Jets
Connor Hellebuyck simply retains outdoing himself. The Jets’ goaltender leads the NHL with 27.2 objectives saved above common, and that is 9.03 objectives greater than the following greatest participant. His .858 high-danger save share is first amongst goalies with greater than 10 appearances. There’s nonetheless time for issues to vary, however I believe we will begin etching Hellebuyck’s title on the Vezina Trophy once more. 2 38-14-3
2

Stars
Accidents are piling up for the Stars, despite the fact that they preserve piling up wins. Miro Heiskanen is now month-to-month after present process knee surgical procedure. That is horrible information for Dallas, but when Heiskanen lands on LTIR, that would give GM Jim Nill much more wage cap aid. Nill has already added Mikael Granlund from the Sharks, and he may preserve loading up as Heiskanen tries to get well in time for the playoffs. 2 34-18-1
3

Capitals
With 0.1 seconds left within the Capitals’ win over the Panthers on Tuesday evening, Alex Ovechkin hit the empty internet for aim No. 878 of his profession. Ovechkin is now simply 17 objectives away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time aim report, and Washington has the most effective report in hockey. Issues could not probably be going any higher for the Capitals. 2 36-11-7
4

Oilers
Evan Bouchard will get a fame as an all-gas, no-brakes offensive defenseman. Nonetheless, his five-on-five numbers do not actually assist that. Edmonton permits simply 2.23 xGA/60 with Bouchard on the ice in these conditions, and his plus-16 aim differential is likely one of the greatest marks on the group. Bouchard has developed into a powerful all-around defenseman during the last couple years, and that is made the Oilers true Stanley Cup contenders. 2 34-16-4
5

Panthers
Matthew Tkachuk has gone via some quiet spells at instances, however he has been very loud during the last couple of weeks. In his final six video games, Tkachuk has 5 objectives and 5 assists. Tkachuk appears to work himself right into a lather because the season progresses, so I might count on him to maintain getting higher as he will get a whiff of playoff hockey on the horizon. 3 33-20-3
6

Hurricanes
Frederik Andersen lately returned after a prolonged absence attributable to harm, and he is struggled to shake off the rust. In 4 begins, Andersen has allowed 11 objectives on 95 pictures towards for a .884 save share. A type of 4 appearances was a shutout towards the Rangers, so maybe that is one thing to construct on. Carolina simply must solidify its goaltending as a result of that is considered one of only a few query marks on this roster. 1 32-19-4
7

Maple Leafs
Toronto paid as much as get Chris Tanev final summer time, particularly when it got here to time period, however that call appears to be like fairly smart proper now. Tanev has been a wonderful shutdown defenseman, permitting simply 2.12 xGA/60 at five-on-five, which is the second-best quantity on the group. He is perhaps precisely what the Leafs have been lacking in earlier postseasons. 1 33-19-2
8

Avalanche
Outdoors of Cale Makar and Devon Toews, the Avalanche blue line leaves rather a lot to be desired. With these two on the ice at five-on-five, Colorado has a plus-9 aim differential and a 56.1% anticipated objectives share. When these two are sucking wind on the bench, the Avs have a minus-14 aim differential and a 48.7% anticipated objectives share. 3 32-22-2
9

Pink Wings
Cam Talbot has quietly given the Pink Wings some dependable goaltending. His .909 save share and 5.68 objectives saved above common will not blow anybody away, however that represents an enormous improve over what Detroit received out of Alex Lyon, Ville Husso and James Reimer final 12 months. It is a marvel what barely above common goaltending can do for a group. 5 28-21-5
10

Senators
The Senators are pink sizzling, and so is Jake Sanderson, who has been driving play from the blue line. Sanderson is driving a six-game level streak with three objectives and 7 assists in that span. On the entire, Sanderson’s five-on-five numbers look poor attributable to horrific puck luck, however he has elevated his recreation as Ottawa pushes for a playoff spot. 6 29-22-4
11

Devils
Jack Hughes has heard your complaints about his inconsistent scoring. Following a two-goal efficiency towards the Penguins on Tuesday, Hughes now has 5 objectives in his final 5 video games, which places him at 23 for the season. Hughes is monitoring for 34 objectives, and that may be the second-highest whole of his younger profession. If he may ever creep nearer to 40 on an annual foundation, Hughes could be a top-five participant within the league. 4 30-20-6
12

