2018-2019 Midseason Power Rankings
Nov 16, 2016 20:00:20 GMT -5
Rob, bjernagris (PHI), and 1 more like this
Post by brob89 (NSH) on Nov 16, 2016 20:00:20 GMT -5
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1 | Nashville Predators | The champs continue to play excellent hockey, which presently has them in first place in the league. Their offense is led by the supremely talented duo of Forsberg/Yakupov, but it’s their defense and goaltending which has really made the impact this year. They’ve won 13 of their last 16, and deservedly top this list. |
2 | Tampa Bay Lighting | Tampa Bay is a bit of a surprise so far this year. Sure, with their top stars still in the fold, everyone knew they were going to be good. But not this good. Winners of 7 of their last 10 and tops in the East has them at #2 of our list. |
3 | Vancouver Canucks | The Canucks had a sputtering start to the 2018/2019 season, but recently have shot up the standings. This is a great team with no real weaknesses, and they’ve shown it winning 9 of their last 10 games. The addition of Jonathan Drouin makes this already scary team even more formidable. |
4 | Ottawa Senators | The Senators have quietly put together a very impressive first half of this season. They’ve not really been able to get on a roll, but statistically they’re the most dominating team in the league. It may just be a matter of time. Then again, maybe not. |
5 | Philadelphia Flyers | If there is any team in the league, other than Nashville, that matches the Senators statistical domination; it’s the Flyers. But of late, they’ve really missed their star goalie who is out injured, and they seem to still be working through the growing pains of a new, more offensive tactical system. On paper, this might be the best team in the league, so don’t expect them to struggle for long. Stanley Cup contender, for sure. |
6 | Carolina Hurricanes | The Hurricanes have established themselves as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference rather quickly. They’ve had some ups and downs lately, but the addition of Drew Doughty was a savvy move by management. Scoring is a big struggle for this team, and unless they can improve their mediocre special teams their success looks to be precariously perched on a knife’s edge. |
7 | Buffalo Sabres | This team has woken up. Underlying statistics always seemed to indicate that puck luck was the only thing holding this team back from excellence. After winning 9 of the last 10, they seem to be back on track. PK Subban was a great add, and this team should continue to improve in the second half and be battling it out with Ottawa and Tampa Bay for tops in the division. |
8 | Calgary Flames | The Flames are another one of those teams putting together a quietly impressive season. They haven’t gone on any particularly long runs, but this talented group of young forwards has them poised to make an impact once again this year. Hopefully it’s not another year of – ‘always a bridesmaid, never the bride’ – 2nd Round playoff exits for this group. They need to limit scoring chances against if they’re going to take the next step. |
9 | Colorado Avalanche | Under new management, this year’s version of the Colorado Avalanche continue to be a force in the Western Conference. Scoring is not their issue, but they need to figure out what will work on their back end and in net. They also seem to have a tendency to struggle against the better teams, when the pressure is on. |
10 | Minnesota Wild | What a pleasant surprise the Minnesota Wild have been thus far this year. They’ve been led by the excellent play of Jason Zucker, but their true strength is in their depth. They’re just an all around good team. Winners in 7 of 10 they look poised to do some damage. |
11 | Boston Bruins | Something peculiar is going on in Boston. Under the leadership of notorious horrible person, GM Beans, they have always been a team that let in a lot of goals. But, in the past, they scored enough so that their defensive issues weren’t a problem. This year they’ve improved their defensive woes, but are scoring at a middle of the pack rate. Winners of 4 of the last 10, they need their offense to wake up on a consistent basis. |
12 | Washington Capitals | The Capitals were on fire for much of this season, but after having won only 3 of their last 13 games the alarm bells are ringing in D.C. Scoring is their struggle at present, which is surprising. They need their best players to return to form, and some secondary help. The Great 8 himself is playing well below his standards. |
13 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Are the Penguins a one-man team? Almost. Sid is looking like the best player in the iworld once again, but he needs some secondary scoring help if this team is going to go on a run. All the statistics seem to indicate that this team is the real deal, and so if they can just begin to find some scoring from not-Crosby then they should round back into form. |
