The final weeks of the NHL season are a mixture of the best and worst the sport has to offer. On one end of the spectrum, you have the contenders fighting it out for postseason positioning, with teams being eliminated in dramatic fashion leading up to the end of the regular season. On the other side, we have those franchises who are done selling off the top pieces of their roster and are just playing out the stretch, which can lead to some lopsided games.
For example, the Anaheim Ducks went 0-4-0 this week, losing their games by a combined score of 19-4. Even the most realistic fans in Anaheim should be disappointed by these results, but such is the life of a team at the end of another long rebuilding season.
If you cheer for a team on the bubble (not the NCAA basketball bubble), this was a stressful week. Many teams with playoff aspirations are struggling to find the consistency they need to grab hold of a spot. Ill-timed losing streaks and injuries are undoing a season’s worth of work, and while there’s still a lot of hockey left to be played, it’s just a reminder that points count the same whether it’s Game 1 or Game 82.
So, let’s sort out all of the carnage after a week of big wins, costly losses, and a tightening playoff race in Week 24 of THW’s Power Rankings!
32-21: Ugly Play at the Bottom of the NHL
32. San Jose Sharks (Previously 31st) – Eliminated
31. Anaheim Ducks (Previously 28th)
30. Chicago Blackhawks (Previously 32nd) – Eliminated
29. Montreal Canadiens (Previously 29th)
28. Ottawa Senators (Previously 30th)
27. Columbus Blue Jackets (Previously 26th)
26. Seattle Kraken (Previously 22nd)
25. Pittsburgh Penguins (Previously 24th)
24. New Jersey Devils (Previously 25th)
23. Arizona Coyotes (Previously 27th)
22. Buffalo Sabres (Previously 20th)
21. Calgary Flames (Previously 21st)
When you’re discussing the bottom of the Power Rankings, it can be about the small victories. This week, the Blackhawks beat the Ducks 7-2 after posting another seven goals on the Coyotes in their previous game. This was one of their best stretches of play this season, and Connor Bedard’s five-point night is a good reminder of a bright future ahead for the franchise.
Elsewhere, the Sharks and Ducks joined Chicago as the second team eliminated from the 2024 NHL Playoffs. This is no surprise given how poor their seasons were going as they worked through a long rebuild of an aging roster, but it still put some finality on the situation. San Jose and Anaheim now just have to play out the stretch and hopefully look competitive while working toward the first-overall draft pick.
As for the remaining teams in this section, the Flames, Senators, and Coyotes are showing signs of life despite being well out of the playoff window, and the Kraken have packed it in for the season after losing four straight games. Life can be tough after selling at the deadline.
20-12: Golden Knights and Red Wings Continue Sliding
20. Detroit Red Wings (Previously 17th)
19. Vegas Golden Knights (Previously 13th)
18. Philadelphia Flyers (Previously 16th)
17. New York Islanders (Previously 14th)
16. Minnesota Wild (Previously 19th)
15. St. Louis Blues (Previously 23rd)
14. Washington Capitals (Previously 18th)
13. Tampa Bay Lightning (Previously 15th)
12. Los Angeles Kings (Previously 12th)
When the Golden Knights went big game hunting at the 2024 Trade Deadline, the hockey world assumed it was to go on another run at the Stanley Cup while manipulating the Salary Cap. While there is some truth to this statement, many didn’t realize how dire things had become on the ice for Vegas as injuries tore apart their elite core. The team has been, frankly, bad for a few months, which has put them into a precarious position where they are still in the playoffs, but they have to look uncomfortably over their shoulders at the Blues and Wild, who are closing the gap quickly. If either team had a better start to the season, the Golden Knights would be on the outside looking in right now, which is unimaginable to think of back in November.
It’s not just Vegas who are struggling at a bad time. Before finally getting a win on Saturday, the Red Wings were on a seven-game losing streak that took them from a solid spot in the postseason to in jeopardy of losing hold of it. This led to a lot of tension in the locker room, which eventually boiled over into a fight at practice between Ben Chariot and Lucas Raymond. Now, we’ve seen fights at practice galvanize a team in the past, so perhaps this will be the low point of Detroit’s season before they go on a long playoff run? A bad loss Sunday doesn’t look promising, but time will tell.
Perhaps just as frustrating are the Islanders, who would have easily taken the final Wild Card spot in the East had they just played even mediocre hockey this week. However, four straight losses saw their games-in-hand lead shrink and allowed the Capitals to jump them in the standings per points percentage. So, we have a real fight on our hands for that Wild Card spot, which is rather exciting to see.
Also, if you’re a fan of the Kings or Lightning, these teams did enough this week to keep themselves off the bubble, but they are far from safe in the standings. One bad week could put them out of the playoffs, so it will be stressful for a while longer unless they can reel off a big winning streak.
11-1: NHL’s Best Showcasing Stanley Cup Potential
11. Toronto Maple Leafs (Previously 6th)
10. Edmonton Oilers (Previously 11th)
9. Boston Bruins (Previously 9th)
8. Vancouver Canucks (Previously 5th)
7. Winnipeg Jets (Previously 7th)
6. Nashville Predators (Previously 8th)
5. Dallas Stars (Previously 2nd)
4. Florida Panthers (Previously 1st)
3. Colorado Avalanche (Previously 10th)
2. Carolina Hurricanes (Previously 4th)
1. New York Rangers (Previously 3rd)
I think you can make a solid argument that the Avalanche are the best team in the NHL once again. After struggling a bit throughout January and February, they seem to have found their magic with six big wins against good teams. Plus, their trade deadline additions are settling into their new roles with the team, which will only make them better with time.
As always, the top of the Rankings are separated by a matter of inches. For now, I have the Rangers back on top after they made the most of a busy week by going 4-1-0 in five games played. However, I think you can argue the Hurricanes, Avalanche, Stars, or even Panthers (who are on a losing streak) for the top spot. These teams are all great, and they often only lose when they play each other or another team in playoff contention.
Oh, and in case you were tracking this, the Predators went 2-0-0 this week, which means they still haven’t lost a game in regulation since Feb. 15th. They are now 12-0-2 in their last 14 games and are playing some of the best hockey we’ve seen in Nashville in years.
NHL Pushing Towards the Playoffs
In many ways, the top of the Rankings and the bottom feel similar this time of the year. Neither are very exciting because we largely get what we expect from them. All of the teams are comfortably in or out of a playoff position, so they just need to stay healthy and ride out the rest of the regular season.
Related: 2023-24 Vezina Trophy Tracker — March Update
However, if you cheer for a team in the middle of the Rankings, hold on, because it’s going to be a wild few weeks until they lock down a spot in the playoffs or are officially eliminated. At the very least, it will give you something to cheer for each night.