NHL power rankings: How much of a Stanley Cup threat are the Nashville Predators?

Credit: © Steve Roberts

We’ve finally made it. Whether you’ve liked reading what Mike Gould and I have put out every week or called for our careers, we’ve reached the final power rankings of the season. It’s been an interesting year with even the top spot constantly going to different teams, which made it certainly more fun than watching the Bruins run away with it last season.

The Western Conference playoff teams are all decided, but there are still two more spots left in the East as the final four days of the regular season approach. With that, let’s see which top teams Mike and I like the most going into the playoffs, which fringe East playoff teams we think should get the final two playoff spots, and which teams we think are the most deserving of Macklin Celebrini.

Mike and I finish off the regular season with our final edition of the co-op power rankings. I have my same old system in which I aggregate six stats (points %, 5-on-5 goal differential, 5-on-5 xGF/60, 5-on-5 xGA/60, power play xGF/60, and shorthanded xGA/60, all coming courtesy of Natural Stat Trick) to come up with a list that eliminates my own biases, along with a rule that no team can be above a team that’s more than five points ahead of them in the standings, regardless of where the aggregate places them. Also, with teams now beginning to clinch playoff spots, it’s time to bring back my other rule: teams that have not clinched a playoff spot cannot be ranked ahead of teams that have.

1. Carolina Hurricanes

Record: 52-22-7, +66
Last Week: 2nd (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 1st
Scott’s Rank: 1st

Mike: These guys just keep winning. They’ve now won five in a row, including a pretty convincing 4-1 victory over the Bruins last week, and are now just one point back of the New York Rangers in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy. I wouldn’t begrudge anyone for listing the Hurricanes as their Stanley Cup favorites heading into the playoffs. They’re flat-out stacked. Here’s the craziest bit: Jake Guentzel’s average ice time is down from 20:52 a night in Pittsburgh to 17:29 in Carolina, and yet he still has 25 points in 17 games with the Hurricanes.

2. Dallas Stars

Record: 51-21-9, +63
Last Week: 1st (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 2nd
Scott’s Rank: 3rd

Scott: Mike and I were split on who went second and third, and while Mike favoured the Stars more than I did, make no mistake, this top three are very close right now and I take no issues with his stance. While they’ve had a couple losses since their eight-game winning streak came to an end at the start of the month, they still have wins in three of their last four as well, although they did lose to the one playoff team they faced last week in the Jets. Regardless, they’re firing on all cylinders and look set to go on a deep run this spring.

Mike: I just love the makeup of this Stars team. As a Calgarian, I’m also slightly biased: Dallas has to give the Flames a 2026 third-round pick if they reach this year’s Stanley Cup Final.

3. Florida Panthers

Record: 51-24-6, +65
Last Week: 5th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 3rd
Scott’s Rank: 2nd

Mike: I just don’t think the Panthers are as strong across the board as the two teams ahead of them on this list, but we’re kind of splitting hairs. Even with Matthew Tkachuk having a bit of a down year by his standards, this is still one heck of a hockey team. The Panthers have won three in a row and are all but certain to take on the Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs. Guess what? Those two teams are set to play each other on Tuesday.

4. Boston Bruins

Record: 47-18-15, +47
Last Week: 3rd (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 4th
Scott’s Rank: 5th

Scott: Another instance where I get stuck talking about the team that Mike actually prefers more than myself. The Bruins have let the Panthers back into the conversation for the Atlantic Division title, even though they’ve only lost one of their last five games. They still lead by a point and have a game in hand, and the Panthers season ends tomorrow so they’ll also know how much destiny they have. That said, it might be important for the Bruins to take care of business here because if not for the five-point rule, they’d actually be behind the Leafs on my list, so they’ll probably want to avoid that first round matchup if they can.

Mike: Let’s put some respect on the name of Morgan Geekie, who has found his stride in Boston with 17 goals and 39 points in 74 games. He’s a 6’3” center who fits the mould in Boston to a tee. He might not be a big, bad Bruin, but he certainly is a big one.

