NHL playoff power rankings
Bruins, Sharks lead final eight contenders
No division champions advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in NHL history. Three of the top four teams in the overall standings are eliminated. Six of the league’s nine 100-point teams are gone.
The 128-point Lightning were swept. Sidney Crosby was swept. “A Bunch of Jerks” sent Alex Ovechkin and the defending champion Capitals to the golf course.
Boston’s Brad Marchand (No. 5) and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (No. 7) are the only top 15 scorers still alive in the postseason.
The 2019 playoffs already qualify as one of the craziest in NHL history. Based on what happened in the first round, you’d have to say any one of the remaining eight has a chance to win it all.
Here is a capsule look, and a power ranking, of who’s left. Included in parenthesis are the team’s regular-season points and overall standings ranking.
1 — Bruins (107 points, third overall in regular season): After the dominoes toppled in the first round, Boston was the best team still standing.
The Bruins ranked third in goalsagainst average (2.59 per game) and sixth with a 53.07 Corsi ranking in the regular season, according to naturalstattrick.com. They also had three players, Marchand, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron, ranked in the top 10 in points per game. Bergeron is also considered one of the best, if not the best, faceoff artists in the NHL.
The Bruins are a complete team, with the poise, prickliness and push-back capabilities you need to make a lengthy playoff run. This franchise has won 51 playoff games since 2011.
2 — Sharks (101 points, sixth): It’s as if we’ve forgotten the Sharks were in the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.
This is still a quality team, with plenty of offensive might, often triggered by the puck-moving ability of Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson. This team can generate plenty of shots on goal. Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl are leading all active playoff scorers with six goals each.
San Jose’s concern is in net, where Martin Jones wasn’t good enough in the regular season or early in the series against Vegas. But in his final three games against Vegas, when the Sharks erased a 3-1 series deficit and won a Game 7, Jones stopped 122 of 129 shots (.946 save percentage).
3 — Islanders (103 points, fifth): The defending champions are gone, but the defending champion coach, Barry Trotz, is in the second round with the league’s best defensive team. New York is dependent on goalie Robin Lehner.
This is only the second time in the last 25 years that the team has been as far as the second round of the playoffs.
One sad note: The NHL has decided the rest of the Islanders’ playoff games will be played at Barclays Center in Brooklyn instead of Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. It was fun to see the Islanders back in their beloved old barn in the first round.
4 — Blue Jackets (98 points, 13th): This is the best rags-to-riches story in the playoffs. Now in its 18th NHL season, the Columbus franchise had never won a playoff series before knocking off No. 1 seed Tampa Bay.
The Blue Jackets’ playing style mirrors the personality of their coach, John Tortorella. They are feisty, combative and full of fight.
They are a high-caliber team masquerading as a wild-card team. Their second-round matchup against Boston feels like a toss-up.
5 — Hurricanes (99 points, 11th): Making their first playoff appearance in a decade, the Hurricanes are playing the role of the beloved underdog.
Famed “Hockey Night in Canada” broadcaster Don Cherry referred to them as a “Bunch of Jerks” this season because he didn’t like their choreographed postgame celebration routines.
The name stuck. The organization embraced it and sold T-shirts with the name tied into the Hurricanes’ logo.
The reasons the team started to excel on the ice: Sebastian Aho’s arrival as a star, Rod Brind’Amour’s coaching, GM Don Waddell’s moves, Justin Williams’ leadership and Petr Mrazek’s goaltending.
6 — Blues (99 points, 12th): St. Louis was last in the NHL overall standings on Jan. 2, and today no one would doubt it has a chance to win it all.
The Blues are the seventh team since 1967 to qualify for the playoffs after ranking last after New Year’s Day.
The reasons for the turnaround are clear: First, it’s interim coach Craig Berube, who replaced fired Mike Yeo on Nov. 20. Once the Blues become comfortable with Berube’s style, they evolved into one of the NHL’s best teams. Second, it’s rookie goalie Jordan Binnington. Counting the regular season and playoffs, Binnington is 28-7-1.
7 — Stars (93 points, 15th): After Christmas, Stars president Jim Lites ripped stars Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn publicly for their poor play.
Today, Seguin, Benn and Alexander Radulov form the most dangerous line in the postseason.
But the strength of the Stars isn’t offense. It’s goaltender Ben Bishop, who posted a 1.98 goals-against average in the regular season and is at 1.90 in these playoffs, accompanied by a .945 save percentage. You can beat anyone with those numbers.
8 — Avalanche (90 points, 17th): Colorado is trying to reach the conference final for the first time in 17 years.
The Avs haven’t won a game in a second-round series in 15 years. They were swept the last two times (2006 and 2008) they reached the second round.
But the Sharks won’t underestimate the Avs. MacKinnon is one of the league’s top five offensive stars. He can look as dynamic as Connor McDavid some nights.
And here’s the scary part for the Sharks: MacKinnon wasn’t Colorado’s top point man in their triumph against the Pacific Division champion Flames. That was Mikko Rantanen, who had five goals and nine points in five games.