January 28, 2022
By Tab Bamford

CHICAGO, IL — Before we get into the good, the bad and the ugly from around the NHL in the past week, we’d like to take a brief moment to recognize a couple significant moments. First, shoutout to Keith Yandle for becoming the NHL’s all-time ironman. Doing it as a defenseman is no easy feat and he’s fought through some tough years in his career. Congrats!

Congrats to Drew Doughty for reaching 1,000 games played, as well. We’ve seen a few defensemen reach the number over the past couple seasons, but for Doughty this is a great accomplishment.

Finally, we look forward to the ceremony at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. No. 30 will take its rightful place in the rafters amongst the best to ever wear the Rangers’ sweater.

Now, let’s head to the less-than-exciting part of the league with the bottom of our Power Rankings. As always, let us know what we got right and where we’re terribly wrong.

[View the Power Rankings from Week 13]

32. Philadelphia Flyers

Yes, the Flyers are 11 points ahead of Montreal in the standings. But when you lose 13 in a row, you get the honor of owning the bottom of our Power Rankings. The only thing hot in Philly right now is the rumor mill.

31. Montreal Canadiens

Four straight losses and one win in their last ten is bad. A minus-65 goal differential is terrible. This is a bad, broken year in Montreal that the new front office will have to figure out and move forward from soon.

30. Winnipeg Jets

The Jets slide all the way to 30 this week thanks to a six-game losing streak of their own. Injuries and inconsistency have been the calling cards of the Jets since the calendar year changed. They need to shake things up to get the puck moving in the right direction.

29. Arizona Coyotes

The Yotes are rumored to be asking the local college team for help with housing. Would the professional team even be the best in that building? The Coyotes have a league-worst minus-66 goal differential and have lost three straight.

28. Seattle Kraken

The Kraken are 4-6-0 in their last 10 and have a minus-39 goal differential. There will be better days in their gorgeous new arena, where they’re only 9-14-2 to begin the franchise’s existence.

27. Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres have only three wins in their last ten and have a minus-36 goal differential. We highly recommend fans in Buffalo who are getting over their NFL heartbreak watch Owen Power represent Canada in the Olympics.

26. New Jersey Devils

The Devils enter Friday riding a three-game losing streak. It was good to see Dougie Hamilton back at practice after missing all but one game in 2022 because of a broken jaw. They need him to help stabilize their young roster.

25. Ottawa Senators

Look at you, Ottawa! Climbing the Power Rankings and fighting mandates like champs! At 4-3-3 in their last ten, the Sens have been closer to mediocre than awful. And they have only played 37 games entering Friday; only the Islanders have played fewer games.

24. Detroit Red Wings

In honor of Wayne Gretzky’s birthday, the Wings allowed the offensively-challenged Blackhawks to score eight on their home ice earlier this week. Detroit has dropped their last three games.

23. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Jackets have survived at home (12-9-1) but are five games under .500 on the road and their defense has been a mess. Getting Adam Boqvist back should help, but allowing 148 goals in 41 games is a rough number.

22. Edmonton Oilers

Here comes... Evander Kane... to save the day?

21. Chicago Blackhawks

The Hawks beat up on Detroit on Wednesday and have won five of their last ten despite a four-game losing streak. Their minus-35 goal differential makes the eight they scored in Detroit stand out even more.

20. Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks have been more average than terrible since the coaching change. After a hot start under new leadership, they have cooled off and are 4-4-2 in their last 10.

19. Calgary Flames

Even with a plus-28 goal differential the Flames are only 6-4-4 on home ice. The fact that they have played 11 more road games than at home means they’ll get to make up time in their barn, but need to win more of those games to get into the playoff mix.

18. New York Islanders

The Islanders are quietly getting their act together. They have played a league-low 36 games. But the Isles are making up for lost time, winning seven of their last ten and starting to look like the team we expected to be there all year. Don’t count them out yet.

