of redemption when they beat the only team they have lost two in nearly a month in the New York Rangers before blanking the Canadiens so it’s easy to understand why they are No. 1 in the power rankings.
2. Chicago Blackhawks
This Week: +700
Last Week: +700
Chicago finally broke through offensively last week and their offense continued to produce including a six-goal output in a win over the Dallas Stars on Sunday. Head coach Joel Quenneville continued to shuffle his lines with Patrick Sharp out. He may have finally found a perfect balance with Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, and Brandon Saad on the top line while Patrick Kane, Brad Richards, and Kris Versteeg making up the second line. The Blackhawks have been a very responsible defensive team all year and goalie Corey Crawford has played well. As long as the offense keeps clicking they should continue to climb the standings in the Western Conference.
3. Boston Bruins
This Week: +800
Last Week: +900
Losses to Montreal and the Toronto Maple Leafs hurt weren’t pretty but the Bruins bounced back with consecutive wins over the Carolina Hurricanes and the St. Louis Blues, so it’s a little easier to write those defeats off as aberrations. It also hasn’t helped Boston that defenceman Zdeno Chara and center David Krejci have been out and they will only get better once those two return. Goalie Tuukka Rask earned his first shutout of the season in the 2-0 win over the Blues and as long as the Bruins can hang around until they get healthy they will have a chance to lock up one of the top spots in the East.
4. St. Louis Blues
This Week: +1000
Last Week: +1000
No team has been better defensively than Ken Hitchcock’s Blues and it showed during a three-game win streak in which St. Louis outscored its opponents 14-5 (before the shutout loss to Boston). Jake Allen and Bran Elliott have both been excellent in goal and there is no doubt they have benefited from the excellent defensive play in front of them. The emergence of the S-T-L line of Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Jori Lehtera, along with the returns of Paul Stastny and T.J. Oshie to the lineup, has given the Blues three dangerous scoring lines. A case can be made that they are the deepest and most complete team in the NHL right now.
5. Los Angeles Kings
This Week: +1100
Last Week: +1000
The Kings rallied to win the second of consecutive games against the rival Ducks and they are finally starting to get healthy again with Marian Gaborik and Anze Kopitar back in the lineup. Slava Voynov’s indefinite suspension has handicapped Los Angeles since they didn’t even have the cap space to make moves with Kopitar and Gaborik out. Word around the league is that they are trying to move Mike Richards in an effort to open up some room under the cap. The defending Stanley Cup champs are still one of the deepest teams in the league and the potential for them to add to an already loaded roster is scary.
6. Anaheim Ducks
This Week: +1200
Last Week: +1200
Anaheim laid it all on the line in a 6-5 comeback win over the Kings only to lose to them in overtime a couple of nights later and then get blown away by the Florida Panthers on home ice the following night. The Ducks since blew a two-goal lead at Calgary for another shootout loss on Tuesday but considering all that this team has been through over the last two weeks, it’s hard to get too down on them. Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin have worked their way back from the mumps and Anaheim should find a way to bounce back this week with those key pieces back.
T-7. Minnesota Wild
This Week: +1400
Last Week: +1600
The curious case of Josh Harding has been an interesting one for Minnesota as he was sent to the minors after clearing waivers this week. The Wild are confident in rookie Darcy Kuemper and Niklas Backstrom but it will be hard to ignore Harding if he can regain his form from a year ago. Minnesota is one of the most complete teams in the league but goaltending is one area of concern. It would be difficult to overstate the impact that Zach Parise has up front and the Wild need him to stay healthy to contend.
T-7. Montreal Canadiens
This Week: +1400
Last Week: +1400
The Canadiens capped off a six-game winning streak with a pair of dominant wins over the Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers only to lose 4-0 to the Penguins on home ice a couple of nights later in a game that was dubbed by some a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals. Montreal certainly has the talent to contend but they have to be more consistent offensively where they have been streaky this season. Carey Price has given the Canadiens a chance to win every night but the defense in front of continues to turn the puck over far too often and we saw it cost them against the Penguins.
T-7. Tampa Bay Lightning
This Week: +1400
Last Week: +1000
The fact that the Lightning were able to make Jonathan Drouin a healthy scratch this week is testament to their depth up front. They could be one of the most underrated teams in the NHL right now. Ben Bishop has proven that he is one of the league’s top goalies and general manager Steve Yzerman did an excellent job to upgrade the defense core in front of him with the additions of Anton Stralman and Jason Garrison in the offseason. Steven Stamkos leads a talented and deep forward core that can score in bunches and as long as they stay healthy Tampa Bay could be an excellent sleeper pick to win the East this season.
9. San Jose Sharks
This Week: +1800
Last Week: +1600
A 4-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres wasn’t enough to knock the Sharks out of the top 10 but they could be at risk of sliding further down the power rankings and the Western Conference standings if they don’t turn things around soon. A brutal schedule through the first two months of the season has really hurt San Jose but that’s not a good enough excuse for how a team with as much talent as this team has can get blown away by the worst team in the NHL. The Sharks rank near the middle of the league in both goals for and goals against, and every aspect of their season so far has screamed mediocrity. San Jose will have an excellent chance to get back on track with six in a row at home over the next couple of weeks. If not, major change could be on the way.
10. Vancouver Canucks +2000
T-12. New York Islanders +2200
T-12. New York Rangers +2200
14. Nashville Predators +2500
15. Detroit Red Wings +3300
T-16. Calgary Flames +4000
T-16. Colorado Avalanche +4000
T-16. Washington Capitals +4000
