NHL Power Rankings: Where each team stands as playoffs near
The 2020-21 NHL regular season concludes next week for most teams, which means the Stanley Cup Playoffs is right around the corner.Three playoff spots still haven't been secured -- one each in the North, Central and West divisions. The East Division postseason berths have already been locked up.Where does each of the 31 teams stand as the playoffs approach? Let's take a spin around the league in our latest 2021 NHL Power Rankings.
The Sabres' absolutely awful season is about to end. The only ray of sunshine is that Buffalo has secured the best odds to win the 2021 NHL Draft Lottery. The franchise needs a victory there, badly.
The Ducks have the second-worst goal differential in the league at minus-51. They also rank second-to-last in goals scored with 118. Anaheim is another team looking forward to the draft lottery.
The Canucks still have eight games remaining because they were forced to take a three-week break in April after a COVID-19 outbreak. It's not an easy schedule, either, with two games apiece against the Jets and Oilers.
The Red Wings are the lowest-scoring team in the league with 116 goals. That said, acquiring top-six forward Jakub Vrana from the Capitals at the trade deadline has proven to be a quality upgrade. Vrana's six goals are tied for the second-most among players who were dealt before the deadline.
It's been a difficult season for the Sharks, but one positive is the play of Evander Kane, who's enjoyed a bounce-back campaign with 48 points (22 goals, 26 assists) in 53 games.
The Devils are playing some of their best hockey of the season, but it's too late for them to make a run at a playoff spot. New Jersey has five wins in its last six games, including a 2-1 victory Thursday night against an Islanders team fighting for playoff seeding.
The Senators are the only team already eliminated from postseason contention in the North Division. However, they are playing pretty well of late with a 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games. That's the kind of finish you want to see from a young team slowly building what could become a pretty solid roster.
The question surrounding the Blue Jackets is whether head coach John Tortorella will return next season. He's currently in the final year of his contract.
Tortorella has overseen the most successful period in Blue Jackets history, including a historic sweep of the 2019 Presidents' Trophy-winning Lightning in the first round.
But after a difficult season in Columbus, it might benefit all sides to part ways and start fresh. Tortorella is an excellent coach, but he's not the right one for where this Blue Jackets team is headed.
Four wins in their last six games have kept the Kings mathematically alive in the West Division playoff chase, but in reality they have very little chance of making it in. Still, this season was a positive one for L.A. from a development standpoint. The Kings' future is very bright.
The Coyotes had a great chance to make the playoffs but completely collapsed down the stretch. They've lost 12 of their last 15 games and were officially eliminated from postseason contention Thursday night.
The Stars are lucky to be only four points out of a playoff spot despite losing five straight games. They have one game in hand on the fourth-place Predators and probably need to win all three of their remaining matchups to have a shot at making the postseason.
The Flames are technically still alive in the playoff race, but they need a miracle to catch the Canadiens, who are 10 points up in the standings.
Luckily for Calgary, it plays the two worst teams in the division to end the regular season. The Flames host the Senators on Sunday before playing the Canucks four games in a row.
The Canadiens need a single point to clinch a playoff spot. The goal in the short term is doing whatever is needed to get goaltender Carey Price ready for the playoffs. He has not played since April 19 after suffering a concussion against the Oilers.
The Blackhawks won't be returning to the playoffs, so let's take a minute to appreciate Patrick Kane.
The superstar winger leads the 'Hawks with 64 points (15 goals, 49 assists) in 54 games. It's his 10th season scoring at a point-per-game rate or better.
The Flyers have arguably been the most disappointing team in the league this season. They've faded down the stretch with just three wins in their last 10 games. Included in that span were three consecutive losses to an inferior Devils team and a 7-3 defeat to the rival Penguins on Tuesday night.
Ouch.
Where do we begin? The Rangers had a dreadful week.
It started Monday night when Capitals forward Tom Wilson went after Rangers forwards Pavel Buchnevich and Artemi Panarin after a whistle. Wilson was not suspended for his ridiculous actions, which led to the Rangers calling out the league and Department of Player Safety head George Parros in a public statement Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the team fired president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton -- two shocking moves. Later that night, the Capitals and Rangers played again and there were six fights in the first five minutes, including a line brawl off the opening faceoff.
