NHL power rankings: Jake Guentzel has been perfect for Carolina Hurricanes as they take top spot

Credit: © Dennis Schneidler

The calendar has flipped to April, and baseball season has started, which can only mean one thing: the NHL regular season is reaching its final days. While the playoff race hasn’t quite developed the way we hoped, with only a few bubble teams looking to have more than a sliver of a chance, teams are finally clinching playoff spots, which is a reminder we are only a couple weeks away from the most wonderful time of the year.

Mike and I continue to navigate through the results so far with another week of our 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, that being that teams that have not clinched a playoff spot cannot be ranked ahead of teams that have.

1. Carolina Hurricanes

Record: 47-21-7, +56
Last Week: 4th (+3)
Mike’s Rank: 2nd
Scott’s Rank: 1st

Mike: I have no problem with the Hurricanes being first on this list. They’re coming off back-to-back wins over the Red Wings and Canadiens and have ramped up their game pretty much across the board since the deadline. Jake Guentzel has certainly done enough to dissuade any notions that he was purely a product of Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh — in 11 games with the Hurricanes since the trade, the pending UFA winger has 16 points and is a +13. It’ll be really interesting to see if Carolina can keep him beyond this season.

2. Dallas Stars

Record: 47-19-9, +56
Last Week: 2nd (0)
Mike’s Rank: 1st
Scott’s Rank: 3rd

Scott: Even as the Canes and Panthers move around them, the Stars managed to hold down the fort in second place this week. With seven wins in a row, it’s hard for them to not stick around at the top considering how they’ve played throughout this season. On top of that, Roope Hintz has started to pick things up again just in time for the playoffs with two goals and five points last week after only having three goals and eight points in his previous 19 games.

3. Florida Panthers

Record: 47-22-5, +57
Last Week: 1st (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 3rd
Scott’s Rank: 2nd

Mike: Remember when it seemed like the Panthers never made the playoffs? Well, they just booked their fifth consecutive trip to the postseason this week. Aleksander Barkov is having yet another Selke-caliber year, surpassing the 70-point plateau and posting superb underlying numbers in Florida’s 3-2 shootout win over Detroit on Saturday. And let’s hear it for Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has bounced back with a 30-point season after being bought out by the Canucks last summer. He’s on the verge of his first 10-goal year since 2018-19.

Scott: The Panthers’ play-in series against the Islanders in 2020 was so forgettable, I was genuinely confused when you said the Panthers have made five straight postseason appearances.

Mike: Yeah, it barely counts. The Oilers lost to the Blackhawks that same year in another edition of “that never happened.”

Scott: But that was memorable because it was funny.

4. Colorado Avalanche

Record: 47-21-6, +58
Last Week: 3rd (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 4th
Scott’s Rank: 4th

Scott: The Avs saw a couple streaks come to an end last week, with their nine-game winning streak ending on Tuesday in a 2-1 loss to the Habs, and Nathan MacKinnon’s home point streak that’s held all season finally ended on Thursday in their 3-2 shootout loss to the Rangers. That said, the Avs still have points in 11 of their last 12 games even with the back-to-back losses, and considering that they’re only three points behind the Stars with a game in hand, the race for the Central Division title is still on.

5. New York Rangers

Record: 50-20-4, +51
Last Week: 7th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 6th
Scott’s Rank: 6th

Mike: Good for Alexis Lafrenière, who reached the 50-point mark for the first time in his career with a huge five-point outing against the Coyotes on Saturday. The former No. 1 overall pick seems to have finally found a home in the Rangers’ top six on a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. On the flip side, that Barclay Goodrow contract is turning into a full-fledged disaster for this Rangers team. Two goals for $3.6 million isn’t nearly good enough, especially with Lafrenière and K’Andre Miller both eligible for extensions come July 1.

6. Boston Bruins

Record: 43-17-15, +41
Last Week: 6th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 7th
Scott’s Rank: 5th

Scott: It seems like neither the Bruins nor the Panthers want the top spot in the Atlantic Division, as both teams have struggled recently. While the Bruins haven’t been nearly as cold as the Panthers were, they lost three of four before they managed a 3-2 win over the Capitals on Saturday. Because of that, they only have two points on the Panthers with one more game played, and suddenly the Maple Leafs are creeping into the conversation as well, sitting eight points back with two games in hand on the Bruins and two more games against the Panthers. This race for the top spot could get interesting folks.

