Week:
The mandatory three-day holiday break gave me plenty of time to reflect on this week's Power Rankings. (Actually, the only hockey I concentrated on was the Woonsocket North Stars Squirt Wales team playing in its annual holiday tournament. Unfortunately, these kids can't sneak into the rankings.) The Washington Capitals remain in the top spot, the surging Florida Panthers made another jump and, yes, Dallas fans, the Stars moved up a couple of spots too.
| 2015-2016 Power Rankings: Week 12 | ||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS | |
| 1 |
--
Last Week: 1 | The Capitals continue to dominate while on a seven-game winning streak. They have earned at least one point in 15 of their last 16 games. Braden Holtby is leading the league with 22 wins and a 1.92 GAA. He's 14-0-1 in his last 16 games. The Capitals' 54 points leads the East. | ||
| 2 | 1 Last Week: 3 | How does first place sound? The Panthers found themselves atop the Atlantic after Sunday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets. The Panthers (44 points) are one point ahead of the Red Wings and Canadiens after a six-game win streak, their longest such streak since 2008. They are 12-3-0 in their last 15 games. | ||
| 3 | 2 Last Week: 5 | Every week Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin keep the Stars near the top of the rankings. Benn scored his league-leading 23rd goal of the season in Sunday's 3-0 victory over the Blues. He also added an assist and now has 49 points in 37 games. The Stars have earned points in their last five games, going 4-0-1. Patrick Sharp has eight points (three goals and five assists) in his last five games. | ||
| 4 | 4 Last Week: 8 | The Red Wings are 6-2-3 in December. They began the month 11 points out of first place but enter Monday's action one point back of the top spot the Atlantic. | ||
| 5 | 6 Last Week: 11 | Vladimir Tarasenko extended his point streak to a career-high eight games, during which he has six goals and six assists for 12 points. He has 22 goals and 17 assists for 39 points in 36 games. | ||
| 6 | 2 Last Week: 4 | The defending Stanley Cup champions had four days off during the holiday break but returned with a 2-1 loss to the Hurricanes on Sunday at the United Center. | ||
| 7 | 3 Last Week: 10 | The Kings are 9-3-2 in their last 14 games. Anze Kopitar scored his third OT goal of the season during Saturday's 4-3 win over the Coyotes. It was Kopitar's 10th goal of the season. | ||
| 8 | 1 Last Week: 9 | The Lightning scored four unanswered goals en route to a 5-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday. Captain Steven Stamkos scored a pair of power-play goals in a 32-second span and finished the game with three points. Tampa is 4-2-0 in its last six games. | ||
| 9 | 4 Last Week: 13 | Craig Anderson has been outstanding; he made 38 saves in a 3-1 win over the Bruins Sunday night. Anderson is 3-0-1 in his last four and has stopped 141 of 148 shots during this stretch. The Senators lead the league in shots allowed this season, averaging 34 per game, and Anderson has faced 30 or more shots in 21 of 29 games. | ||
| 10 | 6 Last Week: 16 | The Hurricanes are 7-3-1 in their last 11 games. Defenseman Justin Faulk scored his first even-strength goal of the season in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Devils and added his second during Sunday's 2-1 win over the Blackhawks. He ranks second for defensemen with 14 goals. Goalie Eddie Lack, who hadn't started since Dec. 15, made 35 saves against the Blackhawks. | ||
| 11 | 5 Last Week: 6 | Charlie Coyle scored the game-winning goal and Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves to help the Wild to a 2-1 win over the Canadiens on Tuesday. Kuemper is 3-0-2 in his last five starts and has allowed only five goals in that span. | ||
| 12 | 10 Last Week: 2 | Inconsistency is back. After Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Senators, the Bruins have lost three in a row. Coach Claude Julien, after the team's 6-3 loss to the Sabres on Saturday, said his players aren't respecting the game. The Bruins responded with a better effort Sunday. Unfortunately for Boston, top center David Krejci suffered an upper-body injury in the second period and did not return. | ||
| 13 | 10 Last Week: 23 | High-flying Johnny Gaudreau registered his 100th career point and his second hat trick in December during Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Jets. And he scored goals Nos. 16 and 17 during Sunday's 5-3 victory over the Oilers. He has six points in his last three games. The Flames have won a franchise-record 11 straight on home ice. Mark Giordano has seven points in his last four games. | ||
