NHL power rankings: Coaching change may be just what the Wild needed

We had another coaching change with the Minnesota Wild finally cutting bait with Dean Evason amidst a disappointing start to the year. Will John Hynes be the coach that can get this team back in the hunt? Only time will truly tell, but this current mini-streak is the most life we’ve seen from Minnesota in several weeks, so it’s certainly a start.

Mike Gould and I continue to navigate through the results so far with another week of our co-op power rankings. I have my same old system which I aggregate six stats (points %, 5-on-5 goal differential, 5-on-5 xGF/60, 5-on-5 xGA/60, power play xGF/60, and shorthanded xGA/60, all coming courtesy of Natural Stat Trick) to come up with a list that eliminates my own biases, along with a rule that no team can be above a team that’s more than five points ahead of them in the standings, regardless of where the aggregate places them. On the other hand, Mike goes off his own intellect and pure vibes, and together we find a way to combine it and meet in the middle.

1. Boston Bruins

Record: 17-4-3, +22
Last Week: 2nd (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 1st
Scott’s Rank: 1st

Scott: When was the last time Mike and I have agreed on the top team in the rankings? I guess a three-game winning streak will do a team wonders on this list, although they were in jeopardy of losing the second of those three against the Leafs. After allowing 17 goals in three games during their first three-game losing streak, their defense and goaltending seem to have sorted them out themselves for the time being.

Mike: Elias Lindholm would fit in just perfectly on this Bruins team, man. He’s exactly what they need. And hey, the last time Boston traded for a guy named Lindholm, it worked out pretty well.

2. New York Rangers

Record: 18-4-1, +20
Last Week: 3rd (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 2nd
Scott’s Rank: 2nd

Mike: It briefly looked like the Rangers were in danger of dropping Sunday’s game against the Sharks at MSG, but an Artemi Panarin hat trick (plus an assist) ended up being the difference in an entertaining 6-5 win. The Rangers have now won three in a row and eight of 10, putting them in a tie with the Bruins for first place in the entire NHL. And they didn’t even need Patrick Kane to do it!

3. Los Angeles Kings

Record: 14-4-3, +31
Last Week: 1st (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 4th
Scott’s Rank: 3rd

Scott: Seeing me rank the Kings in 3rd after tooting their horn for several weeks may come as a shock to loyal readers, but fret not, the only reason they’re this low on my list is because they fell out of the five-point range of the Bruins and Rangers. They’ve played three and two games fewer than the other two respective teams, so as long as they keep up this pace, I’ll have them back at the top in no time.

Mike: I guess these guys aren’t the “Kings” of our rankings this week! O-ho!

4. Vegas Golden Knights

Record: 16-5-4, +23
Last Week: 5th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 3rd
Scott’s Rank: 6th

Mike: I still think very highly of this Golden Knights team, but there’s no denying that they’ve taken a bit of a step back as we’ve entered the murky middle of this regular season. Yes, they’re coming off back-to-back wins over the Canucks and Capitals, but they’ve lost six of their last 10 and are on the verge of surrendering the top spot in the Pacific to the upstart Kings. That’ll be a fun battle to watch down the stretch. 

5. Colorado Avalanche

Record: 15-7-2, +16
Last Week: 4th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 5th
Scott’s Rank: 5th

Scott: It wasn’t the prettiest week for the Avs, as after a solid 4-1 win over the Lightning, they dropped three straight. Sure, the loss to the Kings on Sunday is understandable, but the defeats to the Ducks and Coyotes preceding that are a bit less so. Still, it’s likely just a rough patch and nothing to be too concerned about.

6. Dallas Stars

Record: 14-5-3, +17
Last Week: 6th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 6th
Scott’s Rank: 4th

Mike: This feels like the first time Scott and I have disagreed on the placement of the Stars in quite a while, but we both like them quite a lot. With points in three straight, including a bonkers 8-1 win over Tampa Bay on Saturday, the Stars are still very much in the running for the Central Division crown against Colorado. How about 39-year-old Joe Pavelski being on pace for 89 points in 82 games?

Scott: The way Pavelski has aged during the final years of his career is starting to make Patrice Bergeron look like he aged like milk.

7. Florida Panthers

Record: 14-8-2, +10
Last Week: 7th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 7th
Scott’s Rank: 8th

Scott: Going 1-1-1 is a relatively average week for any team, so there isn’t too much to complain about with the Panthers. But hey, maybe they think they should be higher, and think that “only in Toronto” will we see a writer snub them of a better spot!

Mike: It’s December and Matthew Tkachuk has exactly four goals this season. Oliver Ekman-Larsson has six! Chucky will pick things up — and the Panthers will be extra scared when he does.

