Oilers lead Canadian teams in Power Ranking, could Jets overtake them?

The Colorado Avalanche are the new top dog in our Power Rankings.

The Avs have won six straight games and are now part of a three-way tie for first place in the Central Division with the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars. Colorado is the highest-scoring team in the NHL and arguably its fastest team as well.

The Avs lead the league in scoring chances off the rush, and nobody has more than Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon’s 100 rush chances are six more than Connor McDavid, who ranks second. This may be the year MacKinnon wins the Hart Trophy as league MVP as he currently leads all players in scoring with 116 points.

The top Canadian team on our list remains the Edmonton Oilers who stand pat in fourth place. Edmonton thumped the Washington Capitals 7-2 on Wednesday before losing 3-2 in overtime to the Avalanche Saturday night.

Despite ranking ninth in points percentage, the Oilers remain the top team in the league in expected goal differential. From a process standpoint, no team has a better differential in terms of the chances they generate versus the chances they allow. The Oilers are a top 10 team in offensive zone possession and limiting time spent defending, inner-slot shots for and against, and rush chances for and against.

That said, the Oilers' spot as our top Canadian team is far from secure. The Jets move up five spots from 10th to fifth in our Power Rankings.

Winnipeg won three of its four games last week by a combined score of 17-5. The Jets win with defence, ranking first in goals against, second in rush chances against and fifth in high-danger chances against per game. The race for top spot in the Western Conference is heating up as the Jets, Avalanche, Stars and Vancouver Canucks are all separated by one point at the top of the standings. 

Speaking of the Canucks, they drop out of fifth and into sixth place on our list this week. Vancouver lost both its games last week – an overtime loss to the Avalanche and a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Capitals.

No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko remains sidelined with a lower-body injury. The good news for Vancouver is that the team’s next six games are at home and all three of its games this week are against non-playoff teams.

Moving up one spot from 12th to 11th this week are the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs thumped the Flyers 6-2 on Thursday before blowing a late lead against the Hurricanes at home Saturday night in an overtime loss.

The Leafs' power play has struggled mightily over its past nine games, scoring just once while allowing a pair of shorthanded goals. Toronto will look to repeat last week's performance in Philadelphia as they get set to take on the Flyers on Tuesday night on TSN.

The Calgary Flames are up one spot from 19th to 18th following a 2-1-0 week.

While Sportlogiq’s playoff odds model gives the Flames a 4.1 per cent chance of making the playoffs, the team continues to show its resilience after dealing key pending unrestricted free agents. Yegor Sharangovich is lighting it up in March, with seven goals in eight games, tied for third most in the NHL this month.

The Ottawa Senators are up three spots from 27th to 24th thanks to a 3-1-0 week. The Sens won three straight in extra time before suffering a 7-2 loss to the Hurricanes on Sunday.

Lastly, the Montreal Canadiens are down two spots from 28th to 30th following a 1-1-1 week. Habs fans aren’t focusing on playoff odds, but instead odds of the team hopefully picking first overall at the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. Those odds currently sit at 8.5 per cent.