NHL Power Rankings: The Oilers are back!

By Sportlogiq Staff (@Sportlogiq)

The Edmonton Oilers are back!

Edmonton was our biggest mover amongst Canadian teams, jumping nine spots in our rankings from 18th to ninth. The Oilers are riding a four-game win streak, including a 3-0-0 record last week with wins over Vancouver, Nashville and Montreal.

Goaltending, which had been a major issue during Edmonton’s losing streak, has been better and equally as impressive, the Oilers are finally getting some balance in their offensive attack. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a team-high four points last week and Zach Hyman and Darnell Nurse both finished with three points, as many points as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The biggest news out of Edmonton - Evander Kane made his debut Saturday night and scored in a dominant 7-2 win over the Canadiens. 

No team in NHL history has won more games in a calendar month than the Colorado Avalanche won in January. The Avs won fifteen of their sixteen games to tie a league record and have now won ten in a row. Yeah, that gets you the top spot in our Power Rankings.

Colorado outscored its opponents by a nearly 2:1 ratio in its record-tying month and boasts the best points percentage in the NHL. The Avalanche have one game remaining before the All-Star break, a home game against the lowly Arizona Coyotes. 

It was a bit of a quiet week for the Toronto Maple Leafs who played only two games, winning both. As a result, the Maple Leafs jump two spots in our rankings from sixth to fourth. From a process standpoint, the Leafs have been excellent this season ranking first in expected goal differential.

Toronto’s special teams have been dominant in January with a league-leading power play, clicking at 32.1 per cent and a third-ranked penalty kill -