Fifteen weeks in the hole as we draw closer to All-Star Weekend. It’ll give the players a much needed break to go and have fun, while we get to sit back and evaluate how every team has done so far and who has the best chances of making the playoffs. Let’s take a look at this last week shall we?
Anaheim Ducks: F (Previous grade: Unchanged)
Barely scraping a win off the Panthers won’t save the Ducks from an F this week. They lost their next three games, allowing ten goals combined in their last two. Not much hope left for this team to say the least.
Arizona Coyotes: C- (Previous grade: C+)
The Coyotes went 1-1-1 but got points in two of their last three games which is paramount to their playoff push. They’ll want to play a bit more consistently, but they’re right there. They just need a little bit more.
Boston Bruins: A (Previous grade: C-)
The Bruins have won their last four and have points in their last seven. This has helped them to hold their lead on the Atlantic as the second half of the season gets underway. It helps to have Jeremy Swayman putting up Vezina level numbers as well.
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Buffalo Sabres: A (Previous grade: C)
The Sabres had the unfortunate circumstance of having a game postponed last week, but they’ve won their last two both by shutout. They’ve also only allowed one goal in their last three games. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen became the first goalie in Buffalo to have more than one shutout in a season since Carter Hutton did it in the 2019-20 season.
Calgary Flames: B- (Previous grade: A-)
Despite not having Jonathan Huberdeau or Jakob Markstrom, the Flames managed to compile a four game winning streak. That ended after they lost their last two games, including a heartbreaking 3-1 loss to Alberta rivals the Oilers. The Flames are in the playoff race, but they have to do better.
Carolina Hurricanes: C (Previous grade: A-)
After a nine game point streak came crashing to a halt in a 5-2 loss to the Kings, which ended LA’s eight game losing streak, Carolina rebounded with a 4-2 win over the Hurricanes only to drop another 5-2 loss to the Wild. A rebound week will be needed for Carolina it seems.
Chicago Blackhawks: D+ (Previous grade: F)
The Blackhawks had a game against the Sabres postponed, then lost to them 3-0. They did manage to beat the Sharks in a shootout and the Islanders in OT, but they weren’t very pretty wins. Granted it’s not a very pretty team.
Colorado Avalanche: C (Previous grade: A-)
The Avs have been fairly consistent the last few weeks. This last week they followed a win one lose one pattern, but the offense has been putting up numbers. 16 goals in their last three games is super impressive, but they’ve also given up 13.
Columbus Blue Jackets: F (Previous grade: Unchanged)
The Jackets got a very impressive win over the Canucks, but that was their only win in their last four. They’ve been following a pattern where they win one game and then go on a losing streak. It’s not a fun pattern, but it is a pattern.
Dallas Stars: C+ (Previous grade: A-)
After their 5-1 win over the Kings, the Stars began following a win one lose one pattern, ending the week with a brutal 3-2 loss to the Islanders. This has managed to allow them to keep third place in the division, but they’re quickly losing ground as the Avs and Jets begin to pull away.
Detroit Red Wings: A- (Previous grade: Unchanged)
For a minute there it looked like Detroit was going to choke their season away. However, now they’ve won eight of their last eleven games and are right back in the middle of playoff contention. They;re still outside the top three of the division, but as of now they’ve got a wild card spot all to themselves.
Edmonton Oilers: A+ (Previous grade: Unchanged)
Make it thirteen wins in a row for the Oilers. That’s a franchise record and is just three games short of the NHL record of sixteen games. At the start of the season this team was a mess and ended up firing their coach. Since then, they’ve done nothing but get better and better and they’ve overtaken the Kings to take the third place spot in the division.
Florida Panthers: D- (Previous grade: A+)
The Panthers have lost four in a row now. They only managed to secure a point in one of those games and it was a 5-4 loss to the Ducks. Top that off with their 6-4 loss to the Wild and things definitely look a little shaky right now. They still hold second place in the Atlantic, but they’re losing ground fast.
Los Angeles Kings: D- (Previous grade: F)
They finally ended their eight game losing streak with a 5-2 win over Carolina, but then proceeded to lose the next two after that. They then ended the week with a solid 2-1 win over the Rangers in what was Jonathan Quick’s return to LA. The Kings have fallen out of the top three, but only by one point and they still hold a wild card spot, but they need to get back on track.
Minnesota Wild: A- (Previous grade: F)
After an absolutely terrible last two weeks, Minnesota finally has some positives. First, they’ve won three of four this week including wins over the Panthers and Hurricanes. Second, Marc-Andre Fleury surpassed Patrick Roy and moved into second place in all time wins in NHL history. What a moment for the Flower.
Montreal Canadiens: C (Previous grade: D-)
Jake Allen is back and is playing rather decently, but Montreal still went 2-2-0 this week, but at this point I think it’s relatively safe to say their playoff aspirations are over. They were never really able to find a way around the wall they ran into and they’ve had no choice but to watch themselves sink down the division.