Blue Jackets
There is no such thing as a justice on this world. With the Blue Jackets within the thick of a playoff race, Kirill Marchenko will miss important time with a damaged jaw. He joins Sean Monahan and Yegor Chinakhov on IR, and Zach Werenski has been listed as day-to-day. If there’s any excellent news for Columbus, it is that the 4 Nations Face-Off will give these gamers an opportunity to get wholesome. — 26-21-8
13

Lightning
Six gamers have accounted for 135 of the Lightnings’s 180 objectives. Nobody else has greater than 9, and simply three gamers have greater than 5. Tampa continues to be a really formidable group, however it depends closely on its star energy on the high of the lineup. Will the Bolts improve their bottom-six earlier than the commerce deadline, or will they roll the cube towards deeper groups within the playoffs? — 29-20-4
14

Wild
Creating offense with out Kirill Kaprizov simply received even tougher as a result of Ryan Hartman selected to present Tim Stutzle’s head a Individuals’s Elbow into the ice. Hartman was suspended 10 video games, and Minnesota has now been shutout in back-to-back video games. The Wild should discover a strategy to scrape collectively just a few objectives as a result of they’re in jeopardy of falling again into the wild card race. 5 32-19-4
15

Islanders
The Isles have now received eight of their final 9 video games, and Ilya Sorokin is taking part in them again into the wild card races, as he’s wont to do. Since begin of the brand new 12 months, Sorokin leads the league with 10.2 objectives saved above common in 11 appearances, and that’s accompanied by a glowing .942 save share. Sorokin has a Vezina-caliber ceiling, and we’re seeing it proper now. 3 25-21-7
16

Golden Knights
Vegas has now received three of its final 14 video games, and its offense has utterly frozen over. Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev have not had a depressing time discovering the again of the online, and it is changing into rather more obvious that the Golden Knights have a depth scoring downside. The difficulty there may be they do not have lots of wage cap area to make an improve, they usually haven’t got an apparent LTIR candidate to create some. 9 32-17-6
17

Canadiens
After an unbelievable run, the Canadiens have lastly began to chill off, however that does not imply it is all unhealthy information. Jakub Dobes, a 23-year-old former fifth-round choose, has been terrific in his restricted motion so far. Dobes has appeared in seven video games, posting a .927 save share and 5.08 objectives saved above common. He ought to steal some begins from Sam Montembeault down the stretch. 7 25-24-5
18

Flames
The Flames made an enchanting commerce with the Flyers, taking a shot on Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee, a pair of 25-and-under gamers who’ve proven some potential on the NHL degree. As Calgary continues to rebuild its roster, Frost and Farabee will get loads of alternatives to point out that they need to stay with the group for the lengthy haul. 2 26-21-7
19

Rangers
New York’s curiosity in JT Miller was one of many worst-kept secrets and techniques within the NHL, and the deal lastly went down final Friday. GM Chris Drury received his man, and now we’ll should see whether or not Miller can provide the Rangers the enhance vital for them to climb again into the playoffs. This was a giant threat for New York as a result of Miller, 31, nonetheless has 5 years left on his contract at $8 million per 12 months. — 26-23-4
20

Bruins
Morgan Geekie has immediately changed into a goal-scoring machine. Geekie now has 16 objectives in 50 video games, which is sweet for an 82-game tempo of 26. Previous to this 12 months, Geekie had by no means scored greater than 17 in a single season. Can Geekie maintain this? His 16.5% taking pictures share is elevated, however it’s not too far above his profession common of 12.5%. 1 27-23-6
21

Canucks
With Miller now gone, we’ll see if group chemistry improves in any respect. I simply discover it laborious to consider that eliminating a participant like Miller, regardless of how badly his feud with Pettersson affected the locker room, goes to make the Canucks extra of a contender. Vancouver does have a little bit extra wage cap area to play with, so maybe the group goes out and makes a splashy addition earlier than the deadline. 3 25-18-11
22

