New year, same trending story. Las Vegas has gone from football-crazy city to…Stanley Cup destination? The way the Vegas Golden Knights are playing in their inaugural season, especially at home, such aspirations might not be that far-fetched. If anything, this season may have derailed some plans from Pacific Division foes.
The Boston Bruins, who will not play on Thursday because of inclement weather, made a huge jump into the Top 10 of the NHL Power Rankings, while things continue to look grim for Montreal.
1. Tampa Bay Lightning: 60 points
Previously 1 (54 points)
A rest from Andrei Vasilevskiy ended up being Tampa Bay’s only Amalie Arena loss in December. The Bolts went back on the road and have not allowed a single goal since. Vasilevskiy is on a fast track toward the Vezina Trophy. He has allowed just one goal in his last five appearances (246:46 minutes) and three shutouts, and he is on pace to shatter the NHL wins record and hit 60.
2. Vegas Golden Knights: 56 points
Previously 2 (50 points)
This is ridiculous. Eight straight wins and 12 in their last 13 games was topped off with another easy win over a Preds team that got more blue line help on Tuesday. It is almost as if every selection from the expansion draft is on a breakout mission. William Karlsson looks like the biggest breakout of them all. He had a hat trick in a high-scoring win over the Maple Leafs, and his 20 goals are more than double his career total with Anaheim and Columbus.
3. Los Angeles Kings: 53 points
Previously 4 (48 points)
Their lone setback was against Vegas, so I guess that is a good week. After getting a tougher-than-expected battle in Vancouver, the Kings showed how complete their defense is with a dominant 5-0 victory in Edmonton. Jonathan Quick picked up his first shutout since October, and third of the season, with 32 saves in Rogers Place.
4. Winnipeg Jets: 53 points
Previously 6 (47 points)
Mark Scheifele is on the IR, but Blake Wheeler is not. That is a big reason why the Jets continue to lead the packed Central Division. He took over the scoring load during Winnipeg’s first three games without the star center. He scored four times to help the Jets to five points, including scoring both third period goals, including one with 32 seconds left in regulation, in Colorado.
5. St. Louis Blues: 52 points
Previously 5 (48 points)
St. Louis won twice by a score of 3-2, but the second was one of the more thrilling shootout games of the season. After the Blues got an extra life on an offsides challenge, Carter Hutton made some acrobatic saves with the game on the line on Tuesday. He made 24 saves on 26 New Jersey shots before stopping both chances in the shootout. Both he and Jake Allen have looked good this season, and that could be a problem for opponents should the Blues reach the playoffs again.
6. Nashville Predators: 51 points
Previously 3 (49 points)
The defense got a huge boost in getting Ryan Ellis back from the long-term IR on Tuesday, but the offense took a huge hit. Filip Forsberg will miss the next four to six weeks with an upper body injury. This gives Ryan Johansen and Craig Smith a chance to carry the leadership roles on the top lines. Nashville’s lone home game gave the State of Hockey a glimpse of one of the most underrated backup goalies in the league. Juuse Saros blanked the Wild on 29 shots in Saturday’s divisional battle for his second shutout of the season, and his GAA (2.38) and save percentage (0.925) would put him near the top of the league if he qualified.
7. Washington Capitals: 53 points
Previously 7 (47 points)
Washington has one of the lightest schedules in January, so this week was especially crucial in keeping pace in the Metropolitan Division. It was only fitting that Alex Ovechkin stepped up in a big way. He started off with a power play goal and the shootout winner against the hot Bruins, then he took a step back with three second assists against the Devils. He topped the week off with the game-tying goal and yet another overtime winner in Raleigh. His third overtime winner of the season helped him regain the league’s goals lead.
8. New Jersey Devils: 51 points
Previously 8 (49 points)
After an overtime loss to Buffalo and a crucial regulation loss in Washington, it was only fitting that the Devils would go from potentially winning in regulation to losing in a shootout following some wicked saves from Carter Hutton. It was the second time this week that the Devils lost a go-ahead goal because of an offsides review, as the Sabres did the same thing on Friday. Divisional games with the Isles and Flyers could determine whether New Jersey can hang on in the standings. Unlike his Swiss counterparts in the World Junior Championships, Nico Hischier had a good week. He tipped in his eighth goal of the season on Tuesday, and he is on pace to have more points than Adam Henrique did in his rookie season.
9. Boston Bruins: 50 points
Previously 14 (45 points)
The Bruins are one of the hottest teams in the NHL, as they have just three regulation losses since Nov. 16. How? Thank Tuukka Rask. He was given first star honors for December after going 9-0-1 with a save percentage of 0.955. One of his two shutouts of the month came in an easy victory over Ottawa on Saturday. Ryan Spooner scored twice in that rout, and it was his first multi-goal game in 366 days.
10. Toronto Maple Leafs: 48 points
Previously 9 (45 points)
The playoffs are still realistic, but the best Canadian team in the Eastern Conference might be losing a step. After finishing their southwest road trip poorly, the Leafs were put in their place with a 2-0 shutout loss to Tampa Bay. At the same time, the Bruins coasted into second place in the Atlantic Division. Auston Matthews scored twice in Toronto’s loss in Vegas, and he has four goals since his return from injury on Dec. 23.
