Welcome to the 12th edition of my weekly NHL Power Rankings for The Hockey Writers, where the league’s top half is evaluated. These rankings will focus on how the teams have performed in the past week of play and will significantly factor in their overall strength and where they are at the time in the standings. With that said, let’s take a look at the top 16 teams in the league at this moment.
16. San Jose Sharks (20-17-2)
Last Week’s Rank: NA
Despite many questions surrounding their aging core heading into the 2021-22 season, the Sharks have played relatively solid thus far and currently hold the second wild-card position in the Western Conference. Given that the Calgary Flames sit just two points behind them and have five games in hand, the playoffs remain a long shot, but it has still been a much better start for this squad than most had anticipated.
Related: NHL 2021-22 Power Rankings: Week 12
A big reason for their turnaround is due to goaltending, as Martin Jones’ play over the past few seasons was very crippling for this team. James Reimer has been rock solid from the get-go, and Adin Hill’s play has improved as of late. They are also getting great play from both Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl up front.
15. Winnipeg Jets (17-12-5)
Last Week’s Rank: NA
On paper, the Jets should be one of the better teams in the league, but for whatever reason, they have really struggled to rack up wins this season. As a result, they currently find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture, though that should change during the second half of the season.
Up front, this Jets team has plenty of highly talented forwards, though Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois are the only ones pulling their weight. Assuming guys like Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler are able to get things going, this team should soon begin to climb up the standings.
14. Los Angeles Kings (20-13-5)
Last Week’s Rank: 16
Much like the Sharks, expectations were relatively low for the Kings heading into the 2021-22 season. Much of that was due to the fact that players in Jonathan Quick and Drew Doughty had appeared to be on the decline the past few seasons, though they are quickly proving that isn’t the case.
After being relegated to a backup role in 2020-21, Quick has turned back the clock this season with a 2.38 goals-against average (GAA) along with a .921 save percentage (SV%). Doughty, too, has been incredible when healthy, recording 19 points in 19 games. It is a pleasant and unexpected start for a team that will continue to be on the rise in the coming seasons, thanks to a great prospect pool.
13. Washington Capitals
Last Week’s Rank: 7
After a fantastic start to the season, the Washington Capitals are struggling as of late. They have gone just 4-4-2 over their past 10 games and lost to a Vancouver Canucks team that came into Sunday’s tilt on a three-game losing streak.
The main issue continues to be goaltending, as both Vitek Vanecek, but particularly Ilya Samsonov, have been extremely inconsistent. They should be able to soon snap out of this current funk they are in, but there are legitimate concerns as to how deep of a playoff run they will be able to go on if they don’t add a goaltender before the deadline.
12. Vegas Golden Knights (23-14-2)
Last Week’s Rank: 11
After appearing to have turned back to their elite form in December, the Golden Knights are once again playing inconsistent hockey in January, winning just one of their first five games this month. Though they only had one game this past week, it was once again a loss, this time to the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs in a contest that was decided in a shootout.
While they haven’t performed how most expected this season, they still sit first in the Pacific Division despite struggling with health all season long. They are expected to have both Jack Eichel and Max Pacioretty back in February, which should get them back to playing like Stanley Cup contenders.
11. Nashville Predators (24-12-3)
Last Week’s Rank: 8
It has been a great start to the 2021-22 season for the Nashville Predators, but this past week was somewhat of a disappointing one. Things started off great thanks to a big overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche, but they followed that up with an ugly 4-1 loss to the lowly Buffalo Sabres.
Despite the slight dip in these rankings, there is plenty to be pleased about if you’re a Predators fan. Not only is this team sitting second in the Central Division, but they are getting scoring from several different players, something they haven’t been able to boast about for a long time. On top of that, they have one of the top goaltenders in the league in Juuse Saros and are starting to emerge as a serious threat.
10. St. Louis Blues (22-11-5)
Last Week’s Rank: 6
This past week was a relatively quiet one for the Blues, who had just two games, one against the Seattle Kraken and the other the Maple Leafs. While they were able to pick up a win against the Kraken, they didn’t get the goaltending they needed against the Leafs and were handed a 6-5 loss.
Offensively, there is very little to worry about with this Blues team, as they are getting great contributions from a number of players and have been all season. Their main concern continues to be goaltending, as Jordan Binnington has struggled with a 3.05 GAA and a .906 SV% in 22 games. They may be best off to give back up goaltender Ville Husso some more starts to see what he can provide.
9. Minnesota Wild (22-10-2)
Last Week’s Rank: 12
After a rough stretch in December, the Wild appear to be back on track, having won three straight games. The first two of those games last week were wins against the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals, while the most recent came this past Friday in a 7-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
Related: NHL 2021-22 Power Rankings: Week 11
The Wild had a bit of a scare recently when Kirill Kaprizov was injured versus the Bruins and went on the injured reserve. Thankfully, it proved to be short-term, as he was back on Friday against the Ducks and appeared no worse for the wear, registering two assists on the night. This team remains extremely underrated and won’t be a fun matchup for whoever comes across them in the playoffs.
