NHL Power Rankings: Oilers are ascending, thanks to Connor McDavid’s sensational season

Bruins
When the Bruins inked Linus Ullmark to a four-year contract worth $20 million, I thought it was one of the worst signings of that offseason. Ullmark has made me look even more foolish than usual. He is a clear frontrunner for the 2023 Vezina Trophy, and he recently notched his 25th win in just 30 games played. He is now the second-fastest goalie in NHL history to reach that mark. Former Bruins goaltender Tiny Thompson hit 25 wins in 29 games in the 1929-30 season. — 38-5-4
2

Devils
On Sunday, Jack Hughes scored his 30th goal of the season, and he is well on his way to eclipsing the 50-goal mark this season. In his first couple of NHL seasons, Hughes piled up scoring chances left and right, but he was unable to finish. That has not been an issue this year, and the Devils are reaping the rewards. 3 31-12-4
3

Hurricanes
Unfortunately for Max Pacioretty, the Hurricanes, and fans of quality hockey, Pacioretty re-tore his Achilles last week. Pacioretty had just returned after tearing his Achilles in the offseason, and he scored three goals in his first five games as a member of the Hurricanes. Even without Pacioretty, this Carolina team is very formidable, but it seemed like he was the perfect fit for what the Canes needed. — 30-9-8
4

Lightning
One week ago, Steven Stamkos scored a hat trick against the Canucks while also recording the 500th goal of his career. Stamkos is one of three active players — along with Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby — to have 500 goals. Stamkos has battled through several significant injuries throughout his career to remain one of the NHL’s best players for well over a decade now. 2 30-15-1
5

Rangers
In the last month, the Rangers have been getting the job done with defense. Since Dec. 24, the Rangers rank second in goals against (18) and third in expected goals against (36.16), according to Natural Stat Trick. Last season, the Rangers needed Igor Shesterkin to be superhuman in goal, and he was. They have lightened his load a bit this year. 1 26-14-8
6

Maple Leafs
William Nylander has a penchant for going on scoring benders, and he is on one right now. In his last four games, Nylander has four goals and nine points. He is now tied with Mitch Marner for the team lead in points (56). With Auston Matthews and John Tavares rolling as well, Toronto has a four-headed monster up front. 1 30-11-8
7

Oilers
Connor McDavid continued his destruction of the NHL with his 40th goal of the season against the Canucks. McDavid has only played 48 games, and he might be within reach of 70 in the final week of the regular season. While McDavid cooks opposing defenders and goaltenders, the Oilers have now won six in a row. Edmonton is just three points behind the Golden Knights for first place in the Pacific Division. 7 27-18-4
8

Jets
Nikolaj Ehlers suffered a sports hernia on Oct. 17 and missed a nearly three months after undergoing surgery. Since returning to the lineup on Jan. 6, Ehlers has scored four goals and tallied 14 points in 11 games. Ehlers will provide a big boost to a team that is already contending for a division. — 31-17-1
9

Avalanche
With 15 goals in 43 games, Artturi Lehkonen is just four away from surpassing his career high. Aside from Lehkonen’s goal-scoring, the Avs have controlled 55.04% of the expected goals with him on the ice at five-on-five. Now, Colorado is getting healthier, and the team has won five in a row. 6 26-17-3
10

Kraken
When the Kraken selected Vince Dunn in the 2021 expansion draft, they hoped he could become a legit top-four defenseman. He has grown into that role this year. Seattle has been great with him on the ice at five-on-five. In those situations, the Kraken have an absurd plus-29 goal differential. 4 28-14-5
11

Stars
Few goaltenders — if any — have been as good as Jake Oettinger over the last month. Since Dec. 24, Oettinger has saved 11.08 goals above average, according to Natural Stat Trick. That is just above Juuse Saros, who is the next best goaltender at 10.86 goals saved above average in that stretch. 2 28-13-9
12

Wild
Veteran defenseman Matt Dumba was scratched in two consecutive games last week, and it seems like his time with the franchise is coming to an end. There was already trade speculation around Dumba, and this past week has only amplified that. Dumba isn’t having the best season of his 10-year career, but he could be a big addition for a Stanley Cup contender. 2 25-17-4
13

Sabres
With his goal in the Sabres’ overtime win over the Stars on Monday, Rasmus Dahlin became the first Buffalo defenseman since Alexei Zhitnik in 1997-98 to score at least 14 goals in a single season. Dahlin could possibly hit the 25-goal mark this year, and at this point, it looks like the 22-year-old will be a Vezina Trophy finalist. 4 25-19-3
14

Capitals
After a nice run amidst some poor injury luck, the Capitals have started to drift back into the middle of the pack. Washington has won four of its last 10 games, and Pittsburgh is just two points behind it in the standings with three games in hand. The Caps have gotten key players back from injury, but that hasn’t translated to better results on the ice. 2 25-19-6
15

Kings
As it turns out, perhaps Pheonix Copley was not the answer to the Kings’ goaltending woes. Since Copley got his first start on Dec. 6, he and Jonathan Quick have combined to surrender 9.94 goals above average, per Natural Stat Trick. That has contributed to some middling results in the month of January. 4 27-17-6
16

Flames
Congratulations to Jakob Pelletier, a first-round pick in the 2019 draft who played his first NHL game last week. Your head coach definitely knows who you are, and he thinks you did a bang-up job in your big-league debut. — 23-16-9
17

