This week’s Elite Eight would make the former Southeast Division proud

2. Carolina Hurricanes (19-7-1)

If not for a loss on Sunday night to the Vancouver Canucks, the Hurricanes could be occupying the No. 1 spot on this list. They have the league’s best goal differential (+27), thanks to an elite defense and some very good goaltending from Frederik Andersen. Being difficult to score on will take you far.

3. Washington Capitals (17-5-6)

Even though they’re ahead of the Canes in terms of points, I have the Capitals behind Carolina because they’re slightly propped up by loser points. The Capitals are still having a darn good season, as they’re tied for second in the league in goal differential (+26). Alex Ovechkin, at the age of 36, is operating at the best point-per-game pace of his career and he’s doing it without Nicklas Backstrom.

4. Tampa Bay Lightning (17-6-4)

After a slow-ish start to the season, the back-to-back Stanley Cup champs are back. The Lightning went on a five-game winning streak on the road and nearly completed a perfect trip before losing 4-0 to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday afternoon. The highlight of that trip was Tampa Bay’s commanding 5-3 win over the Leafs in Toronto.

5. Minnesota Wild (19-8-1)

Finally, we have a team from the Western Conference. Even though the Wild have dropped back-to-back games, they had just put together an eight-game winning streak that vaulted them to the top of the standings in the competitive Central Division. Minnesota has a big test on the horizon as its next game is against the Hurricanes.

6. Toronto Maple Leafs (19-8-2)

The Leafs are tied for the league lead with 40 points. How are they sixth on the power rankings list? Well, they’re seventh in terms of points percentage and goal differential, and they lost a pair of key head-to-head matchups against other elite teams. The Leafs lost to the Wild in a shootout in early December and they got dropped handily by the Lightning at home last week.

7. Colorado Avalanche (16-7-2)

Since an embarrassing 8-3 loss to the Leafs, the Avs are rolling. They’re 5-0-1 in their last six games and just pulled off an impressive victory over the Panthers, the league’s top team. Colorado could climb this list quickly if this hot streak continues.

8. New York Rangers (18-6-3)

It might be a surprise to see the Rangers, a team tied for second in the league in points percentage, at the bottom of the Elite Eight, but their underlying numbers are cause for concern. New York’s goal differential is a solid +11, but the Rangers are just 26th in the league in expected goals for percentage. Is this truly an elite team or is Igor Shesterkin just an elite goaltender?

Worth Mentioning…

The Edmonton Oilers are in a free-fall.

They started out the season by going 9-1-0, but they’re now at risk of falling out of a playoff spot thanks to a five-game losing streak.

It’s been 10 games since Edmonton got a goal from somebody in its bottom-six, while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are clearly exhausted from carrying this team on their backs.

The worst part about this skid for the Oilers is the fact it’s coming at a time when they badly needed to bag some points. Edmonton has dropped the first four games of a six-game homestand, and right around the corner is an eight-game swing on the road.

If the Oilers don’t pull it together soon, this has the makings to become a complete implosion.

Sticking in Alberta, the Calgary Flames are also struggling after a hot start. The Flames are currently in the midst of a season-long four-game losing streak, and the NHL just announced on Monday that their next three games will be postponed with six Calgary players going into COVID-19 protocol.

And then, all of a sudden, with the Alberta teams struggling, the Anaheim Ducks are currently the top team in the Pacific Division with a 16-9-5 record. They’ve played four more games than Edmonton and two more than Calgary, but Trevor Zegras has injected some new life into the Ducks and they look like a legit playoff candidate.

Along with the Ducks, a couple of teams who could challenge to make next week’s Elite Eight if they remain hot are the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators.

Both teams rank in the top third of the league in terms of expected goals for percentage and they’re starting to see the results. Nashville is on a five-game winning streak that featured four wins on the road. The Penguins have won four in a row, and both Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust are due back from injury soon.

Finally, we also have to mention the Vancouver Canucks, who look like a totally different team with Bruce Boudreau behind the bench. They’ve won four games in a row, which is huge considering their longest winning streak of the season before this was two games.

This Week’s Disaster…

The Oilers might have found themselves as our inaugural disaster, but, naturally, the Arizona Coyotes outdid them.

The Coyotes are a disaster on the ice, as they’ve dropped five games in a row and now own a 5-20-2 record for the season. They’re also a disaster off the ice, as they nearly got kicked out of their arena midseason because of unpaid arena charges and delinquent tax bills.

That certainly isn’t ideal when you’re trying to get support to build a billion-dollar facility in Tempe.