NHL Power Rankings: 1-31 poll, plus one stunning stat for every team
Stats don’t lie — but sometimes they can be strange. For this week’s ESPN NHL Power Rankings, we identified one stunning stat for each of the 31 teams.
How we rank: The ESPN hockey editorial staff submits selections ranking teams 1-31, and those results are tabulated to the list featured here. Teams are rated through Tuesday night’s games, taking into account overall record, recent success and other factors such as injuries. The previous ranking for each team is its spot in our final edition of 2019.
Note: Standings point pace is as of the games of Jan. 8
Previous ranking: 1
Standings point pace: 118
Here’s one way Washington has dominated the league: The Caps have 17 road wins; that’s more road wins this season than any other team has at home.
Previous ranking: 2
Standings point pace: 114
Jordan Binnington recorded 58 wins in 2019. That’s the third-most wins ever by a goalie in a calendar year, trailing only Marc-Andre Fleury (2009) and Bernie Parent (1974).
Previous ranking: 3
Standings point pace: 114
David Pastrnak has scored the first goal of a game 13 times, by far the most in the league. The player closest to Pastrnak is Nikita Kucherov with six.
Previous ranking: 4
Standings point pace: 111
Isles goalie Thomas Greiss was called for hooking Nikita Gusev in a game against the Devils on Tuesday. It was just the second NHL game ever that the lone penalty came against a goalie.
Previous ranking: 5
Standings point pace: 109
Other teams love to get physical with the Pens. Marcus Pettersson, John Marino and Brandon Tanev rank first, third and fourth respectively in the league in hits taken this season.
Previous ranking: 15
Standings point pace: 105
Andrei Vasilevskiy doesn’t do well when he’s bored. In games where he faces fewer than 25 shots, the goalie is 2-4 and has a .822 save percentage.
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Previous ranking: 6
Standings point pace: 101
In a season of amazing comebacks, the typically dangerous Avalanche are the only NHL team to have not won a game when trailing entering the third period, going 0-10-1.
Previous ranking: 8
Standings point pace: 96
Ryan Reaves is on pace to deliver 342 hits this season. Reaves also led the league in hits last season, when he finished with 305. (The NHL record, by the way, is 382).
Previous ranking: 10
Standings point pace: 103
Unlike the Avalanche, the Stars are good at digging out of a hole. When trailing heading into the third period, Dallas has the most wins in the league (seven).
Previous ranking: 9
Standings point pace: 98
Auston Matthews has scored 24 of his 31 goals at Scotiabank Arena. That’s the most goals at home for a player this season.
Previous ranking: 12
Standings point pace: 98
The Yotes have six players with double-digit goal totals, and none of them are their three highest-paid forwards, Phil Kessel, Derek Stepan and Nick Schmaltz (nor Taylor Hall and his prorated salary, for that matter).
Previous ranking: 7
Standings point pace: 99
Halfway through the season, the Canes were the only NHL team with four players recording 37 points or more (Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen and Dougie Hamilton).
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Previous ranking: 14
Standings point pace: 95
Three teams have scored six goals in a period this season. Two of those instances (the Penguins on Nov. 27 and the Lightning this week) have come against the Canucks.
Previous ranking: 13
Standings point pace: 97
Patrik Laine has evolved his game and is now on pace for 50 assists this season, well more than double than the 20 apples he recorded last season.
Previous ranking: 11
Standings point pace: 97
In 14 home starts, Carter Hart has a .947 save percentage, the best mark in the league among goalies with at least 10 starts. In 12 road starts, Hart has a .850 save percentage … which ranks 43rd.
Previous ranking: 18
Standings point pace: 93
Hey, there’s at least one guy putting in tough work in on the Oilers’ blue line. Oscar Klefbom leads the league with 141 blocked shots, 28 more than anybody else.
Previous ranking: 17
Standings point pace: 93
The Flames have averaged 3.62 goals per road game with Geoff Ward behind the bench, going 7-1-0. Under Bill Peters, they averaged only 1.75 goals per road game, and were 5-9-2.
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Previous ranking: 16
Standings point pace: 93
Jonathan Huberdeau is on pace for 114 points this season. It helps that he shares the league lead with Leon Draisaitl in primary assists (28).
Previous ranking: 21
Standings point pace: 93
Zach Werenski is the third defenseman in the expansion era to have three multigoal performances in the span of five games. He joins good company: Paul Coffey and Bobby Orr.
Previous ranking: 20
Standings point pace: 88
Defenseman Roman Josi is on pace to score 88 points this season. That would break the single-season franchise record for any skater, currently held by Paul Kariya (85 points in 2005-06).
Previous ranking: 22
Standings point pace: 86
The Rangers have never lost with Igor Shesterkin in net.
Previous ranking: 24
Standings point pace: 88
The Wild have a minus-11 goal differential but are still only four points out of a playoff spot.
Previous ranking: 23
Standings point pace: 86
Jack Eichel is plus-10 on the season; in his first four seasons in the league, he never finished better than minus-11.
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Previous ranking: 25
Standings point pace: 82
In the second half of back-to-backs this season, the Blackhawks have gone 7-1. It’s one area where the Blackhawks have been exceptionally — albeit strangely — good.
Previous ranking: 19
Standings point pace: 80
The Canadiens have slumped lately, and they can’t even get it done against bottom-feeders. The Habs are 1-4-2 against Detroit, New Jersey and Ottawa this season.
Previous ranking: 27
Standings point pace: 77
Evander Kane has scored three career hat tricks, all as a member of the Sharks. He did not record a hat trick in any of his eight-plus seasons with Atlanta, Winnipeg or Buffalo.
Previous ranking: 26
Standings point pace: 69
They have the third-worst points percentage in the league, but the Kings are actually second in the league in shots for percentage, as well as Corsi for percentage.
Previous ranking: 29
Standings point pace: 74
Nicolas Deslauriers has taken nine major penalties through 31 games; no other player in the league has taken more than five.
Previous ranking: 30
Standings point pace: 72
The Devils’ leading scorer this season is Kyle Palmieri, who has 30 points. Among all skaters in the league, that ranks 95th.
Previous ranking: 28
Standings point pace: 71
Thomas Chabot leads the league by averaging 26:22 of ice time per game. Luckily the Sens’ blue line is getting healthier, so maybe no more 38-minute outings.
Previous ranking: 31
Standings point pace: 47
If only Detroit could play all of their games against the Habs. The Red Wings are 3-0-0 against Montreal, and 8-30-3 against the rest of the NHL.