Perhaps it is time to concede the season and give the Hart Trophy to Sidney Crosby. The Kid has been in the NHL for over 10 years, but he still knows how to bulldoze through his opposition. He is leading the league in goals by a landslide, and he has carried the Pittsburgh Penguins to the top of the NHL Power Rankings despite an awful 7-1 loss to Columbus before Christmas.
Meanwhile, those same Blue Jackets are on a 13-game winning streak, and they are now second in the power rankings. The Minnesota Wild are on an 11-game winning streak and have entered the Top 5. The Canadiens are beginning to fall further, too.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (53 points)
Previously 2 (47 points)
Sidney Crosby is unconscious. He has more goals (26) than Johnny Gaudreau has points (25), and Gaudreau is not slumping one bit. Crosby is just miles over everyone else, with no other player having more than 19 goals at this point. Just give him the Hart Trophy.
2. Columbus Blue Jackets (52 points)
Previously 5 (46 points)
With 13 straight wins, the Jackets are just two wins away from finishing the month undefeated. Pulling that feat off, however, will not be a small task, for they must hit the road and fend off Winnipeg before traveling to St. Paul in what could be a battle of two teams with winning streaks of at least 12. This week, they clobbered Pittsburgh before two tights wins against Montreal and Boston. Scott Hartnell scored a hat trick against the Penguins on Wednesday and had two points within the first 10 minutes of Tuesday’s game against the Bruins.
3. Chicago Blackhawks (49 points)
Previously 1 (48 points)
After making their way to the top spot of the NHL Power Rankings, the Blackhawks have hit the skids. Their only point in their last three games was a home overtime loss to the last place Avalanche. There is no consolation for getting a point against a team with just three wins in their last 16 games. Corey Crawford returned on Friday and stopped 32 of 34 shots on goal. Artemi Panarin also got a two-year contract extension.
4. Minnesota Wild (48 points)
Previously 7 (42 points)
Minnesota is still not the hottest team in the NHL, but they can change that on Saturday when Columbus comes to town. They have won 11 straight games and can also pass Chicago in the Central Division with another win. Charlie Coyle was instrumental in extending their streak this week. After leading Minnesota in an offensive outburst in New York with a goal and three assists (with all three assists coming in a nightmare second period for Henrik Lundqvist), Coyle had two more assists in Nashville on Tuesday, including a second assist on the overtime goal by Jared Spurgeon.
5. New York Rangers (49 points)
Previously 4 (47 points)
Suddenly the goalies in New York are devastatingly awful. Antti Raanta fell apart against Pittsburgh last Tuesday, and then Henrik Lundqvist had to be pulled against Minnesota on Friday. After the break, Raanta did just enough to hold the Senators back on Tuesday. Both goalies get to face Arizona, Colorado, and Buffalo this week as they attempt to return to their dominant ways. Nick Holden continued his excellent season in his first season with the Rangers. With two goals on Tuesday, including the game-winner, Holden matched his goal total from last season with six.
6. Montreal Canadiens (47 points)
Previously 3 (46 points)
Not so flashy anymore. Despite remaining in the top five in offense and defense, the Canadiens have lost five of seven and now just “another division leader”. They are only home once until January 14, and their next three games at the Bell Centre are against Washington, NYR, and Pittsburgh. Oof. Shea Weber has been out of the offensive production for a while, and he scored for the first time in 15 games on Tuesday. On Thursday, he tallied his first point, a shorthanded assist to Max Pacioretty, in 11 games.
7. San Jose Sharks (45 points)
Previously 9 (41 points)
Extra time has been San Jose’s best friend. With two consecutive wins in overtime against the two closest competitors in the Pacific Division, the division-leading Sharks have now won four extra time games in December and six of seven this season. Brent Burns contributed to four of San Jose’s six goals this week and silenced the Ducks with a crossover goal in overtime on Tuesday.
8. Philadelphia Flyers (44 points)
Previously 6 (44 points)
After starting the double-digit winning streak parade, the Flyers have now lost four of five. It would be underwhelming if Philly finished the year as the second wild card, which is where they are currently positioned in the Eastern Conference. After blazing to begin the month, Wayne Simmonds scored his first goal in five game in Wednesday’s loss to the Blues.
9. Washington Capitals (44 points)
Previously 8 (42 points)
Washington is getting a dose of the doormats. After losing to what was the worst team in the Metropolitan Division on Tuesday (Islanders), the Capitals will now do a home-and-home against New Jersey, the new worst team in the division. They better not blow those two games. John Carlson has two first period goals on Friday as Braden Holtby shut out the Lightning. It is Holtby’s third goose egg of the season.
10. Ottawa Senators (43 points)
Previously 11 (41 points)
Ottawa is only playing four times over the next two weeks. With a heavy January and February schedule afterward, the Senators are still not far behind Montreal, and they could be in for a massive second half of the season if they keep pace over the next 14 days. Their two match-ups against Washington could be very telling for the long run. Mike Hoffman gave the Sens four straight wins with the overtime winner against Anaheim on Thursday, and Cody Ceci got his first goal of the season on Tuesday.