7. Vancouver Canucks

Record: 4
Last Week: 5th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 5th
Scott’s Rank: 7th

Mike: The Canucks just keep on keeping on. Their 3-2 win over the Ducks was the only piece of NHL action on Easter Sunday. As we all predicted, it was Dakota Joshua who scored twice (including the winner late in the third period) for the Canucks in that one. Guess how many goals Joshua has this year? You’re wrong: he’s now up to 15. Fifteen! In just 55 games, no less. Joshua will be a 28-year-old UFA this summer and you can bet he and his agent are already seeing dollar signs.

Scott: The funny thing about Mike assuming we are wrong on the guess is that, when he initially asked me to guess, I got it right the first try.

Mike: Can confirm. This was after I had already written my blurb (but Scott hadn’t seen it).

8. Edmonton Oilers

Record: 45-23-4, +56
Last Week: 9th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 9th
Scott’s Rank: 8th

Scott: The Oilers seemed to take their struggles in Ontario to heart, as they responded with three straight wins last week over the Jets, Kings and Ducks, and up until the Canucks’ win on Sunday, they were starting to join the race for the Pacific Division title as well. The two still have one more game against each other on April 13th, so depending on how these next two weeks leading up to that game go, that could end up being a big matchup for both teams.

Mike: Connor McDavid needs 25 points in the final 10 games for 150 on the season — and 1,000 in his career. Wouldn’t that be something.

9. Toronto Maple Leafs

Record: 42-22-9, +42
Last Week: 8th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 8th
Scott’s Rank: 9th

Mike: It is so funny that we’re coming off a week where Auston Matthews scored his 60th goal of the season and the top story on the Maple Leafs’ official website remains Bobby McMann signing a contract extension on March 13. Seriously, the Leafs are the single most valuable franchise (depending on who you ask) in the entire league. I’ve mentioned this in these power rankings before, but … do they not employ a webmaster? They have published a total of eight articles in the entire calendar year of 2024 thus far. Meanwhile, the team itself has won back-to-back games and is on the verge of clinching a playoff spot while also featuring two players closing in on 100 points. Wild times.

10. Nashville Predators

Record: 43-27-4, +19
Last Week: 10th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 11th
Scott’s Rank: 10th

Scott: Talk about a rough way to end a hot stretch. After the Preds went 16-0-2 in their last 18 games, they gave up 15 goals in two games in back-to-back losses to the Coyotes and the Avalanche, although three of the goals were into an empty net. That streak has seemed to change everyone’s minds on the Preds as the “easy out” in the Western Conference playoffs, and now they’re at least in the group of legitimate playoff teams like the Kings and Jets, especially with the offense and Juuse Saros all gelling at the same time. Sidenote: it’s funny that during that 18-game point streak, the Preds doubled their overtime losses on the year.

11. Vegas Golden Knights

Record: 41-25-8, +22
Last Week: 12th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 10th
Scott’s Rank: 13th

Mike: I’m thinking the Golden Knights are starting to get back to their old ways. Remember when people earnestly wondered whether they’d fall out of the playoff picture? Hah, as if. They’ve strung together a six-game point streak and are now a full eight points up on the ninth-place Blues in the Western Conference. In fact, Vegas has overtaken the Kings entirely for third place in the Pacific Division. Once these guys get some of their big guns back … look out.

12. Winnipeg Jets

Record: 44-24-6, +40
Last Week: 11th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 13th
Scott’s Rank: 11th

Scott: Ok, so maybe these are the same old Jets. After hovering around the status of “potential Cup contender” for months, a six-game losing streak now sees the Jets closer to getting passed by the Preds in the standings than they are to passing the Avs and Stars. There’s no way they’re this bad, especially after the new additions, but you also can’t help but feel it’s the same old Jets that are turning back into a pumpkin as the clock strikes midnight, just like every other season.

Mike: I think they’ll break out of this funk, but still — woof. At least Sean Monahan is still on the ball. He’s up to 23 goals and 53 points this season. What a great story he’s been.

