The Columbus Blue jackets extended their win streak to 16 in a row to open 2017 and there is absolutely no reason to expect this team to slow down. The Blue Jackets have served noticed to the entire NHL that they are for real this season and it should be no surprise that they have shot up our NHL power rankings after only climbing in to the top-five last week. Here is a look at the NHL top-five power rankings for this week.
Of note, there were a number of comments about the Minnesota Wild not being in the Top 5 last week. Fair point as they’ve been playing well but they are still not in the Top 5 of the Stanley Cup futures, so they aren’t making the cut just yet. If they keep it up, they’ll get there soon, though.
1. Columbus Blue Jackets (27-5-4)
Last Week: 4
Stanley Cup Odds: +800
The Blue Jackets entered our NHL power rankings at No. 4 last week but it didn’t take them long to shoot up to No. 1 by extending their ridiculous win streak to 16 in a row. Columbus didn’t lose a game in the month of December and then opened 2017 with a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. The Blue Jackets rank second in the NHL in goals per game and first in the NHL in goals allowed per game, which is a testament to how dominant they have been at both ends of the ice. It helps that their special teams have really clicked as well as Columbus owns the league’s best powerplay. Cam Atkinson is enjoying a breakout year with 38 points in 36 games but he isn’t doing it alone either up front as Alexander Wennberg, Brandon Saad and Nick Foligno have each broken the 30-point barrier. It also helps that Sergei Bobrovsky is having a Vezina-caliber year as he is 25-5-2 with a 1.92 goals against average and a .934 save percentage this season.
2. Pittsburgh Penguins (25-8-5)
Last Week: 2
Stanley Cup Odds: +800
Pittsburgh rebounded from a 7-1 loss to Columbus by stringing together a win streak of its own that reached four in a row with a 4-3 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. The bye week came at a pretty good time with Matt Murray recovering from an injury and the defense core pretty beaten up. The Penguins are the only team in the NHL that has scored more goals than Columbus with an average of 3.4 goals per game this season. Sidney Crosby has led the way with 26 goals in 32 game while Evgeni Malkin is up to 43 points in 38 games.
3. Montreal Canadiens (24-9-6)
Last Week: 3
Stanley Cup Odds: +800
The fact that Montreal has one of the better records in the NHL despite missing Carey Price, Alex Galchenyuk, Andrew Shaw and Andrei Markov for significant periods of time is a testament to the depth and skill on this team. Max Pacioretty played the first two months of the season with a broken bone in his foot but now that he is healthy he is on a tear and now had 18 goals and 33 points this season. Meanwhile, Price has been his usual self with a 2.02 goals against average and a .930 save percentage. Montreal will have to get healthy heading in to the final stretch and it won’t surprise anybody if they make a couple of moves before the trade deadline in an effort to go all-in with a chance to win the Stanley Cup this season.
4. Chicago Blackhawks (23-12-5)
Last Week: 1
Stanley Cup Odds: +900
The Blackhawks have dealt with a number of injury concerns but they still own the best record in the Western Conference to open 2017. That is a testament to the skill players at the top of their lineup and the fact that they have gotten some strong efforts from some young guns on the team. Artemi Panarin leads the Blackhawks with 15 goals and 39 points this season while Patrick Kane has 11 goals and 37 points. Meanwhile, Corey Crawford has bounced back this season with an excellent 2.31 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. He will need to keep it up in order for Chicago to maintain its grip on the best record in the Western Conference.
5. New York Rangers (27-13-1)
Last Week: 5
Stanley Cup Odds: +1200
The final entry on this list is the third entry from the Metropolitan division with the Rangers managing to continue to win despite essentially an entire line of forwards in Rick Nash, Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich. That line will really help their offense once it comes back and take some pressure off of the other forwards up front. Meanwhile, New York will have to figure out its issues in goal as they now rank ninth in the NHL with an average of 2.5 goals allowed per game. Henrik Lundqvist owns a 2.49 goals against average and a .913 save percentage this season and will need to be better if the Rangers are going to contend for a Stanley Cup this season.
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