NHL Power Rankings: Knock, knock, it’s the Ottawa Senators joining the race

Credit: © Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

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The trade deadline has come and gone, and now we’re in the final stretch as teams try to make the playoffs, get better playoff positioning, or better odds in the draft lottery. A few of those are basically decided at this point, but we’ll still see some movement in the standings, especially with this six-team playoff race in the East for the final wild card spots, so that’s where we’ll see a lot of the changes on this list at this point.

As I’ve done so far this season, I’ll be ranking teams not just on their results in the standings but also with how they’ve looked in several stats as well. Otherwise I’d just copy and paste the standings, right? No fun in that. The rankings are an aggregate of six different 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. But, to ground the rankings a bit, no team can be above a team that’s more than five points ahead in the standings, regardless of where the aggregate places them.

1. Boston Bruins

Record: 49-8-5 (.831%, 1st)
5v5 Goal Differential: +66 (1st)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.77 (t-11th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.32 (2nd)
PP xGF/60: 8.76 (12th)
PK xGA/60: 6.21 (1st)
5v5 PDO: 103.8
Previous Week: 1st (0)

The Bruins are just unfair at this point. Just when you think they might be starting to slow down and experience a bit of regression, they go on a 10-game win streak to widen the gap over the rest of the league. They also made another big deadline move, adding Tyler Bertuzzi to beef up their forward depth even more with a guy who brings some physicality and a scoring touch when he’s on his game, even getting an assist in his Bruins debut.

2. Carolina Hurricanes

Record: 41-12-8 (.738%, 2nd)
5v5 Goal Differential: +40 (2nd)
5v5 xGF/60: 3.28 (1st)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.04 (1st)
PP xGF/60: 8.78 (11th)
PK xGA/60: 7.23 (t-4th)
5v5 PDO: 100.1
Previous Week: 2nd (0)

After a brief blip on the radar that was back-to-back losses, the Hurricanes went back to their winning ways to end last week by beating the Coyotes and Lightning by a combined score of 12-1. They were probably the lone elite team in the East that didn’t push all of their chips in at the deadline, instead giving up one of their lower tier prospects and a third-round pick to bring in Jesse Puljujarvi and Shayne Gostisbehere.

3. Toronto Maple Leafs

Record: 38-17-8 (.667%, 4th)
5v5 Goal Differential: +33 (5th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.91 (t-6th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.42 (8th)
PP xGF/60: 9.24 (6th)
PK xGA/60: 6.61 (2nd)
5v5 PDO: 101.2
Previous Week: 3rd (0)

The Leafs had one of their weaker stretches, dropping two of their three games last week to the Oilers and Canucks last week while on their Western Canada road trip. Some of that can be attributed to running into a red hot Connor McDavid and Thatcher Demko, but some of it is also just some of the new faces in Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty, Erik Gustafsson, and Luke Schenn getting used to the team.

4. New Jersey Devils

Record: 41-15-6 (.710%, 3rd)
5v5 Goal Differential: +39 (3rd)
5v5 xGF/60: 3.1 (3rd)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.41 (t-6th)
PP xGF/60: 8.95 (9th)
PK xGA/60: 7.68 (11th)
5v5 PDO: 100.6
Previous Week: 4th (0)

The Devils have given themselves another shot at that Metropolitan Division title, challenging the Hurricanes thanks to taking nine of a possible ten points in their last five games. New addition Timo Meier seems to have fit nicely in New Jersey already, potting the opening goal in his first game as a Devil on Sunday against the Coyotes.

The Stars continue to stay hot, with points in their last five games, and three straight wins after beating the Coyotes, Blackhawks, and Avalanche last week. They didn’t exactly make any blockbuster moves, but did bring in Evgenii Dadonov and Max Domi, so we’ll see if failing to go all-in and capitalize on a weak Western Conference comes back to bite this team in the playoffs.

6. Vegas Golden Knights

Record: 38-19-6 (.651%, 5th)
5v5 Goal Differential: +13 (11th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.67 (t-17th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.39 (5th)
PP xGF/60: 8.99 (8th)
PK xGA/60: 7.56 (10th)
5v5 PDO: 100.5
Previous Week: 6th (0)

Amidst all their goalie injuries, the Golden Knights have decided that their saving grace this season to help out Adin Hill will be Jonathan Quick, which is a bold bet considering he’s been one of the worst goalies this season, but he does come with plenty of experience. At least their other big trade deadline addition has been working out well so far, as Ivan Barbashev has two goals and five points in four games since joining Vegas.

