Well, it has been two months, but after the disastrous efforts of colleagues Joe McDonald and Scott Burnside, I'm back to save the Power Rankings. As always, mine are based on this simple formula: If the playoffs started today, here's how I would rank my Cup contenders, with some consideration for current form but also realistic season-long trajectory.
| 2015-2016 Power Rankings: Week 17 | ||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS | |
| 1 | 1 Last Week: 2 | Really looking forward to that game Saturday in Dallas between the Blackhawks and Stars, a potential second-round playoff matchup preview in the Central. Two teams who play a positive-thinking brand of hockey. | ||
| 2 | 1 Last Week: 1 | The Capitals looked out of sync last week in a loss to Philadelphia in their first game after a few snow postponements. Let's see if they're still rusty Tuesday at home against the high-flying Panthers. They'll be playing that game sans Alex Ovechkin. | ||
| 3 | 1 Last Week: 4 | Oh, baby! I'll be staying up to watch the Kings and Ducks on Thursday night, Big Boy Western Conference hockey. | ||
| 4 | 1 Last Week: 5 | The Lightning didn't want January to end, winning nine of 11 games and very much announcing to the hockey world that they're back as the Cup contenders we all thought they were before the season. | ||
| 5 | 12 Last Week: 17 | Speaking of preseason thoughts, I'm feeling a tad better about my Lightning-Ducks Cup finals prediction. Chicago and L.A. are the teams to beat in the West, but Anaheim has risen back to life. Big week for the Ducks with Pacific Division tilts with San Jose, L.A. and Arizona. | ||
| 6 | 3 Last Week: 3 | So the question as the post All-Star break begins: Can the surprising Atlantic Division-leading Panthers hold off in-state rival Tampa Bay for the division crown? | ||
| 7 | 8 Last Week: 15 | The All-Star break came at a good time for a Stars team that finally had its season hiccup, losing eight of 11 games in January. I look for the rested Stars to bounce back now for the stretch run. | ||
| 8 |
--
Last Week: 8 | Lots of trade speculation around the Blues as we head into trade deadline month. The question to me is whether GM Doug Armstrong acts now or waits until the offseason after his team takes another crack at getting over the playoff hump. | ||
| 9 | 14 Last Week: 23 | The Predators headed into the break on a much-needed, four-game win streak, perhaps saving their season. Then the organization did a superb job hosting the hockey world during All-Star weekend. Maybe the best job ever by an All-Star host, for my money. Now back to work and the Blues visit Tuesday in a big Central Division matchup. | ||
| 10 | 1 Last Week: 11 | So will the real New York Rangers please stand up? Contenders or tired pretenders? I think they're still contenders. But their play over the next few weeks will impact their trade deadline strategy. | ||
| 11 | 1 Last Week: 12 | Talk about a test right out of the break for the Red Wings with back-to-back games at Florida and Tampa Bay -- two teams they're battling with for the top seed in the Atlantic Division. | ||
| 12 | 2 Last Week: 10 | Juicy matchup Thursday night with the Isles at Washington. No word yet if John Tavares plans to wear his All-Star skills competition tuque in the warm-up. | ||
| 13 | 1 Last Week: 14 | Well if there's one guy who probably wished the All-Star break never came it was superstar Sidney Crosby, who tallied 12 goals in his last 15 games before the league took pause. So for all those people wondering what was wrong with him in October and November, stop wondering. | ||
| 14 | 5 Last Week: 9 | Chewbacca and his Sharks went 8-0-2 entering the break, continuing to mystify us with a season full of streaks at both ends of the spectrum. Can they hold off Anaheim for second place in the Pacific between now and the end of the year? | ||
| 15 | 8 Last Week: 7 | The Avs' valiant comeback into the playoff picture is a relentless series of tests with Central Division foes Chicago, Dallas and Winnipeg on tap this week. | ||
| 16 | 2 Last Week: 18 | I should probably rank these guys lower but I refuse to believe they won't turn things around. Their shooting percentage numbers over the past month suggest they're due for some puck luck. | ||
| 17 | 11 Last Week: 6 | Will the bubble burst or are the Devils this year's Calgary Flames? | ||
| 18 | 5 Last Week: 13 | Tough call this month for the Bruins regarding Loui Eriksson if they can't come to terms on an extension. Can you really trade the pending UFA when you're sitting in a playoff spot? On the flip side, can you really let him walk July 1 for nothing when you're trying to restock the organization with assets? | ||
| 19 |
--
Last Week: 19 | Just so much fun to watch this young Hurricanes team play, especially that blue line full of kids. Bill Peters doesn't get enough mention for the incredible coaching job he's doing there. | ||