5. Vancouver Canucks

Record: 49-22-9, +55
Last Week: 7th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 5th
Scott’s Rank: 4th

Mike: The Canucks are all but guaranteed to win the Pacific Division after beating the Connor McDavid-less Oilers on Saturday night. There’s just so much going for this team. Quinn Hughes is an astonishing, singular talent on defense, while having the likes of Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and J.T. Miller gives the Canucks a ton of options at forward. But it just hasn’t worked out for Elias Lindholm, who has 10 points in 24 games since being acquired from the Flames. They’re going to need him to come up big in the playoffs.

6. New York Rangers

Record: 54-23-4, +49
Last Week: 4th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 6th
Scott’s Rank: 6th

Scott: Once again, Mike and I seem to hate the Rangers. How dare we have the team benefitting the most from luck and in first in the league as a result in sixth amongst a very close top-six group this season? Even with two straight losses before besting the Islanders on Saturday, the Rangers still look to be in fine shape, although that slight hiccup has made the Presidents’ Trophy race close again going into the last week of the season.

7. Toronto Maple Leafs

Record: 46-24-10, +45
Last Week: 8th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 7th
Scott’s Rank: 8th

Mike: Auston Matthews scored his 69th goal of the season against the Red Wings on Saturday, moving him within striking distance of the elusive 70-goal threshold (and spawning a litany of derivative jokes on social media). The next day, the Leafs went all galaxy brain and signed a guy they drafted all the way back in 2016 to his first NHL contract. I love it when teams make those kinds of moves. Anyway, is this the year? I’m starting to think Matthews is going to be undeniable all the way to the Cup.

Scott: Statistically speaking, this is the least confident I’ve been in a Leafs team since the bubble playoffs in 2020. But I’m not going to lie, the vibes just feel slightly different this year, especially since they seem to actually have offensive depth. Then again, they had that in the regular season in past years and it dried up in the playoffs. If this issue persists again, Sheldon Keefe probably doesn’t have a job this summer. Still, I feel much better about this team than I did at the start of the season.

8. Colorado Avalanche

Record: 49-25-7, +46
Last Week: 9th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 8th
Scott’s Rank: 9th

Scott: What a weekend to forget for the Avs. First, they get thumped 7-0 by a Jets team that they learned during the game was going to be their first-round opponent. Then, they follow that up by blowing a 3-0 lead in the third period to the Golden Knights and losing the game in overtime. I wouldn’t say I’m sounding the alarm on this team, but with four losses in their last five games, they aren’t exactly heading into the playoffs in peak form.

9. Edmonton Oilers

Record: 48-25-6, +57
Last Week: 6th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 10th
Scott’s Rank: 7th

Mike: The Oilers have sterling underlying numbers. They’ve got plenty of talent. But hoo boy, they just aren’t the same team without Connor McDavid in the lineup (or, for that matter, at the peak of his strength). Even with him in, though, they’ve got one pretty glaring pressure point to exploit: the Darnell Nurse-Cody Ceci pairing. It still doesn’t make a ton of sense that the Oilers didn’t invest more in improving their defense ahead of the trade deadline. But as long as they have McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, they can’t be counted out.

Scott: The Oilers still have three games left, so McDavid probably gets into one of those games, but it’d be funny if they keep him out for precautionary reasons for the rest of the season and he finishes the year sitting on 99 assists.

10. Winnipeg Jets

Record: 50-24-6, +57
Last Week: 11th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 9th
Scott’s Rank: 10th

Scott: I already mentioned the impression the Jets must have left on the Avs with a 7-0 win just as they found out they’d be each other’s first round opponents, but riding a six-game winning streak with the playoffs right around the corner also must be a good feeling for the Jets. The latter half of those wins were against the other Central Division playoff teams, so I’m sure the confidence in that Jets’ dressing room must be nice right now.

11. Nashville Predators

Record: 47-29-5, +23
Last Week: 14th (+3)
Mike’s Rank: 13th
Scott’s Rank: 12th

Mike: I just continue to eat crow about the Predators, who keep winning and winning and are now on the verge of locking up a 100-point season. If the field weren’t already so crowded, I’d be making some more noise about Filip Forsberg as a potential Hart Trophy candidate. He’s had a flat-out crazy season. I don’t buy that the Preds have the depth to be a top Stanley Cup contender but they certainly have the juice to upset a higher-seeded team in the early rounds.

