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Power Rankings: The Boston Bruins join this week’s Elite Eight
Tuukka Rask's return was incredible. He stopped 25 of 27 shots in a win over the Flyers and got a huge reception from the fans in Boston. Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Power Rankings: The Boston Bruins join this week’s Elite Eight

Originally posted on Daily Faceoff  |  By Cam Lewis  |  Last updated 1/18/22

It’s Monday, so it’s time for some Power Rankings.

We’ve got a new team at the top of the list this week, a brand new team in the Elite Eight and some whining about the All-Star Game! Let’s get into it…

The Elite Eight

1. Florida Panthers (26-7-5)

The Panthers are this week’s new top team. On back-to-back nights they slammed the Stars, 7-1, and the Blue Jackets, 9-2, and are now 8-0-1 since the break. Florida has scored 50 goals in its last eight games, the most in an eight-game stretch since the 1995-96 Penguins. Panthers games are simply loaded with non-stop action.

2. Carolina Hurricanes (25-8-2)

The Hurricanes slip down to the second spot thanks in part to Florida’s heater and an ugly 6-0 loss to the Blue Jackets last week. Carolina got back on track with an easy with over the Canucks, but the Canes have some work to do to unseat the Panthers.

3. Colorado Avalanche (24-8-3)

The Avs have really started rolling. They’re 7-0-1 since the break and have lost only one game in regulation in their last 16 outings. Colorado’s 4.33 goals per game leads the league by a very wide margin, and it’s tracking to be the best offensive pace by a team since those same aforementioned 1995-96 Penguins.

4. Tampa Bay Lightning (26-9-5)

After a three-game losing streak coming out of the break, the Lightning have again hit their stride, winning five of their last six games. Having Nikita Kucherov back certainly helps, as he has nine points in five games since returning from injury.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs (24-9-3)

The Leafs started off their week in a positive way with a tough win, taking down the Golden Knights in Vegas. They then went ahead and followed that up with a loss to the lowly Coyotes. Things ended well with a 6-5 win over the Blues, although it nearly featured yet another blown lead.

6. Boston Bruins (22-11-2)

Last week, I mentioned the Bruins as a team to watch. This week, they’re in the Elite Eight. The Bruins own the league’s best expected goals for percentage and they’ve looked like a team ready to take off for quite some time. Boston has won five in a row and eight of nine since the start of January.

Also, Tuukka Rask’s return was incredible. He stopped 25 of 27 shots in a win over the Flyers and got a huge reception from the fans in Boston.

7. Pittsburgh Penguins (22-10-5)

Speaking of returns, Evgeni Malkin made his 2021-22 debut for the Penguins last week, and it didn’t take him long to score his first goal of the season. Malkin has three points in three games since returning to the lineup.

8. Minnesota Wild (22-10-2)

The Wild played only once last week and it resulted in a commanding 7-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Minnesota seems to be past the ugly skid that saw it drop five games in a row; the Wild have now won three consecutive games.

Worth Mentioning… 

Bad news for fans of the old Scotiabank North Division, as only one Canadian team is currently sitting in a playoff spot.

The Leafs are in third in the Atlantic, but otherwise? The Habs and Sens are in the basement, both of the Alberta teams are spiraling, the Canucks are slowing down and the Jets are buried in fourth place in the ultra-competitive Central Division.

Some other stuff to watch…

Jack Eichel joined the Golden Knights at practice for the first time last week, about two months after he underwent surgery to have an artificial disc placed in his neck.

Eichel is still a few weeks away from returning, but the Golden Knights sit at the top of the Pacific Division with a 23-14-2 record and will get a major boost when their star pivot finally makes his debut. Nevertheless, another interesting thing to watch with Eichel’s return being right around the corner is how Vegas is going to make it work salary cap-wise.

Adding a $10.5 million cap hit won’t be easy. We’ll see if the Golden Knights have any magic up their sleeve or if they have to dump a player or two from their roster.

Speaking of the Pacific Division, the L.A. Kings are quietly on a heater right now, as a four-game winning streak has them sitting in a playoff spot. Key to their success has been the excellent play of veteran Jonathan Quick, who owns a .921 save percentage this season.

This Week’s Disaster…

I would love to make this about the Edmonton Oilers again, as their losing streak has reached six games thanks to their loss to the Ottawa Senators, but there’s no need to talk about that train wreck two weeks in a row.

Instead, I’ll use this to talk about the NHL’s All-Star rosters, which got announced last week. Missing from the All-Star Game will be quite a few star players, such as Steven Stamkos and Brad Marchand. Deserving players, such as Nazem Kadri and Igor Shesterkin, didn't make it because the league demands that all 32 teams have at least one representative.

Nathan MacKinnon said it best when he said this is the All-Star game, not a participation game. Send the best players. It’s that simple.

This article first appeared on Daily Faceoff and was syndicated with permission.

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