11. St. Louis Blues (43 points)
Previously 10 (41 points)
The next time there is a Power Rankings, the Winter Classic will be a thing of the past. There was still some business inside, however. Wade Megan got his first NHL goal on Thursday, while Robby Fabbri notched his first career hat trick in Wednesday’s win over the Flyers. Blues fans can only hope someone in blue does the same thing on Monday.
12. Edmonton Oilers (42 points)
Previously 12 (41 points)
Edmonton is more than just Connor McDavid. There are 10 Oilers with double-digit points as of Wednesday. Unfortunately, the depth took a hit when it was determined that Tyler Pitlick, who had 11 points this season, would miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. McDavid added to his league-leading point total with a goal and an assist in the third period on Friday, but Edmonton went 0-6 on the power play and fell to the Sharks in overtime.
13. Anaheim Ducks (41 points)
Previously 13 (39 points)
Anaheim’s holiday week was marred with overtime disappointment, with both Ottawa and San Jose flushing them with extra time daggers. They only scored three times in those two games, and Jakob Silfverberg had each of the two that forced overtime. John Gibson had two straight starts with save percentages under .890, and he will need to improve on that with four games coming up this week. Anaheim certainly does not want a second defensive debacle against Detroit.
14. Boston Bruins (40 points)
Previously 14 (37 points)
Boston overcame Jaromir Jagr‘s milestone to get a key divisional win, but they could not convert on the same luck at Carolina and Columbus. At least they kept things close against the hottest team in the NHL, something that has been a challenge for most opponents. Two games with Buffalo and a match-up with New Jersey could be a confidence booster. With two more points on Tuesday, David Backes finished off an excellent stat line against Columbus, with four goals and three assists in a three-game series that Boston nearly swept. He also reached the 1,000 penalty minute mark for his career after picking up two roughing penalties against the Islanders last week.
15. Calgary Flames (40 points)
Previously 17 (36 points)
Wins against Vancouver and Colorado are not gilded this season, but the Flames were on the same level as both of them last season. The tides have turned this season, as Calgary has been living off explosive second periods in December. After scoring five goals on Anaheim and four against Winnipeg earlier in the month, they scored a combined seven second-period goals in their wins this week. Columbus ruined their chance at another long home winning streak, but things are still looking up. Mikael Backlund has become an unnoticed superstar of late. He had three goals and three assists this week to give him 12 points in December and 22 points for the season.
16. Tampa Bay Lightning (39 points)
Previously 15 (35 points)
Triplets! The Lightning badly needed Nikita Kucherov back after the offense went dead and Ben Bishop went down as well. Then the Triplets line sprung back to life. Ondrej Palat notched Montreal up on Tuesday, and Tyler Johnson‘s second goal of the game sent the Habs to bed. Jonathan Drouin had a three-game goal streak, including two goals against St. Louis on Thursday, earlier in the week.
17. Los Angeles Kings (38 points)
Previously 16 (35 points)
Both Tampa Bay and LA are playoff teams that are getting killed with the injury bug. After it seemed like Tyler Toffoli was being considered one of the few reliable offensive weapons on the team, he is now on the injured reserve until at least the beginning of January. While Nic Dowd, Nick Shore, and Devin Setoguchi helped Jeff Carter out in Peter Budaj‘s shutout of Nashville on Thursday, the offensive production has been absent ever since.
18. Dallas Stars (37 points)
Previously 19 (33 points)
Dallas took to beating up old Pacific Division rivals during the holidays. With 3-2 wins over Los Angeles and Arizona, the Stars have now earned points in four straight games and are slowly making their way back into the playoff picture. While the offense still has a long way to go to get anywhere near its expectations, the defense has picked up nicely. Along with major improvements from John Klingberg and Esa Lindell‘s heroics – he had the overtime winner against the Kings on Friday – Kari Lehtonen has found an extensive consistency over December. On Tuesday, the only two goals he allowed were on a weird play in which Anthony Duclair continuously smacked Lehtonen’s pad (the puck was loose) and a Radim Vrbata penalty shot with six seconds remaining in the game.
19. Winnipeg Jets (37 points)
Previously 21 (33 points)
Winnipeg took full advantage of their road schedule this week. After taking the second of two road games in Vancouver, the Jets got a great defensive night from Conor Hellebuyck in Chicago. He saved 34 of 35 shots on Tuesday, and the Jets unbelievably lead the Blackhawks 3-0 in the season series. That is a playoff series that Jets fans would like to see.
20. Nashville Predators (36 points)
Previously 18 (35 points)
After face-planting against the Kings, the Predators gave the Wild and their 10-game winning streak a scare on Tuesday. They got to Devan Dubnyk early with two goals in the first two periods before the Vezina candidate stood pat and forced overtime. The envy of the Western Conference eventually came through in overtime and threw Nashville down to a disappointing sixth place in the Central Division. Reid Boucher, who was acquired from New Jersey earlier in the month, got his first Preds goal in that game.
