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Welcome back to The Hockey News' NHL power rankings, where we rank all 32 teams based on their weekly performance.

We’ve got our second NHL playoff clinch with the Winnipeg Jets, which defeated the Washington Capitals in overtime on Tuesday.

The San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks were the first to be eliminated, while the Nashville Predators avoided being the third team with a win against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers and Seattle Kraken are next on the chopping block unless they can win their next couple of games, with the Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins likely to follow. Should the Bruins get eliminated, their eight-season post-season streak – tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the longest current streak – will end. 

Who gets in, however, will likely be determined in the final day of the regular season. This season has been wildly unpredictable, and as many as five teams from last year’s playoffs – Predators, Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders, New York Rangers and Bruins – might miss the cut. Most egregious of all are Presidents’ Trophy Rangers, and also the Canucks and Bruins, both of which finished in the top four in their conferences.

1. Winnipeg Jets (49-19-4, +77. Previous: 2)

The Jets take back the top spot after beating the Caps in overtime after Nikolaj Ehlers was sprung on a breakaway during an untimely line change by the Caps. Ehlers is scoring at a point-per-game pace this season, and one wonders how many more points he could score if he was averaging more than 16 minutes per game. 

2. Washington Capitals (47-15-9, +75. Previous: 1)

Tuesday’s loss to the Jets was only the Caps’ third loss in March with a power play that converted on less than 10 percent of its chances. That’s pretty wild considering who’s on their top unit, though it didn’t stop Alex Ovechkin from getting one goal closer to Gretzky’s record.

3. Colorado Avalanche (44-25-3, +38. Previous: 4)

The Avalanche have lost only once in regulation in March, making them the best team this month. A slight cause for concern is Mackenzie Blackwood’s recent play – entering Tuesday’s game against the Red Wings, Blackwood had a .895 SP in March.

4. Carolina Hurricanes (43-24-4, +37. Previous: 3)

Impressive wins against the Jets and Tampa Bay Lightning by a combined 8-3 score were undone by losses to the Los Angeles Kings and Preds by a combined 10-3 score. There’s just always something about the Hurricanes that holds them back from being considered a serious Cup contender.

5. Dallas Stars (45-21-4, +55. Previous: 5)

When the Stars made the trade for Mikko Rantanen, it effectively put a huge target on their backs… or is a target on their face, considering how many of them have been hit by pucks? The Stars have just two regulation wins over the past two weeks, but no one’s panicking.

6. Los Angeles Kings (40-21-9, +28. Previous: 9)

Darcy Kuemper is quietly having a really solid season, and the Kings have risen from the dead following a five-game losing streak to go 9-1-0. Claiming second place in the Pacific in a first-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers would be huge because neither team is particularly good on the road, especially the Kings, who are 14-18-5.

7. Vegas Golden Knights (43-20-8, +51. Previous: 10)

The Knights have won four in a row averaging five goals per game, pushing them from sixth to fourth in goals-for per game. They’re a perennially good team, but it’s easy to forget that their offense isn’t usually this good, and it’s even more surprising considering the talent they lost over the past few seasons. The last time the Knights finished the season with a top-five offense was in the 2020-21 shortened campaign. Before that was in 2017-18 when they made the final.

8. Edmonton Oilers (41-24-5, +26. Previous: 8)

It’s going to be a tough week without Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and they face a tough test Wednesday against the Stars. After a tough stretch where they lost five in a row in late February, the Oilers went 7-3-1 and lost only one game by more than one goal… to the Ducks, surprisingly enough.

Can The Oilers Prove They Are More Than A Two-Man Team? This Is Their ChanceOver the next couple of games at least, the Edmonton Oilers have a real shot at proving they are a lot more than just Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

9. Tampa Bay Lightning (41-25-5, +59. Previous: 7)

Connor Hellebuyck could be a unanimous winner for the Vezina, but note Andrei Vasilevskiy is the only other goalie with a save percentage above .920 with at least 20 starts. The Lightning are 34-19-3 when he’s in net and 7-6-2 when he’s not.

