Panthers top NHL Power Rankings; Leafs regain spot at top Canadian team

By Sportlogiq Staff (@Sportlogiq)

The Florida Panthers have become the first team to officially clinch a playoff spot this season after a perfect 4-0-0 week. Fittingly, they also take top spot in our rankings.

Florida is just two points behind the Avalanche in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy, with both teams tied in games played. With neither team showing any signs of slowing down, the race could go down to the wire.

The Maple Leafs had an outstanding week, winning all three of their games and scoring at least six goals in each contest, including Auston Matthews’ 50th on the year. They also saw goalie Jack Campbell return from injury against the Flyers, stopping 29 of 32 shots faced.

All of this helped Toronto climb back into the top three of our Power Rankings, but they have a tough task ahead of them to keep their spot. The Leafs face the Lightning and Panthers on back-to-back days, both on the road, to start off their week of four games in six days in four different cities.

One week after finally taking the elusive No. 1 spot in the rankings, Calgary had a winless week and dropped all the way down to seventh. They had their chances but dropped one-goal decisions to the Avalanche and Kings.

Andrew Mangiapane seems to have hit a wall since scoring his 30th goal. He has just a single point, an assist, over his past eight games. He’s still getting his opportunities, ranking third on the Flames in scoring chances over that span, so the production should come back sooner than later.

As a team, the Flames still have the third-best expected goal differential in the NHL, so Calgary’s down week is more of a bump in the road than a sign of things to come.

What a week for the Oilers, as the team went 4-0-0 and saw both Connor