Panthers top NHL Power Rankings; Leafs regain spot at top Canadian team

By Sportlogiq Staff (@Sportlogiq)

The Florida Panthers have become the first team to officially clinch a playoff spot this season after a perfect 4-0-0 week. Fittingly, they also take top spot in our rankings.

Florida is just two points behind the Avalanche in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy, with both teams tied in games played. With neither team showing any signs of slowing down, the race could go down to the wire.

The Maple Leafs had an outstanding week, winning all three of their games and scoring at least six goals in each contest, including Auston Matthews’ 50th on the year. They also saw goalie Jack Campbell return from injury against the Flyers, stopping 29 of 32 shots faced.

All of this helped Toronto climb back into the top three of our Power Rankings, but they have a tough task ahead of them to keep their spot. The Leafs face the Lightning and Panthers on back-to-back days, both on the road, to start off their week of four games in six days in four different cities.

One week after finally taking the elusive No. 1 spot in the rankings, Calgary had a winless week and dropped all the way down to seventh. They had their chances but dropped one-goal decisions to the Avalanche and Kings.

Andrew Mangiapane seems to have hit a wall since scoring his 30th goal. He has just a single point, an assist, over his past eight games. He’s still getting his opportunities, ranking third on the Flames in scoring chances over that span, so the production should come back sooner than later.

As a team, the Flames still have the third-best expected goal differential in the NHL, so Calgary’s down week is more of a bump in the road than a sign of things to come.

What a week for the Oilers, as the team went 4-0-0 and saw both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl hit the 100-point mark – the only two players to do so this year so far. Draisaitl is also the second player to reach 50 goals and is one goal behind Matthews in the race for the Rocket Richard.

It’s not enough to climb in the top 10 of our Rankings, but it gives them a solid hold of third place in the Pacific, as they have a three-point lead over Vegas, with a game in hand on the Knights.

We then have a cluster of three Canadian teams with Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Ottawa ranking 19th, 20th, and 21st.

The Jets had a 1-2-0 week and continue to hover around an even goal differential as the playoffs get further out of reach. Our model currently gives them a 2.6 per cent chance of sneaking in.

It’s a similar story for Vancouver, who our model gives a 1.2 per cent chance of making it in. The Canucks had their chances, but a 6-5-4 record since March 1 simply isn’t good enough.

Ottawa, meanwhile, has long been out of the playoffs in a top-heavy Eastern Conference, but back-to-back 5-2 wins over the Red Wings is enough to vault them up to 21st. The Sens have a respectable 4-3-1 record since Thomas Chabot went down with an injury in mid-March.

A 1-2-0 week for the Canadiens was capped off by a shock shootout win over the Lightning on Saturday. They almost surprised the Panthers as well, overcoming a 4-1 deficit before giving up three goals in the third period in a 7-4 loss.

Cole Caufield continues to be red-hot since the coaching change. His goal against the Lightning was his 14th in 24 games under Martin St. Louis. This places him tied for 11th in the NHL since Feb. 10, and is four more than Lucas Raymond, the next best rookie over that span.