Original source (on modern site) | Article images: [1]
We've finally made it to the most important time of year: The week after the release of a new Taylor Swift album. That's right folks, it's time for everyone's favorite theme, NHL Power Rankings: Taylor's Ver— Another one? When will this lady leave me alone? No. We're not doing that again. What do you mean, why not? It's the first week of the playoffs. I'm done hearing about Taylor Swift. Be serious. But the Tortured Hockey Department?! No. Stop. Fine. Whatever! Err … it's time for everyone's actual favorite theme: The Rankings Boys Just Talk About Hockey. You're welcome! This week's agenda is figuring out why each team is where it is after the first two or three games of the playoffs. A star player? Goaltending? Special teams? All of the above? Find out below along with our usual unimpeachable list of teams in the correct order. Last week: 2 The System We might need to amend the definition a bit, though. Carolina has looked different, flat out, since acquiring Jake Guentzel. Better, in fact. They're still the Corsi Canes. They're still a puck-possession behemoth. They're still a good bet to win the expected goals battle in most of their games. On the nights they don't, they're a better bet than ever to figure out something else. Thursday's Game 3 win over the Islanders is a prime example. Carolina lost on all-situations shot attempts (65-62), shots on net (31-22), expected goals (2.34-1.64) and high-danger chances (9-6). They're a win away from advancing, all the same, thanks to goals from Sebastian Aho and Brent Burns, playmaking by Andrei Svechnikov and strong goaltending from Freddie Andersen. If they weren't your favorite headed into the playoffs, they just might be this morning. Last week: 3 The Clutch Brothers For starters, we need a much better nickname for Florida's incredible playoff duo of Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe. The two showed a penchant for elevating their game in last year's playoffs and were the biggest non-Bobrovsky reasons the Panthers went all the way to the final. So far, they've picked up right where they left off. While Florida has been getting major contributions throughout its lineup, it's Tkachuk and Verhaeghe once again leading the way. The duo have five points apiece in three games and have dominated possession on the second line. It's not just the numbers they put up, but the timeliness of them. In Game 1, it was Verhaeghe who put the Panthers up early in the third and Tkachuk who iced it into the empty net. In Game 2, the duo assisted on the opening goal and it was Verhaeghe who clinched it in overtime (as usual). In Game 3, it was Tkachuk who set the tone with an opening goal and clinched it with another empty netter. The Panthers are already one win away from Round 2 and it's in massive part thanks to their two clutch leaders doing their thing once again. TKACHUK TKACHING pic.twitter.com/J73ejv02t4 — Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) April 25, 2024 Last week: 9 Getting hot (and healthy) at the right time — again It might be tempting to make the Golden Knights' 2-0 series advantage all about Mark Stone, but it wouldn't be fair. Yes, he's the avatar for Vegas Playoff Nonsense — however you might define it — but their success has gone far beyond him. Vegas' preliminary issues during the regular season were their issues with injuries and streak shooting. Now, partially because Stone, Tomas Hertl and Alex Pietrangelo are all in the fold together for the first time, the Golden Knights are scoring on more than 17 percent of their shots, best in the league. Mix in some strong play from Logan Thompson (.920 save percentage, 2.35 goals saved above expected), and the Stars' predicament makes even more sense. Last week: 4 Improved even-strength play The big question surrounding the Rangers' "legitimacy" as a contender for the past three years has always been the same: Are they good enough at five-on-five? That's generally what matters most in a playoff series and the early results look promising. Against Washington, the Rangers have controlled 55 percent of the expected goals while outscoring the Capitals 5-2 — that's progress. It is fair to point out that the quality of their opponent isn't exactly high here, but it is still worthwhile to note that the Rangers are rising to the occasion in the one sore area of their game. That matters and could lead to some momentum in future series against stronger opponents. Last week: 10 Brad Marchand Marchand's production so far against Toronto might be enough to make him the pick; he's got six points in three games and scored twice in Game 3, including on a filthy short-side wrister past Ilya Samsonov that wound up as the game-winning goal. That's such a disgusting shot. Marchand needed one so badly pic.twitter.com/LkHJ8K5q6h — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 25, 2024 Getting that production while in Rat King mode, though, makes it a no-brainer; he deserved an assist on Trent Frederic's Game 3 goal. Brad Marchand and Tyler Bertuzzi get into it…leading to Trent Frederic scoring: pic.twitter.com/4tFIblkNKw — Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) April 25, 2024 Marchand has also spent a chunk of the series goading various Leafs into taking penalties, then helping the Bruins' power play capitalize. They've scored five goals in 10 opportunities