13. Tampa Bay Lightning

Record: 41-25-7, +20
Last Week: 14th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 12th
Scott’s Rank: 14th

Mike: Similar to Vegas, this feels like another instance of an “old guard” team kicking it up a notch when the games start to matter. The Lightning have been particularly electric down the stretch, winning nine of 11 games in March while also putting together an active nine-game point streak. While many of their Eastern Conference brethren have coughed and sputtered in recent weeks, the Lightning have risen above them and are now just four points back of the Leafs for third in the Atlantic. That’s going to be an interesting race to follow in April.

Scott: They still have two games against each other as well, including the season finale for both teams, so it could certainly go down to the wire.

14. Los Angeles Kings

Record: 38-24-11, +33
Last Week: 13th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 14th
Scott’s Rank: 12th

Scott: The Kings were doing a solid job of keeping ahead of the Golden Knights, especially with a stretch of five wins in six games, but after back-to-back losses and a six-game point streak from Vegas, the Kings are back in the Wildcard tier. I still think this team has the play-driving ability to make some noise in the playoffs, but they better hope that the offense and goaltending are firing on all cylinders if they want to make an upset or two.

15. Philadelphia Flyers

Record: 36-27-10, -31
Last Week: 15th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 16th
Scott’s Rank: 16th

Mike: Uh oh. Has John Tortorella started to lose the room in Philly? The Flyers were in free-fall mode for most of March and finished the month with a four-game losing streak, including back-to-back stinkers against Montreal and Chicago. Sean Couturier is now on the fourth line, which is probably better than being a healthy scratch … but it might actually be more embarrassing when you consider he was only named team captain on Feb. 14. The Flyers have already been surpassed by the Capitals in the Metropolitan Division standings and are now at risk of falling out of the playoff picture entirely.

Scott: This might be the worst case scenario for Daniel Briere. At least when the Flyers were ruining their tank job for most of the season, it was with the benefit of making the playoffs and getting some valuable experience for some of the future pieces. Now, they seem destined to not make the playoffs or draft in the top 10 this season.

16. Minnesota Wild

Record: 35-29-9, -9
Last Week: 18th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 17th
Scott’s Rank: 15th

Scott: With three losses in their last four games, it’s safe to say that the Wild’s season is all but mathematically over. They sit eight points behind the Kings with only nine games left. The Wild also did the “pull the goalie in overtime” thing again against the Golden Knights, but this time it resulted in an empty net goal for Vegas to win the game and cost the Wild an extra point. I think they understood that the season was basically over at that point anyways, but why not take the gamble on the shootout considering that’s more or less a coin flip? Maybe it would make sense if scoring with the goalie pulled forfeited the overtime point for the other team as well, but it doesn’t so it’s basically just the Wild overthinking things.

Mike: I like to think John Hynes only just learned about that rule a few weeks ago and is keen on trying it whenever he gets the chance, just to see what happens.

17. Washington Capitals

Record: 36-27-10, -31
Last Week: 17th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 15th
Scott’s Rank: 18th

Mike: I have no gosh-darned clue what to make of these Capitals, but hey — the Stanley Cup Playoffs are always better when Alex Ovechkin is in them. At this rate, Washington is going to enter the postseason with the worst goal differential of any playoff team in the salary cap era. But nobody can deny they’ve been opportunistic. It doesn’t matter how many you score or give up when you end up with more one-goal wins than blowout losses. I’m here for it.

18. New York Islanders

Record: 31-27-15, -29
Last Week: 19th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 21st
Scott’s Rank: 17th

Scott: The Isles were able to smoothen out their struggles a little bit by going .500 these past four games, but when you’re in a race for a playoff spot, that’s not good enough, especially after losing six in a row prior to this mediocre stretch. They still only sit five points behind the Flyers with two games in hand, but they really need to clamp down right now to stay in the hunt.

Mike: Man, talk about a team that needs to make a bunch of draft picks. Good thing they’ve already traded away two of their selections this year.

19. St. Louis Blues

Record: 39-31-4, -11
Last Week: 20th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 19th
Scott’s Rank: 20th

Mike: Here’s a question for you, Scott. If you’re Doug Armstrong this summer, which players on this roster are you committed to not trading? I’d imagine it’s not a particularly long list. For me, it probably starts with Robert Thomas and ends with Jake Neighbours, with Jordan Kyrou maybe in there depending on what the offers look like.

Scott: Yeah, that’s basically my list, although I’d also consider Joel Hofer as a solid future asset right now considering the season he’s had.