12. Los Angeles Kings

Record: 43-26-11, +42
Last Week: 12th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 14th
Scott’s Rank: 11th

Scott: The Kings have quietly won five of their last six games and head into the postseason on a strong note. Their reward? Playing the Oilers in the first round for the third straight season should they hold off the Golden Knights. I’ve liked this Kings’ team all season, but their play since the calendar year flipped has been nowhere close to what they were doing to start the year, and the Oilers are going to be a tough out for them… again. If only there was a way that the playoff format could be altered so that we didn’t have to see the same matchups every season.

13. Tampa Bay Lightning

Record: 44-28-8, +23
Last Week: 10th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 11th
Scott’s Rank: 14th

Mike: So … Nikita Kucherov, huh? It’d be quite something if he beat McDavid to 100 assists after everyone had penciled in 97 as the fourth player in NHL history to reach that mark. Kucherov needs just two assists over the final two games of the regular season to hit the century mark. The four-way Hart Trophy race between Kucherov, McDavid, Matthews, and MacKinnon is closer than any I’ve ever seen before.

Scott: Considering that one of those two games is against the Leafs, and the Lightning’s power play has just eaten up the Leafs penalty kill this season, I wouldn’t be shocked if he gets two assists in that game alone, just on the power play.

14. Vegas Golden Knights

Record: 44-28-8, +23
Last Week: 13th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 12th
Scott’s Rank: 13th

Scott: The Golden Knights had a minor slip-up with three straight losses to the Coyotes, Canucks and Oilers, but they’re still 8-3-1 in their last 12 games. Tomas Hertl is finally in the lineup and Mark Stone is close to a return as well (weird how it’s come so close to playoff time again), so they’re also getting that chemistry established for the playoffs. Vegas also locked up Noah Hanifin to an eight-year deal, which feels a bit pricey for my liking considering he’s not exactly the kind of defenseman that drives a top pair, but he’ll certainly make a good replacement for Alec Martinez.

15. Pittsburgh Penguins

Record: 37-31-12, +3
Last Week: 15th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 16th
Scott’s Rank: 15th

Mike: The surging Penguins no longer control their own destiny after losing 6-4 to the Bruins on Saturday. They essentially need to win both of their final two games against the Predators and Islanders to have a chance of making the playoffs. That said, there are still plenty of positives to take away from this last stretch regardless of whether the Penguins end up clinching a spot. How about Michael Bunting, who has 16 points in 19 games since being acquired from Carolina in the Jake Guentzel trade?

16. New York Islanders

Record: 37-27-16, -21
Last Week: 17th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 15th
Scott’s Rank: 17th

Scott: The Islanders really kicked their play to another gear with their back against the wall. Before their loss to the Rangers on Saturday, they had won six straight games, and now they find themselves in the driver’s seat in this battle for the final two playoff spots in the East. They have three points on everyone in the hunt, so just one win against either the Devils or Penguins and it not only secures them a berth, but also the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. I’ve sung coach Patrick Roy’s praises a lot recently, but this is quite the turnaround for this team considering where they were when he was hired.

17. Philadelphia Flyers

Record: 38-32-11, -25
Last Week: 19th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 18th
Scott’s Rank: 16th

Mike: The Flyers have all but officially imploded. They’ve won back-to-back games, but their upcoming tilt with the Capitals on Tuesday is going to answer a ton of questions for both teams. Washington, Detroit, and Philly are all tied with 87 points, but the Flyers have played one more game than the other two. What Philly does have is the tiebreaker over Detroit — but not the Capitals. The Flyers and Caps are tied in regulation wins, regulation and overtime wins, and total wins. But if Philly wins on Tuesday, they’ll take the season series between the two teams.

Scott: What a nightmare season for Philly if they barely miss out on the playoffs. It always seemed crazy that they had stayed competitive for so long since they seemed like a surefire tanking team, but to miss out on the big dance and sit outside of the top 10 in the draft in a season where you also lost your top prospect is probably the worst-case scenario going into the year.

18. Washington Capitals

Record: 38-31-11, -40
Last Week: 18th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 17th
Scott’s Rank: 18th

Scott: I mentioned that the Isles were in the drivers’ seat in the East’s playoff battle, but the Capitals are to an extent as well. At the very least, they control their own destiny and can secure a playoff spot if they win both games this week, especially the matchup against the Flyers. It’s quite incredible that they’re here considering that they have just two wins in their last nine games, but that sums up this playoff race quite well.

