January 14, 2022
By Tab Bamford

CHICAGO, IL — Thursday night gave us the introduction of the 2022 NHL All-Star Game participants. There were more than a few surprises, and 18 players are slated to appear in their first ASG. It’s an exciting time for a lot of young players around the league.

We also found out who will represent the United States in the Winter Olympics on Thursday, and though we’re still sad there aren’t any current NHL players on the list, we are excited to see some future stars represent the red, white and blue. Keep an eye out for other rosters to be announced soon.

COVID continues to steal headlines and games from NHL players and teams. The ongoing pandemic has forced the league to rearrange schedules and some teams – especially the Islanders – have a lot to make up. Teams continue to go into battle without their full complement of players, which makes it hard to get a really good idea for how good/bad teams are at any moment.

But we’re going to give it another run this week.

Here are our updated Power Rankings, including a new No. 1 this week. As always, feel free to chirp at us to let us know what we got right and where we’re crazy/off base.

[View the Power Rankings from Week 11]

32. Montreal Canadiens

They were so close to potentially winning a game in Chicago on Thursday night. But two reviews later, the Habs suffered yet another loss. They have points in 12 of 36 games thus far, only seven of those being wins. And with five straight losses, Montreal is now tied with Arizona for last in the NHL with 19 points, but the Yotes have two games in-hand.

31. Arizona Coyotes

Hey, they beat the Blackhawks. Baby steps? The other good news: they’re now tied with Montreal for the worst goal differential in the league (minus-55).

30. Seattle Kraken

The Kraken have lost eight straight and are plummeting in the standings. This hasn’t been the magical inaugural season many expected after Vegas set the bar unreasonably high for an expansion team.

29. Ottawa Senators

The Sens have won six of their last ten and, with only 30 games played, have some room to make up ground in the standings. Maybe they’ll climb out of the top five in the draft? Because we were told this year was going to be different…

28. Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo has the same home record (6-11-2) as the Kraken and are one of five teams in the league with a goal differential of at least minus-30. We knew this was going to be a tough season for the Sabres and it’s living up to that expectation.

27. Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers are also in the minus-30 goal differential club and have now lost six straight. All of their offseason moves to get better haven’t had the impact they wants – or, honestly, any impact at all. It might be time to make major changes in Philly.

26. New Jersey Devils

Jack Hughes is headed to his first of what we assume will be many All-Star games. Unfortunately, they’re at the point with injuries and COVID that the Devils needed an EBUG on Thursday night. The loss of Dougie Hamilton has been especially hard on their blue line.

25. New York Islanders

The good news: the Isles are 6-2-2 in their last ten. The bad news: those ten games stretch back all the way to Dec. 5 because of postponed games resulting from COVID issues. The Islanders have only played 29 games and haven’t been good in too many of those.

24. Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers have lost five straight and are 2-6-2 in their last ten. Now, they’re flirting with the idea that Evander Kane is going to solve all of their problems and Connor McDavid is getting scrutinized for his press conference answers. What a mess!

23. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Jackets lost to the Blackhawks on home ice earlier this week and enter Friday at 17-17-1. Their goal differential (minus-eight) is about what you would expect from a .500 team.

22. Detroit Red Wings

Detroit has lost four in a row and have a 3-5-2 record in their last ten. However, the Wings are 12-6-2 at home and their youth movement continues to impress. They’re on the rise, but as Tom Petty told us, the waiting is the hardest part.

21. Chicago Blackhawks

What a couple weeks for Chicago. They go into Arizona and get blasted, then have the emotional return of Marc-Andre Fleury and pull off an upset in Vegas before winning in Columbus and barely beating the Habs. Chicago’s won three-straight despite missing a number of key players, the latest of which include Seth Jones and Kirby Dach in COVID protocol.

20. Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks have lost their last two, but they clearly flipped a switch when the coaching change was made. They’ve won seven of their last ten and only 16 of their 36 games have been at home where they’re 8-7-1 entering Friday.

19. Calgary Flames

Explain this: the Flames are 13-7-2 on the road but only 4-4-4 at home. Losers of four straight and eight of their last 10, Calgary is struggling to keep the fire lit. When will the ‘for sale’ sign go up?

18. Dallas Stars

Even with trade rumors swirling, the Stars are getting production from their old stars and have been dominant at home (14-3-1). Unfortunately, their road record (4-10-1) has kept them from climbing in a Central Division that has refused to run away.

17. Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg is 5-4-1 in their last 10 and 16 of their 17 wins have come in regulation. The middle of their division – including Dallas and Minnesota – has made them more intriguing than their play would necessarily warrant.

16. San Jose Sharks

San Jose is a rare team. They’ve played 19 games at home and 19 on the road, and they have almost the same record in San Jose (10-8-1) and away (10-9-0). We thought California was going to be bad this year, but all three teams are in the middle of the pack.

15. Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have won three in a row and seven of their last ten. Twenty three of their 37 games have been on home ice, and they’ve done well in the artist formerly known as the Staples Center (13-8-2). They’re another team whose fans have to like what the future could bring.

14. Anaheim Ducks

We have a feeling that Troy Terry could/should get a long look from fans voting for the Last Man In. Anaheim appears to have a legit sniper in the fold; he’s been turning heads and making highlight packages all season.

13. Minnesota Wild

Minnesota has won their last two games and have a positive goal differential (plus-20) despite playing more road games (18) than at home (15). With 122 goals scored in 33 games, the offense is there for the Wild to be a dangerous team.

12. Boston Bruins

Boston won an emotional game against Kevin Hayes and the Flyers and welcomed Tuukka Rask back to their blue paint this week. They’ve won seven of their last ten and now Brad Marchand will have a chip on his shoulder have not making the All-Star Game.

11. Vegas Golden Knights

How do you lose a home game to the Blackhawks? Vegas has been better on the road (11-5-0) than at home (12-9-2) and they’re only 5-3-2 in their last 10. We’re also waiting to see how they make the math work to insert Jack Eichel into the lineup when he’s ready to roll.

10. Washington Capitals

Washington has lost four in a row and are 4-3-3 in their last 10, which has them sliding all the way back to No. 10 in this week’s rankings. They have a balanced schedule thus far (19 home, 18 road) and shouldn’t feel threatened regarding a playoff spot. But they need to right the ship to keep a division title in range.

9. Toronto Maple Leafs

Nothing against Toronto, but we’ve got eight teams we feel better about at this moment. They’ve been terrific in Toronto (14-4-1) and have a strong plus-29 goal differential in 35 games. This is a good team with deep playoff aspirations.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins

Geno’s back and the Pens are 8-2-0 in their last 10. Of their 21 wins, 20 have come in regulation and the Pens are starting to look like a team that could make a lot of noise in April and May. When you consider they won only five of their first 15 games, the climb has been impressive.

7. St. Louis Blues

The Blues have 49 points in 37 games, which is really good. They have a plus-29 goal differential, which is also really good. But they have a juggernaut in their rear-view mirror and surprisingly find themselves chasing a Nashville team that continues to surprise.

6. Colorado Avalanche

The Avs will be without Bowen Byram for a while it appears, but they’re rolling. Colorado is 8-1-1 in their last 10 and are now two points behind St. Louis with four games in-hand. We expected the Avs to be a team to beat this year and they’re starting to look like just that.

5. Nashville Predators

Remember when this was supposed to be a rebuild? Nashville leads the Central Division entering Friday, but, like St. Louis, needs to be very worried about Colorado; they lead the Avs by three points but Nashville has played five games more than Colorado.

4. Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina has lost their last two but they’re 7-2-1 in their last 10. Their plus-36 goal differential is the best in the NHL entering Friday and they’re a stunning 13-4-1 on the road. This is a dangerous team. Also, we need to have Andrei Svechnikov in the skills competition; he’s one of the Last Men In candidates.

3. New York Rangers

Fun Fact: before Chris Kreider this season, the last Rangers forward to appear in consecutive All-Star Games was… Wayne Gretzky. And Adam Fox, who might win his second Norris Trophy this season, is headed to his first ASG. He’s the second player ever to win a Norris before being selected to/play in an All-Star Game.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning

Yes, we’re bumping the Bolts out of the top spot this week. The Lightning have a league-leading 55 points in 39 games, have a plus-20 goal differential and are starting to get healthy. But another team in the state of Florida has our attention this week.

1. Florida Panthers

The Panthers are two points back of the Lightning but have three games in-hand. Also, good luck playing in their barn; the Panthers are 19-3-0 on home ice. Their plus-34 goal differential is the second-best in the NHL and they haven’t missed a beat since a shocking coaching change. Beware the Panthers!