7. Edmonton Oilers

Record: 34-22-8 (.594%, 13th)
5v5 Goal Differential: +7 (14th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.94 (5th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.51 (12th)
PP xGF/60: 9.93 (3rd)
PK xGA/60: 8.21 (19th)
5v5 PDO: 100
Previous Week: 9th (+2)

The Oilers continue their stretch of inconsistent play, going 2-2 last week by beating the Leafs and Jets and losing to the Bruins and Jets. They made arguably the biggest move out of any team in the West by adding Mattias Ekholm, so perhaps that will provide them with a bit more stability and consistency on the back end.

8. New York Rangers

Record: 35-19-9 (.627%, t-7th)
5v5 Goal Differential: +10 (12th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.55 (t-21st)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.54 (13th)
PP xGF/60: 10.11 (1st)
PK xGA/60: 7.77 (13th)
5v5 PDO: 100.3
Previous Week: 7th (-1)

Showtime on Broadway hasn’t exactly been off to the best start, with the Rangers dropping both of their games with new addition Patrick Kane in the lineup with a 5-3 loss to the Senators and a 4-2 loss to the Bruins. Kane’s been held pointless in both games, so there’s still an adjustment period, but if he can bounce back from his poor season in Chicago and bring some magic back, that Rangers offense could be a deadly one.

9. Minnesota Wild

Record: 36-21-6 (.619%, t-10th)
5v5 Goal Differential: -2 (20th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.45 (23rd)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.32 (2nd)
PP xGF/60: 9.15 (7th)
PK xGA/60: 7.49 (9th)
5v5 PDO: 99.7
Previous Week: 10th (+1)

Make that points in nine straight games for the Wild, as they’ve gone 8-0-1 in that stretch to keep up with the Stars for the top of the Central, including wins in their last four games. The Wild also made several moves to bolster the lineup, bringing in John Klingberg, Marcus Johansson, Gustav Nyquist, and Oskar Sundqvist to add some extra depth and possibly even give this team’s offense the spark it needs, although none of them is a surefire bet to do that either.

10. Tampa Bay Lightning

Record: 37-21-5 (.627%, t-7th)
5v5 Goal Differential: +15 (10th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.91 (t-6th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.63 (t-16th)
PP xGF/60: 8.15 (t-14th)
PK xGA/60: 8.5 (22nd)
5v5 PDO: 101.1
Previous Week: 8th (-2)

Just when the Leafs finally had a tough stretch to give the Lighting an opportunity to catch up, they do anything but that by losing five straight games. They also might have a bit of turmoil in the locker room, as head coach Jon Cooper decided to bench his three superstar forwards in Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Brayden Point in their 5-3 loss to the Sabres on Saturday.

11. Los Angeles Kings

Record: 36-20-8 (.625%, 9th)
5v5 Goal Differential: -3 (t-21st)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.67 (t-17th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.41 (t-6th)
PP xGF/60: 8.03 (19th)
PK xGA/60: 7.23 (t-4th)
5v5 PDO: 98.2
Previous Week: 11th (0)

The Kings had about as ideal of a week as any, starting up a three-game winning streak by beating the Jets, Canadiens, and Blues. Well, at least it was ideal on the ice, as they made the controversial decision to move on from longtime goalie Quick to bring in Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo, and now they may have to face Quick’s wrath in the playoffs with him being moved to the Golden Knights.

12. Seattle Kraken

Record: 36-21-6 (.619%, t-10th)
5v5 Goal Differential: +37 (4th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.55 (t-21st)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.5 (t-10th)
PP xGF/60: 6.61 (27th)
PK xGA/60: 7.76 (12th)
5v5 PDO: 101.3
Previous Week: 16th (+4)

Just as quickly as the Kraken were starting to let other teams back into the fight for their playoff spot, they’ve turned it around with four straight wins to distance themselves from the teams outside the playoffs by 10 points. The Kraken were quiet at the deadline, as based on reports they were actually looking to sell more than buy, but they more or less just tested the market to see if they could capitalize on how quickly the big pieces went away.

13. Winnipeg Jets

Record: 36-25-2 (.587%, 14th)
5v5 Goal Differential: +4 (18th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.7 (15th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.69 (t-19th)
PP xGF/60: 8.62 (13th)
PK xGA/60: 7.25 (6th)
5v5 PDO: 100.7
Previous Week: 13th (0)

The Jets nosedive continued into last week, as they saw their losing streak extend to five games before they ended it with a 7-5 win over the Oilers in the second half of a home-and-home with them. Like most of the other teams in the West, they didn’t capitalize on the weaker conference and make any big moves aside from adding Nino Niederreiter and Vladislav Namestnikov.

