NHL Power Rankings: Playoff-Bound Rangers Top of the Heap; Stars and Preds Stay Hot

It's official, folks. The NHL homestretch has arrived.

The 2023-24 regular season hit another milestone this week as each of the league's 32 teams played its 70th game, meaning no more than 12 remain for any team between now and the schedule's last gasp on April 18.

And that means another round of tumult in the standings.

Nowhere was that more evident than the upper tier of the B/R Power Rankings, where the Florida Panthers and Winnipeg Jets—who were tied for the top spot last week—plunged four and seven spots, respectively, after another round of panel ballots.

Taking over at No. 1 are the New York Rangers, who used a 3-0-0 week to sweep the first-place votes and climb six places. They're followed by the Vancouver Canucks, who climbed earned four second-place votes to move from No. 5 to No. 2; and the Dallas Stars, who won four straight to climb from ninth to third.

The Colorado Avalanche were a placeholder and remained in fourth, while the fifth spot is shared by the Panthers and the Boston Bruins, down two spots from third.

Also charging toward the finish are the Nashville Predators, who cracked the top 10 at No. 9 after landing at No. 15 as recently as the last rankings period in February.

Scroll through to see where your favorite team wound up and drop a thought of your own in the comments.

Statistics were up to date and votes tallied before games on Wednesday, 27 March.

Previous Ranking: 32

Overall Record: 16-47-8

Eleven more games in a season of misery for the Sharks, who are stumbling toward the finish line.

San Jose's 6-3 loss to Dallas on Tuesday was both its eighth in a row (0-7-1) and 17th in 18 games (1-14-3).

Chicago, at 31st overall, is seven points ahead.

Previous Ranking: 31

Overall Record: 21-46-5

Two wins in a row and six in their last 10 games is another positive in a rebuilding season for the Blackhawks, who are comfortably out of the NHL's basement and within five points of moving into 30th place.

Jason Dickinson scored twice Tuesday to reach 20 for the first time.

Previous Ranking: 30

Overall Record: 24-44-4

One win in 10 games is emblematic of the season-long struggle for the Ducks, who were on the wrong end of a 4-0 score against Seattle, which arrived to Tuesday's game having lost eight straight of its own.

"We stood around and watched," coach Greg Cronin said. "It was completely unacceptable."

Previous Ranking: 28

Overall Record: 23-37-12

Columbus is starting well but finishing poorly these days, particularly during a run in which it's lost five straight games but scored the first goal in four of them.

"It's just not good enough right now," defenseman Zach Werenski said. "I don't know what to say. We keep finding ways to lose."

Previous Ranking: 26

Overall Record: 30-37-5

A win against Columbus on Tuesday yielded a pair of goals from Josh Doan in his first NHL game, but it was tinged with disappointment as the Coyotes were eliminated from postseason contention for the 11th time in 12 seasons.

Arizona won a qualifying-round series in 2020 but hasn't won a regular series since 2012.

Previous Ranking: 27

Overall Record: 30-36-4

The Senators were riding a two-game win streak heading into Wednesday, largely due to the efforts of goalie Joonas Korpisalo who stopped 51 of 56 shots in those games and has gone 4-1-0 in five starts since a loss at San Jose on March 9.

Previous Ranking: 28

Overall Record: 27-32-12

It won't mean much when a playoff-less season is complete, but the Canadiens did manage a moral victory on Tuesday when they beat streaking Colorado in coach Martin St. Louis' first game behind the bench since March 16.

"We played for him," captain Nick Suzuki said. "He's been through a lot over the last 10 days, and he was excited to come back."

Previous Ranking: 25

Overall Record: 29-29-13

It wasn't a busy night for goalie Joey Daccord on Tuesday, but he'll take a 12-save workload if it means ending an eight-game losing skid, which the Kraken did with a 4-0 verdict against Anaheim.

Daccord has three shutouts in 42 starts after having none in parts of four seasons.

Previous Ranking: 18

Overall Record: 33-33-5

A brief run toward fleeting playoff contention is over in Calgary, where the Flames have lost four in a row to fall to a tie for 11th in the West, 15 points off the pace.

They were ninth in the conference and within seven points of a wild-card spot on March 1.

Previous Ranking: 23

Overall Record: 30-26-15

The down-the-stretch struggles continue for the Islanders, who had climbed into an Eastern wild-card spot earlier this month but have gone 1-6-1 in their last eight.

New York is 31st in offense (1.88 goals per game) and 30th in defense (4.13 goals per game) since March 11.

Previous Ranking: 24

Overall Record: 31-30-10

A second straight non-playoff season is all but a finality for Sidney Crosby and Co., but the Penguins did circle the wagons to welcome back former teammate Jake Guentzel in a 4-1 defeat of Carolina that ended a three-game (0-2-1) skid.

Previous Ranking: 21

Overall Record: 34-33-5

Home cooking has been a boon for the Sabres in recent weeks, yielding a 5-1-0 stretch in their last six games entering Wednesday in which they've averaged four goals per night.

The playoffs are all but out of reach, though, with eight points and three teams between them and the final Eastern wild card.

Previous Ranking: 22

Overall Record: 36-33-4

It's probably too little, too late, but it's still a nice late-season run of four wins in five games for the Devils, who reached Wednesday five points beneath the Eastern cutline.

New Jersey has scored nearly a goal more per game during the streak (4.20 to 3.30) and allowed more than a goal less (2.20 to 3.37).

Previous Ranking: 16

Overall Record: 34-28-9

An 0-1-1 week that included a loss to a team ahead of them (St. Louis) didn't help the improbable playoff hopes in Minnesota, but coach John Hynes is pressing forward.

"Their heads are up," he said. "You have to just keep taking it game by game."

