NHL March power rankings: Vancouver, Montreal in free fall
Offseason darlings in the Canucks and Canadiens have come back to Earth.
(Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
It’s been a long winer for hockey fans, but the turn of the calendar brings the promise of warmer weather. The 2020-21 NHL season has officially entered its second full month of play with the arrival of March. February saw a major uptick in COVID-19 cases and game postponements, leading to many — including myself — to call for a season pause so the league could get the outbreaks under control.
While the NHL opted to keep playing amid the outbreaks, thankfully it seems as if cases are falling across the league. It’s hard to say what the month of March will bring to the NHL COVID-wise, but hockey continues to be played despite it all. In February, we had our first coach firing of the season! Trades were made! Outdoor games were played, even though the sun didn’t cooperate!
With spring inching closer day by day, here’s how I have ranked the NHL’s 31 teams at the start of March.
31. Ottawa Senators
Record: 7-15-1
Last ranked: 31While the Senators had a three-game win streak after stealing games against the currently floundering Canadiens, Ottawa firmly remains in the basement of the NHL.
30. Detroit Red Wings
Record: 7-14-3
Last ranked: 30Detroit won just five games in February and remain one of the league’s worst teams as their rebuild continues.
29. Anaheim Ducks
Record: 6-10-5
Last ranked: 27The Ducks have lost six in a row and have the NHL’s fewest goals for this season with 41 goals in 21 games. Not a recipe for victory, in my opinion.
28. Nashville Predators
Record: 10-11-0
Last ranked: 22While the Predators currently have more points than the Dallas Stars — a team that features much later on this list — Nashville has played five more games than their Central rivals. The team also has one of the league’s worst points percentages (.456) and are rumored to be ready to open for business trade-wise as the Predators stock continues to fall.
27. Vancouver Canucks
Record: 8-14-2
Last ranked: 16The Canucks are in quite an unfavorable position in the North Division. Vancouver has the most games played in the division (24), but have the second-worst points percentage (.375) in Canada right now. The team had just two wins — both against Calgary — in the entirety of February and remain on a four-game losing streak.
26. Buffalo Sabres
Record: 6-10-3
Last ranked: 20This year was always going to be a tough one for Buffalo, but the Sabres have been below expectations so far this season. The Sabres are the worst team in the East Division with 15 points and have no real chance to gain ground in the league’s toughest division.
25. San Jose Sharks
Record: 7-9-2
Last ranked: 28All four of the Sharks wins in February have been decided by just one goal, as San Jose boasts the NHL’s twelfth-worst GF/GP at 2.72 through 17 games played. Logan Couture is the Sharks’ best player by far with 11 goals and seven assists, but he is just one of six players on the team to have double digit points so far this season.
24. New York Rangers
Record: 7-9-3
Last ranked: 29Artemi Panarin taking a leave of absence due to the assault allegations lobbied against him — which the Rangers and Panarin “vehemently and unequivocally” deny — puts New York in a tight spot. The Rangers were likely going to have a tough go of it in the East Division, but the loss of their best player for an indeterminate period of time hurts.
23. New Jersey Devils
Record: 7-8-2
Last ranked: 17The Devils have lost five of their last six games and have the NHL’s worst penalty kill at 62.3 percent. The upside for Devils fans is that former No. 1 overall pick Jack Hughes has come alive with four goals and eight assists in 16 games and will no doubt pass his poor rookie season in the weeks to come.
22. Dallas Stars
Record: 6-6-4
Last ranked: 5Dallas is a weird team. The Stars have played the fewest amount of games in the NHL (16) but after starting the season with four straight wins, the team has just two wins in 12 games played. There’s time for the Stars to mount a comeback in the Central, but it’s not looking good even though Joe Pavelski is trying his hardest to drag the team into contention.
21. Calgary Flames
Record: 10-10-2
Last ranked: 19The Flames have had some big wins, and some big losses. Four of their eight losses in February were decided by three goals or more, and their last two victories saw them win by three or more goals. This inconsistency has caused the Flames to falter slightly in the playoff race in the North, and while they have no real chance to catch Toronto, the other three spots are still wide open for them to take.
