Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens top Canadian teams in latest NHL Power Rankings

With the NHL season just past the halfway point, it’s time to check in with another edition of Power Rankings. The objective is to see not only where teams stand now but where we believe they will sit in the near future.

According to our model, powered by Sportlogiq, the Edmonton Oilers are the top-ranked Canadian team, at 13th overall.

Edmonton sits 17th in points percentage but we believe this is a team on the rise. The Oilers’ underlying numbers are strong, sitting 14th in goal differential and eighth in expected goal differential per game.

Connor McDavid is performing at a higher level than any player in the game, piling up 39 points during his 16-game point streak. Defence and goaltending remain the biggest question marks as to whether this is a good team or one capable of being great. The Oilers sit 21st in expected goals against and 26th in goals against per game.

The Montreal Canadiens are next on our list, at 14th. Unlike the Oilers, the Canadiens are overperforming their underlying numbers, though not to an egregious degree.

The Habs sit seventh in points percentage, 13th in goal differential, and 20th in expected goal differential. The Habs are only a few points out of the top spot in the Atlantic Division, despite sitting 28th in team save percentage.

Montreal has shown it can outscore its defensive issues, sitting seventh in goals per game. If the Canadiens can get league-average goaltending the rest of the way, they have a good spot at finishing int the top three of their division.

The resurgent Toronto Maple Leafs rank 16th in our Power Rankings, thanks to a recent streak of hot play. The Leafs are 5-0-2 in their past seven games as their offensive game has come alive.

No team has scored more goals than Toronto during this stretch, and the Leafs are being led in this area by their captain. Auston Matthews has seven goals in his past five games and has started to look much more like the elite goal scorer he has been for much of his career.

One spot behind the Leafs are their provincial rivals, the Ottawa Senators. The Senators have been sunk by poor goaltending this season, ranking 31st in goals saved above expected. Only the St. Louis Blues have been worse in this area.

With no word on when Linus Ullmark will be back, Ottawa is fighting to keep its head above water. If the Senators can improve their goaltending, they should contend for a playoff spot, as the team’s process has been strong at both ends of the ice this season. Ottawa sits sixth in the league in expected goal differential.

The Calgary Flames are next up, landing in 26th on our list. The Flames are on pace for another lacklustre finish in the West, sitting 13th out of 16 teams in the conference.

Calgary ranks 24th in goal differential and 27th in expected goal differential. All things considered, Dustin Wolf continues to be a bright spot for the Flames, ranking eighth in goals saved above expected this season.

The Winnipeg Jets’ nosedive has been one of the most shocking stories of the season so far, as they sit 30th in our Power Rankings. After posting the best record in the NHL last season, the Jets have the fewest points of any team in the league right now.

What’s gone wrong? There have been a few major issues as the Jets started the season as one of the worst defensive teams in the league in terms of expected goals against. That has improved, as the Jets were without a terrific defensive defenceman in Dylan Samberg for the first month.

However, reigning league MVP Connor Hellebuyck missed an extended period of time. Hellebuyck returned in mid-December, but the Jets have struggled to score goals since then, ranking 29th in goals per game since his return.

The Vancouver Canucks occupy last place in our Power Rankings. The Canucks have a better record than the Jets, but their underlying numbers paint a bleaker picture as Vancouver sits 31st in goal and expected goal differential per game. The Canucks are tied for 26th in goals per game, and while the team has been better from an offensive process standpoint recently, putting the puck in the net remains a struggle.

Elias Pettersson and Filip Hronek lead the team in scoring with just 26 points each. Quinn Hughes, traded to the Wild just over three weeks ago, is still third on the Canucks in points.

Power Rankings – Jan. 7