| 20 | 4 Last Week: 24 | The Senators have been maddeningly inconsistent all season long. No wonder head coach Dave Cameron has provided some of the best temper tantrums of the season. Is he the new Torts? | ||
| 21 | 7 Last Week: 28 | Decision time for the Jets this month on pending UFA stars Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien. My prediction: They re-sign one and trade the other; just don't know which. | ||
| 22 |
--
Last Week: 22 | So if I'm GM Marc Bergevin and the Habs keep sliding down into the abyss over the next two to three weeks, I take a knee, acknowledge it wasn't your season, understand that when healthy again next season you'll be a contender, and in the meantime get a darn good prospect in the June draft. | ||
| 23 | 7 Last Week: 16 | It's not getting much attention but the Coyotes are going to have to decide this month on pending UFA winger Mikkel Boedker. I think there have been some contract talks but nothing close yet -- I don't think. Can you afford to lose him for nothing July 1 if he's not signed by Feb. 29? | ||
| 24 | 4 Last Week: 20 | It was interesting to hear Caps goalie Braden Holtby over All-Star weekend when asked about opposing tandems that give him a hard time, mention how Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds give him fits with their chemistry on the Flyers' power play and how they seem so in sync. | ||
| 25 | 4 Last Week: 21 | Like many teams in the same position, tough call this month for the Canucks on pending UFA winger Radim Vrbata. But I think if they're in a playoff spot close to Feb. 29 they might keep him. We'll see. Always depends on the offers too. | ||
| 26 | 1 Last Week: 25 | Same thing for the Flames as they need to make calls on pending UFAs Jiri Hudler and Kris Russell. Hudler could be a decent Plan B pickup for a contender needing top-nine insurance. | ||
| 27 |
--
Last Week: 27 | The Sabres are my vote for the team I hope wins the lottery and gets Auston Matthews in June. Come on, Matthews and Eichel together for next decade-plus??? Bring it on. | ||
| 28 | 1 Last Week: 29 | Connor McDavid should return this week. Going to be fun to watch his impact the rest of the way. He was absolutely dazzling just before the injury. | ||
| 29 | 1 Last Week: 30 | Tell you what, if the Blue Jackets get a top-three pick in June, they're going to be in pretty good shape heading into next season. But they need a healthy Sergei Bobrovsky. | ||
| 30 | 4 Last Week: 26 | Selling time in Toronto this month as the rebuilding Maple Leafs look to recoup picks and/or prospects for their pending UFAs. | ||
Enrique Comas ·
And
the sharks are 8-0-2! And they go DOWN!? As a panthers fan and an avid
hockey fan, how in the world did you make these rankings!? It's like you
blindly picked random teams from a hat after 4. Ducks are not hot right
now, they play in a division that is falling apart and the sharks are
making the most of it more than them. These rankings are horrible, just
plain awful. Take it down and re think your rankings. This is not even
credible. Preds jumping up 14 spots for doing what? Hosting ASG. Jersey
sliding down like 90 spots on a nice run. What is this crap? I know what
it is...IT'S CRAP lol!
Kevin Nestra ·
Works at Music City Tents & Events
preds
jumped cuz they just won 4 straight, won 5 of 6 n have points in 6 of 7
games n were just gonna keep climbing. n yes the allstar break here was
awesome. best allstar ive seen period. GP!
   
Joseph Isaiah Benjamin ·
And once you're writing the power rankings and its Shark Week Every Week, you can get the comeuppance you're due too.
Aaron Hicks ·
From
another Panthers fan, Apparantly winning 4 in a row including back to
wins against Hawks and Tampa drops you three spots, makes sense to me
Justin Ritzel ·
I
think you have a legit gripe with the Sharks, but dont say the Ducks
aren't hot right now (7-3 in their last 10) and play in a crappy
division (same one as the Sharks).
Dean Marriott ·
Justin Ritzel The crappy division that just won the all star game? The cup winner comes out of the Pacific this year.
Mike Deruzza
Aaron
Hicks Panthers didn't get the fourth win a row until tonight. Rankings
were already out. However, a team game winning streak should move you
up espacially since the panthers are just coming off a 12 game win
streak. yeah they dropped four, but Ekblad was out, he came back and
they go right back on winning. Funny thing is, there wasn't even a call
from that play even though it was a boarding, cross check, and intent to
injury play.
Jeff Yoders
Mike Pags
So what? They still have a better record? Good teams lose to bad teams
all of the time in the NHL and Gibson stood on his head. LOOK AT THE
SEASON SERIES! If the Sharts played the Quacks ten times I would take
even money that the Sharts would win at least 8 of those games.
Justin Ritzel ·
Jeff Yoders That would be weird for Gibson to stand on his head since he was the backup, but I digress.
Sharks a whopping 3 points ahead of the Ducks and Anaheim has a game in hand. There's not some giant discrepancy here like you're making it out to be. 