20. New Jersey Devils

Record: 36-34-4, -9
Last Week: 16th (-4)
Mike’s Rank: 18th
Scott’s Rank: 22nd

Scott: Does anyone in the East even want the final Wildcard seed right now? Out of the six teams either in the final spot or within seven points of it, the Devils are tied with the Sabres for the best record in their last 10 games… at 5-5-0. Even then, those Sabres spoiled the Devils’ best chance of sneaking back into the playoffs with a 5-2 win on Friday. A win for New Jersey would have them four points back of the Flyers with a game in hand, but now they’re six back, which just feels all the more daunting.

21. Pittsburgh Penguins

Record: 32-30-11, -5
Last Week: 22nd (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 20th
Scott’s Rank: 21st

Mike: I’m curious to see where the Penguins go from here. They’ve had so many crushing, close losses this season in a manner that feels pretty unsustainable — but I seem to recall saying the same thing last year, too. They no longer have Guentzel. I can’t imagine them trading Crosby, Malkin, Karlsson, or Letang this summer, so what does Kyle Dubas do? Run it back and hope for some better bounces? I’m genuinely flummoxed. They need a better supporting cast, that’s for sure.

Scott: It’s funny that, with how intertwined Crosby and Ovechkin’s careers have been, this season has been a parallel for both of them, with Crosby carrying the Pens on his back only for them to constantly lose in close games, while until recently, the Caps were carrying Ovi and have gotten by with close wins.

22. Detroit Red Wings

Record: 36-30-8, 0
Last Week: 21st (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 24th
Scott’s Rank: 19th

Scott: Just when it seemed like the Wings were getting back into the hunt with three wins in four games, they dropped four straight games to continue what has been a March to forget in Detroit. Miraculously, the Wings are still two points behind the Flyers in the final Wildcard spot with a game in hand, so the playoffs are still on the menu but somehow their recent performance makes even that small point gap seem impossible to overcome. They have one more game against the Caps next week, which looks like it will have massive implications on both of their seasons now.

23. Calgary Flames

Record: 34-34-5, -14
Last Week: 24th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 23rd
Scott’s Rank: 23rd

Mike: I’m relatively bullish on Tij Iginla and I’m fascinated to see whether the Flames finish the season at the right spot where they’d feel comfortable taking him at this year’s draft. They obviously wouldn’t pick him if they won the lottery, and I don’t necessarily think they’d take him in the 5-7 range … but below that? I could totally see it. That kid seems to be rising in the ranks to a similar extent as a guy like Mason McTavish did in his own draft year. The Flames really need a center, but I’m not convinced they’ll be in a position to get one where they end up picking. I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.

24. Ottawa Senators

Record: 33-36-4, -17
Last Week: 25th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 22nd
Scott’s Rank: 24th

Scott: I think the Sens heard me roast them for not even going on their usual late-season run, because they’re now rocking a five-game winning streak, with a couple of those wins coming against strong playoff teams in the Oilers and Jets, and really the only “easy win” was Thursday’s victory over the Blackhawks. They’re still not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs and have a couple more games against teams also in the race, but too much needs to go right for the Sens to even sniff this playoff spot, and that still might not even be enough.

25. Buffalo Sabres

Record: 35-35-5, -4
Last Week: 23rd (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 25th
Scott’s Rank: 26th

Mike: Early congratulations to Jeff Skinner for playing in his 1,000th career game. Man, remember when Jay Bouwmeester went more than a decade to start his career before making the playoffs for the first time? He ended up winning the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, and I’d love to see something similar happen with Skinner. I’m not sure if that’ll happen in Buffalo, though. I wonder if and when the Sabres look at moving that contract. Skinner has three years left after this one at a $9 million cap hit, but he’s definitely not the buyout candidate he once was and it’s easy to forget he’s still just 31. There’s an outside chance he reaches the 500-goal mark in his career (he’s currently at 357).

Scott: It’s tragically funny that the Canes went from being consistently just outside the playoffs every season with Skinner, and then the season after they deal him, they’re a consistent Cup contender.

26. Seattle Kraken

Record: 30-30-13, -18
Last Week: 26th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 26th
Scott’s Rank: 25th

Scott: The Kraken had a solid start to the week by managing to get both of their gimme wins against the Ducks, which surprisingly wasn’t a home-and-home set between the two teams, but instead just back-to-back games in Seattle. But then once they got a matchup against a much more competitive team in the Stars, they were shut out 3-0. While Seattle’s season is basically over at this point, the Shane Wright call-up at least provides fans with a bit of future intrigue to close out what’s been a disappointing season after how last year went for them.