10. Florida Panthers (43-25-3, +36. Previous: 6)

A tough road trip for the Panthers, which went 2-4-0 with only one regulation win, though at least it was in a key battle against a divisional rival. It’s worth mentioning again just how important it is to win the Atlantic, avoiding a first-round matchup against the Leafs or Lightning and facing a wild-card team instead.

11. Toronto Maple Leafs (43-25-3, +21. Previous: 13)

The good news is the Leafs bounced back after a horrible loss to the Preds with a 7-2 win against the Flyers. The bad news is they have a pretty tough path to clinch the division with a road trip to California, playing seven of their remaining 11 games on the road and facing the Panthers two more times.

Maple Leafs' Bobby McMann Succeeded Where Many Undrafted College Free Agents FailedToronto Maple Leafs left winger Bobby McMann's accomplishments stand out at this time of year.

12. St. Louis Blues (38-28-7, +15. Previous: 15)

Shades of 2019? The Blues have a ton of momentum with seven straight wins and now sit four points clear in the second wild-card spot, breezing through the easiest part of their remaining schedule. They have one more road game in Nashville on Thursday before it gets tough, facing the Avs twice and the Jets one more time before the end of the season.

13. Montreal Canadiens (33-28-9, -23. Previous: 11)

Their confidence may be high and their offense excellent, but remain incredibly streaky. After going 3-0-1 with wins over the Panthers and Sens, they go 0-1-2 with 15 (!) goals allowed. They have to start getting better on the road – they’ve only had one road trip where they’ve won more than they’ve lost, and started their four-game road trip with a 6-1 loss to the Blues on Tuesday.

14. Ottawa Senators (37-28-5, +1. Previous: 12)

The 5-1 loss to the Avalanche showed just how far away the Senators are from really competing, but as long as their recent 1-3-0 slide doesn’t continue, I foresee playoffs in the Sens’ future. They’ve overcome a fascinating up-and-down season from Linus Ullmark, who can be brilliant in one stretch but disastrous in the next. He went 7-0-1 in December with only eight (!) even-strength goals allowed to 0-4-0 in February with a 4.35 GAA and then back on track with a 7-2-1 record in March.

15. Minnesota Wild (40-27-5, -8. Previous: 16)

No matter what happens to the Wild, the big positive is they’re playing with house money because no one expected them to be this good. We were robbed of a potentially extraordinary season from Kirill Kaprizov, and the Wild offense has suffered immensely, ranking 17th in goals prior to Kaprizov’s last game and 32nd since.

16. Calgary Flames (34-25-11, -20. Previous: 19)

What a show of resilience by the Flames, who have won four straight – all comeback wins. For a team that had a hard time scoring, they’re not having much trouble now with Nazem Kadri at the heart of it, scoring consecutive overtime-winners against the Isles and Kraken.

17. New Jersey Devils (37-28-7, +24. Previous: 14)

Sheldon Keefe sounded so frustrated in his press conference, he might’ve driven the bus that ran over Johnathan Kovacevic. They’ve lost four of their last five, though they’re not in danger of missing the playoffs with a seven-point cushion over the Islanders. Stranger things have happened, and there’s no jinx here, but Jacob Markstrom is now 1-5-1 with a .843 SP in March.

18. Utah Hockey Club (32-28-11, -13. Previous: 17)

Utah squandered Monday’s game against the Wings even though the two teams were trending in different directions, putting Utah three points behind the Canucks. They’ll need to come away with at least two wins in their upcoming road trip to stay in the race, which means they must win one game against the Panthers and Lightning in their upcoming back-to-back with only one goalie they trust.

19. New York Rangers (34-32-6, -2. Previous: 20)

Saturday’s win against the Canucks was such a misnomer because they were thoroughly outplayed by a tired, banged-up team playing a road game at 10 a.m. in their home time zone. Otherwise, it would be five straight losses and nine in their last 11 games. Without Igor Shesterkin, this is a lottery team.

