Habs Stay On Top Of Power Rankings
Washington, Vancouver, Chicago moving up this week.
NHL POWER RANKINGS
1. Montreal Canadiens (6-1-2)
Still No. 1 with a powerful offense and so-so goaltending which is barely recognizable in this era of Canadiens hockey.
2. Boston Bruins (6-1-2)
The return of David Pastrnak makes the Bruins a formidable team again.
3. Dallas Stars (4-1-1)
Got a late start to the season but they have had a killer power play with 11 power play goals in six games.
4. Tampa Bay Lightning (5-1-1)
Steven Stamkos leading the way with nine points (4 G, 5 A) in seven games.
5. Florida Panthers (5-0-1)
The only team without a regulation loss but four of those wins are against Chicago and Detroit.
6. Vegas Golden Knights (5-1)
Playing well when they play but have had three games postponed for Covid-19 reasons.
7. Colorado Avalanche (6-3-1)
Were starting to show their expected dominant form before losing Nathan MacKinnon to injury.
8. Toronto Maple Leafs (7-2-1)
Winning enough but not with the most sustainable performance. Sometimes it’s good to have gamebreakers.
9. Washington Capitals (6-1-3)
Getting healthier, or at least getting more players back from Covid-19 list.
10. Carolina Hurricanes (5-1)
Losing goaltender Petr Mrazek and missing left winger Teuvo Teravainen knocks the ‘Canes down lower than their current record would rate.
11. St. Louis Blues (6-2-1)
Jordan Kyrou and Brayden Schenn are tied for the team lead with 10 points.
12. Philadelphia Flyers (7-2-1)
Four straight wins against the Devils and Islanders and James van Riesmdyk has stepped up with a team-leading 12 points.
13. Winnipeg Jets (5-3-1)
One win in the past four games and it’s tough to give too much credit for three wins against Ottawa.
14. Calgary Flames (4-3-1)
The big concern after last season was getting the big guns going and Johnny Gaudreau has 10 points in eight games so that’s a good start.
15. Vancouver Canucks (6-6)
Won four straight before Monday’s loss at Montreal. Getting three in a row at home against Ottawa is always a nice break.
16. Arizona Coyotes (3-4-1)
Getting nice production from Conor Garland and Christian Dvorak but could use more from Phil Kessel and Clayton Keller.
17. Minnesota Wild (6-4)
Wild leading scorers: Jordan Greenway and Joel Eriksson Ek.
18. Pittsburgh Penguins (5-4-1)
The defense has been hit hard by injuries, missing five of the top seven on the depth chart. Big guns are not scoring as much as usual, either.
19. Nashville Predators (4-5)
Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen, the top two centers, have combined for zero goals and six assists in nine games.
20. Chicago Blackhawks (3-4-3)
The game is different when the goalie has a .937 SV% like Kevin Lankinen does. That’s not sustainable, though.
21. Buffalo Sabres (4-4-2)
Strong underlying numbers early starting to lead to wins. Need goaltending to hold up its end of the bargain.
22. Edmonton Oilers (5-6)
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl make the Oilers fun to watch but even their scoring exploits haven’t been able to overcome subpar all-around play.
23. Columbus Blue Jackets (4-3-3)
Getting Patrik Laine into the lineup Tuesday should jolt the Blue Jackets attack.
24. New Jersey Devils (4-3-2)
Not a bad start to the season but now a Covid-19 hot spot.
25. New York Islanders (3-4-2)
Winless in five and had Tuesday’s game against the Sabres postponed.
26. Los Angeles Kings (3-3-2)
Cal Petersen could be pushing Jonathan Quick for the starting job in the Kings net.
27. New York Rangers (3-4-2)
Goaltending an early question mark and apparently some dissension surrounding waived defenseman Tony DeAngelo.
28. San Jose Sharks (3-5)
Sharks will play their first home game on February 13; not an easy start for a team that isn’t great to begin with.
29. Anaheim Ducks (3-5-2)
Two of Anaheim’s three wins have been by a 1-0 score.
30. Detroit Red Wings (2-6-2)
Winless in six and missing winger Tyler Bertuzzi, one of their few legit top-six forwards.
31. Ottawa Senators (1-7-1)
This was a terrible team even before their best defenseman, Thomas Chabot, was injured.
MONDAY STARS
MTL D Jeff Petry 2 G, 1 A in a 6-2 win vs. Vancouver
NYR LW Artemi Panarin 1 G, 2 A in a 3-1 win vs. Pittsburgh
WPG RW Blake Wheeler 3 A in a 4-3 shootout loss to Calgary
MONDAY GAMES
Pittsburgh 1 N.Y. Rangers 3
NYR LW Artemi Panarin 1 G, 2 A (5 G, 7 A in 9 GP)
NYR G Igor Shesterkin stopped 25 of 26 shots for the win.
Boston 5 Washington 3
WSH LW Jakub Vrana 2 A
BOS RW David Pastrnak 2 G
BOS LW Brad Marchand 1 G, 1 A (5 G, 5 A during a 6-game point streak)
BOS D Brandon Carlo 1 G, 1 A
Bruins D Charlie McAvoy was on the ice for three goals for and none against during 5-on-5 play.
Nashville 2 Tampa Bay 5
TB C Yanni Gourde 2 G
TB RW Steven Stamkos 1 G, 1 A (4 G, 5 A in 7 GP)
Vancouver 2 Montreal 6
MTL D Jeff Petry 2 G, 1 A (4 G, 7 A in 9 GP)
MTL LW Artturi Lehkonen 1 G, 1 A
MTL C Nick Suzuki 1 G, 1 A (3 G, 6 A in 9 GP)
Canadiens D Joel Edmundson was on the ice for three goals for and none against. Vancouver’s top line of J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Brock Boeser was on the ice for three goals against.
Calgary 4 Winnipeg 3 (SO)
WPG LW Kyle Connor 2 G (6 G, 5 A in 9 GP)
WPG RW Blake Wheeler 3 A (3 G, 8 A in 9 GP)
WPG C Mark Scheifele 1 G, 1 A (4 G, 8 A in 9 GP)
CGY C Elias Lindholm 2 A (2 G, 8 A in 8 GP)
Monday Shots/Expected Goals (via Natural Stat Trick)
Tuesday Game Probabilities
Tuesday DFS Value Plays
CAR C Jordan Staal $3600 at CHI
ARZ C Christian Dvorak $4200 at STL
STL RW Jordan Kyrou $4500 vs. ARZ
VAN RW Tyler Motte $2900 at MTL
CAR RW Martin Necas $3400 at CHI
WPG D Neal Pionk $4000 or D Josh Morrissey $4300 vs. CGY
ARZ G Darcy Kuemper $6900 at STL