At All-Star break. Last week’s rankings in parentheses.
1. Boston Bruins. Beat Leafs to stem tide of 0-2-1 hiccup. (1)
2. Carolina Hurricanes. Are 9-0-1 in last 10 and looked like Cup favorite in dismantling of Sabres. (2)
3. Toronto Maple Leafs. Another fabulous season is mostly irrelevant unless they win a round for first time since ’04. (3)
4. New Jersey Devils. Amazing to see anybody with a 19-3-2 road record. (4)
5. Tampa Bay Lightning. Pulled within five points of Leafs – with four games in hand. (5)
6. Dallas Stars. Still lead West after bye, open four at home Monday vs. Ducks. (7)
People are also reading…
7. Winnipeg Jets. Hellebuyck is best in West with 24 wins, 2.45/.923. (8)
8. Seattle Kraken. A lot like Sabres: Have to improve at home, where they’re only 13-10-3. (6)
9. New York Rangers. Big addition (Kane?) has to be coming at trade deadline. (9)
10. Los Angeles Kings. Blew 4-1 third-period lead at Carolina. (10)
11. Edmonton Oilers. Hit break on 7-1-2 burst and looking ready to take over Pacific. (12)
12. Vegas Golden Knights. Stone out after back surgery, pressure mounting on slumping Eichel. (11)
13. Colorado Avalanche. Champs look much better, but still no timeline for a Landeskog return. (15)
14. Washington Capitals. Sabres have three games in hand and still two head to head meetings left. (13)
15. Minnesota Wild. Return with two on road, then play seven straight at home. (17)
16. Pittsburgh Penguins. Through injuries and Covid, this was only Crosby’s fifth All-Star appearance. (14)
17. Buffalo Sabres. First four out of the break are vs. West, and are 16-7-2 vs. those clubs. (16)
18. New York Islanders. Horvat trade a desperation move, especially if he doesn’t re-sign. (20)
19. Calgary Flames. Have to decide if they’re going to ride Vladar in goal or get Markstrom back in a groove. (18)
20. Florida Panthers. All-Star hosts have been NHL’s biggest flop. (21)
21. Nashville Predators. Won last three to get within three points of final West slot. (22)
22. Ottawa Senators. Still six points out, but have won four straight. (25)
23. Detroit Red Wings. Dropped to 14th in the East. (23)
24. Philadelphia Flyers. Torts & Co. frustrated by nine OT losses. (24)
25. St. Louis Blues. Tarasenko would be quite an addition for Carolina with Pacioretty sidelined. (19)
26. Montreal Canadiens. Will just keep sliding with all these injuries. (26)
27. San Jose Sharks. No excuse to be just 5-12-7 at home. (27)
28. Vancouver Canucks. The rebuild under Tocchet has begun. (28)
29. Arizona Coyotes. Have 14 of next 19 at home, where they’re 10-8-2. (30)
30. Anaheim Ducks. A real live three-game winning streak. (31)
31. Chicago Blackhawks. That 6-1 run didn’t even ruin their tank. (29)
32. Columbus Blue Jackets. What exactly was Johnny Hockey thinking here? (32)
Source link