May 8, 2017
7-Eleven Power Rankings: Can 7th-ranked Caps force Game 7?
No. 1-ranked regular-season team Washington faces a moment of truth tonight when it faces No. 1-ranked playoff team Pittsburgh in Game 6 of their Round 2 series.
No. 1-ranked regular-season team Washington faces a moment of truth tonight when it faces No. 1-ranked playoff team Pittsburgh in Game 6 of their Round 2 series.
The Capitals were an easy choice for tops in the 7-Eleven Power Ranking as 2016-17’s best team but they’ve been supplanted for a fourth straight week by the Penguins in the post-season.
TSN’s expert panel of Ray Ferraro, Jeff O’Neill, Jamie McLennan, Craig Button and Darren Dreger has Pittsburgh at No. 1 and Washington at No. 6. Alex Ovechkin’s Capitals have never advanced past the second round of the playoffs and could be sent packing tonight.
The Penguins, meanwhile, are out to end one of the NHL’s most curious streaks: The regular season’s highest-scoring team hasn’t won the Stanley Cup since Mario Lemieux’s Penguins in 1992. Pittsburgh scored 16 more goals than any other team this season and is leading the playoffs with 3.7 goals per game.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
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PLAYOFF RECORD7-3
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TEAM SV%.929
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LAST WEEK1
After winning seven of their first eight playoff games, the Penguins have lost two of their last three. Cause for concern? Not if playoff-leading scorer Evgeni Malkin has his way. Malkin has points in nine of 10 playoff games.
2. Nashville Predators
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PLAYOFF RECORD8-2
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TEAM SV%.951
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LAST WEEK2
Pekka Rinne’s .951 save percentage is the best in playoff history among goalies who have played at least eight games. But he isn’t a one-man show. Eight Predators have scored game-winning goals in eight postseason victories.
3. Edmonton Oilers
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PLAYOFF RECORD7-5
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TEAM SV%.920
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LAST WEEK3
The Oilers are 0-3 in games Connor McDavid has scored versus Anaheim, 3-0 when he hasn’t. Is this a statistical oddity or compelling reminder the Oilers need contributions from everybody (including, most notably, Neon Leon Draisaitl) to win?
4. Ottawa Senators
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PLAYOFF RECORD7-4
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TEAM SV%.909
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LAST WEEK4
Is Ottawa channeling the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup? The Senators have gone 5-1 in overtime games this playoff year, mirroring Montreal’s start in 1993 when it won a record 10 OT games en route to winning the Cup.
5. Anaheim Ducks
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PLAYOFF RECORD7-3
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TEAM SV%.902
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LAST WEEK5
Randy Carlyle says don’t saddle him with the burden of Anaheim’s recent Game 7 history, but for the rest of the team, the weight of four straight losses on home ice could induce panic attacks if things start poorly Wednesday.
6. Washington Capitals
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PLAYOFF RECORD6-5
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TEAM SV%.902
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LAST WEEK7
Washington led the NHL with 35 wins by at least two goals during the regular season, but it took the Capitals 11 games in the playoffs to finally win by that margin. The Caps need two more wins to get to the third round.
7. New York Rangers
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PLAYOFF RECORD6-5
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TEAM SV%.930
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LAST WEEK8
The Rangers’ multi-pronged offence has scored 17 goals in four games, generating goals in 11 of 12 regulation periods. Add in scoring the first goal in all five games versus Ottawa and the Rangers’ only weakness seems to be scoring in OT.
8. St. Louis Blues
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PLAYOFF RECORD6-5
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TEAM SV%.932
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LAST WEEK6
St. Louis was eliminated by Nashville after scoring just five goals in the final four games of their series. Overall, the Blues scored more than two goals – not counting an empty-netter against Minnesota, just three times in 11 playoff games.