Регулярный сезон НХЛ близится к завершению, и команды каждую ночь закрепляют за собой места в плей-офф. Последней командой, обеспечившей себе место, стали Оттавские Сенаторы, которые не видели плей-офф с 2017 года. Их перестройка, наконец, начинает приносить плоды.
В последние несколько лет “Сенаторы” выглядели как молодая команда, готовая вернуться в борьбу за плей-офф. После нескольких разочарований, в этом году нынешний состав, наконец, оправдал ожидания от перестройки, поскольку молодое ядро проявило себя.
Ведомая такими игроками, как Брэди Ткачук, Тим Штюцле, Дрейк Батерсон и Джейк Сандерсон, все из которых моложе 27 лет, Оттава смогла поколебать иерархию в Восточной конференции. Воспользовавшись спадом “Нью-Йорк Рейнджерс” и “Бостон Брюинз”, “Сенаторы” захватили одно из освободившихся мест в плей-офф.
Возможно, самым большим изменением в этой команде “Сенаторов” является стабильность на воротах. Оттава обменяла обладателя “Везина Трофи” Линуса Улльмарка в межсезонье и поставила его в паре с запасным вратарем Антоном Форсбергом. Этот дуэт обеспечил вратарскую игру выше среднего уровня, что позволило остальному составу команды проявить себя.
В связи с тем, что “Сенаторы” на подъеме и готовы устроить хаос в плей-офф, представляем обновленный рейтинг силы команд НХЛ.
NHL Power Rankings
Biggest Movers
6
Maple Leafs
Maple Leafs
7
Hurricanes
Hurricanes
| Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avalanche | Charlie Coyle has been an excellent addition for the Avs. Colorado looks very scary down the middle. | — | 48-27-4 |
| 2 | Golden Knights | Adin Hill has been notably better over the last couple of months. That`s part of the reason why the Golden Knights have held off the surging Kings in the Pacific. | 2 | 47-22-9 |
| 3 | Stars | Mikko Rantanen has already been a much better fit in Dallas than he was in Carolina. The Stars adding peak Rantanen into the mix before the playoffs is borderline unfair. | 3 | 50-22-6 |
| 4 | Maple Leafs | Matthew Knies is up to 26 goals, which is well up from the 15 he scored last year as a rookie. If Knies can keep that up in the playoffs, Toronto will be harder to contain offensively. | 6 | 47-26-4 |
| 5 | Jets | Very few players turn in career seasons at age 32, but that`s what Mark Scheifele has done for the Jets. Scheifele`s longevity is exactly what the Jets were banking on. | — | 53-21-4 |
| 6 | Lightning | Nikita Kucherov has unbelievable five-on-five impacts. His plus-19 goal differential is one of the best in the entire league. Give this man some MVP votes. | 5 | 45-26-6 |
| 7 | Kings | Darcy Kuemper may wind up as a Vezina Trophy finalist in his first season with Los Angeles. That Pierre-Luc Dubois for Darcy Kuemper trade looks great for both sides now. | — | 44-24-9 |
| 8 | Capitals | Alex Ovechkin is the new all-time goals leader. Now, fans should be able to enjoy watching Ovechkin as he embarks on another deep playoff run. | 6 | 49-19-9 |
| 9 | Blues | St. Louis just had its 12-game winning streak snapped, but that was more than enough for the team to take a stranglehold on a wild card spot. This team is starting to create some 2019 Stanley Cup vibes. | 3 | 43-29-7 |
| 10 | Hurricanes | Taylor Hall has been tremendous with Carolina, notching eight goals and 15 points in 26 games. He`s added another layer of depth scoring to an already deep roster. | 7 | 46-27-4 |
| 11 | Senators | The Senators have ended a playoff drought that dates back to 2018, and they owe a decent chunk of their success to a solid goaltending. Ottawa has been searching for an answer at that position, and the team finally found it. | 2 | 42-30-6 |
| 12 | Devils | New Jersey will likely finish the season with one 30-goal scorer and four 20-goal scorers. The Devils will need to find some answers against the Hurricanes in the playoffs. | 3 | 41-30-7 |
