For the first time in what feels like forever, we had a mostly normal week across the NHL. The off-ice drama was kept to a minimum, as no coaches were fired, no major trades went down and for the most part, focus was squarely on the games taking place. This makes for a less exciting introduction for this article, but it feels appropriate as in the coming weeks there’s likely to be a blitz of news coming down the channels.
Of course, it’s worth highlighting the upcoming Four Nations Face-Off as a potential early trade deadline for NHL General Managers. With a near two-week pause in the regular season schedule for the event, the league could see moves in early February as struggling teams try to jump the queue so they can acquire top talent before the actual deadline. We saw major trades take place last year around the 2024 All-Star Break, for example, and the Four Nations Face-Off feels like it will be an even bigger event on the calendar that could draw more movement.
This is all just speculation, of course, but with so many teams on the cusp of a playoff spot despite their poor starts to the season, there’s a real outcome where general managers ask the question “Why not us?” and send out some futures to try and pull back a piece for an unlikely playoff run. However, that’s all in the future, as today we will focus on Week 14 of THW’s Power Rankings!
32-19: Bruins Continue Downward Trend
32. Chicago Blackhawks (Previously: 32)
31. San Jose Sharks (Previously: 31)
30. Nashville Predators (Previously: 27)
29. Seattle Kraken (Previously: 25)
28. Buffalo Sabres (Previously: 29)
27. New York Rangers (Previously: 30)
26. Anaheim Ducks (Previously: 22)
25. Philadelphia Flyers (Previously: 23)
24. New York Islanders (Previously: 28)
23. Vancouver Canucks (Previously: 20)
22. Boston Bruins (Previously: 18)
21. Pittsburgh Penguins (Previously: 21)
20. Utah Hockey Club (Previously: 15)
19. Detroit Red Wings (Previously: 24)
Things move fast in the hockey world. Back on November 19th, the Bruins fired head coach Jim Montgomery after a slow start to the season and two disappointing playoff runs. Following this change, they got things back on track by playing strong hockey and winning games. Fast forward to the New Year, however, and Boston has been playing like one of the worst teams in the league. With a six-game losing streak (which was mercifully snapped Saturday) the team wasn’t just in a rut, but they were looking like the second-best team on the ice most nights.
I think this moribund powerplay against the Tampa Bay Lightning really encapsulated where Boston were at before their recent win. The team was a step behind, lacking confidence even when they supposedly had an advantage, were completely outworked in all aspects of the game, and they gave up all their momentum with a complete lack of drive and a shorthanded goal against. However, I’m still never going to count them out, as I wouldn’t be surprised if next week they are coming off a four-game winning streak with all of their mojo back.
Another team coming off a seemingly successful coaching change are the Red Wings, who extended their win streak to seven games this week. I try to be cautious whenever a team gets hot after firing their head coach, as this tends to be only a temporary upswing until reality kicks back in. However, Detroit needed a big winning streak to get themselves back into contention again, and they have done just that in recent weeks. Now the question becomes, can they maintain this momentum throughout the rest of the season and reclaim their rightful place in the postseason?
18-13: Blue Jackets are Thriving Under Adversity
18. Ottawa Senators (Previously: 17)
17. Calgary Flames (Previously: 14)
16. St. Louis Blues (Previously: 13)
15. Columbus Blue Jackets (Previously: 26)
14. Montreal Canadiens (Previously: 16)
13. Tampa Bay Lightning (Previously: 15)
Sometimes, it’s easy to write off a team’s success or failure as a fluke. Good teams will go on losing streaks, and bad teams will string together surprising winning streaks throughout a long 82-game season. It’s about sustaining that success over weeks in order to make some real noise in the playoff discussion. At least, that’s what I was thinking when the Blue Jackets started strong this season before starting to average out in December. They were an improved team, for sure, but still had a long way to go.
Well, don’t look now, but Columbus are one of the hottest teams in the NHL. With a 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games and a four-game winning streak, they are positioning themselves as more than just a fun team that is happy to be competitive. In reality, they could be playing meaningful games in April if this keeps up, especially as the teams in front of them continue playing mediocre hockey.
Speaking of mediocre hockey, you’ll notice the middle part of the Rankings has shrunk significantly this week. I feel like there are a lot of streaky teams in the NHL right now (both positively and negatively) so the middle part of the Rankings got pulled away after I tried to make sense out of the play. Hopefully, over the next week or two I’ll be able to move up more teams from the bottom part of the Rankings, but this week I felt like the list should be a bit shorter.
12-1: Maple Leafs Continue Confusing Play
12. Toronto Maple Leafs (Previously: 5)
11. Carolina Hurricanes (Previously: 12)
10. New Jersey Devils (Previously: 10)
9. Los Angeles Kings (Previously: 3)
8. Florida Panthers (Previously: 9)
7. Colorado Avalanche (Previously: 7)
6. Winnipeg Jets (Previously: 8)
5. Dallas Stars (Previously: 11)
4. Washington Capitals (Previously: 4)
3. Edmonton Oilers (Previously: 2)
2. Minnesota Wild (Previously: 6)
1. Vegas Golden Knights (Previously: 1)
Being a fan of the Maple Leafs must be truly exhausting, as even as an outside observer I am never able to get a handle on this franchise for my Rankings. I’ve largely aired on the side of Toronto being a good but not great team this season, with an outstanding record backed by strong goaltending. I still believe this, but their two losses this week just make me ask the question… are they actually that good?
Despite coming off a five-game winning streak (where they didn’t look great all told), the Maple Leafs suffered two bad losses where they looked like the second-best team on the ice by a wide margin. These losses won’t define their season, but they do make it hard to rank them as highly as their peers who play a more consistent brand of hockey.
One of those peers are the Stars, who have returned to form after a December blip. With a seven-game winning streak that ended on Sunday propelling them forward, Dallas looks like the Stanley Cup Favorites I (and many others) predicted they would be at the start of the season.
Overall, the teams near the top of the Rankings are still dominating play most nights, and despite some dips in play here and there, they are keeping the race tight.
Calm Before the NHL Storm
As I mentioned earlier in this article, I’m expecting things to stay quiet for a few more weeks before the action kicks off again around the Four Nations Face-Off. For example, I would not be surprised to see the Bruins swing a big trade in early February to try and shake off the funk they find themselves in.
Related: Tim Horton: A Legacy of Hockey, Donuts, & Coffee
However, in order for a trade to happen, they need a partner who is either content to sell veteran talent for a rebuild or looking to shake up their own core of disappointing players. This could lead to a surprising blockbuster move a month before the trade deadline, which could really shake up the NHL world. As always, if this happens we will be here to cover it.
