Most NHL teams were back in action after the All-Star break, and were able to capitalize on their TWC NHL Power Rankings position. Another week with a new number one team, and a lot of movement in the top ten. Check out this week’s rankings before the stretch run of the season gets underway.
TWC Power Rankings explained
If you’re new to our power rankings, this is how it all works.
Here at TWC, we use a statistical model to effectively rank teams on a week to week basis. The model takes into effect winning percentages, CF%, SCF%, HDCF% as well as SV%. Each statistical category is weighed and scored differently, giving each team a unique TWC Score that determines their ranking after each week. The formula puts the highest emphasis on winning percentages over other statistics. All numbers are taken in all situations, to incorporate special teams into the fray.
We got some excellent feedback over the course of last season from our readers as to how we could improve this model moving forward. We have slightly altered the weightings of the statistical categories, but also added a large recency component to make sure that each week the teams that are riding hot streaks are more appropriately demonstrated in the rankings.
Don’t like where your team is ranked? Unfortunately, they will have to turn it around on the ice, as we take zero personal opinions into effect.
Have any suggestions for the TWC Power Rankings for next season? Leave us a comment and let us know. Without further ado, this week’s power rankings are below!
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Week 18 NHL Power Rankings
| Rank | Change | Team | Team Name | Last Week | Record | TWCScore |
| 1 | +1 |  | Colorado Avalanche | 2-0-0 | 34-8-4 | 794.7 |
| 2 | +2 |  | Florida Panthers | 0-0-0 | 32-10-5 | 781.7 |
| 3 | -2 |  | Carolina Hurricanes | 1-2-1 | 32-11-3 | 776.3 |
| 4 | -1 |  | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-2-0 | 30-12-3 | 775.9 |
| 5 | – |  | Tampa Bay Lightning | 1-1-0 | 31-11-6 | 772.8 |
| 6 | +1 |  | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3-0-0 | 30-11-8 | 758.6 |
| 7 | -1 |  | Minnesota Wild | 1-1-0 | 29-11-3 | 751.1 |
| 8 | – |  | Calgary Flames | 3-0-0 | 26-13-6 | 749.3 |
| 9 | – |  | Boston Bruins | 1-2-0 | 27-16-3 | 717 |
| 10 | +1 |  | New York Rangers | 0-0-0 | 30-13-4 | 711.6 |
| 11 | +2 |  | Los Angeles Kings | 0-0-0 | 24-16-7 | 702.6 |
| 12 | – |  | Washington Capitals | 1-2-0 | 26-15-9 | 698 |
| 13 | +1 |  | Vegas Golden Knights | 1-1-0 | 28-17-3 | 697.1 |
| 14 | -4 |  | Nashville Predators | 0-2-0 | 28-16-4 | 696.6 |
| 15 | – |  | St Louis Blues | 1-1-0 | 27-14-5 | 695.4 |
| 16 | – |  | Dallas Stars | 2-1-0 | 25-19-2 | 693.8 |
| 17 | – |  | Edmonton Oilers | 1-2-0 | 24-18-3 | 679.9 |
| 18 | +2 |  | Winnipeg Jets | 2-0-1 | 20-17-8 | 658.1 |
| 19 | -1 |  | Anaheim Ducks | 0-1-0 | 23-17-9 | 656.2 |
| 20 | -1 |  | San Jose Sharks | 0-0-0 | 22-20-4 | 653.7 |
| 21 | – |  | Vancouver Canucks | 2-1-0 | 22-21-6 | 639.1 |
| 22 | – |  | New York Islanders | 1-2-0 | 17-19-6 | 623.3 |
| 23 | – |  | Detroit Red Wings | 2-0-0 | 22-21-6 | 620 |
| 24 | +1 |  | Columbus Blue Jackets | 3-0-0 | 23-22-1 | 619 |
| 25 | -1 |  | New Jersey Devils | 2-2-0 | 17-27-5 | 608.7 |
| 26 | – |  | Chicago Blackhawks | 1-1-0 | 17-24-7 | 586.8 |
| 27 | +2 |  | Ottawa Senators | 3-2-0 | 17-24-4 | 582.3 |
| 28 | -1 |  | Seattle Kraken | 1-1-0 | 16-28-4 | 579.1 |
| 29 | -1 |  | Philadelphia Flyers | 0-2-0 | 15-24-8 | 568.7 |
| 30 | – |  | Buffalo Sabres | 1-0-1 | 15-24-8 | 556.1 |
| 31 | – |  | Arizona Coyotes | 1-2-0 | 12-32-4 | 500.4 |
| 32 | – |  | Montreal Canadiens | 0-4-0 | 8-33-7 | 481 |
The Colorado Avalanche return to the top spot in the TWC NHL Power Rankings this week after going 2–0–0 over the last seven days. The Avalanche are on an absolute heater as of late with their last regulation loss coming on December 16. Two months of earning points in the Mile High City does not go unrewarded, as currently they sit atop the Central Division by a whopping 11 points. The Avalanche are simply elite.
The Florida Panthers, who did not play the last week, were able to snag a two-spot gain to second place. Due primarily to the fact that the Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Tampa Bay Lightning combined for sub .500 weeks, whereas the Panthers kept their place atop the Atlantic Division.
Speaking of the Hurricanes, a surprisingly busy week compared to the rest of the league didn’t go as well as they would have hoped. A 1–2–1 record resulted in them losing the top spot and falling to third overall.
The Leafs went in the same direction as the Canes, as their 1–2–0 record also resulted in a drop on our list. Two losses against Western Canadian teams wasn’t exactly what the team drew up coming out of the All-Star break, but the team is comfortably in a playoff position at this point in time. To avoid the dreaded Florida/Tampa first round matchup, the Leafs will need to pick up some points to overcome down the stretch to outpace their southern division rivals.
Moving down our list, the Pittsburgh Penguins started their post All-Star stretch with a three-game winning streak to move into top spots in the Metropolitan Division. Just when you thought the Penguins were done, they keep coming back for more.
Speaking of winning streaks, the Calgary Flames are now on a six-game win streak and have the best points percentage in the Pacific Division. With three games in hand, and just one point out, the team is bound to take over top spots again in the near future if they continue their winning ways.
The Nashville Predators stumbled out of the gate in the second half, losing both games last week and falling four spots in our rankings. They remain in third place in the Central Division, but just by a single points.
Other notables from last week’s rankings:
- Four teams didn’t register a single game last week, after all everyone needs a bit of time to recover from Las Vegas
- The Winnipeg Jets started trending in the right direction, going 2–0–1 last week and moving up two spots. They are in a very tough spot in their division, but more weeks like this will help immensely
- The Columbus Blue Jackets went 3–0–0 last week and moved up a single spot in the process. Remember, this late in the season the teams with lower P% have a tougher time climbing out of the bottom regardless of their weekly performance.
Past Power Rankings
Check here for how teams have done over past weeks and stay tuned for upcoming power rankings. Note: Week 11 was skipped and combined with Week 12 due to a lack of games.
Week 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
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