Mike: The Capitals have full agency over whether they make the playoffs this year. If they win out, they’re in. Can they do it? I say … sure, why not.

19. St. Louis Blues

Record: 43-33-5, -10
Last Week: 20th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 19th
Scott’s Rank: 20th

Mike: These Blues are going to need major surgery before they’re able to compete again — but if anyone can pull it off, it’s Doug Armstrong, who has been at the helm in St. Louis for the better part of 15 years. There’s so much work still to do, though. The big question marks are all on defense, where the Blues are flush with veterans and low on high-upside youngsters. With so many strong defenders available at this year’s draft, it figures that the Blues will try to take a swing on one of them.

20. Detroit Red Wings

Record: 39-32-9
Last Week: 21st (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 20th
Scott’s Rank: 19th

Scott: Oh boy, the Wings were almost in a lot of trouble. After losing three of four games going into Saturday’s matchup against the Leafs, they took an early 4-1 lead and blew it before the end of the second period, needing overtime to get the job done. But I guess they have Leafs fans to thank for that, because apparently they siked Auston Matthews out of getting his 70th goal by… being excited about witnessing him getting his 70th goal. Anyways, the Wings saved their skin for now, but they still need a few things to go their way if they want to end their seven-season playoff drought.

Sheldon Keefe on Auston Matthews getting his 69th goal and the reaction every time he touched the puck:

Yeah, I mean, obviously, that's a major distraction. It doesn't help us, what we're trying to accomplish on the ice. But it's exciting. I get it. And it's– especially when…

— David Alter (@dalter) April 14, 2024

21. Minnesota Wild

Record: 38-33-9, -13
Last Week: 16th (-5)
Mike’s Rank: 21st
Scott’s Rank: 22nd

Mike: Minnesota is nearing the end of its self-imposed cap hell, with a full $13 million and change slated to come off the books in the summer of 2025. Liam Ohgren, Marat Khusnutdinov, Jesper Wallstedt, and others have all gotten trial runs in the NHL. It remains to be seen whether the Wild have a true franchise-level player in the pipeline but they have a ton of good pieces.

Scott: Also, Kirill Kaprizov has quietly returned to form this season, tied for 11th in scoring. I was genuinely surprised to find out how high up he was this season, and I say this as someone who owns him in fantasy.

22. New Jersey Devils

Record: 38-38-5, -16
Last Week: 22nd (0)
Mike’s Rank: 22nd
Scott’s Rank: 21st

Scott: I’m not going to lie, I did not realize how far out of the playoff race the Devils were. I knew their chances were slim for a while, but they’re a whole five points behind the Penguins, who have a game in hand on the Devils and even they are in the worst spot of the remaining playoff teams. It’s definitely been a disappointing year for New Jersey, but hopefully with a bit more health they can make it back into the playoffs next year and be the Cup contenders that Mike and I pegged them to be at the start of the season.

23. Seattle Kraken

Record: 33-34-13, -19
Last Week: 23rd (0)
Mike’s Rank: 23rd
Scott’s Rank: 24th

Mike: How about that Shane Wright guy? There’s a fair case to be made that Wright has become one of hockey’s more underrated prospects over the past 18 months, especially with the likes of Logan Cooley and Juraj Slafkovsky — both of whom were drafted ahead of him — making immediate impacts in the NHL. Wright has taken a bit longer to find his footing, but he looked the part of a high pick in his most recent go-round with the Kraken. Give him a bit more support on his line and he’ll be just fine.

24. Calgary Flames

Record: 37-38-5, -19
Last Week: 26th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 25th
Scott’s Rank: 23rd

Scott: On one hand, the Flames have to be happy with the recent play of the few really good forwards they have left on the team in Nazem Kadri, Andrei Kuzmenko, and even Jonathan Huberdeau. But on the other hand, three wins in their last four games have ensured that they won’t have any higher than the seventh-best lottery odds. That probably sums up their entire season to be honest.

Mike: It is what it is. If Tij Iginla is truly in their sights, the Flames can probably still get him wherever they finish. They have to be over the moon about Kuzmenko, who now has 16 points in his last nine games.

