There are a few teams looking to keep their momentum going into 2018 and one of those teams are the expansion Vegas Golden Knights. They enter the power rankings for the first time this season and they have to be considered the biggest surprises in the NHL so far this season. Entering Saturday, the Knights had won six straight games and are now 9-0-1 in their last 10 games. Their 52 points are the best in the Western Conference and just four shy of the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. It goes to show just how much perception factors as only four points separate the top two teams in each conference but one team is atop the power rankings but the other barely just entered. At any rate, let’s take a look at this week’s power rankings.
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +550
The Lightning (27-7-2) beat Minnesota at home before the Christmas break, then they stayed home to defeat Montreal when they returned to action. They’ll host Philadelphia this week before heading out on a road trip to Columbus, Toronto and Montreal. The Lightning won their games by a combined score of 6-1, with Andrei Vasilevskiy stopping 53 of the 54 shots that he faced to keep Tampa Bay at the top of the charts.
2. New Jersey Devils
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +950
The Devils (22-9-5) defeated Chicago and Detroit at home, where they’ll stay to host Buffalo before travelling to face Washington, St. Louis and Dallas. The Devils are one of the league’s hottest teams on a five-game winning streak, and Brian Boyle has put up four goals and four assists during that streak for New Jersey.
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1000
The Maple Leafs (23-14-1) won in New York over the Rangers and in Arizona last week, and they’ll wrap up their road trip in Colorado and Vegas before returning home to host Tampa Bay and San Jose. The Maple Leafs now have a league-high 12 wins on the road and they have scored 10 goals in their last two games; only Tampa Bay has scored more goals than Toronto this season. However, Nazem Kadri is on the sidelines with an upper-body injury after he took an elbow to the head against Arizona, so that is something to watch.
4. Boston Bruins
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1300
The Bruins (20-10-6) won at home over Detroit and Ottawa, but lost in Washington in a shootout. They’ll head to Ottawa next and then to New York to take on the Islanders before hosting Florida. David Backes has been getting it going for the Bruins, racking up four goals and three assists in his last five games. That is promising for the Bruins as David Krejci doesn’t look to be returning from a lower-body injury anytime soon.
5. Nashville Predators
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1400
The Predators (22-9-5) lost in Dallas in a shootout, but then won in St. Louis. They’ll play a home-and-home with Minnesota next before heading to Vegas and Arizona. The Nashville power play hasn’t been great lately, scoring just twice in their last 19 chances. That should change soon, however, as the Predators are third in the league with the man advantage. This seems to be just a slump for them.
6. Vegas Golden Knights
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1500
The Golden Knights (25-9-2) won at home over Washington, then won in Anaheim and in Los Angeles in overtime. They’ll host Toronto and Nashville before heading out to St. Louis. The Golden Knights are the league’s hottest team with six wins in a row, allowing two goals or fewer in five of those games. Marc-Andre Fleury has been superb over his last five games, allowing eight goals with a save percentage of .948, but Malcolm Subban has also been very good for the Golden Knights. Everyone keeps waiting for the Golden Knights to take a step back, but they seem to be getting better, even as they have had injuries all season.
7. Los Angeles Kings
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1500
The Kings (22-11-5) lost in San Jose and at home to Vegas in overtime, and now they’ll head out on the road to face Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. The Kings were outshot in both games, and they have now been outshot in 10 of their 12 games in December. That puts a lot of pressure on Jonathan Quick, who has given up 10 goals in his last five starts with a save percentage of .940. Those are great numbers, but tough to keep up over the course of a season and the Kings are first in goals allowed and on the penalty kill, but they have to be more consistent scoring goals.
8. Washington Capitals
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1500
The Capitals (23-13-3) lost in Vegas and in New York against the Rangers, but they returned home to beat Boston. They’ll stay home to host New Jersey, then head to Carolina. The Capitals were blanked in their road losses in Vegas and New York, and they’re a story of two teams. The Capitals are 15-5-0 at home this season, but only 8-8-3 on the road. To be a serious Stanley Cup contender, you have to be able to win on the road.
9. Columbus Blue Jackets
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1500
The Blue jackets (22-13-3) won at home over Philadelphia in a shootout, and then they lost in Pittsburgh in a shootout. They’ll travel to Ottawa next, then it is home to host Tampa Bay and then road games in Dallas and Colorado. The Blue Jackets have gone to a shootout in their last three games, and two of those games were played in Pittsburgh; Columbus lost both of them. They’re also a team that does well at home with a record of 14-6-0, but it is a different story on the road with a record of 8-7-3.
10. New York Rangers
NHL Stanley Cup Odds: +1600
The Rangers (20-13-4) lost at home to Toronto, then won at home over Washington in a shootout. The Rangers will head to Detroit and Buffalo next, then return home to host Chicago. The Rangers’ power play hasn’t scored in four games, going 0-for-11 during that time. They’re 13th in the league with the man advantage, but the Rangers have to be just a little bit better if they’re going to challenge in the Eastern Conference.
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