14 | St. Louis Blues | Oh, how the mighty have fallen: part 1. The Blues have just raneked Shattenkirk, and for good reason. He has more points than all of the Blues’ D (save Pietrangelo) in roughly half the games. If Shattenkirk can help revive their horrible powerplay, expect to see them further on up this list later in the season. |
15 | Hartford Whalers | Hartford have arguably the best defenseman on the iplanet in young Mr. Ekblad, and a great group of young forwards moving into their prime, but they need to do something about their league worst powerplay. They’ve won six of their last 8, but unless they can get some secondary scoring and figure out their special teams, then it’s likely they’ll stick around .500. |
16 | New York Rangers | This is a good and well managed team, and they’re showing it a present being on a 5-game winning streak, but they’ve got a couple problems. 1) Below average special teams 2) They’re a good team in a great division in a great conference. They’ve likely figured out their goaltending woes, so that’s off the list. But they did so at the expense of Ryan McDonagh. Time will tell what affect that trade has on their overall success. |
17 | New York Islanders | |
18 | Arizona Coyotes | Wile E. Coyote himself would be impressed with how well this Arizona team has fallen off a cliff. 2 wins in 11 games while being outscored 53-30. Missing Sami Vatanen is a big loss, and he’ll be back soon, but whatever the case, this team is struggling to keep pucks out of their net. That needs to change if they are going to stay ahead of the Ducks and Oilers. |
19 | Anaheim Ducks | Speaking of the Ducks: hands up anyone who was predicting that Brett Kulak would be leading the Ducks in scoring halfway through this season. No one? Me neither. That’s not going to cut it if this team truly wants to force their way into the playoffs. |
20 | Edmonton Oilers | And the underachievers award goes to… This Oilers team is way too good to be where they are. 5 wins out of their last ten, a horrible PK, and below average point production from their backend: this team is much better than the teams around them in the standings, but they’re failing to perform like it. Finger point ought to being with their best player. McDavid needs to be better. |
21 | San Jose Sharks | |
22 | Dallas Stars | What high hopes we all had for this year’s Dallas Stars only to be let down by underperformance and injuries… lots of injuries. Losing Shattenkirk isn’t going to help either even with the interesting addition of Jordan Subban. This team is good enough to be in the dogfight for the playoffs, but it remains to be seen if they can put it together on a consistent basis and make that happen. |
23 | Montreal Canadiens | Is there anything more fun than watching the Canadiens struggle after having traded 3-1st round picks away? Maybe, but I don’t know what that would be. This Canadiens team has weakness on defense, but they’re not as bad as they’ve been. Their league worst offense isn’t helped by their 29th ranked powerplay. Offensively, they really ought to be better. Recent performances seem to indicate that their fortunes may be reviving, but probably now. This is the iCanadiens we’re talking about. |
24 | Detroit Red Wings | |
25 | Toronto Maple Leafs | |
26 | Winnipeg Jets | This is a team with a great future, and management has made some big moves in order to accelerate this club’s timeline. But for now, they’re still in rebuild mode. Only one team lets in more goals than the Winnipeg Jets, but perhaps that’s understandable with such a young defense. Ryan McDonagh should go a long way to helping this young team mature, and Corey Schneider should replace the departed Hutchinson fairly well. |
27 | Chicago Blackhawks | |
28 | Los Angeles Kings | It’s going to be a long few years in LA. They have bad goaltending signed to a long and expensive contract, similar issues on defense, and a weak forward group. That means they’re not scoring very much and they’re letting in lots of goals. That’s a formula for losing if I’ve ever heard one. It’s going to take time and patience to revive this franchise. |
29 | New Jersey Devils | Few teams have taken to the tank as well as this year’s version of the formerly mighty New Jersey Devils. 2 wins out of their last 8 and the light at the end of this tunnel seems miles away. And management is pleased. |
30 | Columbus Blue Jackets | Columbus is the worst defensive team in the league at the moment, and it’s not really all that close. They’re letting in almost 4 goals per game. They have the 28th ranked PP and a PK ranked dead last. They’ve earned their place here at the bottom of our list. With recent additions and the return of Markus Granlund from the injury table they may be able to help New Jersey in their quest for #1 overall, but it’s still not going to be pretty in Columbus. They’re still a ways away. |