8. Boston Bruins (22-11-2)
Last Week’s Rank: 13
After failing to pile up consecutive wins for the first two and a half months of the season, the Bruins have finally figured things out and are currently riding a five-game winning streak. As a result, they have started to close in on the Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division.
Both Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak are red hot lately, and Taylor Hall has really begun to pick things up after a slow start. On top of that, Tuukka Rask also made his season debut this past week and looked fantastic, kicking aside 25 of 26 shots in a win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Anyone who wrote this team off will need to start backtracking.
7. New York Rangers (25-10-4)
Last Week’s Rank: 10
The New York Rangers’ breakout season has been fantastic to watch, as they truly look like Stanley Cup contenders right now. While it remains to be seen how they will do once the postseason rolls around, there is no denying just how talented this roster is.
Despite being without Igor Shesterkin for a number of games due to COVID, they continued to rack up wins. What makes their success this far even more impressive is that they haven’t yet received MVP-like play for Artemi Panarin. Once he gets fully on track, this team will be as dominant as any in the league.
6. Toronto Maple Leafs (24-9-3)
Last Week’s Rank: 4
Despite heavily outplaying the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday, the Leafs were handed a disappointing 2-1 loss. The good news, however, is that they were able to win their other two games of the week against the Golden Knights and Blues.
Though they did slip a bit in this week’s ranking, there isn’t much at all to be worried about in regards to this roster for the remainder of the regular season. While Mitch Marner hasn’t played like we are used to seeing, he did have a goal and an assist on Saturday in his first game back since being placed on COVID protocol. Perhaps that will be all it takes to get him back to producing at an elite level.
5. Pittsburgh Penguins (22-10-5)
Last Week’s Rank: 9
Heading into the 2021-22 season, many questioned whether the aging Penguins would be able to reach the playoffs for a 16th straight year. Safe to say, they are looking rather foolish now.
The Penguins, who were able to welcome back Evgeni Malkin this past Tuesday, look like one of the league’s favorites right now when it comes to Stanley Cup contenders. Up front, players like Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby and Evan Rodrigues have all been great, as has Kris Letang on the back end. In net, they are getting Vezina-like goaltending from Tristan Jarry, which is a great surprise, given the question marks surrounding him entering the season.
4. Colorado Avalanche (24-8-3)
Last Week’s Rank: 3
Though they picked up points in all four of their games this past week, an overtime loss to the Predators and a tight 4-3 shootout win over the struggling Coyotes has caused the Avalanche to slightly regress in this weeks ranking. The good news is that this red hot roster has a soft schedule for the remainder of January, meaning they should continue racking up plenty of wins over the next two weeks.
Much was made this past week of the all-star snub of Nazem Kadri, and rightfully so. The 31-year-old has been incredible in 2021-22, sitting fifth in league scoring with 49 points in just 32 games. He, Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon have all been incredible as of late and should be for the remainder of the season.
3. Carolina Hurricanes (25-8-2)
Last Week’s Rank: 2
The Hurricanes had a rare off night on Thursday, getting blown out 6-0 by the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team they put up seven against less than two weeks prior. But to their credit, they showed their resiliency and responded in a big way on Saturday, defeating the Vancouver Canucks by a final score of 4-1.
Players like Sebastian Aho and Tony DeAngelo deserve plenty of credit for the number of points they are producing this season, but there is no denying who this team’s MVP has been to this point. Frederik Andersen, after a down season with the Leafs in 2020-21, has bounced back in a major way in Raleigh, posting a 2.03 GAA along with a .928 SV% in 25 games. He has a real shot at his first-ever Vezina Trophy if his play keeps up.
2. Tampa Bay Lightning (26-9-5)
Last Week’s Rank: 5
What is there to say about this team at this point. They are back-to-back Stanley Cup champions for a reason and have all the talent needed to make it three straight this season.
Related: NHL 2021-22 Power Rankings: Week 10
After missing 32 games this season due to injury, Nikita Kucherov hasn’t missed a beat since returning, posting multi-point outings in four of five games. The contributions they are getting from players like him, Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman aren’t surprising, but one player who deserves to be mentioned is Alex Killorn, who has 36 points in 40 games. The 32-year-old is on pace to smash his previous career-high 49 points set in 2019-20.
1. Florida Panthers (26-7-5)
Last Week’s Rank: 1
This team has been regarded as an offensive juggernaut all season long, and for good reason. Their 158 goals lead the entire league, and they have put up a ridiculous 50 tallies in their past eight games. While there are some questions in regards to their defensive play, it may not matter if they are able to continue putting up offence like this.
While everyone knows their main two weapons up front are Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, there are plenty of others that are serious threats as well. Guys like Sam Reinhart, Anthony Duclair, Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett are all having monster years and are a big part of why this team currently ranks first in league standings. They are one of the most exciting teams to watch right now and will be for the remainder of the season.
Changes to Come
These rankings will continue to change each week throughout the season, as all teams go through highs and lows. Of course, the true contenders will like always remain on the list, but where they are ranked could change each and every week. Tune in at this time next week to see the changes.