Scott: I think that broken sternum may be causing more problems for Tkachuk than we initially thought.

8. Vancouver Canucks

Record: 16-8-1, +32
Last Week: 8th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 9th
Scott’s Rank: 9th

Mike: The Nikita Zadorov addition made plenty of sense for a Canucks team looking to add a bit of snarl on their blueline. Pairing him with Tyler Myers might not be the best plan, but it seemed to work all right on Saturday as the Canucks defeated the Flames 4–3. It sure does look like these Canucks are going to make the playoffs for only the second time since 2015, and it’s hard to identify a glaring weakness at any position. 

9. Carolina Hurricanes

Record: 14-8-1, +6
Last Week: 9th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 11th
Scott’s Rank: 7th

Scott: After that bizarre 8-2 loss to the Lightning last week, the Canes have kept chugging along with points in four straight games. That slow start to the season has hurt their overall standing, but they’ve started to turn into the overwhelming Canes team that we know and love.

10. Toronto Maple Leafs

Record: 12-6-4, +2
Last Week: 10th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 8th
Scott’s Rank: 12th

Mike: As usual, I’m higher on this iteration of the Leafs than Scott is. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that sometimes it takes a “down” regular season for a team to finally break through in the playoffs, and I wonder if that might be the case for Toronto this year. They’re playing a ton of close games and their depth is being tested. A reunion between Chris Tanev and Brad Treliving almost feels inevitable at this point.

Scott: Toronto sports is currently an almost literal representation of “do you want to know the horrifying truth (the Leafs have the second-fewest regulation wins in the league) or do you want to see me sock a few dingers (the Blue Jays sign Shohei Ohtani and/or trade for Juan Soto)?” They did look solid in that Saturday matchup against the Bruins, though, so I can’t criticize them there.

11. Arizona Coyotes

Record: 12-9-2, +8
Last Week: 19th (+8)
Mike’s Rank: 10th
Scott’s Rank: 14th

Scott: The Coyotes just beat the last four Stanley Cup champions during their current four-game winning streak, so that means they’re better than all of them, right Mike?

Mike: Well, yeah, that’s how it works. In all seriousness, these Coyotes were both lucky and good in those four wins against Vegas, Tampa Bay, Colorado, and St. Louis, putting forth an especially impressive effort in the overtime victory over the Avs. They have a chance to make it five consecutive wins against the last five Cup winners when they face Washington on Monday. Who knows if that’s ever been done before? As long as Michael Carcone keeps scoring at his current pace, anything is possible.

Scott: *takes off Jedi hood* Michael Carcone, now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.

12. Pittsburgh Penguins

Record: 11-10-2, +11
Last Week: 15th (+3)
Mike’s Rank: 14th
Scott’s Rank: 10th

Mike: Sidney Crosby’s still got it. If these Penguins do make the playoffs, I wouldn’t have any problem with Sid being named a Hart finalist. The Pens picked up points in all three of their games last week, with goaltender Tristan Jarry putting a bow on their only win by scoring his first career goal into Tampa Bay’s empty net on Thursday.

Scott: Well, first in the NHL, he was a bit of an elite sniper in the minors and in junior.

13. Winnipeg Jets

Record: 13-8-2, +10
Last Week: 11th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 13th
Scott’s Rank: 13th

Scott: The Jets looked to be in a bit of trouble earlier in the week, dropping three straight games to the Predators, Stars and Oilers, but I wouldn’t say it’s exactly “sound the alarm” territory to lose to any of those teams at the moment. The fact that they then went on and took care of business against a reeling Blackhawks team at least means that they can win the games. In fact, so far they’ve only lost two games to teams well out of the playoff race.

14. Philadelphia Flyers

Record: 12-10-2, +3
Last Week: 12th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 15th
Scott’s Rank: 11th

Mike: John Tortorella sounded a little like an exasperated pre-algebra teacher when he said he benched Joel Farabee for “not listening” in Thursday’s loss to the Devils. But the famously ornery coach has this Flyers team in a pretty good spot at the quarter mark of the season, even if guys like Morgan Frost and (injured) Noah Cates have been unable to replicate what they showed last year. 

15. Detroit Red Wings

Record: 13-7-3, +18
Last Week: 13th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 12th
Scott’s Rank: 17th

Scott: The Red Wings have certainly faded to mediocrity since their hot start to the season, so maybe the addition of Patrick Kane can give them a spark. He hasn’t exactly been his old self recently and that was before an injury that doesn’t exactly have a strong resume of players successfully returning from it, but there’s at least something to say about the level of creativity he can bring to a Wings team that lacks just that.

Mike: I don’t like the Patrick Kane signing for Detroit one bit, and I explained why here. Lord have mercy upon them if they demote Lucas Raymond to gift Kane plum top-six minutes.

