NHL Power Rankings: Sabres climb as team eyes first playoff berth since 2011

Hurricanes
The Hurricanes just had their 11-game winning streak snapped by he New York Rangers on Tuesday, but what a streak it was. Carolina outscored opponents 40-21 throughout the duration of its streak as the team was just drubbing its opponents. — 25-7-6
2

Bruins
Following their Winter Classic win over the Penguins, the Bruins improved their home record to 19-0-3. It’s a good thing the Bruins were able to record a home win in Fenway Park because they might be pretty hard to come by for the Red Sox next summer. — 29-4-4
3

Lightning
Andrei Vasilevskiy got off to a slower start than usual this season, but he has elevated his game in the last month. Since Dec. 1, Vasilevskiy has saved 12.61 goals above average, per Natural Stat Trick. That is the best mark in the NHL over that span. When he is playing like that, good luck beating the Bolts. 2 24-11-1
4

Wild
Mats Zuccarello is one of the more under-appreciated players in the NHL. Despite being in his mid-30s, Zuccarello has completely revamped his career in Minnesota. After putting up 79 points in 70 games last season, which was a career high, Zuccarello already has 40 points in 36 games this year. His connection with Kirill Kaprizov has been driving the Wild offense. — 21-13-2
5

Maple Leafs
For some reason, the Coyotes were the Maple Leafs’ kryptonite this year. Toronto went 0-2-0 in its season series against Arizona. Luckily for the Leafs, they have been excellent against most other teams. 2 23-8-7
6

Stars
The Stars signed Joe Pavelski to a one-year contract extension worth $3.5 million, and that is a bargain-bin discount considering what he’s meant to the team over the last few seasons. Pavelski has been phenomenal on a line with Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson and has shown versatility as a distributor and a net-front finisher. 2 23-10-6
7

Rangers
Despite all the Rangers’ recent success, former first-round pick Alexis Lafrenière was a scratch for last week’s game against the Lightning. The Rangers were hoping Lafrenière would continue his growth in 2022-23, but he hasn’t scored a goal in his last 10 games played. If the Rangers are looking to make a splash on the trade market, Lafrenière might make an interesting piece for a rebuilding team. — 21-12-6
8

Capitals
Washington dropped a nine-spot on the Canadiens last week, and Alex Ovechkin scored his second hat trick of the season. Since passing Gordie Howe on the NHL’s all-time goals list, Ovechkin has already added six more to his total. He might be breathing down Wayne Gretzky’s neck sooner than anyone expected. 1 21-13-6
9

Golden Knights
Jack Eichel hasn’t played for Vegas since getting injured against the Flyers on Dec. 9, but Chandler Stephenson has picked up his offensive slack. In Eichel’s absence, Stephenson has posted four goals and 17 points in 11 games. 2 26-12-2
10

Sabres
Everything is clicking for the Sabres right now. They are 9-3-1 since Dec. 1. Tage Thompson remains a freak of nature. Young players like Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power are making big contributions. Craig Anderson has given the team stable goaltending. The Sabres are clearly a team on the rise under head coach Don Granato. 5 19-15-2
11

Penguins
The Penguins have now lost their last five games, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have combined for just two points in this slump. If those two are struggling to get on the scoresheet, it’s going to be hard for the Penguins to pick up points. 5 19-12-6
12

Kings
The Kings may have found a borderline reliable option goal with Pheonix Copley playing well since being called up by the team in early December. Since then, Copley has posted a goals against average of 2.52 and a save percentage of .908. Those aren’t all-world numbers, but it is a considerable upgrade over what Jonathan Quick has given the team this year. 2 22-13-6
13

Jets
I think I’m just going to have to eat crow when it comes to Josh Morrissey. I’ve been waiting for him to cool off all season now, but that just hasn’t happened. Morrissey has already set career highs in assists (36) and points (43), and we’ve barely reached the halfway point of the season. 1 24-13-1
14

Avalanche
Goaltending was the biggest question for this Avalanche team before the season, and that position has started to fall off after a decent start. Alexandar Georgiev has looked very average recently. He hasn’t posted a save percentage above .900 in his last four starts, and Georgiev has allowed 2.28 goals above average since Dec. 1, according to Natural Stat Trick. 4 19-14-3
15

Devils
The Devils’ funk really began on Dec. 9, and their team save and shooting percentages have combined for a PDO of .953. That is 30th in the NHL, ahead of only the Canadiens and Blackhawks. It goes without saying that the Devils are a much better team than either of those clubs, but they have been completely snake-bitten for a month now. I’d say they can turn it around, but a similar issue plagued the team last season. 2 23-11-3
16

Kraken
At one point, the Kraken boasted one of the league’s highest-scoring offenses, but they have since cooled down. Seattle is now 13th in goal-scoring, and if the team wants to lock up a playoff spot and do some damage when it gets there, adding a top-six forward might be on the to-do list before the trade deadline. — 20-12-4
17