14. Colorado Avalanche

Record: 34-21-6 (.607%, 12th)
5v5 Goal Differential: +9 (13th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.59 (20th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.48 (9th)
PP xGF/60: 8.15 (t-14th)
PK xGA/60: 8.37 (21st)
5v5 PDO: 100.5
Previous Week: 14th (0)

That six-game win streak went away really quickly for the Avalanche, as they’ve now lost three straight including giving up a seven-spot in back-to-back games against the Devils and Stars. That’s probably not the best sign after making their big move at the deadline, helping out their center depth by acquiring Lars Eller, who’s been held pointless in all three games of this losing streak.

15. Calgary Flames

Record: 27-23-13 (.532%, 20th)
5v5 Goal Differential: +6 (t-15th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.91 (t-6th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.36 (4th)
PP xGF/60: 8.08 (17th)
PK xGA/60: 6.99 (3rd)
5v5 PDO: 97.8
Previous Week: 12th (-3)

The Flames are anything but on fire at the moment, as they are currently on a five-game losing streak, and they drop a few more places in the rankings as even though their numbers indicate they’re a top team, they just can’t get the results like one. That makes the decision to buy at the deadline and bring in Troy Stecher and Nick Ritchie all the more perplexing, although they didn’t have to give up any future assets to do so.

16. Florida Panthers

Record: 31-27-6 (.531%, t-21st
5v5 Goal Differential: +2 (8th)
5v5 xGF/60: 3.17 (2nd)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.69 (t-19th)
PP xGF/60: 9.47 (5th)
PK xGA/60: 7.95 (15th)
5v5 PDO: 100.1
Previous Week: 17th (+1)

I wish I was kidding: the Panthers have still just been alternating wins and losses for what’s been almost a month now, as last week they beat the Lightning, lost to the Predators, and then beat the Penguins to finish it off. They were one of the few teams that didn’t make a move at the deadline, which makes sense considering the team isn’t really in a place to buy this season, but is also still going to be competitive long term, so there’s no need to sell either.

17. Ottawa Senators

Record: 32-26-4 (.548%, 19th)
5v5 Goal Differential: -19 (24th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.8 (10th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.63 (t-16th)
PP xGF/60: 9.48 (4th)
PK xGA/60: 8.14 (16th)
5v5 PDO: 98.3
Previous Week: 21st (+4)

The Senators just won’t go away in the playoff race, as they’ve now won five games in a row, with their offense getting at least five goals in each game while outscoring their opponents 27-10. Pierre Dorion rewarded them for their great play lately by bringing in one of the biggest names of the deadline in Jakob Chychrun to help elevate their blueline.

18. Pittsburgh Penguins

Record: 31-22-9 (.573%, 15th)
5v5 Goal Differential: -3 (t-21st)
5v5 xGF/60: 3.01 (4th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.71 (t-21st)
PP xGF/60: 8.8 (10th)
PK xGA/60: 8.56 (23rd)
5v5 PDO: 99.7
Previous Week: 15th (-3)

The Pens started off last week by extending their win streak to four games with wins over the Preds and Lightning, but then saw that streak ended on Saturday with a loss to the Panthers. The Pens made a few moves to go “all-in” on the final years of their core – or was it more like “half in”? There’s a lot of questions about whether Mikael Granlund, Nick Bonino, and Dmitry Kulikov were really the right pieces to buy

19. Washington Capitals

Record: 31-27-6 (.531%, t-21st)
5v5 Goal Differential: -1 (19th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.72 (14th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.58 (14th)
PP xGF/60: 7.46 (23rd)
PK xGA/60: 8.15 (17th)
5v5 PDO: 99.5
Previous Week: 18th (-1)

Apparently all it took for the Capitals to end their lengthy stretch without back-to-back wins was sell at the deadline. They moved out a surprising amount of pieces, including Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, Erik Gustafsson, Lars Eller, and Marcus Johansson, and after all that won two games in a row against the Ducks and Sharks. New addition Rasmus Sandin has fit in well though, getting three assists in his Caps debut on Saturday.