21. Carolina Hurricanes (37 points)
Previously 22 (33 points)
Why would anyone believe that the Hurricanes are the hardest team to beat in the NHL? Here is why. Carolina has only lost by more than one goal once since November 10, and that was on December in Manhattan. They had a three-game winning streak this week, and Pittsburgh…PITTSBURGH…needed a late third period goal from Carl Hagelin to finish off Carolina on Wednesday. Justin Faulk scored in four of the last five games, but he is now week-to-week with a lower body injury.
22. Toronto Maple Leafs (37 points)
Previously 25 (31 points)
The goalies got quite a workout on Tuesday. While Mitch Marner continuously fired at Roberto Luongo, the Panthers smothered Frederik Andersen with 47 shots on goal, but they could only score twice. As if scripted, Marner finally solved Luongo in the shootout to end the game victorious. After scoring in Florida and in a thrashing victory in Colorado, Auston Matthews is already at 17 goals and is on pace to break the franchise rookie record for goals, which would be surprisingly predictable.
23. Florida Panthers (37 points)
Previously 20 (35 points)
Jaromir Jagr got his fair share of interviews, on and off the ice, and his buttocks put him on K2 for the all-time points list. He will not reach Everest and Wayne Gretzky‘s total, but he got plenty of recognition. Wednesday’s loss to Toronto was a testament to how long this season is getting for Florida. Despite Roberto Luongo saving the Panthers all night long, especially against Mitch Marner, it was still not enough to earn two points. Shame.
24. Buffalo Sabres (34 points)
Previously 26 (32 points)
Detroit and Buffalo have emerged as the bottom dwellers of the Atlantic Division, but the Sabres got the best of the Wings on Tuesday to snap a four-game losing streak. They have a home-and-home with Boston to end 2016, and a good showing could help them make a sneaky push up the standings. Evander Kane scored twice and got the game-winner to give Dan Bylsma his 300th career win on Tuesday.
25. Detroit Red Wings (34 points)
Previously 24 (32 points)
The season, and the 25-year playoff streak, is slipping away, and both the offense and defense have been abysmal. They were just 1-12 on the power play this week, and they are now last in that department. Jared Coreau picked up his first career win in Detroit’s shootout win over Florida on Friday, while Frans Nielsen forced overtime and scored the shootout winner.
26. New Jersey Devils (33 points)
Previously 23 (31 points)
The wheels have fallen off in New Jersey. They have as many wins in December as Colorado, and they now own the fewest points in the Eastern Conference. They were the beneficiaries of one of the more violent games of the season. After Ray Shero called out his team for being too likable, the Devils roughed the Flyers to a combined 80 penalty minutes on Thursday, with 44 of them coming in a crazy first period. Oh, and New Jersey snapped their seven-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory.
27. Vancouver Canucks (33 points)
Previously 27 (31 points)
The offense sputtered all week, and the Canucks looked inferior to Winnipeg (round two) and Calgary. At least Ryan Miller was fantastic against the road-weary Kings on Wednesday to hold Vancouver’s two-spot up. Both Loui Eriksson and Henrik Sedin ended goal droughts of at least 10 games on Wednesday.
28. New York Islanders (34 points)
Previously 28 (30 points)
The tides have turned for the Brooklynites. After a road win in Boston, the Islanders breezed past Buffalo and upset Washington on home ice. Yes Yes Yes! Now they have to go on the road and take on Minnesota and Winnipeg. No No No. They also play Colorado and Arizona on the four-game road trip. Yes Yes Yes! Andrew Ladd had just two goals heading into December, but he had three goals in the last two games to bring this month’s goal total to five. Perhaps he has finally settled into New York.
29. Arizona Coyotes (27 points)
Previously 29 (27 points)
Colorado does not look as bad considering they have company. Both New Jersey and Arizona join the Avs with just three wins in December, but the Yotes also have a five-game losing streak. It gets no easier, as Arizona has to face the Rangers and Flames to end the calendar year. Anthony Duclair scored his first goal since November 3, a span of 21 games, in Tuesday’s loss to Dallas.
30. Colorado Avalanche (25 points)
Previously 30 (23 points)
Chicago looked dreadful this week, but the Avalanche will soak in any win they can grab. Nathan McKinnon scored the overtime winner to end a five-game losing streak, but Colorado is still last in goals per game and goals allowed average. Gabriel Landeskog had two goals against Calgary on Tuesday, but the Flames took full advantage of the porous defense.
Bold Predictions:
Last week:
Mike Condon smothers Anaheim with at least 31 saves and less than two goals allowed. Anaheim only got 25 shots off on Thursday. Phewey.
Toronto and Arizona combine for 70 shots on goal on Friday. I would have nailed this if I had used the Toronto/Florida game on Wednesday, but I fell six shots short in this game.
The New York Rangers score five times on Minnesota on Friday. They fell one short, but Minnesota went off with seven. That would have been a very bold prediction.
This week:
Vancouver shuts out Edmonton while allowing less than 20 shots on goal.
There are at least 10 goals scored in the Winter Classic in St. Louis.
Mats Zuccarello picks up a hat trick this week.