16. Tampa Bay Lightning

Record: 10-10-5, -10
Last Week: 14th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 16th
Scott’s Rank: 16th

Mike: Far be it from me to pooh-pooh a team with Nikita Kucherov on its roster, but these Lightning just don’t look right. They picked up zero out of a possible eight points last week, losing to the Avalanche, Coyotes, Penguins, and Stars by a combined 19-5 score. They conceded eight of those goals in Saturday’s game against Dallas, in which the goaltending duo of Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jonas Johansson combined for just 26 saves on 34 shots.

17. Nashville Predators

Record: 12-12-0, -1
Last Week: 16th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 18th
Scott’s Rank: 15th

Scott: The Preds now have seven wins in their last nine games, so they’ve managed to bring themselves back to a solid level of mediocrity as opposed to basement dwelling, even if they’d benefit more from the latter positioning in the long run.

Mike: It was good to see Mark Jankowski make his triumphant return to the NHL in Nashville’s 2-1 win over Buffalo on Sunday, even if he didn’t record a point. That guy has been around forever.

Scott: I still keep thinking he’s a young up-and-comer and yet he’s somehow almost three years older than me!

18. Washington Capitals

Record: 12-7-2, -7
Last Week: 18th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 17th
Scott’s Rank: 19th

Mike: Washington continues to hang out around the Eastern Conference playoff bubble despite nearly everyone of note on that team putting together career-worst seasons. Alex Ovechkin remains stuck at five goals; Evgeny Kuznetsov is below a 0.5 points-per-game pace; T.J. Oshie has two points and is now injured. Tom Wilson has been heating up of late, but not much else is going right.

Scott: It helps that their goaltending has been solid. Well, everyone except Darcy Kuemper, much to the dismay of my fantasy team.

19. New Jersey Devils

Record: 11-10-1, -4
Last Week: 17th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 19th
Scott’s Rank: 18th

Scott: Losing Dougie Hamilton for the long run is brutal news for an already struggling Devils team, especially since they finally got Timo Meier back the very next game. The injuries have certainly played a role in the team’s inconsistencies, but the bright spot this time is that Simon Nemec gets his chance in the NHL, and he’s looked solid thus far.

Mike: Trading for Timo Meier seemed like a great idea for these Devils at the time, but he’s been flat-out bad since arriving in New Jersey. They absolutely have to figure out what makes him tick.

20. New York Islanders

Record: 10-7-6, -9
Last Week: 21st (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 20th
Scott’s Rank: 20th

Mike: Yes, they’ve won back-to-back games. Yes, Mat Barzal and Noah Dobson are playing well. Yes, Ilya Sorokin is starting to look like his old self. But beyond those three players (as well as Bo Horvat and Brock Nelson), it’s hard to imagine a less compelling team than these Islanders. They’ve invested so much money and so many assets in building a team that may as well slot in at No. 20 on our rankings every week.

21. Minnesota Wild

Record: 8-10-4, -10
Last Week: 30th (+9)
Mike’s Rank: 21st
Scott’s Rank: 21st

Scott: The Dean Evason firing might go down as one of the more shocking coaching transactions for me this season, not because I thought the Wild were doing good, but because it seemed like they were aware the issue mostly stemmed from injuries and bad goaltending. Bill Guerin’s words of confidence in Evason on Frankly Speaking certainly played me like a fiddle, but so far it’s worked, with the Wild winning three straight and holding all their opponents below two expected goals and to one actual goal each.

22. Calgary Flames

Record: 10-11-3, -11
Last Week: 24th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 22nd
Scott’s Rank: 22nd

Mike: The Flames were starting to get a bit too hot for their own good before they lost to the Canucks on Saturday night. This is a team that badly needs an infusion of elite talent. Jonathan Huberdeau might be able to be part of the solution down the line, but he’d look a lot better running tandem with a guy like Mack Celebrini. If these Flames keep selling, they might be able to get themselves back in position to have a shot in the lottery.

23. Ottawa Senators

Record: 9-10-0, +1
Last Week: 22nd (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 23rd
Scott’s Rank: 27th

Scott: Okay, Sens fans, put away your pitchforks, I’d probably have them a bit higher if not for the fact that playing so few games has forced them behind a lot of teams that they otherwise wouldn’t be behind – due to the five-point rule. That said, I can’t say I’m shocked that the team whose core I’ve claimed is a bunch of power play merchants is once again struggling at 5v5 but doing well on the power play.

Mike: It’s hard to gauge what the fix should be for this Sens team. D.J. Smith is undoubtedly nearing the end of his rope, but this roster is also just a mess of half-measures making twice what they’re worth. The only untouchables there should be Tim Stützle, Jake Sanderson, and Brady Tkachuk.