| 14 | 7 Last Week: 7 | In a 2-1 OT loss to the Coyotes on Sunday, Jarome Iginla scored his 10th goal of the season and his 599th career goal. He is one shy of becoming the 19th player to reach the 600-goal milestone. But after winning five straight, the Avs have dropped their last two. | ||
| 15 | 6 Last Week: 21 | After a dominating start, the Rangers won four of the 15 games before the holiday break. A 3-2 OT win against the Ducks on Tuesday -- Mats Zuccarello's power-play goal ended a three-game losing skid. -- could prove to be a crucial turning point for the Rangers, who return to action Monday night in Nashville. | ||
| 16 | 4 Last Week: 12 | The Flyers suffered their first regulation loss since Dec. 11, losing 4-2 to the Ducks on Sunday. Jakub Voracek has a six-game point streak, with three goals and six assists. | ||
| 17 | 3 Last Week: 14 | The Islanders have lost four of their last five games since an 8-0-2 point streak. | ||
| 18 | 3 Last Week: 15 | The Devils are having trouble stringing a pair of wins together. After defeating the Red Wings 4-3 on Tuesday, they returned from the holiday break and lost 3-1 to the Hurricanes. The Devils have not won back-to-back games since Nov. 12 and 14. | ||
| 19 | 1 Last Week: 18 | Filip Forsberg had his third career multigoal game and second of the season during Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Red Wings. The D pair of Shea Weber and Roman Josi has chipped in offensively, with a combined 27 points this month. Weber has four goals and eight assists in his last nine games. Josi has points in nine of his last 11. | ||
| 20 |
--
Last Week: 20 | Before the break, Joe Pavelski scored a pair of power-play goals in 1:32 of the third period to help the Sharks to a 5-3 statement victory over the Kings. The Sharks entered the break six points back of the first-place Kings in the Pacific. Pavelski leads the Sharks with 18 goals. | ||
| 21 | 5 Last Week: 26 | The Sabres scored five goals in the third period en route to a come-from-behind 6-3 win over the Bruins on Saturday. Rookie phenom Jack Eichel registered two goals and two assists for the Sabres, who improved to 4-1-1 in their last six games. | ||
| 22 | 7 Last Week: 29 | Despite a two-goal effort by Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the Coyotes lost 4-3 in OT to the Kings on Saturday. The Coyotes responded with a 2-1 OT victory over the Avalanche on Sunday. Mikkel Boedker scored with 42.1 seconds remaining in OT. With that win, the Coyotes moved into third place in the Pacific. They are 4-1-2 in their last seven games. | ||
| 23 | 6 Last Week: 17 | The Canadiens' offense has become anemic. They have scored six goals in their last six games and are 1-10-0 in their last 11. But captain Max Pacioretty believes the team isn't too far off and said as much after Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Capitals. | ||
| 24 | 4 Last Week: 28 | After Sunday's 3-1 win over the Islanders, the Maple Leafs are 5-1-2 in their last eight games. Michael Grabner's 100th career goal was the game winner against his former team. Nazem Kadri has a five-game points streak, his longest since a six-gamer in early 2014. Jonathan Bernier is 3-1-2 since returning from a conditioning stint in the AHL. | ||
| 25 | 2 Last Week: 27 | Jannik Hansen scored twice, including his first career OT goal, to lead the Canucks to a 2-1 win over the Oilers on Saturday. With that win, Vancouver extended its point streak to four games. | ||
| 26 | 4 Last Week: 30 | Sidney Crosby returned from a lower-body injury Saturday and provided a two-point game to help the Penguins to a 3-1 win over the Wild. It was Pittsburgh's second consecutive win. The captain has one goal and four assists for five points in his last three games. However, the Penguins were held scoreless during Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Jets. | ||
| 27 | 8 Last Week: 19 | The Ducks entered the break with a two-game losing skid and went 1-2-1 on their four-game road trip. Anaheim scored only six goals in that span. The Ducks' 30 points before the break were the lowest in the West. The Ducks returned with a 4-2 win over the Flyers on Sunday. Corey Perry scored two goals and Ryan Getzlaf added a goal and assist in the win. | ||