Kings
They did it. With their 4-2 win over the Hurricanes on Saturday, the Kings scored greater than two objectives for the primary time in eight video games. Anze Kopitar nonetheless has a relatively giant monkey on his again, although. The Kings’ captain hasn’t scored in 14 video games, and Los Angeles desperately wants extra offense from someplace. The group is one level away from being out of the playoffs. 5 28-17-6
23

Flyers
It took simply over 50 video games for John Tortorella and Matei Michkov to have a shouting match on the bench. That is not essentially a nasty factor, however how these two personalities mesh can be one thing to look at within the early portion of Michkov’s profession. To Tortorella’s credit score, he has gotten lots of the 20-year-old in his first NHL marketing campaign. 1 23-26-7
24

Blues
One fascinating observe about this Blues season is how a lot Colton Parayko has been contributing on offense. The redwood tree of a defensemen already has 12 objectives, which is 2 greater than his earlier profession excessive. With Nick Leddy and Torey Krug lacking substantial time, it looks as if Parayko has taken it upon himself to generate extra offense from the blue line. 1 24-26-5
25

Sabres
Tage Thompson almost received his head taken off by Stefan Noesen, and the remainder of the Sabres hardly batted an eye fixed. Even when you did not see precisely what occurred, a minimum of feign some anger. As an alternative, Buffalo waited till Tuesday evening’s recreation towards Columbus to do a staged struggle on the opening puck drop. I will be the primary to confess hockey code is even dumber than baseball’s unwritten guidelines at instances. 3 22-26-5
26

Geese
Mason McTavish received off to a painfully sluggish begin, however he has began to show a nook of late. McTavish has seven objectives and one help in his final seven video games, and people eight factors account for almost a 3rd of his 27 factors. His five-on-five impacts are nonetheless lagging behind his scoring, however it’s good to see McTavish beginning to impression the sport on the scoresheet. 1 23-24-6
27

Hockey Membership
Dylan Guenther made his return to the lineup on Tuesday after lacking almost a month attributable to harm, and he instantly made an announcement. Guenther tallied a degree on every of Utah’s three objectives towards the Flyers, and he scored the additional time winner with one second left on the clock. Contemplating Guenther was on an 8-game aim drought when he was sidelined, it was encouraging to see him producing now that he is wholesome once more. 1 23-22-9
28

Kraken
Matty Beniers and Shane Wright, the 2 gamers the Kraken hope could be their long-term future down the center, have had some bother getting any traction this season. Beniers, now in his third season, has simply 12 objectives and 30 factors. Wright, a rookie, has 11 objectives and 29 factors. Much more troubling than their precise manufacturing is the truth that neither participant has had a lot luck in terms of driving play at five-on-five. 1 23-29-4
29

Penguins
Any group kicking the tires on Kris Letang forward of the commerce deadline must decide precisely how a lot gasoline he has left within the tank. His 20 factors in 48 video games put him on tempo for the least productive full season of his profession since 2009-10, and his 48.7% anticipated objectives share at five-on-five can also be a pink flag. Letang nonetheless has three extra years left on his contract at $6.1 million per season. 1 22-24-9
30

Predators
The record of issues which have gone unsuitable for the Predators this season could be very lengthy, however Juuse Saros’ struggles is perhaps on the high of the record. His save share is only a tick over .900, and he is allowed 1.56 objectives above common. The 29-year-old goaltender’s eight-year, $61.9 million contract would not even kick in till subsequent season. 5 18-27-7
31

Blackhawks
When you’re on the lookout for one thing good to say about these Blackhawks, it is that Arvid Soderblom has been actually good in internet, particularly contemplating the mess in entrance of him. Soderblom’s .909 save share is strong, however his 4.82 objectives saved above common paint a extra correct image of his efficiency. — 16-31-6
32

Sharks
I’ve mentioned it already this season, however I will say it once more. Macklin Celebrini is such a particular participant. The 18-year-old scored his seventeenth aim of the season on Tuesday, and his mixture of talent and creativity is a ton of enjoyable to look at. He’ll solely get extra thrilling as he develops and will get a greater supporting solid round him. — 15-34-7