25. Buffalo Sabres

Record: 38-37-6, 0
Last Week: 24th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 24th
Scott’s Rank: 25th

Mike: When’s it going to happen for these Sabres? It still hasn’t under the ownership of Terry Pegula, who has overseen what is now a 13-year playoff drought. There are reasons for hope, as always, in the performances of certain players — this year, JJ Peterka, Rasmus Dahlin, Zach Benson, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. But it still hasn’t come together, and it’s starting to feel like it never will.

26. Ottawa Senators

Record: 36-40-4, -24
Last Week: 25th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 26th
Scott’s Rank: 26th

Scott: Oh, the Sens have won three of their last four games? That actually caught me off guard because it does not feel like this Sens team is on any sort of a run. I’ve joked about how they couldn’t even do the “on pace to make the playoffs in the second half of the season” bit this season, but it’s probably for the best to allow them a higher pick at this point. Maybe next year Sens fans, after you win the offseason for the nth straight time and “have a better forward core than the Leafs.”

27. Uta- err… Arizona Coyotes

Record: 35-41-5, -21
Last Week: 27th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 28th
Scott’s Rank: 27th

Mike: I want to take this opportunity to differentiate between the ownership of the Arizona Coyotes and the hockey operations department of the Arizona Coyotes. The ownership flat-out sucks, and it has for quite some time. The hockey ops is quite strong — and, as early reports indicate, it’s going along with the team to Utah. That’s the right call. Look at what this team has done over the past few years with Bill Armstrong, David Ludwig, John Ferguson, and Andre Tourigny at the helm. Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley, Josh Doan, J.J. Moser, and Connor Ingram aren’t where they are without those guys. The veteran core group of Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, and Nick Schmaltz deserves a chance to compete. Here’s hoping that happens in Utah — and here’s hoping the rabid fans in Arizona get another team in the very near future.

28. Montreal Canadiens

Record: 30-36-14, -51
Last Week: 28th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 27th
Scott’s Rank: 28th

Scott: The Habs actually ended up two spots lower in my initial aggregate rankings, but having at least 10 points on the four teams below them has kept them out of that territory, even if they should be. Outside of giving the Flyers an existential crisis on Tuesday, there hasn’t been a lot to get excited about outside of rankings with five losses in Montreal’s last six games.

29. Columbus Blue Jackets

Record: 26-43-12, -66
Last Week: 29th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 29th
Scott’s Rank: 29th

Mike: What’s going to happen with Johnny Gaudreau? He hasn’t won in Columbus, he’s not currently winning in Columbus, and it doesn’t look like he’s ever going to win in Columbus. His 11 goals this year are by far the fewest he’s collected in a full NHL season — yes, that’s even fewer than what Jonathan Huberdeau has managed this year. It’ll be up to whomever the Jackets bring in as their new GM to sell Gaudreau on their vision going forward.

30. Anaheim Ducks

Record: 26-50-5, -94
Last Week: 31st (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 30th
Scott’s Rank: 30th

Scott: Last week I touched on how Ducks’ fans were probably debating about if they wanted to see Cutter Gauthier win the NCAA championship or lose early and play more NHL games. Turns out, they got the worst case scenario: he didn’t lose early, but he didn’t win the championship. Regardless, he signed with the Ducks mere hours after the game, and with just one game left on the Ducks schedule, it seems likely that that will be all Gauthier gets for his first NHL season.

31. Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 23-52-5, -108
Last Week: 30th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 31st
Scott’s Rank: 31st

Mike: Frank Nazar made an immediate impact in his NHL debut with the Blackhawks on Sunday, scoring his first goal on his first shot. The 20-year-old forward is coming off a solid sophomore season at the University of Michigan, during which he finished sixth in team scoring with 41 points in 41 games. There are legitimate concerns about Nazar’s defense and translatability, but he has a chance to be a difference-maker if he clicks. So far, so good.

32. San Jose Sharks

Record: 19-52-9, -139
Last Week: 32nd (0)
Mike’s Rank: 32nd
Scott’s Rank: 32nd

Scott: It’s fitting that we finish our rankings crowning the Sharks as the worst team in the league a couple days after the Sharks secured last place in the league (and the best lottery odds). This team really deserves Macklin Celebrini because even with some of the young talent they have in the system already, this team is a long way from competitiveness, so they could use the extra boost.

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