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Rangers, Stars 1-2 in NHL Power Rankings

NHL teams have anywhere from four to six games remaining in the regular season and none of the four division winners have been determined. However, the New York Rangers join fellow division-leading Dallas and Boston among teams holding down the top three spots in the weekly NHL power ratings.

Six Eastern Conference teams and five teams from the Western Conference have clinched playoff spots with nine teams being eliminated from the playoffs. That leaves five teams in contention for three postseason berths in the Western Conference and seven teams fighting it out for the last two spots in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

Rangers, Stars 1-2 in NHL Power Rankings
Igor Shesterkin #31 of the New York Rangers-BRUCE BENNETT/ Getty Images via AFP

Carolina has moved into a tie for the lead at +700 among the favorites in our Stanley Cup odds. Colorado isn’t far behind at +800 in the championship odds.

 

Here’s a look at the current top and bottom five teams in the NHL.

 

Top Five

 

1. New York Rangers

The Rangers are 8-2-0 over the last 10 games to open up a three-point lead on Boston and Dallas in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy with four games left to play.

The Rangers lead the Eastern Conference with 28 home wins and they will be playing at home for at least the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Rangers have scored at least four goals in six of the last seven games as they seem to be peaking at the perfect time.

New York has won its last five one-goal games and that could bode well for a long playoff run.

Two of the next three games come against the New York Islanders, one of the five teams among the top contenders for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

Artemi Panarin has the second-highest point total in Rangers’ history. He would need eight points in the final four games to catch Jaromir Jagr.

  • New York Rangers Stanley Cup odds: +900

 

2. Dallas Stars

Dallas made quite the statement with a 7-4 win over division rival Colorado when a win by the Avalanche could have cut the Central Division lead to just one point.

Despite a stunning loss to a dreadful Chicago Blackhawks team, Dallas is 9-1-0 over the last 10 games and is looking good to have home-ice advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.

Jake Oettinger has won his last seven starts with a pair of shutouts and plenty of support from one of the highest scoring teams in the NHL.

The 20-year-old Wyatt Johnston has 29 points in 28 games since the end of the NHL All-Star break and rookie Logan Stankoven has six goals and seven assists over his last 19 games to help Dallas lead the NHL in goal differential.

Dallas has eight 20-goal scorers and Thomas Harley is among the defensemen with the most points this season.

Dallas is tied for second in the NHL with 43 of its games landing over the total.

  • Dallas Stars Stanley Cup odds: +900

 

3. Boston Bruins

Boston improved to 8-0 against division rivals Florida and Toronto with a 3-2 overtime win against the Panthers. It was the fourth win in a row for the Bruins.

Despite the retirement of the top two centers (Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci), Boston is still in contention to win the Presidents’ Trophy and earn home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

One concern is the 15 overtime losses, tied for the most in the NHL this season. The good news is that the 3-on-3 overtime format is only used during the regular season.

David Pastrnak is the first player for the Bruins with back-to-back 100-point seasons since Adam Oates in the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons. He needs three goals in the last four games to join Phil Esposito and Cam Neely as the only Bruins with a pair of 50-goal seasons. He leads the Bruins in goals, assists and plus/minus rating since the NHL All-Star Game.

Boston is one of 11 teams with at least 20 games going under the total both at home and on the road.

  • Boston Bruins Stanley Cup odds: +1000

 

  1. Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina is tied with the Florida Panthers for the best goal differential in the Eastern Conference. However, the Hurricanes and Panthers both have some work to do if they want to win division titles.

Carolina has won its last two games and is 7-2-1 over the last 10 games after shutting out the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.

The Hurricanes have allowed one goal or less in four of their last seven games. The offense received a boost with the acquisition of winger Jake Guentzel, who has 21 points in 14 games with Carolina. Eleven players currently with the Hurricanes have at least 10 goals this season so scoring depth is not an issue.

  • Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cup odds: +700

 

5. Colorado Avalanche

With a 5-4-1 record over the last 10 games, the Avalanche are not playing their best hockey right now. However, Colorado still leads the NHL with 29 home wins.

Nathan MacKinnon has shattered Joe Sakic’s franchise record for points in a season as he has 48 goals and 85 assists. His next assist will tie Peter Forsberg’s team single-season record.