| 28 | 6 Last Week: 22 | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ended a four-game pointless skid with two assists during Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Flames. After a six-game winning streak, the Oilers are 1-4-1 in their last six games. | ||
| 29 | 4 Last Week: 25 | Rookie goalie Connor Hellebuyck earned his first shutout with a 30-save performance en route to a 1-0 win over the Penguins Sunday night. It was his seventh start in the last eight games. The win helped Winnipeg snap a two-game losing skid. However, the Jets remain last in the Central. | ||
| 30 | 6 Last Week: 24 | After a recent two-game winning streak, the Blue Jackets have dropped three in a row, including Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Panthers. | ||
Guillermo Vázquez
The
Stars pick up 9 of a possible 10 points against Montreal, Minnesota,
Chicago, STL and STL, outscoring them 21-7 with two shutouts, a 4-0
destruction of Chicago and only a 9-round shootout at STL preventing
them the full 10 points, have a 1.67 goals against in the last 3 weeks,
the highest scoring offense in the league by far, continue to jockey
with Washington for best record overall far ahead of the rest, have the
most points in the NHL and that's good enough for ... 3rd. After being
5th last week and 3rd before that. But clearly, the Panthers, who beat
the likes of Carolina and Columbus, had a much more impressive week than
Dallas.
No problem with Washington at 1. That can be defended. They've played just as well as the Stars have. But Dallas behind the likes of Florida and Boston, who this week dropped to 10th in these rankings, is ... McDonald-iculous! The Stars could win the Stanely Cup and McDonald would have them 3rd at year's end ... or 5th. 
Eugene Berkovich ·
Panthers
have defeated Washington and Saint Louis during their latest 12-3-0
stretch. In fact, Washington's last loss WAS against the Panthers.
What else should the Panthers do? They beat all comers. On the current
form Panthers are deservedly ahead of the Stars.
Guillermo Vázquez
Eugene
Berkovich The Panthers are taking care of business. No one can blame
them for that. But beating the Canucks, Hurricanes and Blue Jackets is
nowhere near as impressive as pummeling the Blackhawks, Canadiens, Blues
and Wild.
The Panthers have been doing it for two weeks. The Stars have been doing it all season. Have 57 points. That's what the Panthers should do. 
Joe Fitzsimmons
Stars
should be 1 or 2, probably 1...their Hawks game was only a destruction
later in the game, it was close for the first 2 periods. Yes, the Stars
had played the night before, but the Hawks had played 8 games in 13
days and were without 2 of their studs in Hossa and Kruger, just
saying...that being said, Stars look very strong.
Eugene Berkovich ·
Guillermo
Vázquez This has nothing to do with whole season. These are weekly
rankings. They do not have much to do with the whole season effort. if
they did, they would be called the standings.
Song Hong
Eugene
Berkovich Use what arbitrary endpoints you want but it doesn't matter.
Level of competition matters. Level of play matters. Goal differential
matters. Scoring opportunities and shot suppression matters. Take
recency bias if you'd like. Bundle that all up and the Stars are better
than the Panthers. This week, last week, the past month, etc.
The Panthers look solid, but better than the Stars? Aside from McDonald's weird assertion of having a "weekly" rankings system that really isn't weekly. And your arguments are all over the place. First you say it's weekly but then you continue on ab...See More 
Scott Tucker ·
My
son and I sat at AAC last night and watched the Stars dismantle the
Blues. Lindy Ruff flat coached Hitch under the table; he "out-Hitched"
Hitchcock. As all Hitchcock teams do, they are going to try and win off
perfectly executed positional defense, a stellar forecheck and swarming
puck support. When done correctly, Hitch's system will generate your
scoring chances. And I've seen it produce a champion in the 99 Stars.
But, last night, Lindy's repsonse was, "We can play that exact game, if
we are forced to, and we can do it better." And they did. Backed by a
stellar performance from Kari Lehtonen, the Stars blanked them 3 to zip.
The Stars, as all the numbers clearly indicate, are the best team in
the NHL. The fact that this bozo puts two teams ahead of them simply
serves as ironclad confirmation that this is just another guy who has is
ass up in the air for the Eastern Conference. So be it.
