NHL Power Rankings: Bruins thriving amidst a wild trade deadline around the league

Bruins
The Bruins slipped all the way down to No. 2 for a few weeks, but they are back atop the power rankings after eight straight wins. Trade deadline acquisition Dmitry Orlov is already paying dividends. The Bruins just cannot miss these days. 1 48-8-5
2

Hurricanes
Carolina may want to consider giving Antti Raanta more of a look down the stretch. Raanta has only played in three games over the last month, but he still ranks ninth in the NHL with 5.03 goals saved above average in that time, per Natural Stat Trick. Freddie Andersen has been a little inconsistent, and Raanta has been excellent. 1 39-12-8
3

Devils
The Devils didn’t really need anymore help this season, but they got it on Sunday. New Jersey acquired Timo Meier from the Sharks, and it will be a lot of fun to watch him work with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt up front. Without Meier, N.J. pulled off an impressive 7-5 win over the Avalanche on Wednesday. 1 40-15-5
4

Maple Leafs
Either the Maple Leafs are planning to make another significant move before the trade deadline, or they plan on playing with four defensive pairs in every playoff game. At the moment, Toronto has nine defensemen on its NHL roster. Some Leafs detractors said they needed to beef up their defense, but I don’t think this is what they meant. 3 38-16-8
5

Avalanche
The Avalanche had won six straight games before the aforementioned loss to the Devils. They now sit four points behind the Dallas Stars. The Western Conference has been wide open for much of the season, and it will be tight the rest of the way. 3 34-20-5
6

Rangers
Given the fact that the Rangers were counting every nickel and dime coming in and out of the organization over the last week, I am willing to excuse some of their recent struggles. Patrick Kane will make his debut on Thursday night, and I’m really looking forward to watching this forward group at full strength. 3 35-18-9
7

Golden Knights
If the Golden Knights need anything ahead of the trade deadline, it’s depth scoring. Since Jan. 1, Chandler Stephenson, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith have combined for six goals. That won’t get it done, especially with Mark Stone on LTIR. 2 36-19-6
8

Lightning
The Lightning have hit a bit of a skid, at least by their standards, and Andrei Vasilevskiy has turned in a couple of subpar performances. Something tells me that won’t last, and Tampa will be making a push back toward the top of the power rankings by the end of the regular season. 2 37-19-5
9

Wild
Filip Gustavsson is forcing his way into the Vezina Trophy conversation. Over the last two months, Gustavsson leads the NHL with 13.96 goals saved above average, according to Natural Stat Trick. His exceptional play has allowed Minnesota to keep winning despite a lack of offense. 4 35-21-6
10

Kings
Like a bizzaro Wild, the Kings are able to score goals, but they can’t get any saves. Anze Kopitar scored four goals against the Jets on Tuesday night, but the Kings had to scrape out a shootout win against the Jets because Pheonix Copley struggled to make saves with regularity. 1 35-20-8
11

Stars
The Stars have won just three of their last 10 games, and they have now lost a whopping 13 games in extra time. The good news for Dallas is that playoff overtime consists of five-on-five until someone scores. The bad news is that the Stars are about to lose the top spot in the Central Division to the Avalanche. 1 33-16-13
12

Oilers
Connor McDavid is nothing short of absurd. He is on a four-game two-goal streak. In other words, he has scored two goals in four straight games, and he scored his 50th goal of the season on Feb. 27. His 115 points lead the NHL by a wide margin, and he is on pace to end the year with 67 goals and 155 points. What more needs to be said? 2 33-21-8
13

Senators
After hammering the Red Wings in two straight games, the Senators have an actual chance to make the playoffs. Five points out of a wild card spot, Ottawa will need some help along the way, but it has games in hand over the Islanders and Panthers. If nothing else, the last six weeks of the regular season will be a lot of fun for Sens fans. 7 31-26-4
14

Panthers
The Panthers are a very interesting team with just a couple of days until the trade deadline. They could really go either way. Florida is in the playoff race, and the team is built to win now. However, the Panthers have some work to do to reach the postseason, and they have some players that would be very appealing to other teams. We’ll see what approach they take between now and Friday. — 30-27-6
15

Jets
Welcome to the Wild Card race, Winnipeg. The Jets went 3-5-1 in the month of February, and they were overtaken by the Avalanche and the Wild in the Central Division standings. Winnipeg isn’t quite in jeopardy of losing its playoff spot at the moment, but the team is heading in the wrong direction at the wrong time of year. 4 35-24-2
16

Sabres
The Sabres are within striking distance of their first playoff appearance in over a decade, but they’re going to have to earn it. Buffalo’s upcoming schedule is brutal. In the next two weeks, the Sabres play home games against the Lightning, Oilers, Stars, and Rangers. They also go on the road to face the Bruins, Islanders, Maple Leafs, and Capitals. If the Sabres want a playoff berth, they’re going to have to earn it. 2 31-25-4
17

Islanders
Even after acquiring Bo Horvat, the Islanders have been spinning their wheels. Luckily for them, so have the rest of the teams in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Isles need to find some degree of consistency in order to lock up one of the two wild card spots. 2 31-25-8
18