thus far. The icing on the cake: Marchand is part of Boston's top penalty kill, too, which has allowed just one shorthanded goal in 11 opportunities. Last week: 5 Zach Hyman The Oilers' cheat-code-caliber power play is always going to be their fallback, as shown by their three 5-on-4 goals in Game 1. All of those came, though, after Hyman scored twice and helped them go up 3-0. Without that hot start, who knows what happens? He added a power-play goal of his own, of course, and also scored one in Edmonton's 5-4 overtime loss in Game 2. It'll shock you, but all four goals have come from below the dots. The man knows exactly what he's doing, and it's fun to watch. Last week: 6 High-octane offense No team through Wednesday's games had averaged more all-situations goals per 60, real or expected, than Colorado. That's the high-end production you'd expect from the Avs when they're at their best. What should worry the Jets, though, is that it isn't just "The Nate, Cale and Mikko Show," either. Artturi Lehkonen, Miles Wood and Valeri Nichushkin have each scored twice, giving the Avs the sort of middle-six production that they couldn't quite rely on during the regular season. Most of all, they've made Connor Hellebuyck look average, if not worse, with an .870 save percentage and underwater GSAx. If Alexandar Georgiev was just garden-variety bad in Game 1, that would be the story of the series. Last week: 8 The duality of Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor It's only been two games, but we've already received the perfect example of everything right and wrong regarding Winnipeg's two best forwards. Scheifele and Connor have filled the scoresheet with four points each, an impressive showing of their scoring prowess. But their line has also been getting crushed at five-on-five, earning under 40 percent of the expected goals. That's a result of allowing 4.7 expected goals against per 60. The offense is plentifully there — for both sides. That's always been the problem with Winnipeg's top duo: They give a lot back. In this case, it's led to "one win for us, one win for them." That's not exactly ideal, though, now that the Jets have lost home-ice advantage, given the duo wasn't even getting the toughest assignments in the first two games. Scheifele has only spent 23 percent of his minutes head-to-head against Nathan MacKinnon so far. If that rises in Colorado, the Jets may be in trouble. Last week: 1 Having the audacity to finish first in the West The Stars haven't played badly, per se. They've earned 60 percent of the expected goals at five-on-five in both games against Vegas — games that were spent predominantly at even strength. That's usually enough to win both games or at least come away with a split, but the Stars instead find themselves in an 0-2 hole. The major problem is that the team they're facing is no ordinary wildcard team. Vegas can execute at a very high level and, unfortunately, the Stars are matched up against such a good team so early. There are no easy matchups in the West, but Vegas might truly be the most difficult one for this team in particular. It feels a tad unjust for the Stars to be "rewarded" that way after such a strong season. Them's the breaks. It's up to the Stars to prove they are in fact the best in the West, by beating another team in strong contention for that title — no matter how early it is. Last week: 7 Elias Pettersson: Missing A serious injury to star goalie Thatcher Demko has taken the wind out of Vancouver's sails, but that doesn't mean the team is a lost cause. It does mean the rest of their shimmering core will have to step up, and so far that hasn't been the case for Pettersson. At the top of his game, Pettersson is the kind of player who can change a series in a moment's notice, but that's not who the Canucks are getting right now. Over the first two games, he's been loudly quiet with zero points, ugly underlying numbers, and an 0-3 count on the scoreboard. It hasn't been pretty for Vancouver's most important forward, who has looked out of sorts with the puck on his stick and mostly uninvolved without it. The Canucks aren't in a bad spot, tied 1-1 with Nashville, but there'd be a lot more hope for them to win a series they're favored in if they get the Pettersson they know and love. They can survive the absence of one superstar, but the absence of two might be a bridge too far. Last week: 11 Un-special teams There are myriad reasons the Leafs are in this spot, both in and out of their control. Bad injury timing and a critical missed call in Game 3 are chief among them in Leafs Nation, but the bottom line is the team is getting absolutely rinsed on special teams. Nothing else really matters. That's the story and everything else is just noise. The Leafs' power play is clicking at 9.1 percent and their penalty kill has only been able to kill half of Boston's man-advantage opportunities. In a series with a lot of special teams time, that chasm has been the biggest difference and it's the reason the Leafs are down 2-1 in the series. You can point to the fact that Toronto's power play has generated more chances (12.4 xG/60) compared to Boston's (8.8), but in a short series execution is everything. That's a lesson this particular team has learned far too often. The personnel are there, the process is there, but it's nothing without actually getting it done. Last week: 14 The top line