Eugene Berkovich ·
Song
Hong Goal differentials and points are irrelevant for the power
rankings as those are season long criteria. We're talking about form.
So, both 6-0 and 12-3-0 streaks are legitimate indicators to be
considered for the Power Rankings, what goal differential was
accumulated during the season - has no value here. If it did, we'd be
looking at the standings, not Power Rankings. And since when are Stars
having higher level opposition? Over the Florida Pantherts recent
12-3-0 stretch they have defeated the same Saint Louis team that the
Stars beat AND they were the last team to defeat the Capitals, who are
clearly the top team.
Song Hong
Eugene
Berkovich Your arguments aren't very solid. Stop and look at the
numbers in the past week. The Panthers are a good team. The Stars are
better. The Goal differential tells you that. The level of competition
tells you that. The chances generates, possession time, shot
suppression, etc all point to the Stars as being the superior team.
What's so difficult about this?
Eugene Berkovich ·
Song Hong Your argument is downright weak. Panthers - 6-0. Stars - 4-1-1. GOAL differential! Really?
Level of competition? Sure, within last three weeks Panthers beat the Caps and the Blues (the same Blues, wins over which you have tried to set up as a proof of your Stars superiority) And, then, you mentioned beating the Habs...
Song Hong
Eugene
Berkovich oh now you want to about the last 3 weeks? Pick an argument
and stick by it. Is it weekly power rankings, 3 week power rankings, or
year long power rankings? By any measure, the Stars are better than the
Panthers. Sorry, bud. I can't help you anymore.
Guillermo Vázquez
In
no week is beating three teams with high-20s and mid-30s point totals
better than beating teams with mid-40s point totals including the
defending champions.
And in no season is 44 points better than 57. As for the Panthers beating the Caps, that was almost three weeks ago. The Stars beat them too. But these rankings are weekly and have nothing to do with the whole season. Otherwise they'd be called the standings. Right? Any way you cut it, Dallas wins. 
Silvio Di Fede ·
Guillermo
Vázquez this isn't a serious journalist, come on... McDonald maybe
watches the Bruins games, maybe: he then watch statistics (read what he
writes, no one words is technical, only stats: he should know only Benn
and Seguin on the Stars roster, he maybe doesn't know who Sceviour
is...).
It's another sign about Espn not caring at all about the NHL. The Panthers are good, no doubt about that: but I don't think any other websites (like NHL, they had the Stars only behind Washington last week, with Florida 8th) would take Florida over Dallas in the Power Rankings. Simply, this is not serious.... Like Carolina at 10th, come on.... This is a funny team to watch, they play hard every game, but 10th in the Power Rankings (ahead of Nashville or Boston?!): come on, this is inability to be serious... It's incompetence..... Terrible... ESPN doesn't care at all about NHL, I don't think they care about who writes in this section... 
Court Walker
Couldn't say it better myself I totally agree with you
Tym Pope ·
The
past 2 weeks, the Bruins and Panthers have been "gaining" on the Caps,
enough so in which last week this guy almost put the Bruins at 1. I
understand that these are week to week rankings, but the only team that
should be gaining on the Caps for the top spot is the Stars, if not put
them ahead. Regardless, im glad to see my boys on top for so many weeks
in a row. Very different team from previous years, this is a very
dominant Caps squad
Manny Suarez ·
The caps are really good oh yeah who was the last team to beat them.
Donald Ramsey ·
Manny Suarez the panthers
Tym Pope ·
It sure was the panthers. 8 long games ago
Terry Roberts ·
Tym Pope I can't remember the score, can someone refresh me on that....
Brent Morrow ·
Terry
Roberts Why does a win, during the regular season, almost 3 weeks ago,
against their back-up goalie matter? It's not like they didn't beat you
earlier on in the season too.
Tym Pope ·
Terry Roberts luckily for you, we are on a website where you can find out the score for yourself lickity split
Eugene Berkovich ·
The
Panthers have won 6 in a row and the recent winners over the Caps and
the Blues. I would say they are playing better than the Stars AT THE
MOMENT.
