On this version of the facility rankings, groups are listed so as of their possibilities of profitable the Stanley Cup. Groups are additionally separated into these 5 tiers:
1. Lifting 34.5 Kilos (weight of Stanley Cup)
2. Onerous Highway
3. Injured However With Upside
4. Flawed However Harmful
5. Taking part in With Home Cash
Postseason play begins Saturday (April 19).
Lifting 34.5 Kilos
They’re geared up to make a deep playoff run and may get these arms able to carry the best trophy in sports activities.
1. Colorado Avalanche: 49-29-4, 102 factors | First-round foe: Dallas
Cause for optimism: A 17-7-2 run after the 4 Nations Face-Off was powered by an elite core and a GM (Chris MacFarland) who spent aggressively to improve the supporting solid for the quick and long run.
Cause for pessimism: There are all of a sudden loads of actually good gamers on this room, making it a problem for head coach Jared Bednar to find out correct deployments.
2. Winnipeg Jets: 56-22-4, 116 factors | First-round foe: St. Louis
Cause for optimism: The perfect regular-season group has this season’s greatest goaltender (Connor Hellebuyck), an elite energy play and is way improved at 5-on-5.
Cause for pessimism: Ghosts of playoffs previous nonetheless make it arduous to belief these Jets.
3. Vegas Golden Knights: 50-22-10, 110 factors | First-round foe: Minnesota
Cause for optimism: They’re game-tested, elite down the center and on protection and have robust supporting items. Plus, they’ve wonderful teaching, a latest Stanley Cup (2023) and are rested after a brief playoff run final season.
Cause for pessimism: Edmonton getting wholesome and Los Angeles surging presents a troublesome path out of the Pacific Division.
4. Tampa Bay Lightning: 47-27-8, 102 factors | First-round foe: Florida
Cause for optimism: They completed 16-7-4 down the stretch to safe house ice within the first spherical in a essential chess match between head coach Jon Cooper and Florida’s Paul Maurice.
Cause for pessimism: An harm to winger Oliver Bjorkstrand will sideline him for a lot of their first-round collection, eliminating their acquired winger depth.
5. Washington Capitals: 51-22-9, 111 factors | First-round foe: Montreal
Cause for optimism: They possible have the simplest first-round draw and best path of any group to the convention finals.
Cause for pessimism: Sick-timed accidents to large scoring winger Aliaksei Protas and beginning goaltender Logan Thompson are regarding.
Onerous Highway
These groups are actually good, however their path to the Closing is difficult.
6. Los Angeles Kings: 48-25-9, 105 factors | First-round foe: Edmonton
Cause for optimism: They’re red-hot due to the leveling up of super-talent Quinton Byfield at middle. Plus, they’ve improved scoring skill and elite defensive play led by defensemen Drew Doughty and Vladislav Gavrikov.
Cause for pessimism: Their reward for a step ahead this season is to play in opposition to the very best participant on this planet (middle Connor McDavid) for the fourth 12 months in a row.
7. Toronto Maple Leafs: 52-26-4, 108 factors | First-round foe: Ottawa
Cause for optimism: They completed the season on a tear, profitable 12 of 16 video games, as winger Mitch Marner has taken his recreation to a brand new degree since his efficiency within the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Cause for pessimism: Their numbers present a group loads much less explosive than it had been, and famous person middle Auston Matthews is enjoying by a nagging harm. They’re going to open the playoffs in opposition to a rival and will face both a red-hot Tampa group or the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers subsequent.
Injured Upside
These groups are coping with main accidents. In the event that they survive lengthy sufficient to get necessary gamers wholesome, their upside is excessive.
8. Florida Panthers: 47-31-4, 98 factors | First-round foe: Tampa Bay
Cause for optimism: Florida frightens most groups, which is cause sufficient for optimism. They’re a examined group coming off two straight runs to the Stanley Cup and have one of many league’s elite two-way facilities (Alex Barkov) and an elite defensive defenseman (Gustav Forsling).
Cause for pessimism: They’ve performed extra video games the previous two seasons than anybody else on this event and are coping with quite a few accidents. They’re going to miss suspended defenseman Aaron Ekblad to open their first-round collection.
9. Dallas Stars: 50-26-6, 106 factors | First-round foe: Colorado
Cause for optimism: They’ve one of many league’s premier playoff gamers in famous person winger Mikko Rantanen and can get ahead Tyler Seguin again within the lineup.
Cause for pessimism: They could have misplaced a big objective scorer in winger Jason Robertson within the last recreation of the common season and famous person defender Miro Heiskanen is sidelined for no less than the primary spherical with harm. If Dallas survives a first-round collection with Colorado, it would get stronger because the playoffs progress.
10. Edmonton Oilers: 48-29-5, 101 factors | First-round foe: Los Angeles
Cause for optimism: As soon as superstars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid acquired wholesome, the Oilers started to roll. They completed 9-5-1 within the last month.
Cause for pessimism: With out injured defenseman Mattias Ekholm, they do not look as deep as they had been a 12 months in the past.
Flawed However Harmful
All of those groups have a big flaw, however they are going to be harmful in opposition to virtually any opponent.
11. Carolina Hurricanes: 47-30-5, 99 factors | First-round foe: New Jersey
Cause for optimism: The betting market likes Carolina greatest in an open area (+650 according to FanDuel), and the Canes play one of many weaker groups within the area within the opening spherical.
Cause for pessimism: The Canes have not addressed any of the problems which have led to the group not profitable a recreation previous the second spherical in 19 years.
12. St. Louis Blues: 44-30-8, 96 factors | First-round foe: Winnipeg
Cause for optimism: They’ve received 21 of their previous 30 video games and nonetheless have the bones of the 2019 Stanley Cup-winning group in middle Robert Thomas and goaltender Jordan Binnington.
Cause for pessimism: When a group should win 21 of 30 video games simply to sneak right into a wild-card spot, one should surprise how a lot it has left for the playoffs.
13. Minnesota Wild: 45-30-7, 97 factors | First-round foe: Vegas
Cause for optimism: The Wild had been a catastrophe down the stretch however appeared to stabilize with the return of two stars (middle Joel Eriksson Ek and winger Kirill Kaprizov). Add in elite prospect Zeev Buium on protection, and the Wild are intriguing.
Cause for pessimism: There is a good bit of strain because of the franchise going 10 years with out advancing out of the primary spherical.
Taking part in With Home Cash
The expectations are low, so there is not any strain.
14. Ottawa Senators: 45-30-7, 97 factors | First-round foe: Toronto
Cause for optimism: The Senators have received six of their previous seven conferences with first-round opponent Toronto, a group that’s infamous for playoff disappointment within the Core 4 period.
Cause for pessimism: They’re a traditional story as a younger group lastly rising after years of rebuilding, solely to search out the playoffs are a totally completely different animal than the common season.
15. New Jersey Devils: 42-33-7, 91 factors | First-round foe: Carolina
Cause for optimism: The return of defenseman Dougie Hamilton ought to assist bolster a gifted group that has handled accidents for months.
Cause for pessimism: The season-ending harm to middle Jack Hughes will virtually definitely cap their ceiling.
16. Montreal Canadiens: 40-31-11, 91 factors | First-round foe: Washington
Cause for optimism: They are often explosive offensively and will probably be enjoying with virtually no strain.
Cause for pessimism: They completed the season thirty first in Pure Stat Trick’s high-danger possibilities in opposition to (per 60 minutes) class as a result of their skill to defend the high-danger areas of the ice is deeply suspect.