Christoff Lombard ·
Kevin Nestra but The Flyguys just served up some humble pie. Fresh! Great all star festivities
Matt Tarzon
Seriously.
Every time Pierre does the rankings he shows zero love for the Sharks.
It seems there are many who play that game. Pierre, what is your
problem with the Sharks. This is a WEEKLY ranking. You are ranking how
each team played during the past week. You are not ranking your
personal feelings on them nor are you ranking what they did the othere
weeks. Just this past week. And leading up to the break, the Sharks
were one of, if not THE hottest team in the NHL.
Enrique Comas ·
Matt
Tarzon they are THE hottest team right now just ahead of the Panthers
because of longetivity of this streak. Horrid ranking systems, need to
be legit fan made. 1. CAPS 2. Hawks 3. Cats. 4. Dallas 5. Sharks. That's
a more legit top 5 of 5 hot teams. With Dallas the first out and being
replaced with the Ducks eventually.
Charles Weadon Jr. ·
Works at Golden Corral
Dean Marriott the All Star games for the fans don't play like to do when regular season give me a break
Andrew Green ·
Jeff Yoders The ducks have won 3 out of 4 this year versus the sharks. Sit down and learn hockey please.
Gary Krall
How the Sharks drop 5 spots after going 8-0-2 in their last 10 is beyond me. The Jets move up 7 after going 4-5-1?? C'mon, man!!
The Hawks and Caps are pretty much interchangable right now, but the Lightning should have bounced the Kings from the 3rd spot. The Ducks moving up 12 spots is ridiculous, as is the Preds 14 spot move. 
Brian Reilly ·
He
spelled it out in the paragraph at the top. These are how he ranks the
Cup contenders. There's no way in hell I'd pick the Sharks to beat
either the Kings or Blackhawks in a best of 7. You might convince me
they could beat the Ducks though
Colin Chipman
Difficult
to argue anyone would beat Chicago or Los Angeles in the west. However,
if the season were to end today as he spells out in the paragraph at
the top, the Ducks would not even be in a playoff spot when this was
posted. Sure they have 2 games in hand on AZ, but they aren't in a spot.
Brian Reilly ·
Well
Colin one of those two will most likely beat the other.... If you put a
gun to my head and forced me to choose who wins the rubber matchup I'll
go with Chicago
Casey Underwood ·
I
used to think these were kind of fun until I see the Panters fall three
spots after beating two teams in front of them in the rankings(#1 and
#4) by a combined 9-2. With a healthy 5-1 W on top of those two wins
last week.
Andrew Moelis ·
If you think about it as "Team X beat Team Y and Z, so how do they drop?" you are going to go nuts.
There is only one question which should judge how you think about a Power Ranking, and that is "if the Stanley Cup Playoffs started today and these two teams were playing, who would you bet your last dollar on in an even-odds, seven game series scenario". I would take every team through St Louis over Florida right now, so I have no objection to where they are. 
Manny Suarez ·
Andrew
Moelis they beat every team ahead of them at keastvonce they are 3-1
against the lightningand above them in the Atlantic how in the fck are
they below them gtfoh
Jordan Brosillo ·
Manny Suarez Ah st Lois, home of the st Lois Bles.
That being said, I would probably bet on the Panthers to win vs my Blues in the playoffs. I'm basing that strictly on the Blues' perfomances during the last 4 trips to the postseason.
Aaron Hicks ·
One
thing to note about the Panthers also: their power play sucks, its
their 5 on 5 play that is winning them games. Hawks are thriving on the
power play which will decrease come playoffs
Andrew Moelis ·
Manny
Suarez - Again, that isn't the question. They're 0-2 against
Boston.... don't hear you driving the Bruins bus on this one, though by
your logic Boston should be ranked ahead of Florida. Haven't beaten
Pittsburgh - same story there.
You're entire reasoning that having beaten any given team entitles Florida to be ranked higher is stupid. It isn't even wrong - it doesn't approach the level of intelligence that being wrong requires. Being wrong requires having a view that might have possibly been right. Part of Florida's awesome record over the last month or two is due to playing a ga...See More 
Alexander Mckenzie ·
Manny
Suarez, don't forget that when the panthers play at home, more often
then not, their opponent played the lightning the night before. Just
saying.
Jacob Deubler ·
"disastrous
efforts" sir you are in the same boat as they are.... Still trying to
figure out why one ESPN NHL analyst can't post a decent power ranking,
despite whatever they chose to rank by. The next guy is going to rank
them based on how cool their logos are.
James Allen Boyle
I'm
sorry, but I can't take these seriously until they put one hockey idiot
in charge of them, instead of two...perhaps if they collaborated with
each other each week...
After all - a thousand monkeys at a thousand typewriters should eventually recreate Shakespeare... |
25 · 
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