VGK No. 1, Habs biggest riser, Oilers drop far in Power Rankings

By Sportlogiq Staff (@Sportlogiq)

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ two-week reign atop our Power Rankings has come to an end.

Following a perfect 4-0-0 week that included a pair of wins over the Wild and Sharks, the Vegas Golden Knights have propelled themselves into top spot.

Vegas owns the best points percentage in the NHL and ranks in the top three in goal differential and expected goal differential. Marc-Andre Fleury continues to defy aging curves, ranking third in wins, goals-against average, and save percentage.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning remain in second spot in our Power Rankings. The Bolts posted a 2-0-1 record last week, with wins over Dallas and Chicago.

Tampa Bay has the best goal differential in the NHL despite ranking seventh in expected goal differential. This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise given the elite offensive talent the team possesses, along with having the top-performing goalie in the NHL in Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The aforementioned Maple Leafs drop from first to third after a mediocre week in which they won twice and lost twice.

Toronto will look to snap its two-game losing streak Tuesday on TSN 3 and 4 as it gets set to host the Winnipeg Jets in the first of three games against them this week. Along with Vegas, Toronto is the only other team to rank in the top three in goal and expected goal differential.

The New York Islanders have won five straight, are 10-0-2 at home, and jumped from 11th to fourth in our rankings.

Barry Trotz has his team executing its brand of hockey to near perfection, with the Islanders getting contributions from all four forward lines. The Isles rank in the top 10 in goal and expected goal differential and sit atop a stacked East Division with 34 points.

Don’t sleep on the Colorado Avalanche. Despite missing key players like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, amongst others recently, the Avs still managed to post a 2-1-1 record last week.

Their play has been inconsistent recently, but this team still has the best expected goals differential in the NHL. Simply put, the Avs create and limit scoring chances more effectively than anyone else. The Avs rank 10th in points percentage but we have them fifth in our Power Rankings. Expect them to move up the standings sooner than later.

The Winnipeg Jets check in at number eight in our rankings, up one spot from last week. The Jets split games against the Canucks and Canadiens last week, finishing the week with a 2-2-0 record.

The Jets rank 15th in expected goal differential and are in the top 10 in points percentage and our rankings thanks to goaltending more than team defence. The Jets give up a lot of quality scoring chances and rely heavily on strong play from their goalies. Winnipeg will be tested this week with three consecutive games coming up against Toronto, which boasts the second-best offence in all of hockey.

Despite ranking 14th in points percentage, the Montreal Canadiens have vaulted back into a Top-10 spot in our Power Rankings, sitting ninth overall.

The Habs offence exploded against the Jets Saturday night in a 7-1 win. Montreal will play six road games in the next 10 days, starting in Vancouver tonight as the team tries to build off the type of game we saw regularly from the Canadiens earlier in the season.

The Edmonton Oilers fall from seventh to 18th in our Power Rankings – the biggest drop of any Canadian team. The Oilers lost twice to the Maple Leafs last week before rebounding with a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Edmonton’s position in our rankings is in line with its position in points percentage and goal differential – ranking 17th and 18th respectively. The Oilers also rank sixth in expected goal differential, so improved play from their goaltenders will go a long way in getting back to a top-10 spot in our rankings.

The Calgary Flames drop one spot to 21st in our Power Rankings. Inconsistency remains an issue for the Flames, who fired head coach Geoff Ward last week. In the past couple of weeks, Calgary has won by three or more goals three times and lost by three or more three times.

The Flames are off until Thursday when incoming head coach Darryl Sutter is expected to make his return behind the bench.

The Vancouver Canucks jump two spots in our Power Rankings to 26th after posting an impressive 3-1-0 record last week, including a pair of wins over the Maple Leafs.

The Canucks still don’t create nearly as many quality chances as they allow, ranking last in the NHL in expected goal differential. However, their recent play has been much improved, and they will look to build off of last week’s success tonight against the Canadiens.

The Ottawa Senators are still the lowest-ranked Canadian team, but they move up in our Power Rankings for the second straight week, jumping from 30th to 27th.

Despite being short-handed eight times Sunday night, the Senators scratched and clawed their way to a 4-3 shootout win over the Calgary Flames. Ottawa ranks second-last in goal differential, but their expected goal differential sits 25th overall. The Sens continue their five-game western road trip tonight in Edmonton.