Kraken
Seattle got a badly needed win over St. Louis on Tuesday, but February was still a rough month for the team. The Kraken went 4-6-1 and controlled just 45.22% of the five-on-five expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick. Seattle is showing signs after coming back down to Earth after sitting in a top-three spot in the Pacific Division for most of the season. 3 34-21-6
19

Red Wings
Coming into Monday night, the Red Wings had a massive back-to-back clash with the Senators. If Detroit won both of those games, its playoff outlook would improve dramatically. Instead, the Red Wings lost both games by a combined score of 12-3. Anyone interested in Tyler Bertuzzi? 2 28-24-9
20

Flames
Tuesday night’s loss was a microcosm of Calgary’s season to this point. The Flames outshot the Bruins, 57-20, and out-chanced the Bruins, 60-24. They also generated 5.57 expected goals to the Bruins’ 2.21. Calgary lost the game, 4-3, in overtime. 4 27-22-13
21

Penguins
Is there some light at the end of the tunnel for the Penguins? After struggling for most of February, Pittsburgh has now won three straight games. Granted, two of those wins came against the Predators and Bruins after they started dismantling their teams, but the Pens will take whatever they can get in this playoff race. — 31-21-9
22

Predators
The Predators have decided to rebuild, and they are diving into those waters headfirst. Nashville has already traded Nino Niederreiter, Tanner Jeannot, and Mattias Ekholm in the past week, and there is still time for the team to demo its current roster even further. 2 30-23-6
23

Canadiens
The Canadiens were expected to have a quiet trade deadline, but they made a savvy move by trading Evgeni Dadonov to the Stars for Denis Gurianov. A former No. 12 overall pick, Gurianov seems to have all the physical tools, but he just hasn’t been able to put it all together consistently. Gurianov is a worthwhile investment for a rebuilding team like the Canadiens. 4 26-31-4
24

Blues
With the Oilers and the Kings both seemingly out of the Jakob Chychrun sweepstakes, Blue general manager Doug Armstrong may want to step up and make an offer. If St. Louis can acquire Chychrun from Arizona, he would substantially improve the team’s blue line for the next several years. That’s the kind of move the Blues need to make in order to execute a rebuild speedrun. 1 27-29-5
25

Coyotes
Congratulations to the Coyotes on acquiring Patrick Kane. I’m sorry, it turns out they only acquired 25% of Kane’s salary in his trade to the Rangers. He joins an elite group of players who have had a portion or all of their salary retained by Arizona. That list includes names like Pavel Datsyuk, Chris Pronger, Shea Weber, and Marian Hossa. 2 21-31-9
26

Capitals
The Capitals made the wise decision to start selling off some of their pending free agents, and they have already benefited from that strategy. Washington took the first-round pick it got from Boston in the Dmitry Orlov deal and Erik Gustafsson and traded them to the Maple Leafs for Rasmus Sandin. Just 22-years-old, Sandin projects to be a top-four defenseman for quite a while. 4 30-27-6
27

Blackhawks
It’s the end of an era in Chicago. The Blackhawks traded Patrick Kane to the Rangers on Tuesday, and the roster has been torn down to the studs, which is ironic given the lack of studs on this roster. It’s hard to imagine the Hawks being any worse than they’ve been so far this season, but against all odds, they might just pull it off. 1 21-35-5
28

Canucks
There has been more and more trade buzz around J.T. Miller of late, but it’s hard to see any team taking on his contract. After posting 99 points last season, Miller signed a seven-year contract worth $56 million in the offseason. The 2022-23 campaign has been a struggle for Miller, and that extension hasn’t even kicked in yet. Forget the acquisition cost. Just adding Miller’s contract would be a big gamble for any team. 1 24-32-5
29

Sharks
With Timo Meier gone, all eyes are on Erik Karlsson in San Jose. This may be the best chance the Sharks have to get rid of at least part of Karlsson’s $12.5 million cap hit. The issue is that there is a small market for Jakob Chychrun these days, which means the market for Karlsson would be even smaller. 1 18-32-12
30

Ducks
John Gibson may have played his way onto the radar of teams in need of goaltending. Over the last month, Gibson has played in seven games and saved 3.54 goals above average, per Natural Stat Trick. Gibson hasn’t played at his peak in recent years, but maybe he could find that form again behind a better roster. 2 20-34-8
31

Flyers
The Flyers have been awfully quiet ahead of the trade deadline, and it would be rather disappointing if they reach Mar. 4 without having gained any meaningful draft capital or prospects. James van Riemsdyk is the most obvious trade candidate, but what does the market for him look like at this point? 1 23-28-11
32

Blue Jackets
After scoring 40 goals last season, Johnny Gaudreau is on pace for 21 this year. It’s been a struggle for Gaudreau in his first year with Columbus, but he hasn’t been in an ideal situation. If the Blue Jackets land a top-two pick in the 2023 draft, that could change in a hurry. 1 20-35-6