Only one point separates the top four teams in the Eastern Conference standings with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, and New York Islanders all in the mix at the top. All four teams have shown flashes of how dominant they can be and that will make home-ice advantage that much more important come playoff time. There is still plenty of hockey left to play, but here is how the top four teams in the Eastern Conference break down from fourth to first in our latest power rankings.
4. New York Islanders
With 11 wins in their past 13 games, it’s clear the Islanders are a legitimate contender. It’s absolutely crucial not to overlook the fact that they won both games of a home-and-home against the Pittsburgh Penguins in late November. The return of captain John Tavares has sparked an offense that ranks seventh in the NHL in scoring with an average of three goals per game.
Meanwhile, the arrival of Jaroslav Halak along with defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy has provided a major upgrade at that end of the ice. The Islanders still have work to do – on special teams in particular – but through the quarter mark of the season, it is clear they are a true contender in the Eastern Conference.
3. Montreal Canadiens
Just when it seemed as though Montreal had rid itself of the inconsistency that plagued the team a year ago, they suffer back-to-back losses to the lowly Buffalo Sabres in a home-and-home series and drive their fans absolutely crazy. How is that even possible? The Habs are clearly in a funk with losses in four of five. While Carey Price is one of the league’s elite goaltenders but the defense in front of him has to be more consistent. The Canadiens found their scoring touch a couple of nights later with a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche and need to stay hot as they finish off their latest west coast road trip. Max Pacioretty has quietly emerged in to a star and the Canadiens are hoping Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher can help provide the secondary scoring they need.
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins struggled with a home-and-home against the Carolina Hurricanes (and the New York Islanders before that) but with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin centering their top two lines, and Christian Ehrhoff steadily improving on a defense core that needs him to step up and be a key piece, it’s clear Pittsburgh deserves this slot.
Their depth will be tested with Pascal Dupuis sidelined for the year and Chris Kunitz set to miss the next couple of weeks due to injury, though. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Penguins added a top-six forward as there were rumblings that was the plan all along anyway. Pittsburgh owns the league’s best power play and that’s a big reason they rank third in the NHL with an average of 3.3 goals per game. The key now is shoring up their defensive play and avoiding injuries to their two biggest stars.
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay gets top spot in our Eastern Conference power rankings based on the league’s best offense, one of the league’s most underrated goaltenders, and impressive depth at all three levels. Steven Stamkos has led the NHL’s highest scoring offense as the Lightning have averaged 3.5 goals per game. But he hasn’t had to do it alone with Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Valtteri Filppula, and Ryan Callahan carrying the load over three solid scoring lines.
Ben Bishop owns a 2.30 goals against average that ranks among the league’s best and the defensive core has shined with the offseason additions of Jason Garrison and Anton Stralman helping to offset Victor Hedman’s loss due to injury. Hedman is back now and as long as injuries don’t ravage the Tampa Bay roster it’s impossible to argue they don’t own the deepest and most complete roster in the Eastern Conference.