| 13 | Panthers | The Panthers have injury concerns heading into the playoffs. That`s not ideal with Florida looking at a first-round clash against the Lightning. | 5 | 45-29-4 |
| 14 | Oilers | Predictably, the Oilers have had a more difficult time scoring goals without Connor McDavid in the lineup. Now it looks like Edmonton will be without home-ice advantage in the first round. | 5 | 44-28-5 |
| 15 | Canadiens | The Canadiens are the most fun young team in the NHL, and they`ve won six games in a row. 2024 first-round pick Ivan Demidov will make his debut. | 2 | 39-30-9 |
| 16 | Flames | The Flames still have a shot at making the playoffs, and they can take matters into their own hands with a head-to-head matchup against the Wild on Friday. | — | 37-27-13 |
| 17 | Wild | Over the last month, only three teams have had a tougher time scoring than the Wild. The Wild don`t face a playoff team the rest of the way, so they may have enough gas left in the tank to clinch a postseason berth. | 3 | 42-29-7 |
| 18 | Hockey Club | Barrett Hayton is starting to look like a quality two-way center and one of many reasons Utah fans can get excited for 2025-26. | 1 | 36-30-12 |
| 19 | Canucks | It may be all for naught, but the Canucks fought desperately for their playoff lives on Tuesday. Vancouver became the first team in NHL history to win a game after trailing by three goals with under a minute remaining. | 1 | 36-29-13 |
| 20 | Islanders | The Islanders are going to miss the playoffs for just the second time in the last seven seasons. This core has plateaued, and changes should be on the horizon in New York. | — | 34-32-11 |
| 21 | Rangers | There have been many disappointing performances in New York this year, but the most discouraging probably belongs to Alexis Lafreniere. | — | 36-34-7 |
| 22 | Sabres | Here come the Sabres just in time to ruin the tank. Buffalo has won five straight games, but it`s far too little and far too late. | 3 | 35-36-6 |
| 23 | Red Wings | Rookie Marco Kasper has more than held his own. The 21-year-old has 32 points in 72 games, and his expected goals share at five-on-five is the best on the entire team. | 3 | 36-34-7 |
| 24 | Ducks | Frank Vatrano, who signed a three-year extension worth $18 million a few months ago, hasn`t scored since March 11. It`s been a brutal stretch for Vatrano. | — | 34-35-8 |
| 25 | Blue Jackets | Mathieu Olivier has had some kind of year for Columbus. In 77 games this season, he has 18 goals. | 3 | 35-33-9 |
| 26 | Kraken | Shane Wright is approaching 20 goals in his rookie season, so that`s something the Kraken should be able to build on after a long year. | 2 | 34-39-6 |
| 27 | Penguins | Sidney Crosby was reminding everyone he`s still got something left in the tank with a hat trick against the Dallas Stars. It`s amazing how good Crosby has been at 37. | 4 | 32-35-12 |
| 28 | Flyers | The John Tortorella experiment lasted less than two full years in Philly, and that`s not terribly shocking. The only problem is he seemingly ran out of patience with this group. | 2 | 31-37-9 |
| 29 | Bruins | Morgan Geekie is a 30-goal scorer. Very few things have worked for the Bruins, but Geekie is certainly one of them. | 2 | 32-38-9 |
| 30 | Predators | Jonathan Marchessault has been stuck on 19 goals for a while in his first year as a Predator. Marchessault hasn`t scored since March 4 (13 games). | 1 | 28-42-8 |
| 31 | Blackhawks | The Blackhawks have called up a couple of young defensive prospects to give them a taste of NHL hockey. | 1 | 22-46-10 |
| 32 | Sharks | Macklin Celebrini is on a nine-game goal drought, and the grip he had on the Calder Trophy for most of the season is probably gone. | 1 | 20-47-10 |