11. Columbus Blue Jackets: 49 points
Previously 10 (47 points)
Columbus has been plagued with consistency issues all season, but that has had little effect in the standings. They lost three straight to finish 2017, but they used late heroics from Oliver Bjorkstrand to stop the skid in Dallas. It was his first goals in 10 games, but he is now alone for second-most points on the team. Sergei Bobrovsky snapped out of his recent funk with 21 saves on 22 shots to sink the Stars.
12. New York Rangers: 47 points
Previously 11 (44 points)
Wins were not a commodity this week. In fact, the only win had no roof, as the Rangers defeated the Buffalo Sabres on a J.T. Miller overtime goal. The Rangers offense will need to show a few more signs of life, however, as they will be without Chris Kreider indefinitely because of a blood clot.
13. Dallas Stars: 47 points
Previously 16 (43 points)
Dallas’s six-game home stand brought back memories of 2016. After a crucial divisional win over St. Louis, the Stars plastered the Sharks with six goals in what was the most impressive win of the season. They are currently slated in the first wild card spot, but they have plenty of teams hunting them down. In a week in which several players stuck out, it was John Klingberg who contributed in all three games. He is now in the Top 10 in NHL assists with 30 on the season.
14. San Jose Sharks: 46 points
Previously 13 (42 points)
The first of five road games in a row was about as bad as it could get. The Dallas offense smothered Martin Jones in a 6-0 rout, and it appears Aaron Dell may be on the fast track to getting the starting job next season. The undrafted Alberta native turned in his eighth victory of the season by stopping 30 of 31 Montreal shots on Tuesday, and his GAA is still below two.
15. New York Islanders: 44 points
Previously 12 (44 points)
Oof. How does a 15-4 deficit in three games sound? The defense has been bad, and that is nothing new, but the offense fell off too. That is why the Isles are now down to a tie for fifth in the Metropolitan Division. Anders Lee scored exactly half of New York’s goals this week, and both were in a losing effort in Winnipeg. He is now third on the NHL goals list.
16. Minnesota Wild: 45 points
Previously 17 (41 points)
One of the better teams on home ice lived up to the stats this week. They picked up a big win against the Predators before settling for a split of the home-and-home. They won handily on Tuesday in Zach Parise‘s return to the lineup. He was not needed, however, as Eric Staal and Matt Cullen each tallied two goals. Mikael Granlund has recovered from an injury-ravaged start to the season and picked up his first hat trick on the season in Friday’s win.
17. Anaheim Ducks: 46 points
Previously 20 (40 points)
Anaheim took care of three of the bottom four teams in the Pacific Division this week, but they will have to battle with LA following two road games in Alberta. Another big week could signal another run for a comeback/sixth straight division title. Returns from Ryan Kesler and Ryan Getzlaf have accelerated their recent play, but Rickard Rakell has run the offense of late. He has seven goals during his six-game goal streak, including two in Anaheim’s win over Arizona on Sunday. Ryan Miller shut out the Canucks on 31 shots on Tuesday in his return to BC.
18. Pittsburgh Penguins: 43 points
Previously 16 (41 points)
The recent surges from the bottom dwellers in the Metropolitan Division put the Penguins on the verge of eighth place following losses to Carolina and Detroit. They avoided that fate with an easy victory in the Keystone rivalry. It gets no easier, as Pittsburgh takes on the Canes, Isles, and Bruins before their bye week. Riley Sheahan has recovered from one of his worst seasons. After a +/- of -29 and not getting his lone two goals of the season until the final game at Joe Louis Arena, he matched his point total from 2016-2017 with two assists during Tuesday’s second period rout. Oh, and his +/- is at +1.
19. Chicago Blackhawks: 44 points
Previously 19 (39 points)
The roster is slowly deteriorating. Corey Crawford is on the IR, and Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are quickly losing teammates. Jeff Glass made his long-awaited NHL debut this week and kept the Blackhawks out of the Central Division basement. He made 42 saves in Edmonton for his first NHL win before clamping down in his hometown Calgary to force overtime. At 2-0-1, Glass just might be what Chicago needs to save their season because Crawford cannot carry the depleted team.
20. Carolina Hurricanes: 44 points
Previously 21 (41 points)
Alex Ovechkin killed all of the momentum that the Hurricanes had carried at home. They had an eight-game winning streak dating back to November, but the Great Eight ended that run with two late goals. Can the Canes recover now that they in the middle of the playoff race? Cam Ward picked up win number 10 on Friday, making 27 saves against the Penguins to jump them in the Metropolitan Division standings.
21. Calgary Flames: 42 points
Previously 18 (39 points)
Calgary is currently out of the playoff picture after just five wins in December, but they got points in eight of those games. After two visits from California teams, they begin a critical four-game swing to the southeast that could determine where the team stands in the division. Matthew Tkachuk had two goals in the crease in Sunday’s overtime win for his third multi-goal game of the season.
