The Kings beat St. Louis today to bring themselves out of the basement points wise, but still haven't shown enough to make me think they will get things going in the right direction long term.
At the start of the season this team was pretty much looking like they would stay in the top 5 all season. Now their race to the bottom is only be challenged by the Ducks, Leafs and Avalanche. It's like they are playing with giant weights on their skates.
With just 2 wins since December 17th over 2 bad teams, the Ducks did make some changes to try and turns thing around. Even if they beat St. Louis on Wednesday it won't move them much in my rankings. After that pretty much everyone is taking a break to think about their lives.
Probably not the place you want to be right now, but the fact that the Blackhawks are just 9pts out of a playoff spot is kind of nuts. Either the West is freakin terrible, or there is NO parody in the East right now. They did pick up a win over the Washington yesterday who is in a pretty bad slump of their own. That game had 13 goals in it making me also think, they just sent the goalies home after the 1st period.
All I can say about New Jersey is that you know they are struggling when they lose to teams like Anaheim. Being 15 pts out of a playoff spot probably hasn't helped the team feel the need to "bring it" most nights. Maybe the break will help them out. Of course I hope not, because I can't stand them.
Fortunately for the Avalanche, they can probably take their fingers off the panic button. They are in a tight battle for a Wild Card spot in the West and have been in out out of the Top 3 in the Central. Having said that, I would not be afraid of them right now... they have been looking pretty terrible lately. They only need to worry if this pace keeps up.
Lets just say right now is not a bad time to drive down to Grand Rapids and watch the Griffins in the AHL if you like hockey. The Redwings are dead last in the East.
Ottawa has been playing better as of late, but still has had a hard time making any head way in the East. This is a team the Coyotes really need to step up and beat tomorrow, but Ottawa has actually played well at home 12 of their 17 wins have happened there.
I don't consider 10pts out of a playoff spot, to be so out of the race that it's not worth trying. Apparently the Panthers agree. They have won their last 3 games and are starting to make a bit of a push. Lets put it this way. If the Panthers season is over according to you... then Rangers fans may want to start hanging their heads as well. The Rangers are currently just 1pt ahead of the Panthers.
I know some people may wonder what the Oilers are doing this low. All I can say is look at their last 10 games. They have won half those games but their play has dropped off significantly. McDavid especially is showing signs of frustration as teams have been targeting mostly him every game. Their 7 to 4 loss to the Hurricanes wasn't pretty, but might be pacified by the Redwings tomorrow...because they seem to have mailed it in.
Like Florida the Flyers have 3 wins in a row. Right now they are a tough team to play, but I would not bet on them getting into the playoffs this season. They are currently 14 pts out.
Vancouver is right in the pack for the Wild Card race, but watching them play kind of makes you wonder how. Barely beating Detroit and Ottawa would be a concern for me if I was on the coaching staff.
The Rangers are starting to surge a bit with 3 wins in a row. If they don't end up making the playoffs maybe they can start working on a logo that looks a bit more intimidating.
The Wild pretty much man-handled the Golden Knights today. If this team can string together a good amount of wins, they would do a lot to convince me they are not a Wild Card contender, but a team that can hold the 3 spot in the Central.
Overall as a team the Coyotes have become giant killers, handling San Jose and Toronto in a week as well as nearly defeating Pittsburgh in a contest that went to OT. If Keller and the boys keep this up, look for them to contend well into late in the season. Currently the Coyotes are 4pts out of a playoff spot.
Dallas is one of the few teams I haven't seen play much this year. So they are going to sit right here and like it.
If there was 1 team I would want to play right now it would be Anaheim, but the Capitals come to mind as well. It's actually how bad the Capitals are playing that should give teams like the Rangers and Carolina a lot of hope at squeezing into a playoff or Wild Card spot. They have dropped 4 straight as if the All-Star break has already started.
The Hurricanes have really come to life lately. In their last 10 games they are 7 and 3. Any team that shoots as much as they do is dangerous, but they may want to think about obtaining a better goalie if they want to get serious about making a playoff push in the 2nd half of the season. They are currently just 7pts out of a playoff spot.
Toronto has had a rough road lately and have struggled at home. The Coyotes ran them out of their own building on Sunday. However, they do have weapons and won't be going away any time soon. At 3-7 in their last 10 games, I have a feeling this is just a lull and not a free fall.
Montreal has been very steady all year. They currently hold a Wild Card spot in the East. They did just take a loss to the Flyers, but only after a 4 game win streak prior to that.
I am still mad at them for not picking a better name. Setting that aside, I wish they played better against teams in the west. Of course when they play the Coyotes they can take those nights off.
St. Louis has cooled off just a bit lately. Currently sitting just 5pts out of a playoff spot they are part of a group of teams that look to be fighting over 2 Wild Card spots in the West. It's also possible if some of those teams trip up enough, the Blues could sneak into the 3rd spot in the Central. Having said that loosing to terrible teams like the Kings is not making it easy to keep them this high in the rankings.
I don't care what anyone says, this is still not a team you want to go up against in a 7 games series.
Winnipeg has been tearing it up lately, I just want them to start beating the teams ahead of the Coyotes on a more regular basis. Geez, is that too much to ask? Kidding, this is another team I wouldn't want to tangle with in a playoff series. Not if they keep playing like this.
Boston is another team I can't stand that is doing really well. For me, these guys and Detroit are the Patriots of the NHL. I do wish Rask a speedy recovery.
Don't think I could ever work at a grocery store again. Oh, yeah the Penguins. They would probably be higher on this list if they hadn't struggled so much against Vegas and given up 7 goals.
The Sharks might fall out of the top 5 if they keep this up. It seems like the Coyotes found a way to destroy them, and now other teams have followed suit. The Sharks have given up 6 goals in 3 games straight. This came after the team had 7 straight wins.
The Knights have been jack-stomping a bunch of teams lately. So it is to the credit of the Wild that they made Vegas look human today. I expect them to return to butt kicking when they step on the ice again.
Tampa is at a + 59 goal differential on the season. No other team even comes close. The Lightning only have 10 losses on the entire season. 1 of those was to the Coyotes. Remember when I said the Coyotes were giant killers?
5 straight wins, 2nd best record in the East. They are only ahead of Tampa right now however because in a 7 games series right now, the Lightning would be sent packing. About a week a ago they beat Tampa 5-1, not that one game tells you everything, but it's good enough for me to say they are better than Tampa right now.
Mike Smith is dominating right now. Love or hate him, until he checks out mentally, the Flames are in any game they play. They are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
POWER RANKINGS will be done only as time permits. I will try and do that at least once a week after the All Star break.
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