of Kopitar-Kempe-Byfield Quinton Byfield wasn't on Los Angeles' top line to start the playoffs, a mistake that was quickly rectified in Game 2. The trio did play a little bit in Game 1 (3:04) and were up 1-0 in their minutes, but it's Game 2 where they really took over. In 10 minutes together the line outscored Edmonton 3-0 and earned 76 percent of the expected goals. They were dominant and it's no shock the game-winner came off one of their sticks. For the Kings, the biggest concern going into a series against the Oilers was whether they could fight fire with fire. The high-end skill gap will be an issue for almost any team against the Oilers, but for the Kings, it looked especially daunting. So far the top line has been up to the task. Last week: 13 Savvy deadline adds There was a lot to like about Barry Trotz's work at the deadline; Jason Zucker and Anthony Beauvillier were both low-risk additions, thanks to their relatively high cap hits and expiring contracts. Nashville had the space necessary to fit both of them and the need to augment their middle six, and got the job done for a pair of late-round picks. That's a small price to pay for two proven pros. Now, they're linemates with two points apiece, leading Nashville in average Game Score (Beauvillier at 1.59, Zucker at 1.5). Even with the play Nashville is getting from stars Filip Forsberg and Juuse Saros, quality depth means a ton this time of year. Last week: 16 Charlie Lindgren There might not be a player more solely responsible for dragging his team into the postseason than Lindgren. He started hot for Washington, putting up a .927 save percentage and going 9-4-3 in his first 18 games, then finished the schedule by stopping 75 of 78 shots. If he made, like, 72 saves instead, the Caps are watching Rangers-Red Wings from the couch. Instead, they're trying to pull off one of the more unlikely upsets in recent playoff history, and … it could be going better. Lindgren, unfortunately, bears a whole bunch of the blame, allowing four goals in each of the first two games and nearly two worse than expected. It's far cry from where he was in the regular season and a bad stroke of luck for the Caps, who needed his game-stealing ability to fully carry over against the Rangers. Last week: 12 Lack of defensive depth Ahead of the series, we asked whether the Lightning's bottom two pairs could handle Florida's balanced group of forwards. Way back then, the answer seemed to be "no." Now, it's "no" with some evidence. When Victor Hedman is taking a five-on-five breather, Tampa Bay is getting badly outclassed. Their expected goals share drops nearly 15 percent (52.9 to 37.4), and they're getting outscored 5-3. In a series where their losses have been by one, one and two goals, that looms large. Last week: 15 Stifled star power There are many reasons the Islanders are facing the brink of elimination already and most of them are on the other side of the ice. No harm, no foul — the Hurricanes are one of the best teams in the league. The Islanders weren't expected to win for a reason, so it's hard to really fault on a roster for simply being outmatched by arguably the best team in the East. Then again … this series would be a lot closer if their stars shined even a little bit. It's not like the Hurricanes have blown the doors off the Islanders territorially over the three games; the Islanders have just lacked the necessary oomph. Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat have a single point in three games while getting badly outchanced. Noah Dobson has been a complete non-factor (though being taken off the top power play, for some reason, doesn't help). And Ilya Sorokin's one chance to prove his franchise-level ability in this series ended with him allowing three goals on 11 shots before being pulled. That's a solid core in theory, but they've been noticeably not enough. (Photo of Jake Guentzel: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)1. Carolina Hurricanes, up 3-0 on Islanders
Sean's ranking: 1
Dom's ranking: 12. Florida Panthers, up 3-0 on Tampa Bay
Sean's ranking: 2
Dom's ranking: 2
3. Vegas Golden Knights, up 2-0 on Dallas
Sean's ranking: 3
Dom's ranking: 34. New York Rangers, up 2-0 on Washington
Sean's ranking: 4
Dom's ranking: 55. Boston Bruins, up 2-1 on Toronto
Sean's ranking: 5
Dom's ranking: 6
Six points in three games, key member of PP (32.7 GF/60) and PK (0 GA/60)
6. Edmonton Oilers, tied 1-1 with Los Angeles
Sean's ranking: 7
Dom's ranking: 47. Colorado Avalanche, tied 1-1 with Winnipeg
Sean's ranking: 6
Dom's ranking: 78. Winnipeg Jets, tied 1-1 with Colorado
Sean's ranking: 9
Dom's ranking: 89. Dallas Stars, down 2-0 to Vegas
Sean's ranking: 8
Dom's ranking: 910. Vancouver Canucks, tied 1-1 with Nashville
Sean's ranking: 11
Dom's ranking: 1111. Toronto Maple Leafs, down 2-1 to Boston
Sean's ranking: 12
Dom's ranking: 1012. Los Angeles Kings, tied 1-1 with Edmonton
Sean's ranking: 10
Dom's ranking: 1213. Nashville Predators, tied 1-1 with Vancouver
Sean's ranking: 13
Dom's ranking: 1314. Washington Capitals, down 2-0 to Rangers
Sean's ranking: 14
Dom's ranking: 1415. Tampa Bay Lightning, down 3-0 to Florida
Sean's ranking: 15
Dom's ranking: 1516. New York Islanders, down 3-0 to Carolina
Sean's ranking: 16
Dom's ranking: 16
![[1]](image.php?loc=PT&i=https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/04/26000639/0426_NHLPowerRanks.jpg){kind=link}