27. Arizona Coyotes

Record: 31-38-5, -22
Last Week: 27th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 27th
Scott’s Rank: 27th

Mike: Welcome to the Josh Doan show! For all the allegations of nepotism that surrounded the Coyotes when they took him with the No. 37 overall pick in 2021, Doan Jr. has produced at pretty much every level in the years leading up to his show-stopping NHL debut this week. Doan now has five points through his first three games with the Coyotes and looks to be a big part of an impressive group of young forwards in the desert that also includes Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, and Matias Maccelli. By the way, Cooley also picked up his first NHL hat trick this week. Awoooo, indeed.

28. Montreal Canadiens

Record: 28-33-12, -49
Last Week: 28th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 28th
Scott’s Rank: 28th

Scott: Should someone tell the Canadiens that they aren’t supposed to win games anymore? A three-game winning streak over the Kraken, Avs and Flyers has mathematically eliminated them from finishing last in the league, and they somehow managed to do that before being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Don’t get your hopes up though Habs fans, their chances are probably worse than the Sens.

Mike: Who are the building blocks for this Canadiens team going forward? What does their core look like in five years? I’m struggling to parse this out. Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky, Dach, Guhle, Reinbacher, and Hutson? I just feel like the highest-quality pieces aren’t quite there yet, save for perhaps Slafkovsky.

29. Columbus Blue Jackets

Record: 24-38-12, -59
Last Week: 29th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 29th
Scott’s Rank: 29th

Mike: One of the most interesting stories this week concerned the NHL debut of Cameron Butler, who was thrust into action for the Blue Jackets’ 4-3 shootout win over the Penguins on Saturday. The Blue Jackets had literally nobody else on their roster to turn to when captain Boone Jenner informed the team mere hours before the game that he was too sick to play. AHL Cleveland, Columbus’ affiliate, was in action on Saturday afternoon — but Butler, an undrafted 21-year-old grinder, was the odd man out as a healthy scratch. That made him available to the Jackets, who made Butler drive all the way from Cleveland to Columbus in roughly a two-hour window before his NHL debut. He played all of 54 seconds. And then he was sent back down the next day. That’s called “making it.”

30. Anaheim Ducks

Record: 24-47-4, -90
Last Week: 30th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 30th
Scott’s Rank: 31st

Scott: As you can see, I actually had the Ducks in second-last this week behind the Blackhawks, as the recent play of both clubs has finally gotten the Blackhawks within distance of the Ducks for the five-point rule to longer be in effect. They’ve actually ranked behind the Blackhawks for a while now in my aggregate, it just took 12 losses in the Ducks’ last 13 games and the Blackhawks only needing to go 7-5-0 in their last 12 games to get close.

31. Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 22-47-5, -95
Last Week: 31st (0)
Mike’s Rank: 31st
Scott’s Rank: 30th

Mike: Chicago beating Philly on Saturday was a textbook example of a cellar dweller playing spoiler late in the season. Did Joey Anderson and Lukas Reichel really need to put up multi-point games for this Chicago team in late March? Well, yep. For rebuilding teams, this time of year is all about individual player evaluation. Those guys are battling for jobs next year and beyond. And boy, did they ever stick it to the Flyers!

32. San Jose Sharks

Record: 17-48-8, -131
Last Week: 32nd (0)
Mike’s Rank: 32nd
Scott’s Rank: 32nd

Scott: The good news for Sharks fans? The Blackhawks recent improvement to mediocrity instead of futility has put the Sharks safely in last place for the time being, even after ending their nine-game losing streak on Saturday with a 4-0 win over the Blues. The bad news? This means that all the pressure for first overall is on the Sharks, and we know how this team has historically done under pressure.

Mike: I think the Sharks would probably be the most inoffensive Celebrini landing spot of the main group of contenders. Anaheim already has plenty of top pieces, don’t even get me started on Chicago, Columbus is just sad, and Montreal just picked first overall two years ago. I’d like to see Celebrini in Calgary but I wouldn’t be upset with the Sharks getting the top pick this year. Just … not Chicago.

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