24. St. Louis Blues

Record: 12-10-1, -5
Last Week: 20th (-4)
Mike’s Rank: 26th
Scott’s Rank: 25th

Mike: Remember when these Blues were in a playoff spot? Wait, what do you mean, ‘They’re in one right now’? Huh. I guess you’re right. You’d never know it with how they played against the Wild and Coyotes last week. It took a Herculean performance by Jordan Binnington for this Blues team to overcome a 46-20 shot deficit to beat Buffalo on Thursday. How much longer until we see Pavel Buchnevich and other key players change teams?

25. Buffalo Sabres

Record: 10-13-2, -14
Last Week: 25th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 27th
Scott’s Rank: 24th

Scott: After a statement 5-1 win against a dominant Rangers team made it seem that maybe this Sabres team was ready to take off, they proceeded to drop three straight and are now making company with the Blue Jackets instead of, well, actual playoff teams. There’s only so much they can do without Tage Thompson, but man, this season might already be over for them.

26. Seattle Kraken

Record: 8-11-6, -20
Last Week: 23rd (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 28th
Scott’s Rank: 23rd

Mike: You can’t spell Seattle without an L, and the Kraken picked up three of them in three games last week. If you’re losing to Chicago and Ottawa within a five-day span, you’re in trouble. This Kraken team is basically just the Islanders without the goaltending and the albatross contracts. 

27. Edmonton Oilers

Record: 9-12-1, -5
Last Week: 26th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 25th
Scott’s Rank: 26th

Scott: I was going to make a point about how the Oilers have dug themselves so deep of a hole that even winning four games in a row can only get them as high as 29th, but then I realized that they only played two games last week, so the NHL’s schedule makers didn’t exactly do them any favors there either. Still, their wins last week were against strong teams in the West in the Golden Knights and Jets, so it at least seems like the Oilers are back to somewhat normal.

28. Montreal Canadiens

Record: 10-11-3, -19
Last Week: 27th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 24th
Scott’s Rank: 28th

Mike: The Habs sustained a serious blow last week when it was announced that Alex Newhook will miss 10-12 weeks while recovering from a high ankle sprain. That’s bad news for a Canadiens team already running close to empty from an offensive standpoint. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki can only do so much, especially now that Sean Monahan and Brendan Gallagher have gone cold. Hey, at least their next game is against Seattle, right?

Scott: This will be the game where Philipp Grubauer somehow figures everything else and becomes a good goalie again.

29. Anaheim Ducks

Record: 10-14-0, -17
Last Week: 29th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 29th
Scott’s Rank: 30th

Scott: Um, what is there to say about this Ducks team right now? Leo Carlsson is still looking good when he’s allowed to play games. Frank Vatrano still hasn’t slowed down. Pavel Mintyukov is pretty fun. Otherwise, the vibes still feel off lately after they looked like a surprise team earlier in the season.

Mike: Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, where art thou?

Scott: They’re literally injured. How insensitive of you.

30. Columbus Blue Jackets

Record: 8-14-4, -14
Last Week: 28th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 30th
Scott’s Rank: 29th

Mike: After losing to Boston on Sunday, there’s a good chance the Blue Jackets will meet a similar fate in their game against the Kings on Tuesday. One good news story out of Columbus is that Dmitri Voronkov has elected to stick around after previously debating a return to Russia. The rookie forward has been enthusiastically received by fans in Ohio, particularly since rumors of him being homesick started circulating in November.

31. Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 7-16-0, -29
Last Week: 31st (0)
Mike’s Rank: 32nd
Scott’s Rank: 31st

Scott: Normally this is where I’d criticize Mike for daring to not rank the Sharks last anymore, but I don’t think I can fully blame him. The Sharks are still really bad, but they’re at least digging themselves out of historically bad territory, and the Blackhawks are slowly joining them at the bottom after a stretch of nine losses in 11 games. I still think they’re awful, but this is no longer looking like the Sharks will be the Max Verstappens of being really bad at hockey (sorry, In a week without F1, I needed my withdrawal somehow).

32. San Jose Sharks

Record: 6-17-2, -55
Last Week: 32nd (0)
Mike’s Rank: 31st
Scott’s Rank: 32nd

Mike: The Sharks seem to have worked their early-season struggles out of their system to a certain extent, although they still won’t be confused with a playoff team by any means. Tomas Hertl and Anthony Duclair have picked up the pace offensively while Mackenzie Blackwood continues to increase his stock behind a porous defensive group. After defeating the Devils on Friday, San Jose gave the Rangers a decent scare on Sunday but ultimately fell just short of a second consecutive win. Not bad for a group once thought to be a potential new challenger for the “worst team ever” moniker.