Avs hold top spot, Leafs vault into 2nd in TSN Power Rankings

By Sportlogiq Staff (@Sportlogiq)

For the second straight week, the Colorado Avalanche are our top team in the National Hockey League.

The Avs went 2-0-2 last week earning points in all four games against the Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights. Colorado sits fifth in points percentage but also ranks third in goals per game and first in goals against per game. The Avalanche have the second-best goal differential and the best expected goal differential. This team is solid from top to bottom, and we expect them to continue to climb the standings.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have shot up to second in our rankings from eighth place last week.

Overtime wins against the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers have the Leafs sitting in first place in the North Division. The Leafs rank eighth in points percentage, but are fourth in goal differential and second in expected goal differential. We see Toronto as a team on the rise.

The Leafs just edged out the Tampa Bay Lightning, who drop from second to third in our Power Rankings.

The Lightning were a pedestrian 2-2-0 last week, losing their last two games to Dallas and Carolina. The Bolts have the best goal differential in the league but rank eighth in expected goal differential. Still good, but not quite good enough to crack our top two.

The Edmonton Oilers rank seventh in our rankings and are also top 10 in goal differential and expected goal differential. They do not rank in the top 10 in points percentage, but we think they will by next week.

Connor McDavid is running away with the scoring title and will have an opportunity to exact some revenge on the Maple Leafs who mounted a multi-goal comeback against the Oilers on Saturday to win 4-3 in overtime.

The Montreal Canadiens dropped three spots from 10th to 13th, but they didn’t play any games last week. The Canadiens will hopefully be back in action on Tuesday against the Oilers.

The Winnipeg Jets move up two spots from 17th to 15th after finishing last week with an impressive 3-1-1 record. The Jets rank 12th in points percentage and don’t seem to get the benefit of the doubt from the model that determines our rankings. The Jets goal differential is in line with their place in the standings – 12th. However, Winnipeg’s expected goal differential sits 20th overall.

The Jets’ elite goaltending makes up for a below-average defensive game, but that is nothing new. The Jets will continue to prove the doubters wrong this week with games against the Flames and Maple Leafs.

A 1-3-0 week has dropped the Calgary Flames from 16th to 19th in our Power Rankings. The Flames broke out of their scoring slump Saturday with a 4-2 win over the Jets, but Calgary is still trying to find the right balance of offence versus defence under head coach Darryl Sutter.

The Flames were an average team before the coaching change and are 5-5-0 in 10 games with Sutter behind the bench, ranking 19th in goals and 17th in goals against.

A 2-0-1 week helped the Ottawa Senators move up four spots from 29th to 25th.

It’s amazing what good goaltending can do. Filip Gustavsson, fifth on the Senators goaltending depth chart, stopped 63 of 65 shots in a pair of wins last week. Ottawa will look to stay hot against the Canadiens on Thursday.

The Vancouver Canucks drop from 23rd to 26th in our rankings. The Canucks lost both games to the Jets last week by a combined score of 9-1. Vancouver ranks 30th in expected goal differential. Only Buffalo is worse.

Team defence continues to be the biggest issue, though Thatcher Demko is having a brilliant season in goal for Vancouver, posting a .917 save percentage in 25 games.