Golden Knights
The Golden Knights have quietly been rather pedestrian over the few weeks, and that has allowed other teams to catch them in the Pacific Division standings. In the last month, Vegas has gone 5-6-2 with a minus-5 goal differential, and it’s not necessarily a matter of poor luck. The Golden Knights have scored 36 goals and allowed 41 in that span, which is right in line with their expected goal numbers, per Natural Stat Trick. 4 29-17-3
18

Penguins
The Penguins are relying on Jeff Carter to play a third-line center role behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but he has gone ice cold lately. Carter hasn’t recorded a point in his last eight games, and he has just one point in his last 10 games. Pittsburgh has to get contributions from further down the lineup, but that hasn’t happened much this month. 1 24-15-8
19

Panthers
Brandon Montour is having an exceptional season for the Panthers, and he has already set a career high in assists (33) and points (41) in 49 games played. In addition to those offensive numbers, Montour has posted a five-on-five expected goals share of 51.75%. Montour is a big reason why the underperforming Panthers are still in the playoff race. 2 23-21-6
20

Predators
For much of the John Hynes era, the Predators have seemingly been content to play low-event hockey, but that has not been the case of late. Since Dec. 24, the Preds lead the league in expected goals for (54.3), and they are 31st in expected goals against (54.38). Nashville has been playing more wide open games in recent weeks, and the team is 9-5-1 in that stretch. 2 23-18-6
21

Blues
The Blues are in a tough spot right now. They are behind several teams on the wrong side of the playoff bubble, and they have struggled to find any kind of consistency in their game this year. That said, there is some good news. Vladimir Tarasenko and Torey Krug both returned to the lineup on Tuesday night, so maybe they can kick start this St. Louis squad. 3 23-22-3
22

Flyers
Cam York, the No. 14 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, has flown under the radar as one of the better stories for the Flyers this season. York has 10 points in 22 games since making his season debut on Dec. 9, and he has some of the best underlying numbers on the team. With York on the ice at five-on-five, Philadelphia has outscored opponents 18-10, per Natural Stat Trick. 2 20-21-8
23

Red Wings
Ville Husso got off to a strong start with the Red Wings, but he has tailed off toward the middle of the season. In his 33 appearances, Husso has posted -3.30 goals saved above average, per Natural Stat Trick. Back on Dec. 1, that number looked much better at 3.19 goals saved above average. 1 20-18-8
24

Canadiens
An already terrible Canadiens team just got even worse with the news that leading scorer Cole Caufield will miss the rest of the regular season with a shoulder injury. Of course, that just made it even funnier when Montreal beat Toronto on Saturday. 3 20-25-3
25

Senators
Claude Giroux was pacing for more than 30 goals in his first season with the Senators, but he has lost some of that scoring touch. Giroux has yet to score a goal in 2023, which means his goal drought has now reached 10 games. Barring a major turnaround, the Sens aren’t going to the playoffs, but it’s still important to get Giroux going as the team builds toward next season. — 21-23-3
26

Islanders
The Islanders are officially spiraling. They have won one of their last 10 games and have picked up just four points in the standings over that stretch. The Isles are still only three points out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, but multiple teams ahead of them have three games in hand. 3 23-22-5
27

Ducks
It will be interesting to see what the trade market is like for Adam Henrique. The 32-year-old forward has one more year left on his contract at $5.825 million, and he already has 16 goals on the season. Henrique is a perfect trade chip for the Ducks, and he could help a team in need of depth scoring, but finding a club that can make the money work may be the biggest hurdle. 3 14-29-5
28

Sharks
With losses to the Red Wings and Blue Jackets in the last week, the Sharks did some solid work in their tanking efforts. San Jose still has some work to do in order to catch the likes of the Coyotes and Blackhawks, but that will get easier as the team starts to sell off some of its best players. 1 14-25-10
29

Blackhawks
I’ll give you three guesses to figure out the Blackhawks’ leading scorer. No, it’s not Patrick Kane. No, it’s not Jonathan Toews. No, it’s not Seth Jones. Thanks for playing. It’s actually Max Domi, who the team signed to a one-year deal in the offseason. Domi is on track to have his best season since 2018-19, but he may not be in Chicago by the end of the regular season. 2 14-28-4
30

Blue Jackets
Johnny Gaudreau made his return to Calgary on Monday night, and the Flames’ fan base gave him an icy reception. Gaudreau did notch a pair of assists, but he missed a penalty shot and committed a turnover in overtime that led to the game-winning goal for the Flames. 2 15-30-3
31

Canucks
Vancouver has been awfully busy this past week. On Sunday, the Canucks fired head coach Bruce Boudreau after letting him dangle in the wind for the better part of the month. They immediately replaced him with Rick Tocchet, who got a mixed reception from the fans ahead of the team’s Tuesday night clash with the Blackhawks. A few minutes into the game, someone threw a Canucks jersey onto the ice in disgust. The Canucks did dominate the Blackhawks in Tochhet’s debut, but we’ll see if that was more than a new-coach bump. 5 19-26-3
32

Coyotes
In one of the biggest tank-a-thon matchups of the season, the Coyotes got pasted by the Ducks, 5-2. Getting creamed by a team that entered the night with a minus-86 goal differential is a truly spectacular kind of gross. — 15-28-5