Islanders
After struggling to score for a good portion of the season, Mat Barzal has finally gotten hot. Barzal has five goals in his last four games, and he has doubled his season total from five to 10 in that span. The Isles need him to continue this type of production because they don’t have excellent depth at forward. 2 22-15-2
18

Flames
The Flames have won five of their last 10 games, and it seems like it has been that way all season with this team. Pardon the pun, but Calgary hasn’t been able to catch fire yet, which is disappointing considering the preseason expectations. Still, the Flames find themselves in the first wild card spot, and one decent winning streak could have them near the top of the Pacific Division. 4 18-14-7
19

Blues
On Dec. 27, the Blues announced that defenseman Torey Krug would miss at least six weeks due to injury. That weakened an already underwhelming blue line that plays in front of a struggling goaltending duo. With Krug out for five more weeks, St. Louis may have to win more than a few games in shootout fashion. 1 18-17-3
20

Oilers
The Oilers have now lost five straight home games, and the latest loss against the Kraken came in devastating fashion. Edmonton jumped out to a 2-0 lead before surrendering five straight goals in a 5-2 loss. Even Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can’t quite turn this roster into a contender. 2 20-17-2
21

Senators
In terms of actual goals, the Senators have been getting shelled with Drake Batherson on the ice. With Batherson in the game at five-on-five, Ottawa has scored 19 goals and given up 31. At first glance, those seem like troubling numbers. However, the expected goals actually come out slightly in favor of the Sens. The issue is that, with Batherson on the ice, Ottawa is shooting just 6.48% and has a team save percentage of just 88.64%. — 18-17-3
22

Canucks
Vancouver has now lost three straight games in regulation, and JT Miller is yelling at his own goalie in the middle of games. The Canucks play at home against the Avalanche on Thursday before embarking on a tough five-game road trip. If Vancouver is going to salvage its season, it needs to find answers in the immediate future. 5 16-18-3
23

Red Wings
The Red Wings just haven’t been able to gain any kind of traction in over a month now. The last time Detroit won more than two games in a row was on Nov. 25, when its winning streak won four games. The Red Wings are still in the playoff hunt, but they lost a lot of ground in December. — 16-12-7
24

Predators
The Predators have been in desperate need of some offense, and Filip Forsberg has delivered in that department. Forsberg is now riding a four-game point streak, and he has five goals and eight points in that stretch. Nashville needs him operating at maximum power to be any kind of threat in the Western Conference. 1 16-14-6
25

Flyers
If John Tortorella was trying to get Kevin Hayes going in the right direction by scratching him last month, it hasn’t exactly worked. Hayes has played six games since being a healthy scratch on Dec. 17, and he has recorded three assists. Hayes hasn’t found the back of the net since Dec. 7 against Washington. 4 14-17-7
26

Panthers
The Panthers are currently in seventh place in the Atlantic Division. If you had told me that before the season, I would’ve asked who took a baseball bat to the knees of half the team. Supporting cast members like Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett just aren’t playing at the same level they did last season, and the loss of Mason Marchment may have been bigger than we thought at the time. 2 17-18-4
27

Coyotes
No one, and I mean no one, goes into Mullet Arena and waltzes out with a win. In the last few weeks, the Coyotes have beaten the Maple Leafs, Avalanche, Kings, and Islanders at home. Arizona might want to reconsider the new arena it has planned if the team keeps winning in its current barn. — 13-18-5
28

Canadiens
Things have taken a turn for the worst in Montreal. The Canadiens have lost nine of their last 10 games, and a team that once had faint hopes of playing meaningful hockey this spring is back in the draft lottery discussion. Even Cole Caufield got banged up in Tuesday night’s game against Nashville. 2 15-20-3
29

Sharks
I have to apologize for turning this blurb into a weekly Erik Karlsson update. Actually, no. I will not. Watching him play at his full potential again is incredibly entertaining. Karlsson is riding a 13-game winning streak, and he now has more points than players like Tage Thompson, David Pastrnak, Mikko Rantanen, and Kirill Kaprizov. 1 12-20-7
30

Ducks
John Klingberg bet on himself and signed a one-year contract with the Ducks, and that may wind up being a poor decision on his end. So far, Klingberg has just 11 points and could put up career lows in every offensive category. To make matters worse, Anaheim has controlled just 38.83% of the five-on-five expected goals with him on the ice. — 10-24-4
31

Blue Jackets
It is almost impossible to find positives for this Columbus team. The Blue Jackets are a bottom-three team in goals for and goals against, and its goaltending has been as bad as the numbers on the surface would indicate. At least fans will get to watch Johnny Gaudreau for the next seven years. That’s something. 1 11-23-2
32

Blackhawks
The Blackhawks’ tank job could not be going any better. Since the start of November, Chicago is 4-22-2 with a five-on-five expected goals share of 41.99%, per Natural Stat Trick. There is very little risk of this team winning too many games to mess up its high draft pick. 1 8-25-4