NHL Power Rankings: Avs, Panthers and Hurricanes Tight at the Top

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

32. Montreal Canadiens (Last Week: 31st)     

The Canadiens remain hot after winning five straight, adding another two victories after that streak was snapped. They finished a road trip in Vancouver on Wednesday and will return home for a Hockey Night in Canada date with Seattle on Saturday. Part of the success has come from a power play that’s converted four goals in its past three games despite entering Wednesday with the second-worst efficiency (13.5 percent) in the league. “The power plays that can make two or three passes and attack,” interim coach Martin St. Louis said, “those are the ones that are dangerous because there’s constant chaos from all these shots. If you have to pass the puck 10 times, seven times, before you shoot, you probably don’t have the right setup or the right people.”

31. Seattle Kraken (Last Week: 29th)

The Kraken began the week by ending what had become a seven-game losing streak with a home win against Nashville but continued it with road losses at Washington, Carolina and Toronto. They’ll continue the trip in Ottawa and Montreal before returning home next week. Off the ice, forward Jared McCann became the first player to re-sign with Seattle, inking a five-year extension worth $5 million per season. “We talked for a couple weeks and kind of got something rolling and I’m very happy with how it came out,” McCann said.  

30. Arizona Coyotes (Last Week: 32nd)

Break up the Coyotes. The perpetual residents of the NHL’s bottom tier this season had a banner week, winning three times while outscoring their foes 19-8—including consecutive games of eight and nine goals against visiting Ottawa and at Detroit. “Sometimes you play really well, get a lot of chances and the puck cannot find the back of the net,” coach Andre Tourigny said. “Other times, the puck bounces in off your stick. This has been a very fortunate situation, but we have momentum. We know we can score, and our top guys are doing really well.”  

29. Buffalo Sabres (Last Week: 30th)     

The Sabres started the month with consecutive wins over powerhouses Toronto and Minnesota, but the optimism has been tempered with subsequent home losses to Los Angeles and Florida in which they’ve been outscored 9-1. “There were lots of simple stuff offensively or transition-wise that we didn’t execute, and it really showed with our inability to convert when we had really good chances to convert,” coach Don Granato said. “It adds up.”  

28. Ottawa Senators (Last Week: 27th)     

A road trip that began with four straight losses at least ended on a positive note when the Senators managed a 4-1 win at St. Louis. They’ll return home Thursday to host a road-tripping Seattle team. “We really emptied the tanks to get a win [Tuesday],” forward Brady Tkachuk said. “This is unreal. I think it’s our best effort we’ve had all year. Everybody was buzzing. Everybody was on their game.”  

27. Philadelphia Flyers (Last Week: 28th)     

The Flyers made it two wins in a row Tuesday night against Vegas, winning 2-1 to pull to .500 for the month after it had started with losses to Edmonton and Minnesota. And it was largely the work of goalie Carter Hart, who made a career-high 47 saves. “It was unbelievable,” defenseman Justin Braun said. “Any time you give up that many shots and grade As and you come out with a W, that’s probably on your goalie having a great night.”  

26. New Jersey Devils (Last Week: 26th)     

It’s two of three for the week and three of five overall for the Devils, who followed losses in Columbus and at the New York Rangers with home wins over St. Louis and Colorado. They’ll be at home for two more before heading west for visits to Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. Against the Avalanche, New Jersey trailed 3-0 before scoring five straight to win. “We’ve played a lot of games like this where you get down and battle back but we don’t quite make it all the way back or win the game,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “I thought [Tuesday] was just a belief that we were going to come back.”