20. Vancouver Canucks (33-26-12, -16. Previous: 18)

The injury to center Elias Pettersson couldn’t come at a more inopportune time as the Canucks fight for their playoff lives. Quinn Hughes is superhuman, but even he cannot accomplish this alone. Thatcher Demko’s return provided a spark in a 4-3 shootout win against the Devils, but they have three more road games on their six-game trip and sit five back from the red-hot Blues.

21. Columbus Blue Jackets (32-29-9, -8. Previous: 21)

Sean Monahan notched two assists in his return to play, and it was not a coincidence the Jackets also managed to stop their six-game losing streak. They needed some luck (and help from the referees) to beat the Islanders, and it’s kept their playoff hopes alive. They host the Canucks on Friday in a key game for both teams with major playoff (and power rankings) implications.

22. New York Islanders (32-28-10, -16. Previous: 22)

The Isles are giving up valuable extra points losing in overtime to the Flames and in a shootout to the Blue Jackets. Those two extra points had they won would’ve put them in a wild-card spot, a situation hardly imaginable for a team that can barely win three games in a row. Ilya Sorokin deserves a lot of credit – since Semyon Varlamov’s last game on Nov. 29, Sorokin, Shesterkin and Vasilevskiy are tied with 38 starts apiece, and no goalie has faced more shots than Sorokin.

23. Detroit Red Wings (33-32-6, -22. Previous: 23)

Since their seven-game winning streak, the Wings are 5-11-1 with the second-worst (!) points percentage in the NHL. Their play has dropped off so much that they went from holding a wild-card spot to being last among the five teams vying for that spot. Their goaltending is again a mess with trade-deadline acquisition Petr Mrazek suffering an injury.

24. Buffalo Sabres (29-35-6, -26. Previous: 27)

Impressive win over the Jets, and they ruined Dylan Cozens’ homecoming in a 3-2 win, but at this point, who cares, right? The Sabres are going to miss the playoffs for the 14th straight season, and since their last playoff appearance in 2011, they have the league’s worst points percentage and the fewest goals-for per game.

25. Pittsburgh Penguins (29-33-11, -53. Previous: 25)

Well, I see we’re back to Tristan Jarry’s old ways! Not that the Pens had much of a chance of making the playoffs anyway, but there was a glimmer of hope during his four-game winning streak. He was pulled Tuesday in a 6-1 loss to the Lightning, and Alex Nedeljkovic didn’t fare any better.

26. Seattle Kraken (30-36-6, -20. Previous: 24)

Fatigue must be a factor again for Joey Daccord, who passed last season’s career high in starts (46) and has a .877 SP in March, the second straight month where his save percentage has dipped significantly. He did something similar last season when his save percentages peaked in December and January and kept dropping over the final few months of the season. 

27. Anaheim Ducks (30-32-8, -33. Previous: 26)

The Ducks looked like they were trending up in February but have now lost seven of their last 11, including two games where they allowed seven goals. They are, however, on pace to post their best points percentage in six seasons.

28. Nashville Predators (27-36-8, -47. Previous: 29)

Two surprising wins against the Leafs and Hurricanes overshadow the bad news that Roman Josi will not return this season. They’re on pace for their fourth-worst points percentage in an 82-game season and the highest goals against per game in franchise history.

29. San Jose Sharks (19-42-9, -77. Previous: 31)

For a team that loses more games than anyone else, there’s still a lot of positive vibes. The latest is Luca Cagnoni, who earned an NHL call-up during an outstanding rookie season in the AHL as an undersized offense-first defenseman, the type that’s been all the rage following Quinn Hughes and Lane Hutson’s success.

30. Boston Bruins (30-33-9, -46. Previous: 28)

How did we get here? With a six-game losing streak and Jeremy Swayman doing his best Jordan Binnington impersonation – he really does live rent-free in Boston, doesn’t he – in an embarrassing 7-2 loss to the Kings, the Bruins have to really think about where this team’s headed next season and beyond. Their eight-season post-season streak is in real danger.

31. Chicago Blackhawks (21-41-9, -61. Previous: 32)

A 7-4 win against the Flyers saves the Hawks from being at the bottom again. It’s still kind of amazing to me the Hawks have managed to win three consecutive games just once this season.