The Wild are 29-18-5 since hiring Hynes in November after a 5-10-4 start.

Previous Ranking: 19

Overall Record: 38-30-4

Securing a playoff spot wasn't going to be easy anyway, but it got a bit more difficult for the Blues with the loss of forward Oskar Sundqvist, who's gone for the season with a torn right ACL after leaving Monday's game with Vegas.

The 30-year-old had six goals and 21 points in 71 games.

Previous Ranking: 17

Overall Record: 36-29-7

It was another week of nail-biting and scoreboard angst for the Red Wings, who have lost two in a row and are just 3-8-1 in March.

Detroit started the month in the first Eastern wild-card spot but is now two points behind Washington in the chase for the final playoff position.

Previous Ranking: 19

Overall Record: 36-26-9

It would have taken a true believer to buy in just a few weeks ago, but the Capitals have worked their way back to playoff relevance with a run of six wins in seven games.

Their defeat of Detroit on Tuesday put them two points ahead of the Eastern cutline.

Previous Ranking: 15

Overall Record: 36-27-10

The Flyers have hit a pedestrian stretch with a 4-4-2 record in their last 10 games, but they remained third in the Metropolitan heading into Wednesday.

It's not a cinch, though, considering they're only a point ahead of fourth-place Washington and three up on Detroit, which is doggedly pursuing the final Eastern wild-card position.

Previous Ranking: 14

Overall Record: 39-25-8

There aren't many who would have predicted the Golden Knights would reach the final 10 games of their season with a playoff spot in doubt.

They're in a good spot for the second Western wild card after a 3-0-1 week but lead St. Louis by a non-prohibitive six points.

Previous Ranking: 12

Overall Record: 39-25-7

The Lightning headed into Wednesday's date with Boston having gone 7-1-2 in their last 10 games to seize control of the first Eastern wild-card spot by four points.

They've also climbed within four points of Toronto for third place in the Atlantic.

Previous Ranking: 13

Overall Record: 40-22-9

A middling 2-2-0 week was played without the talents of forward Mitch Marner, who's been out since suffering a high ankle sprain in a March 7 game against Boston. The Maple Leafs lost that game to the Bruins and are 4-3-1 in eight full games since the injury.

Coach Sheldon Keefe doesn't expect Marner to be available through the end of the week.

Previous Ranking: 11

Overall Record: 38-22-11

Playoff positioning is still a big question mark, but there's no argument the Kings are getting hot at the right time, having won four straight and seven of 10.

Los Angeles is three points behind Edmonton for second in the Pacific and one point ahead of fourth-place Vegas.

Previous Ranking: 8

Overall Record: 43-23-4

A difficult trip yielded a blowout at Toronto and a blown lead at Ottawa, but the Oilers salvaged something on the way home with an OT win at Winnipeg.

Of course, it doesn't help when TSN insider Darren Dreger suggested it'll be tough to extend Leon Draisaitl this summer.

Previous Ranking: 10

Overall Record: 43-25-4

The Predators aren't the league's best team by any measure, but you'd have a hard time convincing people of that these days given a run of 18 straight games (16-0-2) with a point.

"There's a lot of belief," defenseman Roman Josi said. "There's a lot of confidence in this room."

Previous Ranking: 1

Overall Record: 44-22-6

A four-loss week (0-3-1) came at the wrong time for the Jets in terms of the Central chase, where they're now in third place—three points behind Colorado for second and just four ahead of Nashville for fourth.

Previous Ranking: 6

Overall Record: 45-21-7

A 2-1-1 week was a statistical success for the Hurricanes, but it didn't help their Metropolitan chances thanks to a pristine run by the Rangers that left Carolina three points out with nine games (New York has 10) to play.

Previous Ranking: 3

Overall Record: 42-16-15

A 1-2-0 week entering Wednesday wasn't particularly pleasing to coach Jim Montgomery, but the Bruins rallied from a pair of regulation losses to defeat a powerful Florida team on Tuesday with two late goals.

"It gives us a boatload of confidence moving forward," goalie Jeremy Swayman said.

Previous Ranking: 1

Overall Record: 46-21-5

It's been a bit of a struggle of late for the Panthers, whose 1-2-1 week necessitated a four-spot drop in the rankings.

They've been without defenseman and former No. 1 overall pick Aaron Ekblad (lower-body injury) since he skated just seven shifts against Calgary on March 9.

Florida is 2-4-1 in seven games without him, allowing 3.29 goals per game on 29.9 shots.

Previous Ranking: 4

Overall Record: 46-21-5

Not every streak can go on forever.

The Avalanche lost to visiting Montreal on Tuesday after nine straight wins, but MVP favorite Nathan MacKinnon did manage a goal, which upped his home-game point streak to 35 games and an overall point streak to 19.

Previous Ranking: 9

Overall Record: 45-19-9

Need momentum out West? The Stars have it and some to spare thanks to a four-win week and an overall run that's yielded five straight and eight of 10.

Dallas has a two-point edge over Colorado in the Central and leads Vancouver by one for the conference's top seed.

Previous Ranking: 5

Overall Record: 45-19-8

The Canucks could see the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs, so a 3-2 home loss to them on Monday wasn't great news, particularly when it kept Vancouver from clinching a playoff berth.

But it was the first loss in four games overall and second in regulation across the last 10, so it isn't all bad.

"Pretty much every game from here on out is going to be like that," forward Sam Lafferty said, "so I think we're gearing up."

Previous Ranking: 7

Overall Record: 48-20-4

The Rangers climbed to first overall and became the first team to clinch a 2023-24 playoff berth with Tuesday's win over Philadelphia. But they have more accomplishments on the agenda before the summertime arrives.

"If you one day want to lift the Stanley Cup you have to get into the playoffs first," forward Mika Zibanejad said. "We're not done."