17. San Jose Sharks

The Sharks continue to be the definition of a .500 team; they’re 11-9-2 at home and 11-10-0 on the road. They have a minus-13 goal differential, however, even though they have a 5-4-1 record in their last ten.

16. Anaheim Ducks

Just 4-5-1 in their last 10, the Ducks are back to just a plus-four goal differential. We expect some peaks and valleys from a team with as many young players making significant contributions.

15. Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas is leading the Pacific but would be fighting for fourth in the Central, making the Western Conference playoffs more interesting because the Knights refuse to run away from a bad division. They’re getting closer to some tough decisions that must be made to fit Jack Eichel under the cap.

14. Washington Capitals

By virtue of a 3-6-1 record in their last 10 the Caps slide all the way to 14 this week. With the Caps now being rumored to have interest in adding a certain veteran netminder from Chicago, further struggles may push them to make a deal sooner than later.

13. Dallas Stars

Dallas has won their last four and is 6-4-0 in their last 10. They have a minus-one goal differential and have been terrific on home ice (14-4-1).

12. Los Angeles Kings

Congrats to Drew Doughty for reaching 1,000 regular-season games played! Doing it all with the Kings has made him one of the all-time best to wear the Kings’ sweater... and those platinum buckets are a strong look.

11. Boston Bruins

The loss in Denver the other night was tough; the Bruins had a two-goal lead in the third period and Nathan MacKinnon was out of the Avs’ lineup. But the Bruins have still one seven of their last ten and are starting to roll.

10. Minnesota Wild

With a plus-34 goal differential and their captain back, the Wild look like a team that’s built to do some damage in the postseason. Yet, they’re looking up at more teams than they expected in the division. They’re 14-3-1 at home.

9. Nashville Predators

Nashville is 5-3-2 in their last 10 and Minnesota has five games in-hand on the Preds, so the work begins for them to hang onto a playoff spot in the Central. They exceeded expectations for a while but are sliding back to the pack now.

8. New York Rangers

Adam Fox is still playing at a Norris-worthy level, but the Rangers’ offense still has some gaps they could fill before the deadline. We look forward to them honoring Henrik Lundqvist on Friday night at MSG.

7. Toronto Maple Leafs

The Leafs have won seven of their last ten and their last two entering Friday’s action. With a plus-30 goal differential and 15-4-1 record at home, the Leafs may be a team to watch before the deadline.

6. St. Louis Blues

The Blues are one point behind the Preds in the standings but have two games in-hand and are the hotter team (7-3-0 in their last 10). We expected the Blues and Wild to battle for second in the Central and it’s starting to look like they might do just that when the dust settles.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh has won seven of their last ten and have a strong plus-33 goal differential. Sid continues to defy his age and the Pens have the pieces to make noise... but, with so many free agents this coming summer, how hard will they go for it this year?

4. Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina’s plus-47 goal differential ranks third in the NHL entering Friday and they have four games in-hand on Tampa and Florida, the two teams in the Eastern Conference ahead of them in our power rankings. This is a really good team.

3. Tampa Bay Lightning

How do you rank third when you’re 8-2-0 in your last 10 and have won the last two championships? When the two teams ahead of you are just playing that well. Tampa has a plus-27 goal differential in spite of so many key players missing time.

2. Florida Panthers

The Panthers are also 8-2-0 in their last 10 and boast a league-best plus-53 goal differential in 44 games. They’re a ridiculous 22-3-0 at home. And many have quickly forgotten that they made a sudden, surprising coaching change during this season. Even without Coach Q, the Panthers haven’t missed a beat.

1. Colorado Avalanche

Will they ever lose another home game? It looked like their streak would end on Wednesday when Boston took a 3-1 lead into the third with no Nate MacKinnon, but these Avs don’t quit. They’re 9-0-1 in their last 10, have won their last eight and have a plus-50 goal differential after 41 games. Good luck winning in Denver!