22. Colorado Avalanche: 43 points
Previously 25 (37 points)
Tyson Barrie and Semyon Varlamov, unsurprisingly, are injured, but the Avalanche have stormed back into playoff talks with their offense. After a bad loss to Arizona, Colorado has righted their six-game home stand with two overtime winners and a beatdown on the Islanders. The top line, which consists of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen, combined for 16 points this week. MacKinnon provided half of them, but Rantanen had points in all three goals against the Jets, including assisting on Erik Johnson‘s winner.
23. Philadelphia Flyers: 40 points
Previously 22 (38 points)
For what it is worth, Philadelphia pulled off an improbable victory in Tampa on Saturday. Unfortunately, it was the only win in a week that featured a brutal home loss to the rival Penguins. After three assists against the Lightning, Claude Giroux finished December with 16 assists, which nearly matched his total from the first two months.
24. Florida Panthers: 39 points
Previously 27 (35 points)
Florida got back into shouting distance of the playoff race with five straight wins before getting smacked in St. Paul. James Reimer is on the verge of dipping below 3.00 in GAA after running the tables during the streak. He had two shutouts of 38 saves each, including in Saturday’s blanking of Montreal. Will Reimer be able to put things together and turn the Panthers into a surprise contender?
25. Detroit Red Wings: 39 points
Previously 28 (33 points)
Even if Detroit cannot sneak back into the postseason picture, there has to be some excitement in the Motor City. Dylan Larkin is good, Anthony Mantha has jumped from fourth-liner to consistent point distributor, and Tyler Bertuzzi will be getting an extended look after assisting on two Gustav Nyqvist goals (including his 100th goal). After Wednesday, however, it would be silly to overlook Andreas Athanasiou. He was aggressive all game long, picking up both Detroit goals. He also had a penalty shot in the third period and had the overtime winner just six seconds into OT.
26. Montreal Canadiens: 36 points
Previously 23 (36 points)
They scored 10 in their first December game, but the wheels fell off. Montreal has lost five straight games after picking up just four wins in the final calendar month, and the playoffs may be a thing of the past. Expect trade talks for Max Pacioretty to start quickly. He ended a five-game pointless streak with an assist to Andrew Shaw on Tuesday.
27. Vancouver Canucks: 37 points
Previously 24 (35 points)
The nightmare that was Vancouver’s four-win December continued with two more losses to divisional opponents. With Chicago now near last place in the Central, Vancouver’s win on Thursday no longer looks that impressive. Thomas Vanek, however, was very impressive. He had two goals and three assists to account for all five of the Canucks’ goals against the Blackhawks and lighten the burden of Bo Horvat‘s absence for one game.
28. Edmonton Oilers: 37 points
Previously 27 (36 points)
Vancouver looked bad at home, but they at least scored three times against the Kings. Meanwhile, Edmonton were shut out in consecutive 5-0 games to return to their miserable position in the Pacific Division. While Ryan Nugent-Hopkins carried the Edmonton offense with three points to force overtime on Chicago, Patrick Maroon was suspended two games for a head hit on Drew Doughty on Tuesday.
29. Ottawa Senators: 33 points
Previously 29 (30 points)
A big 5-4 win over Columbus could not save some fan frustration the very next day. A fan threw a jersey onto the ice following a 5-0 loss to Boston on Saturday. Who knows how much of the frustration is because of Eugene Melnyk’s comments, especially regarding Erik Karlsson, but the issues in Ottawa continue to mount. Matt Duchene‘s goal on Friday was just his second at Canadian Tire Centre since being traded.
30. Buffalo Sabres: 29 points
Previously 30 (25 points)
It took Buffalo five tries to win in overtime in December, and all three of their games against the Tri-State teams needed an extra period. After losing to the Rangers in the Winter Classic, the Sabres now lead the league with nine overtime losses. Rasmus Ristolainen picked a great time to score his first two goals of the season. He potted the overtime winner in New Jersey on Friday and forced overtime on the Rangers with a long shot.
31. Arizona Coyotes: 23 points
Previously 31 (23 points)
Just when it looked like Arizona was turning a corner, the defense lays another egg. The second-worst defensive unit allowed at least six goals in three games in December and 12 in their two games this week. Will any team oversell for Oliver Ekman-Larsson before the trade deadline? After scoring in each of their losses, Brendan Perlini has points in five of his last seven games.
BOLD PREDICTIONS:
Last week:
Dallas scores two power play goals on Friday. They only picked up one on the man advantage, but they did overcome the Blues late.
Connor Hellebuyck holds the Islanders to zero or one goal. A late goal ruined this prediction.
Mats Zuccarello has at least three points against the Blackhawks on Wednesday. Scoring on an AHL veteran seemed like a good sign, but Jeff Glass looked like a savior on NBC.
This week:
Los Angeles scores at least five times against Nashville on Saturday.
Detroit knocks off Tampa Bay in overtime.
Zach Werenski picks up at least two points in Toronto.