Nashville Predators: C (Previous grade: B)
They only played two games this week, but they went 1-1-0, thanks to stellar play from Juuse Saros leading them to a 2-1 victory over the Kings. This team wants a playoff berth and they’ve been playing like it. Hopefully they don’t burn themselves out trying to make the playoffs and leave some gas for the postseason.
New Jersey Devils: D+ (Previous grade: C-)
Another one bites the dust as the Devils lose Brendan Smith to injury as well. This team has a lot of depth, but it’s being tested hard right now. They only managed one win this week, which is gut wrenching considering how close this playoff race is becoming. The fact that they are competitive at all with their injuries says a lot about this team.
New York Islanders: F (Previous grade: D-)
The Islanders have now lost four in a row. They got one point in one of those games and have barely been able to find goals. Top that off with them being unable to keep up with the speed of the younger teams, and you’ll find why they are slowly slipping out of a playoff spot.
New York Rangers: D+ (Previous grade: D-)
The Rangers have been in a slump lately, far from the form they had at the start of the season. They managed to end the week on a win against the Ducks after dropping two in a row to the Kings and Knights, but they need to find a way to get back the aura they had earlier. Right now they look very, very beatable.
Ottawa Senators: C- (Previous grade: F)
The Sens managed a couple nice wins over the Flyers and Canadiens, but two tough losses to the Jets and Avs. At one point they led the Avs 4-2 only to end up giving up five straight goals en route to a 7-4 loss. They would lose to the Jets 2-1 in OT. This has been a frustrating season for Ottawa, as they keep finding the worst ways to lose.
Philadelphia Flyers: C (Previous grade: B)
Flyers went 2-2-0 this week. They managed to beat the Blues and the Stars, but ended up losing to the Avs and unfortunately the Senators as well. The Flyers have been this year’s big surprise, but recently it has seemed like they may be in a bit over their heads. Time will tell of course.
Pittsburgh Penguins: C (Previous grade: C-)
The Pens only had two games this week and they split them right down the middle. They got an impressive 3-0 win over the Kraken which marked Tristan Jarry’s fifth shutout of the season. Then they lost 3-2 to the Knights. The Pens are second to last in the division, but are surprisingly not out of the playoff race, which just goes to show how tight this eastern conference really is.
San Jose Sharks: F (Previous grade: Unchanged)
Their 5-3 win over the Ducks to end their week was only their second win in their last seventeen games. This is a bottom of the barrel team by every definition, and one that seemingly has little hope for the immediate future outside of good draft positioning. I’m afraid the rebuild is long from over guys.
Seattle Kraken: F (Previous grade: A+)
The Kraken started turning heads with their 13 game point streak. Those heads are turned right back around as Seattle is almost right back in the hole they climbed out of. They’ve lost four in a row without a single point in any of them. They’re still in the playoff race, but not for long if they can’t get back to their winning ways.
St Louis Blues: D+ (Previous grade: C-)
The Blues lost two of three this week and yet they still only find themselves five points out of a playoff berth. This is an extremely tight race however, and St Louis has been unable to truly find the momentum they need in order to actually gain ground on the teams in front of them. There’s still half a season left to go though, there’s no telling what might happen.
Tampa Bay Lightning: B (Previous grade: Unchanged)
The Bolts won two of three this week and Vasilevsky appears to have gotten back some of his old form. However, their one loss was to the Red Wings, a rival in their own division. It’s the time of year where you really want to start winning those divisional games, otherwise you could find yourself in a hole.
Toronto Maple Leafs: D+ (Previous grade: D-)
The Leafs followed a win one lose one pattern this week, which is actually an improvement from what they were doing before. This team’s biggest issue is they have absolutely no depth to accent their top guys. They may very well be the most top heavy team in the league and that’s including the Oilers.
Vancouver Canucks: B (Previous grade: A+)
The Canucks went 2-0-1 this week which has helped them increase their lead on the division, however their one loss was a shootout loss to the Jackets and that’s what’s hurting their grade. I certainly didn’t expect this to be the team to win the Pacific heading into the season, but right now they’re on the track to doing just that.
Vegas Golden Knights: A (Previous grade: D)
The Knights desperately needed a week like this. They won all three games and finally managed to create a little bit of separation between them and the other teams. It’s not much however, and Edmonton is hot on their tale. There’s very little margin for error for the reigning champs.
Washington Capitals: C (Previous grade: C-)
It was a big question as to how the Caps would play now that Ovechkin is injured. The answer is quite simple, pretty much the same. They still can’t score goals to save their lives and they can’t gather enough momentum to concretely place themselves into a playoff spot. The defense and goaltending are still good though.
Winnipeg Jets: A+ (Previous grade: Unchanged)
The Jets are the best team in hockey right now. They’ve won ten of their last eleven games and have looked borderline unstoppable. The central division race is still extremely tight, but the more games they win, the more they will pull away from the Stars and Avs. Watch out for this team they have a point to prove.
