Big wins over Jets and Leafs put Avs atop NHL Power Ranking

By Sportlogiq Staff (@Sportlogiq)

We have a new top team this week, as the Colorado Avalanche continue their surge upwards in our rankings on the back of a 3-0-0 week, including a 7-1 blowout win over the Jets.

Since Dec. 1, the Avs have an outstanding record of 10-2-1 with a goal differential of plus-17. It’s no coincidence that Dec. 1 also marked the return from injury of Nathan MacKinnon, who has been on a tear ever since. He scored at least a point in all 13 games since his return (4-20-24), showing no signs of rust.

The Maple Leafs were one of Colorado's victims last week and drop a couple of spots after a 1-0-1 week. But Toronto remains in the top five of our rankings once again. The competition is fierce among the top teams, so any slip up is costly.

Toronto remains top five in both goal and expected goal differentials, so their long-term outlook remains excellent – at least as far as the regular season goes

This past week was about as bad as it gets for the Flames and it shows in their ranking, dropping from third to all the way out of the top 10. They went 0-3-0 this week, losing all three games by at least three goals. Calgary’s slate of opponents was about as tough as it gets (Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina, all on the road) but those are games you need to win, or at least keep close, if you want to be seen as one of the best teams in the NHL.

A win over the Coyotes and a 7-1 blowout loss to the Avalanche isn’t the most impressive week for the Jets but they still climb a couple of spots, thanks to teams around them falling.

Their goal differential is now dead even. With a top-three spot in the Central looking further and further away (seven points down on Minnesota and Colorado in third and fourth), the Jets are right in the thick of the wild-card race as one of six teams within four points of the last playoff spot. They’ll need to string together some wins to separate themselves from the pack

Edmonton continued their slide down the rankings with a winless week, falling to 19th. They have now lost four straight games and 10 of their past 12.

The only team with fewer wins than the Oilers since Dec. 3 are the Montreal Canadiens, who haven’t played a game since Jan. 1. Edmonton posted a minus-19 goal differential over that span, dragging their season total to a mere plus-2. The Oilers need to right the ship and soon if they want to remain in the playoff race.

No games this week for Vancouver, Ottawa, or Montreal. The Canucks drop a couple of spots as other teams leapfrog ahead of them, but they have yet to lose in regulation with Bruce Boudreau behind the bench. The Senators drop to 31st, behind the Coyotes and their one-win week, while Montreal remains in 32nd place for a second straight Power Ranking.

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