The Washington Capitals are riding a heavy-duty Zamboni right now, leveling teams that cross their paths. Even their former coach in Bruce Boudreau seems to enjoy almost the same success this year, as his Anaheim Ducks just keep on rolling. The Ducks have set aside their slow start to the season and are now among the hottest teams out there. So hot they’ve climbed a few spots in our weekly NHL power rankings list.
We’re not going to entertain any arguments saying that Washington isn’t the best today in the NHL. The Caps just became the first team in NHL history to reach 44 wins in the first 58 games of the season after beating Arizona on Monday, 3-2. They are just playing ridiculous, the kind of team that can beat any team on either offense or defense. The additions of Justin Williams and T.J. Oshie prior to the season are reaping the Caps big dividends and there seems to be no stopping them now. They’re still prone to trap games though, which outings like that against Montreal this Wednesday and versus Minnesota this Friday have potentials to be. After that, the Caps will be in Chicago for what could be a primer of the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals.
Anaheim Ducks (31-19-8)
Previous Rank: 4
Did Anaheim sign new players? Because this can’t be the same Ducks that barely played like a unit early this season. Anaheim is breathing down the necks of the Kings in the Pacific division and if the Ducks sustain their current form, they’d be staring at LA in their rearview mirror soon. The Ducks went 5-2 in a recent seven-game road trip and returned home without their offense missing a beat, beating Flames on Sunday, 5-2. For those keeping count, the Ducks have scored 24 goals in their past five games.
St. Louis Blues (35-18-9)
Previous Rank: 5
The Blues just can’t catch a break. While it’s good for them to have Jaden Schwartz back in the mix, the Blues got another notable injury to deal with, as Alex Steen is expected to miss at least four weeks because of an upper-body injury. That’s not to mention the sidelined Alex Pietrangelo, who remains out with a knee injury. Nevertheless, the Blues have won five of their last six games, so until they lose a bunch, they’re likely going to be carving space in the top six of most power rankings lists.
Chicago Blackhawks (38-19-5)
Previous Rank: 3
This is hockey so no matter how mythical one team looks like in a season, games like that of the Blackhawks’ 6-1 loss to Minnesota will happen. That embarrassing setback occurred right after the Blackhawks dinged Henrik Lundqvist in a 5-3 win over the Rangers. The Blackhawks are on top of the Central division but have problems with consistency, having gone 5-4 in their last nine games. They will duke it out next with Nashville before a marquee matchup against Washington this Sunday, which could serve as a preview for this year’s Stanley Cup Finals.
Los Angeles Kings (34-20-4)
Previous Rank: 6
The Kings snapped their three-game skid with a 2-1 overtime win against Nashville on Saturday. Victory aside, that game was just another example of LA’s poor offense of late, as the Kings have scored just five goals in their past four outings. Jonathan Quick is doing much of the heavy lifting in Tinseltown these days. If you’re Darryl Sutter, you want to save some of the former Conn Smythe Trophy winner’s gas for another deep run in the playoffs. Into flashy advanced stats? Here’s one: the Kings are tops in the NHL with a 56.3 Corsi For percentage .
Dallas Stars (38-17-6)
Previous Rank: 2
We’re imagining that the Stars’ front office is littered with scouting reports of potential defensemen targets for the upcoming trade deadline. Dallas sure looks like a team that needs impact players on the blue line lately, as the Stars have given up 18 goals in their last four games, including a 7-3 loss to Boston on Saturday. Can’t say enough about the Stars’ offense, though. They’re averaging 3.2 goals per game this season, second overall in the league, as of this writing.
New York Rangers (34-20-6)
Previous Rank: 7
The Rangers are the best team in the Metropolitan division not named Washington right now, which is says a lot about the makeup of this team. The Rangers aren’t that great of a possession team—just 20th with 48.2 CF%–but nonetheless are winning games this month. They mostly have Henrik Lundqvist to thank for that as always with the goalie having quite a nice February. Lundqvist is 6-3 with a 1.88 GAA and .926 SV% thus far this month. Lundqvist is no God which is one reason why the Rangers fell to New Jersey on Tuesday, 5-2, but they need him to play like one over the next two games against St. Louis and Dallas.
Florida Panthers (34-18-7)
Previous Rank: 8
The Panthers are lukewarm of late—3-4 in last seven—but hey, at least they have Jaromir Jagr. Jagr continues to kick Father Time’s ass, as the ageless wonder has three goals in two games since turning 44 on February 15. As for the whole team, the Panthers’ defense seemed to have recovered following two-straight games in which they allowed five goals each. Florida has outscored its last three opponents, 5-4. The Panthers played just one game though since our last power rankings, which is a 3-1 win over Winnipeg on Saturday. A four-game rest should benefit the Panthers when they go back to ice this Thursday against Arizona.
Tampa Bay Lightning (34-22-4)
Previous Rank: —
Nope. The Lightning are not going to trade Steven Stamkos at the trade deadline, as expressed by General Manager Steve Yzerman. With that out of the way, the Bolts can focus more on winning games and keeping the team on track to reach the playoffs again. And they’re actually doing it, as Tampa Bay racked up four-straight victories against Winnipeg, Pittsburgh, Carolina, and Arizona. That string of wins should help the Bolts forget that 1-4 stretch they suffered a while back.
Boston Bruins (32-22-6)
Previous Rank: 10
Guess what, Marchand Madness isn’t over. Just when people thought Brad Marchand has finally cooled off by going goal-less in back-to-back games, he comes right back and sneaks in two scores in a 7-3 decimation of Dallas last Saturday. While he didn’t score again in a 6-4 loss to Columbus on Monday, don’t expect him nor the entire Bruins to slow down on offense. After all, Boston is fourth in the NHL in shots and goals per game with 31.7 and 3.0, respectively.