20. Columbus Blue Jackets
Record: 8-10-5
Last ranked: 18Patrik Laine has 13 points in 14 games since joining the Blue Jackets roster. And yet, the team itself has just four wins in 13 games in February. A lot of that falls on the goaltending duo of Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins, who combined have given up the NHL’s fourth-worst GA/GP at 3.26 this season. Columbus is still in the playoff hunt, but the gap between the playoff teams and the rest of the pack is starting to widen.
19. Arizona Coyotes
Record: 9-9-3
Last ranked: 26The Coyotes are very much in the hunt for a playoff spot in the West. Thanks to the inability of any one team to really pull away and the lack of games played thanks to COVID outbreaks, just four points separate first and sixth place in the division where Arizona currently sits. However, when your leading point producer is 24-year-old Conor Garland, the Coyotes clearly need additional scoring help if they want to make it any further.
18. Los Angeles Kings
Record: 9-7-4
Last ranked: 21A big surprise so far this season has been the Kings, who much like the Coyotes, are benefiting from a lackluster start of the top teams in the West. In the month of February, the Kings posted a six-game winning streak and have gotten great goaltending from 26-year-old Calvin Petersen. The longer the Kings stick around, the more dangerous they might be to playoff hopefuls.
17. Montreal Canadiens
Record: 9-6-5
Last ranked: 10After looking like the North Division’s second-best team up until early February, the Canadiens have slid far out of the hockey world’s good graces. Montreal is 2-5-3 in their last 10 games, have fired head coach Claude Julien, and have fallen 11 points behind the Maple Leafs. Poor special teams and goaltending — especially from $10.5 million man Carey Price — have sunk Montreal these last few weeks. A turnaround is needed quickly should the Canadiens want to make the postseason.
16. Pittsburgh Penguins
Record: 11-8-1
Last ranked: 14The Penguins keep finding ways to win games they shouldn’t this season, and it’s keeping them alive in the East. Pittsburgh’s two goaltenders — Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith — have the league’s third-worst combined save percentage at .888 this season. And yet, clutch goals from Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, and Teddy Blueger — to name a few — have kept them in the hunt and have kept them from losing back to back games since February 6.
15. St. Louis Blues
Record: 11-8-2
Last ranked: 7A solid start to the season has since dwindled for the Blues in the month of February. Though St. Louis is eighth in the NHL in goals scored this season (66), the Blues are also having a hard time keeping the puck out of the back of the net. That alongside Jordan Binnington’s recent outbursts after being pulled against the Sharks and, well, things clearly are not going as smoothly as one would hope in St. Louis.
14. New York Islanders
Record: 11-6-4
Last ranked: 24The Islanders had quite a stellar month of February, winning eight of 12 games and jumping into contention with Boston, Washington, and Philadelphia for the top spot in the East. Semyon Varlamov in net has posted a .924 save percentage in 16 games played, with the team overall coming in third best in the NHL in GA/GP at 2.29 this year.
13. Colorado Avalanche
Record: 11-6-1
Last ranked: 6Colorado has yet to explode in the way people thought they would this season. An 11-6-1 record isn’t bad by any means, and winning four of their last six is good, but between injuries and time off due to COVID outbreaks this team hasn’t been at full strength until recently. That being said, the Avalanche are within striking distance of the top spot in the West and will likely get better as they get healthier.
12. Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 11-4-3
Last ranked: 9The Flyers had a COVID outbreak themselves in mid-February, causing the team to postpone a handful of games and play a few without many of their major stars. Despite falling flat against the Bruins this season (five of the Flyers seven losses have come against Boston), Philadelphia has managed to stay afloat in the midst of some choppy seas. The defense, and the goaltending of Carter Hart, still needs to be better, but the team is 11-1-1 against the rest of the East regardless of some of the team’s struggles.
11. Chicago Blackhawks
Record: 12-7-4
Last ranked: 25After starting out the season with just three wins in their first 10 games, the Blackhawks have stormed back to make a sudden and improbable playoff push. Rookie Kevin Lankinen in net has been a revelation for Chicago, with a .924 save percentage in 15 games played. Patrick Kane’s 34 points is second-best in the NHL and 23-year-old forward Alex DeBrincat has finally come alive with 25 points in 19 games.
