Leafs rebound from loss to Sens to take top spot in Power Rankings

By Sportlogiq Staff (@Sportlogiq)

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the top team in the National Hockey League in points, points percentage, and in the second edition of our Power Rankings.

After a disastrous start to the week that saw the Leafs blow a 5-1 lead in an overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators, Toronto rattled off three straight wins to finish the week 3-0-1.

The Leafs own the second-best goal differential and fourth-best expected goal differential in the NHL. Toronto’s league-best power play continues to impress, clicking at 37.5 per cent. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner have led the way offensively, with Matthews scoring an NHL-best 18 goals in 18 games while Marner ranks third in the scoring race with 30 points. Toronto is back in action tonight against the Calgary Flames on TSN4 (Regional) at 7 p.m. ET.

The Carolina Hurricanes jump from seventh place to second in our rankings, thanks to a 3-0-1 week that included a 4-0 win Saturday over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Hurricanes don’t have a top-25 scorer on their team, but they do have a balanced offensive attack with four players (Vincent Trocheck, Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal) averaging at least a point per game. It will be a tough week ahead for the Canes, with three more games against the Lightning followed by a date with the Florida Panthers on Saturday. 

The Colorado Avalanche sit third in our Power Rankings despite ranking seventh in points percentage. The 9-4-1 Avs rank third in goal differential and own the best expected goal differential in the NHL. Colorado has won the expected goals battle in all but three games this season, suggesting that their record should likely be better than it is. We expect that the Avalanche will be a top-five team in points percentage by this time next week.

After an 0-2-0 week, the Lightning drop from top spot to fourth in this week’s rankings. The Lightning still own the best goal differential in the league but rank sixth in expected goal differential. With three straight games coming up against the Hurricanes, Tampa Bay can get back in the top three by rattling off a few wins this week.

The Panthers round out this week’s top five. Florida went 3-1-0 last week with impressive wins over the Lightning and Hurricanes. The Panthers rank third in expected goals for and seventh in expected goals against but have been hurt by below-average goaltending. Florida’s goaltending has allowed an average of 0.32 goals per game above expected, which ranks 26th in the league. 

The next Canadian team to check in on our list is the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton went 3-1-0 last week, jumping from 11th to eighth in our Power Rankings. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continue to lead the way, ranking first and second in league scoring. The Oilers will look for a fourth straight win on Tuesday against the Canucks. 

The Winnipeg Jets went 3-1-0 last week and have moved from 13th to ninth in our Power Rankings. The Jets rank seventh in goal differential despite having a negative expected goals differential that ranks 16th. Like last season, Connor Hellebuyck deserves a ton of credit for Winnipeg’s success as only the New Jersey Devils have received better goaltending than the Jets this season. 

The Montreal Canadiens drop outside the top 10 in our Power Rankings, sliding from eighth to 12th after an 0-1-1 week. The Habs have one win in their past five games and have scored more than two goals in a game just once in their past seven. The Canadiens will look to rebound against the Senators on Tuesday before heading to Winnipeg to face the Jets on Thursday and Saturday. 

The Calgary Flames have lost three straight and drop from 18th to 23rd in our Power Rankings. The offensively challenged Flames also rank 23rd in goals per game. Three-time 30-goal scorer Sean Monahan has just two goals in 16 games for Calgary. Life doesn’t get any easier for the Flames who are in Toronto to face the Maple Leafs tonight and Wednesday. 

The Vancouver Canucks went 1-1-2 last week, dropping from 27th to 29th in our Power Rankings. Team defence continues to be an issue for the Canucks who have the worst expected goals-against average in the NHL at 3.29. The Canucks are 27th in scoring chances against and are struggling to slow teams down, ranking last in rush chances against. 

Despite a respectable 2-2-0 week with wins over Toronto and Montreal, the Ottawa Senators remain 31st in our rankings and in the standings. While the Senators rank 25th in expected goal differential, their goaltending has let them down this season, costing the team an average of one goal per game – by far the most of any team.

Matt Murray’s play has been better in February and the team seems to be gaining confidence, but the Senators still have some work to do to move up from 31st on our list.