by SportLogiq
The New York Rangers are making noise in the Metropolitan Division.
The Rangers have won four straight games and sit six points back of the Metro-leading Hurricanes. Mika Zibanejad continued his dominating March by notching a league-leading nine points in four games last week. While the Rangers are known for their offensive firepower, New York ranks top 10 in both goals against and expected goals against.
As a result of their recent success and strong underlying numbers, the Rangers have rocketed up our Power Rankings list from 11th to second.
The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped their first two games last week but rebounded to win their final two, against Carolina and Ottawa, respectively. Matt Murray turned in a stellar performance against the Senators, his former club, stopping 48 of 52 shots in a shootout win.
The numbers point to Toronto being a legitimate threat to finally make some noise in the playoffs as only the Bruins, Leafs, Devils and Hurricanes rank top-10 in goal differential, expected goal differential and points percentage.
The Edmonton Oilers are coming off a perfect 3-0-0 week with wins over the Senators, Stars and Kraken, and move from seventh to sixth on our list as a result. The Oilers scored 16 goals in three games as the hottest offence in the NHL continues to steamroll its way over its opponents.
As per usual, Connor McDavid led the way with seven points in three games however, secondary scoring has been a big boost for the Oilers of late. Six players averaged at least a point per game last week, including Mattias Ekholm and Warren Foegele.
The Winnipeg Jets remain 18th on our list despite losing three of four games last week. The Jets are holding onto the final wild-card spot in the West with a four-point lead over the Calgary Flames.
Winnipeg is 4-4-2 in March and defence has become a glaring issue. While the Jets are scoring more than their season average this month, they have allowed an average of 3.9 goals against per game, a 38 per cent increase from their season average.
The Jets have a 69 per cent chance of making the playoffs but seem destined to face a division winner in the first round as their odds of finishing top three in the Central sit at less than 10 per cent.
Moving up five spots to 14th on our list are the Calgary Flames. The Flames finished last week with a 1-0-2 record including an impressive 7-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Leading the way offensively were a pair of defencemen in Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar, who recorded six and five points, respectively.
Four points back of the Jets for the final playoff spot with a game in hand, the Flames' playoff odds sit at 25 per cent.
The Ottawa Senators, losers of five straight, fall four spots to 24th in our Power Rankings. The Senators are coming off a shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, a game in which they dominated their opponent, finishing with 52 shots on goal. However, the result didn’t go their way and any slim chance the Sens had at a playoff spot a couple of weeks ago has all but vanished. Ottawa currently has a three per cent chance of making the postseason.
The Vancouver Canucks won’t be playing playoff games this season either but there are encouraging signs out of Vancouver heading into next season.
The Canucks are up three spots to 19th on our list after winning three of four games last week. Vancouver is 7-2-0 in March and 13-8-2 since Rick Tocchet took over behind the bench. Thatcher Demko’s return to the net has stabilized the goaltending position, while Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes continue to excel offensively. Since Tocchet took over, Pettersson ranks fifth in scoring with 34 points while Hughes is tied for second amongst all defencemen in scoring with 23 points.
Lastly, the Montreal Canadiens slide two spots to 31st in our Power Rankings. The Habs dropped three of four games last week, allowing a whopping 26 goals in the process. This included nine against the Panthers, with seven coming in the first period. On the plus side, injury-riddled Canadiens have the fifth-best odds at drafting first overall in the upcoming NHL Draft.
Post a Comment