The league fined the Rangers $250,000 on Thursday for the statement made Tuesday.
The regular season can't end soon enough for New York.
The Predators' magic number to clinch a playoff berth is two points, but their final two games are against a Hurricanes team still looking to secure first place in the division.
Nashville is still favored to get into the playoffs, and playing its most likely first-round opponent a couple times over the next week will be a good tune-up before the postseason commences.
The Blues are very close to securing a playoff berth, but it won't come easy. Their next two games are against the first-place Golden Knights. It will be a good test for the Blues because these teams likely will square off in the first round of the postseason.
The Winnipeg Jets have lost seven of their last 10 games and will not have home-ice advantage against the Oilers in the first round of the playoffs as a result.
It's really kind of incredible how dominant Oilers superstar center Connor McDavid has been this season.
He's running away with the Hart and Art Ross trophies with a league-leading 96 points (31 goals, 65 assists) in 52 games. It's one of the most impressive offensive campaigns we've seen in a long time.
The Islanders are limping toward the playoffs with a lackluster 8-7-2 record since the beginning of April. They've also lost three straight games, highlighted by two defeats to the last-place Sabres.
The Islanders' top acquisition at the trade deadline was veteran winger Kyle Palmieri, and he's struggled mightily with one goal in 15 games wearing a New York jersey.
The Isles are going to finish fourth in the East barring a crazy end to the regular season.
The Wild cannot finish lower than third place in the West Division, and second place is still a very realistic goal. They trail the Avalanche by one point with one more game played. Getting home-ice advantage in Round 1 would be huge for Minnesota.
Auston Matthews has scored 40 times this season, nine more than Oilers center Connor McDavid in second place. He will become the first Leafs player to lead the league in goals since Gaye Stewart in 1945-46.
A four-game win streak has given the Panthers a chance to jump the Lightning for second place in the Central Division. Florida is tied with Tampa Bay at 75 points but has played one more game.
Veteran center Sam Bennett has been an excellent trade deadline addition for the Panthers with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in nine games for Florida.
The Jeff Carter addition has proven to be one of the most effective trade deadline deals of the year. Carter's eight goals are the most by any player dealt before the deadline, and it's helped the Penguins take over first place in the East Division.
The Capitals could catch the Penguins for first place in the East Division and two games against the Flyers should help that effort. Washington is two points behind Pittsburgh with two fewer games played.
A May 11 regular season finale at home versus the Bruins could have several playoff implications.
The Bruins have been the league's best team since the trade deadline with an 11-2-1 record and a league-leading 39 goals during 5-on-5 play.
Taylor Hall has been a great addition with 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 14 games. Brandon Carlo's return from injury has upgraded the blue line as well.
The B's are playing their best hockey at the perfect time and have re-emerged as one of the top contenders for the Stanley Cup.
The Avalanche, if healthy, are the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Injuries and illness have been an issue of late, though, with defenseman Samuel Girard (lower body injury), forward Brandon Saad (lower body injury), forward Mikko Rantanen (COVID-19 protocols, goaltender Devan Dubnyk (COVID-19 protocols) and others having missed games recently.
The Hurricanes are legit, and they need just two points from their last two games to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Central Division.
The question for Carolina is will the goaltending hold up in the playoffs? Alex Nedeljkovic has been fantastic this season with a 15-4-3 record, a 1.89 GAA and a .932 save percentage. He has zero playoff experience, though.
The Lightning are 7-2-0 in their last 10 games and could have Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos back in the lineup for Game 1 of the playoffs. Tampa Bay's ability to dominate for long stretches of the regular season without the former Hart Trophy winner and its captain has been quite impressive.
The Golden Knights have a four-point lead over the Avalanche for first place in the West Division with one more game played. They don't have an easy remaining schedule, though, with two games versus a hungry Blues team and one more matchup against the Avs.
Like the Bruins, the Golden Knights are another team on a roll right now. Vegas has an 8-2-0 record in its last 10 games and owns a league-best plus-58 goal differential on the season.