20. New York Islanders

Record: 32-25-8 (.554%, 18th)
5v5 Goal Differential: +23 (7th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.64 (19th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.78 (24th)
PP xGF/60: 7.67 (22nd)
PK xGA/60: 8.63 (25th)
5v5 PDO: 101.6
Previous Week: 19th (-1)

The Isles keep chipping away at getting points on the board and securing a playoff spot, as they have points in four of their last five games, including an OT loss to the Wild and a win over the Red Wings last week. They already made their big move with bringing in Bo Horvat back in January, but they did make a sneaky add by trading for Pierre Engvall, who is a strong defensive forward with a bit of a scoring touch.

21. Nashville Predators

Record: 31-23-6 (.567%, 16th)
5v5 Goal Differential: +6 (t-15th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.77 (t-11th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.81 (26th)
PP xGF/60: 7.4 (24th)
PK xGA/60: 8.72 (27th)
5v5 PDO: 101
Previous Week: 23rd (+2)

You wouldn’t think the Preds were sellers considering that they’ve won five of their last six games, but they seem committed to a rebuild as their management transition begins, moving on from the likes of Nino Niederreiter, Tanner Jeannot, Mikael Granlund, and Mattias Ekholm. The Ekholm trade also gave us one of the most baffling transactional tidbits, as the Preds retained all of $250,000 of Ekholm’s salary in the deal.

22. Buffalo Sabres

Record: 32-25-4 (.557%, 17th)
5v5 Goal Differential: +6 (t-15th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.68 (16th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.75 (23rd)
PP xGF/60: 6.53 (28th)
PK xGA/60: 8.91 (28th)
5v5 PDO: 100.4
Previous Week: 20th (-2)

The Sabres briefly saw their hot streak come to an end after back-to-back losses to the Blue Jackets and Bruins, but they bounced back with a win over the Lightning to end the week, and are still well in the playoff hunt. With their bright future, they weren’t exactly big buyers at the deadline, but they did take a buy-low flyer on Jordan Greenway in hopes that he’ll rebound offensively while adding some much needed depth to their lineup.

23. Detroit Red Wings

Record: 28-26-9 (.516%, 23rd)
5v5 Goal Differential: -14 (23rd)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.15 (30th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.63 (t-16th)
PP xGF/60: 7.27 (25th)
PK xGA/60: 8.18 (18th)
5v5 PDO: 100.2
Previous Week: 22nd (-1)

Despite their recent success and the fact that they were knocking on the door of a playoff spot, Steve Yzerman decided it was best that the Wings be sellers at the deadline, as they dealt Filip Hronek, Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, and Oskar Sundqvist for more draft capital. That may have been the right choice though, as the Wings have been reeling amidst a six-game losing streak, and that playoff spot seems all but unlikely now.

24. Philadelphia Flyers

Record: 24-28-11 (.468%, 25th)
5v5 Goal Differential: +18 (9th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.36 (25th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.71 (t-21st)
PP xGF/60: 5.68 (32nd)
PK xGA/60: 8.29 (20th)
5v5 PDO: 99.1
Previous Week: 24th (0)

The Flyers had a bit of a bye week, with just one game between Monday and Saturday, and that rest was just what they needed, as they put an end to a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Red Wings on Sunday. They were one of the more disappointing sellers at the deadline, as they didn’t trade away a single prominent asset, not even James van Riemsdyk who almost went to Detroit in the final hour.

25. Vancouver Canucks

Record: 25-32-5 (.444%, t-26th)
5v5 Goal Differential: -24 (t-25th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.41 (24th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.8 (25th)
PP xGF/60: 8.05 (18th)
PK xGA/60: 8.94 (29th)
5v5 PDO: 98.9
Previous Week: 26th (+1)

The Canucks had a solid week by their standards on the ice, as they took two of three of their games last week, even beating two top teams in the Stars and Leafs. Off the ice was a bit of a different story, as in typical Canucks fashion, they offset any progress they made by selling for the future by then using some of those future assets to bring in Filip Hronek.

26. St. Louis Blues

Record: 27-30-5 (.476%, 24th)
5v5 Goal Differential: -26 (t-27th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.32 (26th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.89 (27th)
PP xGF/60: 6.05 (31st)
PK xGA/60: 8.65 (26th)
5v5 PDO: 99.5
Previous Week: 25th (-1)

The Blues managed to put an end to a six-game losing streak thanks to a 6-3 win over the Sharks on Thursday, but they followed that up by going back to their losing ways with a loss to the Kings over the weekend. While they didn’t have any more pieces to sell, they did make a solid move for the future by bringing in Jakub Vrana, who is one of the most efficient goal-scorers in the league when he’s on his game.