The issue is on the other end of the ice, with at least four goals allowed in four of the last eight games.

Three of the final four games in the regular season come against teams that Colorado could see in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Colorado tops the NHL with 24 of its road games landing over the Las Vegas NHL odds total.

  • Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup odds:+800

 

 

Bottom Five

28. Calgary Flames

Four Canadian teams have qualified for the playoffs. Calgary is not among them. After winning the Pacific Division title during the 2021-22 season behind the play of three 40-goal scorers, the Flames will miss the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and none of those 40-goal scorers are still with the Flames.

Two of Calgary’s top six scorers have plus/minus ratings of -24 or lower, and a 3.26 goals-against average hasn’t helped the Flames.

Promising rookie Connor Zary has gone 18 straight games without a goal, but offseason acquisition Yegor Sharangovich has been a bright spot with 30 goals.

  • Calgary Flames Stanley Cup odds: Calgary has been eliminated from playoff contention.

 

29. Chicago Blackhawks

The good news is that Chicago has a rising star in rookie Connor Bedard. However, in the quest to land the top pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, the Blackhawks dealt away plenty of players who could have helped them be more competitive.

It took the Blackhawks going 5-5 over the last 10 games to creep over the 50-point mark this season. Bedard leads Chicago with 22 goals and 37 assists despite missing 14 games. He has 16 points in his last 13 games, but he needs some help. Bedard is also one of four Chicago players with a plus/minus rating of -30 or worse so there are some defensive shortcomings to overcome,

Chicago is -99 in goal differential and is about to join the San Jose Sharks as the only team to allow at least 100 more goals than they have scored.

Chicago is just 12-26 against the NHL spread on the road, with 15 of those games finishing over the total.

  • Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup odds: Chicago has been eliminated from playoff contention.

 

30. Anaheim Ducks

Anaheim is just 2-6-2 over the last 10 games as the Ducks are about to secure another high NHL draft pick.

Help could be on the way as the Ducks traded for former top-five pick Cutter Gauthier. Gauthier has had a huge sophomore season at Boston College with 37 goals to lead the Eagles into the Frozen Four.

Anaheim is still playing hard as the Ducks rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period before falling to St. Louis in a shootout the last time out.

The Ducks held onto their top two scorers, Frank Vatrano and Troy Terry, at the trade deadline and that could help speed things up in the rebuilding process.

Anaheim has been held to two goals or less in 15 of its last 18 games and was shut out four times in the last 13 games.

  • Anaheim Ducks Stanley Cup odds: Anaheim has been eliminated from playoff contention.

 

31. Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus is on the verge of wrapping up the worst record among Eastern Conference teams. A difficult season will end with games against three teams who have clinched playoff spots and a Nashville team close to doing the same.

Columbus is the only Metropolitan Division team with losing records both at home and on the road. Six wins in 18 overtime games hasn’t helped, either. Eight of the last 12 losses for the Blue Jackets have come by at least two goals.

There is plenty of young talent on this team with six of the top 10 scorers being 24 or younger. Alex Nylander has 10 goals in his last 20 games and Alex Texier is +5 since the NHL All-Star Game.

  • Columbus Blue Jackets Stanley Cup odds: Columbus has been eliminated from playoff contention.

 

32. San Jose Sharks

Just five games remain in another frustrating season in San Jose.

The Sharks are the only team in the NHL to allow 100 more goals than they have scored and San Jose might have to win out to avoid having the fewest points in the NHL this season.

The Sharks are 2-7-1 over the last 10 games. A bright spot has been the play of 21-year-old forward William Eklund, who has five goals and five assists over the last nine games.

It is not a good sign that two of San Jose’s top five scorers are no longer with the team or that the Sharks have just one 50-point scorer and one player with at least 20 goals.

Only 18 of San Jose’s home games have gone over the total.

  • San Jose Sharks Stanley Cup odds: San Jose has been eliminated from playoff contention.

 

 

Questions Of The Day

Which NHL team has the best ATS record this season?


The Montreal Canadiens are 48-29 against the spread this season with the Philadelphia Flyers next at 46-31.

Who is the leading scorer in the NHL?


Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov has 136 points followed by Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon with 133 points.

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