Best in the West: Weekly Western Conference Power Rankings

It’s been over two weeks since my last Western Conference Power Rankings. The Trade Deadline came and went, and all the acquisitions are settling in with their new teams. The gaps between the top teams are quite small, so head-to-head results are weighed heavily against each other.

Here are my power rankings for the Western Conference. I’ll indicate position change from the previous ranking with a +, –, or —.

16. Chicago Blackhawks –1

The Blackhawks have lost four in a row. They lost in overtime to the Nashville Predators, were shutout by the Colorado Avalanche, and lost head-to-head against the San Jose Sharks. On Saturday, the Vancouver Canucks took them behind the woodshed on Hockey Night in Canada. They’ve been outscored 16-6 in their last four games. 

15. San Jose Sharks +1

The Sharks were the first team eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday when the St. Louis Blues beat the Anaheim Ducks. They have the worst record in the league at 18-41-9, and they’ve won just one of their last five games. However, that one win came head-to-head against the Chicago Blackhawks, so they moved up to 15th in the power rankings.

14. Nashville Predators —

The Predators won four in a row but have been on a two-game losing streak since. They allowed just three goals in those two losses but scored just one. This perfectly encapsulates the Predators’ season— when one problem is resolved, another arises. They have the third-best chances of winning the draft lottery at 11.5%.

13. Anaheim Ducks -1

There was a stretch during February when the Ducks looked very good, but they have since come back to earth. They’re 2-3-0 in their last five games and have allowed seven goals in two of their three losses. The Ducks beat the New York Islanders, then dropped two in a row to the Washington Capitals and the Utah Hockey Club. They beat the Nashville Predators but were then promptly curb-stomped by the St. Louis Blues. In their last five games, the Ducks have allowed 19 goals.

12. Seattle Kraken +1

The Kraken have won three of their past five games, and those two losses came at the hands of arguably the best two teams in the league. They beat the Philadelphia Flyers and then narrowly lost to the Washington Capitals. The Kraken won two in a row against playoff hopefuls in the Montreal Canadiens and Utah Hockey Club. They lost in overtime to the Winnipeg Jets, and 2022 second-round draft pick Jani Nyman has two goals in three games.

11. Calgary Flames -3

The Flames are showing why they will only go as far as Calder-hopeful Dustin Wolf can take them. They’ve won just one of their last five games and two of their last nine. In their last five games, they lost in overtime to the Dallas Stars and followed that up by blanking the Montreal Canadiens. They then lost three in a row to the Vancouver Canucks, the Colorado Avalanche, and, most recently, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Flames are still in the playoff hunt, sitting just two points out of the second wild-card spot, but their offense is beginning to dry up.

10. Vancouver Canucks +2

For now, the Canucks are back in a playoff spot. But they’ll need to pick up the pace if they want to keep it— they’ve won just two of their last five games, and the St. Louis Blues and the Utah Hockey Club are close behind. They lost to the Dallas Stars and the Montreal Canadiens, then won two in a row against the Calgary Flames and the Chicago Blackhawks. On Sunday, the Canucks lost to the Utah Hockey Club– one of the teams challenging for their playoff spot.

9. St. Louis Blues +1

Where has this Blues team been all season? They’ve won eight of their last 11 games. In their last five games, they’ve outscored opponents 20-13. They beat the Anaheim Ducks, narrowly lost to the Los Angeles Kings in overtime, and lost to a hot Pittsburgh Penguins team. They’ve won two in a row in dominant fashion against the Minnesota Wild and the Anaheim Ducks, outscoring them 12-3. The Blues are just one point out of a playoff spot.

8. Utah Hockey Club +1

Don’t look now– here comes the Utah Hockey Club. They’re 3-1-2 in their last six games and average three goals a game over that stretch. They aren’t a lock to make the playoffs, but they’ve gone from being a long-shot hopeful to a real possibility. A big reason for their success is their goaltender, Karel Vejmelka, who has started the last 10 straight games. Over that stretch, Vejmelka has a record of 6-2-2 and a .911 average save percentage. 

7. Minnesota Wild —

The Wild are floundering and have won just two of their past six games. They’re missing both Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson-Ek, and it shows. Their defense and goaltending have been solid, but the Wild have scored just ten goals over their past six games. They won on Monday against the Los Angeles Kings to stop the bleeding, but they’ve shown that without their offensive stars, they need to win 3-1 hockey games.

6. Vegas Golden Knights -1

The Golden Knights are in a rough patch and have won just one of their last five games. They lost a barn-burner to the Los Angeles Kings and then fell in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins. They shut out the Columbus Blue Jackets but followed that performance up with a sloppy loss to the Buffalo Sabres, which caused Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy to rip his team to the media. Most recently, they were shut out by the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. However, they’re still first in the Pacific Division and have the second-best power play in the league at 28.9%.

5. Edmonton Oilers +1

The Oilers are tough to grade. They’ve won four of their last six games, but they’ve all been narrow wins over weaker teams. However, they haven’t let their offensive slump get the best of them— the Oilers have scored more than three goals just once over their last six games. They’re still not getting true depth scoring, but Zach Hyman and Victor Arvidsson are starting to contribute. So, they moved up one spot in the power rankings.

4. Los Angeles Kings —

The Kings have been rolling recently and are 5-1-0 in their last six games. They beat the St. Louis Blues and the Vegas Golden Knights on back-to-back days, then beat the New York Islanders. They shutout the Washington Capitals then beat the Nashville Predators in overtime. The Kings saw their five-game win streak snapped by the Minnesota Wild on Monday, but it was a close loss, so I don’t take too much away from them. Their young players are starting to develop; Quinton Byfield had a five-game goal streak that coincided with their win streak.

3. Dallas Stars -1

The Stars have struggled a bit recently but are still 5-2-1 in their last eight games. However, they’ve won just one of their last four games and have allowed 14 goals. They narrowly lost to the Edmonton Oilers, then handily beat the Vancouver Canucks. The Stars then lost to the Winnipeg Jets and the Colorado Avalanche. The Jets thumped them, but they fought back and took the Avs to overtime while being down their best defenseman. So, the Avalanche overtook the Stars in the power rankings.

2. Colorado Avalanche +1

“Hot” doesn’t even begin to describe the Avalanche. They haven’t lost in regulation in nearly a month and are 8-0-1 in their last nine games. Over that stretch, they’ve outscored their opponents 40-18– 17, really, because their one loss came in a shootout at the hands of the Minnesota Wild. Martin Nečas has been incredible and has 18 points in his first 19 games with the Avalanche. And the deadline additions of Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle only make them better— they might be the deepest team in the league down the middle.

1. Winnipeg Jets —

There was a stretch of three games in early March where the Jets looked human, but no longer. They’ve won five of their last six games, outscoring opponents 21-10. They still have the best power play in the league at 31.0%. They have the most wins in the league with 47, and the most regulation wins with 38. They’re currently on a three-game winning streak. There are hotter teams– say, the Avalanche– but as the saying goes, if you want to be the best, you must first beat the best; until that happens, the Winnipeg Jets will be the top team in my power rankings.