March 28, 2023
By Tab Bamford

CHICAGO, IL — I feel kinda bad for teams in the middle of the pack that don’t really have a chance of making the playoffs or Connor Bedard at this point.

At the bottom of the standings, we have four teams with a legit shot of the best lottery odds (read: Bedard), and at the top of the standings we have some hot teams who are inspiring their fans to plan time off for a parade.

But there are still a couple weeks of regular-season still to be played. And there’s a lot on the line for players on all 32 teams in the NHL.

So let’s jump into this week’s final March edition of our Power Rankings. As always, please feel free to let us know what we got right and how we might improve next week.

32. San Jose Sharks

Losers of nine in a row and now owners of the worst point percentage in the league, the Sharks are headed to the best lottery odds in the league.

31. Chicago Blackhawks

Losers of five straight, the only bright news they’ve had recently is Jonathan Toews showing up at Tuesday’s morning skate. Their minus-83 goal differential is third-worst in the league.

30. Columbus Blue Jackets

At 3-6-1 in their last 10, the Blue Jackets have made things more interesting at the bottom of the standings lately. They’re still 9-22-5 on the road this season and would benefit from a top-four overall pick as much as anyone.

29. Anaheim Ducks

With a league-worst minus-112 goal differential with eight games left on their schedule, this has been a bad season in Anaheim. They’ve lost their last five and are solidly in the lottery conversation.

28. Arizona Coyotes

Another team with five straight losses, the Coyotes’ 7-23-9 road record makes them one of two teams in the league still trying to get to a tenth victory away from home (with Columbus).

27. Detroit Red Wings

At just 3-7-0 in their last 10, the post-deadline Wings have been bad. But with a minus-29 goal differential and a reasonable 14-17-5 away from home, they haven’t been as bad all season as their numbers look now.

26. Washington Capitals

The first team on our list with a positive goal differential, the Caps are just 3-5-2 in their last 10 starts and have fallen out of the playoff race. A tough year all around in Washington.

25. Buffalo Sabres

Can someone make sense of the Sabres’ 21-11-3 record away from home and yet their placement in the standings? They have a minus-10 goal differential on the year and are 3-4-3 in their last 10 starts.

24. Montreal Canadiens

Winning two in a row can get you a bump up our rankings this time of year, and the Habs’ 4-5-1 record in their last 10 gets them all the way up to 24 this week.

23. Philadelphia Flyers

Winners of their last three and five of their last ten, the Flyers have been making significant moves off the ice recently. One would imagine those will lead to some big changes on the ice this summer.

22. St. Louis Blues

They’re 18-18-1 on the road this season and 6-3-1 in their last 10 but the playoffs aren’t happening. This has been a transition year with St. Louis moving on some core veterans and shifting the focus to the future.

21. Vancouver Canucks

Even an 8-2-0 run over their last 10 games only moves the Canucks up to 21 this week. For the second straight year, a coaching change late in the regular season has paid dividends and hurt their draft placement.

20. Ottawa Senators

The home cooking in Ottawa has been good, and might get better. With a sale possible in the near future and a 21-13-3 record on home ice, the Sens are ready for this season to be over and the future to begin.

19. Florida Panthers

Just when we thought they were going to turn a corner, the Panthers drop four straight and slide further away from the playoffs. This team has been hot or cold all season with very little in the middle.

18. Nashville Predators

They’re over .500 at home and on the road despite selling at the deadline and have a minus-12 goal differential with Filip Forsberg missing significant time. Even with the playoffs seeming to be a long shot, they’ve been a surprise late this season.

17. Pittsburgh Penguins

If they want to get in the playoffs, a 4-5-1 stretch can’t happen in late-March. But here we are with Pittsburgh trying to keep the team in the postseason again. The hill might be too tall to climb now.

16. Calgary Flames

The Flames have a ridiculous 11 overtime losses on the road, a number that could have changed their playoff chances if half of them had been wins.

15. Winnipeg Jets

They’re 22-12-2 at home this season and have a plus-12 goal differential but have fallen from potential division champs to wildcard hopefuls. They have eight games to sort out their tee times.

14. Seattle Kraken

At just 4-4-2 in their last 10, they’re like the Jets in that they were on top of their division not too long ago but are now in the wild card conversation. They have 24 road wins this season – the same number as the Avalanche.

13. New York Islanders

At 6-3-1 in their last 10, they’ve done their best to survive without Mat Barzal available to help their limited offense. They have enjoyed their beautiful new barn this season, though; they’re 22-13-3 at home.

12. Tampa Bay Lightning

A four-game losing streak in late March would make some fan bases sweat, but Tampa is focused on hosting the Frozen Four before jumping into the Eastern Conference playoffs and seeing if another trip to the Stanley Cup Final is possible.

11. Dallas Stars

They get a tilt in Chicago on Tuesday night with a division crown still possible. But they’re now in a fight with both Minnesota and Colorado for the top spot in the mediocre Central Division.

10. New Jersey Devils

Maybe the long season is simply catching up with them, but the Devils will benefit from having won plenty of games early. They’re just 4-4-2 in their last 10 games and that division is once again interesting at the top.

9. Carolina Hurricanes

The Canes are only 5-4-1 in their last 10 games, but with 103 points in the standings feel good enough about their playoff positioning that they can focus on staying healthy between now and the start of the postseason.

8. Minnesota Wild

Now with the most points in the Central (95), the Wild are playing terrific defensive hockey. They’re 7-1-2 in their last 10 and have climbed into position to potentially win the Central. But…

7. Colorado Avalanche

The Avs are right on the Wild’s heels (94 points) and have one game in-hand as we near the end of the regular season. The defending champs also have a plus-44 goal differential, which is second-best in the division behind Dallas’ plus-47.

6. Toronto Maple Leafs

The Leafs are just 6-3-1 in their last 10, which isn’t a bad thing. But the top five in our power rankings this week have been better recently and get to slide up in front of the best Eastern Conference team in Canada.

5. Edmonton Oilers

At 8-1-1 in their last 10, the Oilers are hot and moving up the division standings. And at 22-11-3 on the road, they’ve shown they can get it done away from home this season as well. They boast a plus-41 goal differential now.

4. Vegas Golden Knights

When you’re 8-2-0 in your last 10 and that isn’t good enough for the top divisional spot in our power rankings it says more about the team ahead of you than it does anything negative about your performance of late.

3. Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have won three straight and have zero (0) regulation losses in their last ten games (8-0-2). They’re streaking in the right direction at the right time of year.

2. New York Rangers

With Patrick Kane getting comfortable, the Rangers are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and are one of five teams in the league to have clinched a playoff berth. They’re 22-8-6 away from MSG, which makes them a dangerous postseason proposition.

1. Boston Bruins

Seven straight wins when the division is locked up and the Presidents Trophy is a foregone conclusion? So much for taking their skate off the gas! They have a plus-118 goal differential and still – on March 28 – have only three regulation losses on home ice. Three!