32. Philadelphia Flyers (28-36-9, -52. Previous: 30)

Zero regulation wins in March. Zero. They have three more chances to avoid that dubious honor with a three-game homestand, but who’s hopeful? They’ve allowed 14 goals in their last two games and a goaltending tandem that – wait, they have goalies?!

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The New Jersey Devils will be without Cody Glass on Wednesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks. 

The trade deadline acquistion has appeared in eight games with the Devils and has six points (two goals, four assissts) and has a +6 plus/minus rating. 

Head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to NJD.TV that the 25-year-old did not travel with the team, but it is possible that he joins the team at a later date. 

"He is a good player and helps us in all areas of the game, it is another loss for us but another opportunity for other guys to fill in and we have lots of bodies here," he said. 

Keefe confirmed that Curtis Lazar and Nathan Bastian would return to the lineup after missing their team's last game against the Vancouver Canucks. 

Wednesday night is a must-win for the Devils as the Blackhawks are the second-worst team in the NHL behind the San Jose Sharks with 51 points. Chicago has two players who have scored 20-plus goals, while the Devils have three active players who have reached that milestone. 

2023 first-overall pick Connor Bedard leads the way with 56 points and has four points over his last four games, but he has not earned a point against the Devils in three career games. 

Simply put, leaving United Center with anything less than two points would be a wasted opportunity with a difficult back-to-back against the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild on the horizon. 

Puck drop between the Devils and Blackhawks will be at 7:30 p.m. ET. Fans can watch on TNT or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.

Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

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Before being loaned to the Marlies, Reaves had two assists in 35 games this season with the Maple Leafs.

Ryan Reaves is practicing with the Toronto Marlies, but it's still unclear if he'll play in an AHL game.

After clearing waivers, the 38-year-old was assigned to the Marlies by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Mar. 7. The assignment allowed Toronto to use the cap space to acquire players like Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo at the deadline.

Reaves has been training with Toronto's development staff since being sent to the AHL but hadn't skated with the Marlies before Tuesday. Wednesday was his second practice, and he rotated throughout the team's lineup.

"He's been great coming in. I know he's been working on his game, skating with development staff. He's staying ready," Marlies head coach John Gruden said on Wednesday.

"We've had him in for two days and it's been great because he brings a certain professionalism and energy, and it helps with those younger guys too. He's been really good."

#Marlies head coach John Gruden on Ryan Reaves, who’s practiced with the team for the last two days:

“He’s just going to stay ready. He’s going to work with the development staff and at the end of the day, he’s just going to continue to make sure he’s ready to play regardless.” pic.twitter.com/q1QLmL6qYX

— Nick Barden (@nickbarden) March 26, 2025

When asked to speak with the veteran forward, the Marlies said Reaves was unavailable for interviews.

Whether Reaves gets into a game with the Marlies is still being determined. The veteran forward's last AHL game was in February 2011 with the Peoria Rivermen.

"He’s just going to stay ready," Gruden added. "He’s going to work with the development staff and at the end of the day, he’s just going to continue to make sure he’s ready to play regardless."

Although Reaves had only played 35 games with the Maple Leafs this season, he was still a great teammate. Ahead of every home game, a pump-up video featuring him played on the jumbotron inside Scotiabank Arena.

Even before the Maple Leafs took to the ice, if Reaves was a healthy scratch, he was at the entrance to the locker room hyping up his teammates. But amid the uncertainty of when he could return to the NHL, Reaves isn't changing how he is toward teammates.

"He's a guy you want on your team in the locker room," Jacob Quillan said. "It's fun to play with him. He's been around the game a long time. So whatever he says, you just listen and you try to pick up some things."

According to PuckPedia, the Maple Leafs currently have $195,332 in available cap space. For Reaves to return to the NHL before the playoffs, a player would need to be placed on long-term injured reserve, opening up cap space for the forward and his $1.35 million salary.

Unless that occurs, Reaves will remain in the AHL until the NHL playoffs, once the salary cap disappears.

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