Michael Weiss ·
Boston
is much improved this year. Like last year they will be neck in neck
with my panthers all year, except they are play off teams this year! I
love panther -Bruin games. Always entertaining. Much better than
dolphin-patriot games for sure!' LOL
Danny Zuccari ·
Why
will so many of you get all bent out of shape when your team is behind
another team in these rankings when you KNOW it's based upon the
previoius week. With that said, the Florida Panthers, based upon weekly
rankings deserve to be where they are....whine all you want, but they
are playing great hockey
Erick Ahlstedt ·
They are not better than the Stars. ESPN coastal bias is always in full effect.
Danny Zuccari ·
Panthers
and Stars have split...each winning on the others ice....I am sure the
game in Dallas was 6-2....Panthers...read it and weep
Scott Lohman ·
If
these rankings were based on the previous week than no way Boston would
be ranked 12th. they went 0-3. But it is worth mentioning the guy
posting these rankings is a bruins fan. I feel like it is a combo
ranking system comprised of season and recency.
Silvio Di Fede ·
Stars have won seven games more: fact.
Florida is a good team, is improving more and more: but it's a joke they are ahead the Stars, in particular after a week in which the Stars went 3-0-1 playing against Minnesota, Chicago and St Louis. A joke. 
Felix Katt
Danny
Zuccari Oct 17 4-2 Dallas over Florida. Nov. 19 Dallas 3-2 over
Washington. Series tied with Fla. One more game with the Caps. Dallas is
clearly number 1 right now, though.
Terry Roberts ·
Felix
Katt Panthers beat the Stars 6-2 in Dallas last time out. Panthers beat
the Caps 4-1 too. Also on a 6 game winning streak. I'd say they are in a
deserving spot. First place in the Atlantic and second in the rankings.
Jakob Lagerstedt ·
Danny is right...Panthers have won 6 straight...Dallas has not.
Matt Wisson ·
Jakob
Lagerstedt well if this is going week by week then the game between the
Stars and Panthers shouldn't matter at this point. That was over a 2
months ago. Yes the Panthers are playing well with their streak, but
look at the competition they have beaten compared to the Stars. When you
go 3-0-1 against the next 3 best teams in the West I would say they had
a better week than the Panthers beating the likes of Columbus Carolina
and New Jersey. Look I have no problem with the Panthers the fact that
we are arguing over who should be higher Dallas or Florida is awesome to
me. Canada be damned.
Eugene Berkovich ·
Matt Wisson Panthers have defeated the Blues and the Capitals during their latest 12-3-0 stretch.
Erick Ahlstedt ·
Danny
Zuccari Lets talk about the Panthers overall record...... Panthers and
Stars split their two. Fine. But Dallas has a better winnging %
against the Eastern Conference than even Florida does, and a better
record overall. Dallas also plays in the hardest division in hockey -
the Central Division. Last week, Dallas beat defending champs 4-0 and
split the home and home with St Louis earning 3 out of 4 possible pts
compared to St Louis 2 pts - and they are the second place team in the
central. The Stars beat Montreal, Minnesota, Chicago, and St Louis in
the stretch of games last week, and by large margins in most games.
It's not even close Danny. Florida is no where near as good as Dallas.
You want to keep bringing up that 6-2 game and ignore the one Dallas
beat Florida. It doesnt work.
Erick Ahlstedt ·
Terry Roberts Bullcrap. The Stars have 7 more wins than the Panthers. This is not even close. ESPN coastal bias wins the day.
Danny Zuccari ·
Erick,
When oh WHEN are you going to understand it's the WEEK....and you can
agree with that or not...I could care less...I am sure the Panthers and
Caps and Stars will all have a bad week or two and drop according to
that WEEK,,,Are you going to complain if the Stars lose 2 games in one
week and drop about 8 to 10 spots...gawd I hope not....it's the
system...and if you haven't firgured it out...all these guys making
these rankings are having a good time over us "debating" where our team
belongs for THAT WEEK....you can complain about the rankings all you
want....I just want to have this conversation in April and beyond.
Miles Remington Tucker ·
Ok so let me get this straight here.
