The Boston Bruins enter Wednesday in a first-place tie with the Tampa Bay Lightning after they defeated the Bolts in overtime Tuesday night.
It’s an impressive turnaround for a Bruins team that struggled in October to begin the season.
There have been a few primary reasons for Boston’s success since that time, and chief among them is the play of the Patrice Bergeron-Brad Marchand combo.
Not to be a buzz kill, but there’s one real concern amid this stretch of positive results, and that’s an abundance of shots allowed.
Since the start of February, Boston ranks 29th in puck possession with a 45.1 Corsi percentage during 5-on-5 play. That percentage comes from a minus-167 shot attempt differential. Opponents have outshot the Bruins in seven of the last 10 games, and Boston has allowed an average of 42 shots on goal over the last three contests. The Bruins also have given up the most scoring chances since Feb. 1 (both at 5-on-5 and score-adjusted 5-on-5).
The goaltending has stepped up to counter these defensive issues in regards to shots against, but if the Bruins want to make a deep playoff run — which is certainly doable in a wide-open Eastern Conference — their shot suppression must improve.
Here are my latest NHL power rankings. All records are current as March 9. Previous rankings are from Feb. 24 because there were no rankings last week.
1. Washington Capitals (49-13-4, Last week: 1): The Caps defeated the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night for their 49th win of the season, tying them for the second-most wins through 66 games in NHL history. The 1995-96 Red Wings had 50 wins at this stage.
2. Chicago Blackhawks (41-21-5, Last week: 2): Trade-deadline acquisition Andrew Ladd has been a nice fit on the Hawks’ first line with a goal and two assists in four games.
3. Dallas Stars (40-20-8, Last week: 3): Dallas has struggled a bit of late with just three wins in its last 10 games.
4. St. Louis Blues (38-20-9, Last week: 5): The Blues have made the race in the Central Division interesting again with a three-game win streak and a 7-3-0 mark in their last 10.
5. Los Angeles Kings (39-22-4, Last week: 4): L.A. is 6-3-1 in its last 10 games and plays the Capitals in a potential Stanley Cup Final preview Wednesday night at Staples Center.
6. Anaheim Ducks (37-19-9, Last week: 6): The Ducks’ only loss in their last 10 games was a shootout defeat to the first-place Capitals. Anaheim still is the hottest team in the league.
7. Boston Bruins (38-23-7, Last week: 12): The Bruins are 7-2-1 in their last 10 with wins over the Lightning and Blackhawks, as well as an overtime loss to the Capitals in that span.
8. Tampa Bay Lightning (39-23-5, Last week: 9): A two-game skid brought the Lightning into a tie with the Bruins atop the Atlantic Division, but there are plenty of reasons for optimism in Tampa Bay heading toward the playoffs.
9. New York Rangers (39-22-6, Last week: 8): Henrik Lundqvist is carrying the Rangers, and he deserves to win the Vezina Trophy for his efforts.
10. New York Islanders (37-20-7, Last week: 10): The Islanders are one of the league’s hottest teams with a four-game win streak and an 8-1-1 record in their last 10.
11. Pittsburgh Penguins (34-24-8, Last week: 11): Improved bottom-six depth and the return of injured forwards, most notably Evgeni Malkin, have made Pittsburgh a much more formidable opponent coming down the stretch.
12. Florida Panthers (36-21-9, Last week: 7): A three-game skid dropped Florida to third place in the Atlantic, but it’s not in danger of falling too far down the playoff ladder.
13. San Jose Sharks (37-23-6), Last week: 15): Sharks backup goalie James Reimer, who was acquired the weekend before the trade deadline, earned his first shutout in 98 games when he beat the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.
14. Nashville Predators (34-21-12, Last week: 16): The Preds have an eight-point led over Minnesota for the first wild-card playoff spot thanks to a run of 10 games without a regulation loss (8-0-2).
15. Detroit Red Wings (32-23-11, Last week: 13): The Red Wings’ three-game skid has allowed Philly to climb within two points of them for the second wild-card spot in the East.
16. Philadelphia Flyers (31-23-11, Last week: 21): The Flyers have climbed back into the wild-card playoff race with a 7-2-1 record in the last 10 games. Philly does have a tough schedule to finish March, though, including matchups with Tampa Bay, Florida, Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Washington.
17. Minnesota Wild (31-26-10, Last week: 18): Minnesota is tied with Colorado for the second wild-card berth in the West, but it’s hard to imagine the Wild losing this spot given their improvement since firing head coach Mike Yeo last month.
18. Carolina Hurricanes (30-26-11, Last week: 17): Carolina has fallen back a bit in the wild-card race with just four wins in its last 10 games. It’s not a huge surprise, though, because the Hurricanes dealt No. 1 center Eric Staal and top-six winger Kris Versteeg at the trade deadline.
19. Ottawa Senators (31-29-8, Last week: 20): The Sens are five points out of a playoff spot and will need another late-season miracle to earn a berth.
20. Colorado Avalanche (34-30-4, Last week: 19): Colorado is the worst puck possession team in the league since Feb. 1 (43.5 Corsi percentage at 5-on-5). That must change for the Avs to make the playoffs.
21. New Jersey Devils (31-29-7, Last week: 14): Losing a Vezina Trophy-caliber goalie in Cory Schneider to injury has sunk the Devils, who have a 2-8-0 record in their last 10 games.
22. Montreal Canadiens (31-30-6, Last week: 23): Alex Galchenyuk’s overtime winner against the Stars on Tuesday gave the Habs a quality victory, but they need a very strong finish to come close to a postseason berth.
23. Buffalo Sabres (27-32-9, Last week: 27): Buffalo has shown signs of improvement in recent weeks and now sits 24th in the overall standings.
24. Columbus Blue Jackets (28-31-8, Last week: 28): Columbus is 5-3-2 in its last 10 games and continues to climb the standings. It’s similar to the late-season surge it had in 2014-15, but it’s also hurting the Blue Jackets’ draft lottery odds.
25. Vancouver Canucks (25-28-12, Last week: 25): Vancouver’s slim playoff hopes were pretty much destroyed during its current 3-7-0 run.
26. Arizona Coyotes (28-32-6, Last week: 22): Arizona has won two of its last 10 games and is in line for another top-five draft pick, which is exactly what this rebuilding franchise needs.
27. Winnipeg Jets (27-34-5, Last week: 24): Winnipeg’s disastrous season hasn’t improved at all. The Jets’ 29th-ranked power play and 25h-ranked penalty kill remain serious issues.
28. Calgary Flames (27-34-5, Last week: 26): Former Boston College star Johnny Gaudreau avoiding a sophomore slump and having 63 points through 65 games is probably the only positive from Calgary’s season so far.
29. Edmonton Oilers (26-36-7, Last week: 29): Connor McDavid will make the Calder Trophy race interesting with his rookie-leading 1.01 points per game average.
30. Toronto Maple Leafs (21-33-11, Last week: 30): Toronto’s six-game skid is the longest in the league at the moment. The young kids who’ve recently been called up from the minors, including William Nylander, have played well, though. That’s very encouraging for the Leafs.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