10. Minnesota Wild
Record: 12-6-0
Last ranked: 15After coming off a few weeks of down time due to a COVID-19 outbreak, the Wild are on a six-game winning streak. Kirill Kaprizov has been everything he was advertised to be, with 17 points in 18 games played. Kaapo Kahkonen in net has been stable, allowing the Wild to push hard for the top spot in the West.
9. Winnipeg Jets
Record: 13-6-1
Last ranked: 13Winnipeg won eight of 12 games in February to continue their strong start to the 2020-21 season. The biggest surprise for the Jets has been the team’s offensive prowess, with their 3.45 GF/GP the third-best in the NHL this season. In net, Connor Hellebuyck has been a bit below his average, but given the way the Jets have been scoring on teams up in Canada, he hasn’t been needed to steal many games for this Winnipeg team.
8. Edmonton Oilers
Record: 14-9-0
Last ranked: 23February was a real good month for the Oilers, who lost just three games and have put themselves solidly in contention for the second spot in the North. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continue to do McDavid and Draisaitl things, with 74 of the Oilers 216 total points scored between them. Though the team’s defense and goaltending remain suspect, it hasn’t mattered much as the Oilers continue to score at will against their opponents.
7. Carolina Hurricanes
Record: 13-6-1
Last ranked: 8The Hurricanes hit a bit of a skid in February with a three-game losing streak, but have since snapped it with a shootout win against Florida. Carolina continues to be good defensively with the fifth-fewest shots allowed per game (28.1), while also boasting the league’s seventh-best shots for per game (31.9). In his limited ice time, Petr Mrazek has been great in net, as the Hurricanes have the NHL’s fifth-best goal differential at plus-13 this season.
6. Washington Capitals
Record: 12-5-4
Last ranked: 1Since we last looked at the Capitals, Washington also hit a bit of a rough patch in early February with four straight losses. As of Monday, the team still sits in first place in the East Division, though the team does lead the division in games played. The Capitals power play remains red hot, with a 29.1 percentage that is fourth-best in the NHL as March rolls in.
5. Boston Bruins
Record: 12-5-2
Last ranked: 11While Boston themselves have been pretty COVID-free, the team has had a handful of games moved in February due to other team outbreaks. The Bruins looked strong to open the month, with five straight wins, but have since closed out February by losing four of their last five. Even still, a few clunkers isn’t anything to be worried about, though the team’s combined .896 save percentage is a bit puzzling.
4. Vegas Golden Knights
Record: 12-4-1
Last ranked: 3Vegas capped off a strong February with a 3-2 overtime win against Anaheim, securing seven wins in 10 games over the course of the month. Marc-Andre Fleury has been outstanding in net, with a .941 save percentage in 12 games played in true comeback style for the netminder. While the Golden Knights offense isn’t producing as much as they could be, the team is getting the job done when needed.
3. Florida Panthers
Record: 13-4-3
Last ranked: 12Truly the biggest surprise this season has been the success of the Panthers. A solid start to the season in January has turned into the biggest story in the NHL this year, with Florida winning eight of 14 games in February. While that statistic doesn’t sound as impressive as some of the teams earlier on this list, the fact that the Panthers are winning with goaltender Chris Driedger — and not Sergei Bobrovsky — is a marvel in and of itself. The Panthers take the most shots on goal per game in the league (34) and have the 11th most goals for on the season (64), putting them firmly in the dark horse category as a playoff contender.
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
Record: 14-4-1
Last ranked: 4The Lightning have weathered the early hiccups of the 2020-21 season and have since come out flying with win streaks of four and five games in February. Seven Tampa Bay players are above double digit points, with Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, and Victor Hedman all tied at 19 a piece. The reigning Stanley Cup champions have not missed a step so far this season, and lead the NHL in goal differential with a plus-30.
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
Record: 16-4-2
Last ranked: 2Toronto is undisputedly the best team in the North Division — and the league — as February comes to a close. The Maple Leafs lead the NHL in power play percentage (32.4) and are second only to the Lightning in GF/GP (3.55). Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews sit at above 30 points and 10 players on the roster have over double digit points this season. The Maple Leafs are hardly being challenged in the North this season, and it has them sitting pretty at the top of the NHL standings.
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