27. Montreal Canadiens

Record: 26-33-4 (.444%, t-26th)
5v5 Goal Differential: -24 (t-25th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.28 (t-27th)
5v5 xGA/60: 3.03 (31st)
PP xGF/60: 6.65 (26th)
PK xGA/60: 9.64 (30th)
5v5 PDO: 99.7
Previous Week: 27th (0)

The Canadiens were the lone team out of this bottom tier that didn’t really sell off any assets, with the Dadonov for Denis Gurianov trade being their only move of that nature. Part of that has just been all the injuries they’ve had to deal with, especially to some of those assets like Joel Edmundson and Sean Monahan, and those same injuries are helping the Habs pile up all these losses down the stretch.

28. San Jose Sharks

Record: 18-33-12 (.381%, 30th)
5v5 Goal Differential: -26 (t-27th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.87 (9th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.59 (15th)
PP xGF/60: 7.93 (20th)
PK xGA/60: 7.37 (8th)
5v5 PDO: 98.5
Previous Week: 28th (0)

After moving out Timo Meier last week, the Sharks didn’t make a ton of big moves at the deadline, mostly just moving out Nick Bonino and Vladislav Namestnikov, whom they acquired from the Lightning for basically nothing to get a pick. The post-Meier world for the Sharks has been ugly though, as they are now on a five-game losing streak where they’ve been outscored 27-12.

29. Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 21-36-5 (.379%, 31st)
5v5 Goal Differential: -58 (31st)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.02 (32nd)
5v5 xGA/60: 3.02 (30th)
PP xGF/60: 6.23 (29th)
PK xGA/60: 7.78 (14th)
5v5 PDO: 98.5
Previous Week: 29th (0)

It’s the end of an era for Chicago, as a franchise pillar has moved on from the team at the deadline – Max Domi. All kidding aside, Patrick Kane has finally been traded, Domi, Jake McCabe, and Sam Lafferty were also on the move, and somehow they only got one guaranteed first-round pick back, and it wasn’t for Kane. On the ice, it’s all eyes on Connor Bedard now, as they dropped all four games last week.

30. Anaheim Ducks

Record: 21-34-8 (.397%, 29th)
5v5 Goal Differential: -69 (32nd)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.24 (29th)
5v5 xGA/60: 3.56 (32nd)
PP xGF/60: 8.11 (16th)
PK xGA/60: 10.02 (32nd)
5v5 PDO: 98.6
Previous Week: 31st (+1)

The Ducks really love spoiling their own tank job, as they took two of three games last week, with both wins coming against other tankers in the Blackhawks and Canadiens, giving them eight straight wins against teams in this bottom section of the league stretching back to the beginning of December. They didn’t exactly offload a ton of assets either, as they managed to only get a third and fourth round pick out of John Klingberg and Dmitry Kulikov, and that’s with taking on a bad contract as well.

31. Arizona Coyotes

Record: 21-32-10 (.413%, 28th)
5v5 Goal Differential: -26 (t-27th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.14 (31st)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.91 (28th)
PP xGF/60: 6.06 (30th)
PK xGA/60: 9.79 (31st)
5v5 PDO: 100.6
Previous Week: 32nd (+1)

The Coyotes have been ice cold, losing three games in a row and five of their last six games, but of course they didn’t do themselves any favorrs against the other bottom-dwellers, with that lone win coming against the Blackhawks. They finally put an end to the Jakob Chychrun trade request saga, as they dealt the defenseman to the Senators, but the on-ice effects have been very apparent for the Coyotes with this cold streak beginning in his absence.

32. Columbus Blue Jackets

Record: 20-37-6 (.365%, 32nd)
5v5 Goal Differential: -47 (30th)
5v5 xGF/60: 2.28 (t-27th)
5v5 xGA/60: 2.92 (29th)
PP xGF/60: 7.71 (21st)
PK xGA/60: 8.61 (24th)
5v5 PDO: 98.8
Previous Week: 30th (-2)

The tank continues in Columbus, having lost three of their last four games to keep themselves in last place in what’s become a tight battle for Bedard, with five teams within six points. They sold off quite a few pieces, offloading Gustav Nyquist, Vladislav Gavrikov, Joonas Korpisalo, and Jonathan Quick (who they originally got for the former two as part of the return), and now they have an extra first-round pick and even got to get rid of Jakub Voracek’s contract.