The Los Angeles Kings failing to make the playoffs last season was a huge surprise.
It appears they aren’t going to let that happen again, though, because L.A. has been one of the NHL’s best teams this season and is beginning to establish a firm grip on first place in the Pacific Division.
The Kings also are the league’s best puck-possession team, according to the Corsi percentage metric, and that combined with stellar defensive play and quality goaltending is making Darryl Sutter’s team a real threat again in the Western Conference.
Here are our latest power rankings. All records are current as of Dec. 10.
1. Dallas Stars (21-5-2): Dallas keeps the top spot thanks to the NHL’s highest-scoring offense, the No. 2-ranked power play and the third-best goal differential.
2. Washington Capitals (19-5-2): The Capitals have leapfrogged the Rangers for first place in the Metropolitan Division with an 8-1-1 record in their last 10 games. Washington also is one of two teams ranked inside the top five in both goals scored and goals against per game.
3. Montreal Canadiens (19-7-3): Montreal has lost three games in a row and saw its win streak over Boston snapped Wednesday night. It’s still too early for Canadiens fans to panic, though, as their team still leads the Atlantic Division by six points and owns the league’s best goal differential.
4. Los Angeles Kings (18-8-1): The Kings have the longest active win streak at five games and are continuing the fine defensive play that’s made them a Stanley Cup contender for the last five seasons (second in goals against per game, fifth in penalty killing).
5. New York Rangers (18-8-3): The Rangers losing six of their last 10 games has allowed the Capitals and Islanders to make up a lot of ground in the Metro.
6. St. Louis Blues (16-8-4): The Blues are a well-rounded team, but their power play must improve — it’s currently ranked 25th in success rate — for them to be a legit threat come playoff time.
7. New York Islanders (16-8-5): The red-hot Islanders have taken points from six straight games, a run that also includes five wins. New York now ranks inside the top 10 in goals scored per game, GAA, power-play percentage and penalty killing.
8. Detroit Red Wings (15-8-5): The Red Wings have an 11-game point streak, and nine of those games have gone to overtime.
9. Chicago Blackhawks (15-9-4): Earlier this week, Patrick Kane tallied his 600th career NHL point and set a new Blackhawks record by extending his point streak to 23 games. He leads the league in scoring with 43 points.
10. Boston Bruins (15-9-3): Tuukka Rask stopped 32 of 33 shots in Boston’s win Wednesday in Montreal. He’s now 4-0-2 with a .941 save percentage in his last six appearances.
Patrice Bergeron is having an amazing season, too.
11. Minnesota Wild (14-7-5): Minnesota would be a lot higher in the standings if it wasn’t 1-5 in games decided in overtime.
12. Nashville Predators (14-9-5): The Predators are just 3-5-2 in their last 10 games, but they earned an important win Monday night in Boston, where potential Norris Trophy finalist Roman Josi scored twice.
13. Pittsburgh Penguins (15-10-2): Pascal Dupuis stepping away from hockey because of blood clots is a huge loss for Pittsburgh, both on the ice and in the locker room. Dupuis provided important leadership, scoring and experience.
14. Ottawa Senators (15-8-5): Ottawa’s 7-3-0 mark in the last 10 games has been driven by its success offensively. The Sens rank fourth in both goals scored per game and power-play percentage.
15. New Jersey Devils (14-10-4): New Jersey ranks inside the top 10 in GAA and penalty killing, but its offense is holding back the team. The Devils are 21st in scoring at 2.5 goals per game.
16. Florida Panthers (13-11-4): Florida has lost back-to-back games and faces a tough stretch over the next seven days with games against Washington, Boston, New Jersey and the Islanders.
17. Tampa Bay Lightning (13-12-3): Leaf Nation was sent into a frenzy when Lightning captain and Toronto-area native Steven Stamkos liked a tweet with a link to a TSN story about him and the Leafs. This isn’t the first time Stamkos — who’s able to become an unrestricted free agent in July — has done this in the last few years. He said it was an accident, though.
18. Vancouver Canucks (11-11-8): After a terrible 4-0 loss at home to the Bruins (sound familiar?), Vancouver has rebounded with back-to-back wins, including an impressive 2-1 victory over the Rangers.
19. San Jose Sharks (14-13-1): San Jose has lost five straight games, which is good news for Boston because the Bruins own the Sharks’ 2016 first-round draft pick as a result of the Martin Jones trade.
20. Winnipeg Jets (13-13-2): Winnipeg has lost three of its last four games and nine of its last 12. Poor special teams — 27th-ranked power play and 21st-ranked penalty kill — are among the main problem areas.
21. Anaheim Ducks (11-12-5): The Ducks are only two points out of third place and a playoff spot in the Pacific Division despite a horrendous start to the season. John Gibson’s excellent play in net of late has been quite encouraging, too.
22. Philadelphia Flyers (11-11-6): The Flyers can’t score, as evidenced by their 2.01 goals scored per game, good for second-fewest in the league.
23. Arizona Coyotes (13-14-1): Arizona continues to be in free fall with five straight losses.
24. Buffalo Sabres (11-14-3): Buffalo has lost three of its last four games, including an ugly 4-2 defeat to the Oilers.
25. Edmonton Oilers (12-15-2): Maybe the Oilers won’t win the No. 1 pick again. Edmonton has won four straight games, a run highlighted a by an impressive 4-3 overtime victory against San Jose on Wednesday night.
26. Colorado Avalanche (12-16-1): The Avs lost to the Penguins at home Wednesday night despite having multiple leads. They also are the worst puck-possession team in the league with a 43.9 Corsi percentage.
Ouch.
27. Toronto Maple Leafs (10-13-5): Back-to-back quality wins over St. Louis and New Jersey is an encouraging sign for the Leafs. It’s going to be a long process for new head coach Mike Babcock, but at least progress is being made in Toronto.
28. Calgary Flames (11-14-2): The Flames have won three straight and six of their last 10, but it’s still a long, long climb back into playoff contention.
29. Carolina Hurricanes (10-14-4): Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. dismissed relocation speculation after Tuesday’s Board of Governors meeting. Carolina has the lowest attendance average in the league and likely will miss the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 seasons since winning the 2006 Stanley Cup.
30. Columbus Blue Jackets (10-16-2): How bad is the situation in Columbus? No. 1 center Ryan Johansen has been receiving ice time as a winger, which is insane.
Thumbnail photo via Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports Images