The caps are in first, I can sort of buy this as they have a long winning streak going against quality teams. However if this is as it is claimed a week to week power ranking, then in the past week the caps are 2-0 against teams with a combined record of 35-30-8. So slightly below .500 winning percentage. The Panthers are also 2-0 in the past week against teams with a combined record of 31-34-9. Well below .500. And only one of the teams they've beat during their win streak has an above .500 record. Then we have the Stars who were 3-0-1 in the past week against teams with a combined 82-47-18 record. All well above .500 and all playoff teams. Also shutout both the defending cup and division champions from last year. You tell me who the best team is.... 
Adam Letschin ·
The Caps!!!
Sean McCarty ·
General rule of thumb is the last 10. Caps are the clear first right now, but Florida ahead of Dallas is ridiculous.
Miles Remington Tucker ·
Adam Letschin http://espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400815145
Just going to leave this here...
Jakob Lagerstedt ·
Caps. That's easy.
Sean McCarty ·
Miles Remington Tucker The Stars barely beat them after the Caps played an OT game the night before and had to travel.
Nice try though.
Matt Wisson ·
Sean
McCarty no one is knocking the Caps they are the only other team
besides the Stars that hasn't lost 2 in a row. But a win is a win. Stars
1 Caps 0.
Adam Letschin ·
Stars
are a really good team but they aren't as well rounded as the Caps. The
numbers don't lie. Caps are 2nd in GF and 1st in GA with the 2nd best
PP and in the top 5 in PK.
The Stars are a more explosive offensive team right now but the Caps are leaps and bounds better defensively and between the pipes.
Song Hong
Adam
Letschin have you watched Stars games? Besides the one off absolute
stinkers, they've been a much improved defensive squad. And even taking
into account those stinkers they are now a top 10 defensive team. Also,
the Stars have gone 4-0-1 with a a sparkling 1.59 GAA against the best
in the west. They don't merely win, they dominate. Speaking as if the
Caps are clearly better is just asinine - especially considering how
badly they choke in the playoffs. Let's lay off the accolades until
either the Stars and the Caps until either does it in the POs.
Harris Horwitz
I
think the caps are #1 and the stars are #2. I don't give a crap about
one game head to head this early in the season. I also don't count
overtime losses as anything other than a loss. Sure, they get a point,
but it still is a game lost. If you go by that, the caps are 26-8,
while the stars are 27-10. That is your number one and two. The
panthers? They are 20-16...how the hell do they get above the stars???
Eugene Berkovich ·
Panthers
are also 6-0 and 12-3 in last 15. Panthers are also the last team to
beat the Caps. Panthers had also defeated the Blues during their their
12-3-0 stretch.
Sorry, Stars fans, right now, Florida is a hotter team. When we return to our more usual losing ways, we will no longer be #2 in these rankings.
Erick Ahlstedt ·
Sean McCarty No Sean. Caps are not better than the Stars, and the Stars head to head game against the Caps helped prove that.
Mo Awale ·
Miles
Remington Tucker Against a backup goalie with a rare John Carlson
turnover for a Spezza goal and the #1 star of the game was your goalie
Lehtonen that doesn't really help prove anything! The caps also played
the night before in a game that went OT in Detroit
Sean McCarty ·
Erick
Ahlstedt One game doesn't prove a thing. Especially when one team is
on their second game of a back to back and have their backup goalie in.
Caps are unarguably better on defense and in goal, as well as more
balanced and far more physical. They are constructed with the playoffs
in mind.
While the Stars are great offensively now in the regular season, they have serious questions on defense and in goal, as a team they are generally undersized/not as physical, and they play a firehouse brand of hockey that hasn't succeeded in the playoffs in a long time. Just like how the Caps used to be under Boudreau. 
Tom Puck ·
Works at None
Yea
all the whining about these rankings week after week is pointless. You
DO realize someone has to be #3 and #4 right? Sure, 3 teams COULD be
#2, but there is no #2A and #2B in this. Its a week to week personal
bias ranking. Cant fathom why certain fans (this year it seems to be
Dallas fans, last year it was Blues fans) get so bent up over these.
The only thing that really matters is where your team stands in the
standings, and what they do come Spring.
Jeremiah Maker ·
Lol, don't tell them that. I love reading the comments every week. GO WINGS!!
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