Power Rankings

TWC NHL Power Rankings 2022–23: Week 17

The last two weeks since the NHL All-Star break have been wild to say the least. Trade season is well underway and the playoff races are starting to get too close for comfort. While the top of our list may not have changed as much, the middle of the pack is as exciting as ever and where the bulk of the playoff action is too. Where did your team end up placing?

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. This year we have slightly altered the weightings of the statistical categories, but also re-worked the 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!

Week 17 NHL Power Rankings

RankChangeTeamTeam NameLast WeekRecordTWCScore
1
Carolina Hurricanes2-1-034-10-8812.7
2
Boston Bruins1-1-039-8-5793
3
New Jersey Devils2-0-134-13-5767.1
4+1
Toronto Maple Leafs1-2-032-14-8751
5+2
New York Rangers4-0-031-14-8748.2
6-2
Tampa Bay Lightning2-1-134-16-2747.1
7-1
Edmonton Oilers2-1-130-19-5734.7
8
Dallas Stars2-1-030-14-10732.5
9+7
Vegas Golden Knights3-0-032-18-4715.3
10+5
Pittsburgh Penguins2-1-026-17-9703.8
11
Colorado Avalanche1-1-128-19-4703.6
12+1
Winnipeg Jets2-0-033-19-1700.1
13+1
Los Angeles Kings1-0-129-18-7696.3
14+5
Nashville Predators1-1-025-19-6686.3
15+2
Florida Panthers2-1-026-23-6680.9
16-4
Calgary Flames1-1-125-18-10680
17+3
Washington Capitals2-1-028-21-6676.7
18-8
Minnesota Wild1-3-028-20-4669.1
19-1
Buffalo Sabres0-2-026-21-4666.7
20-11
Seattle Kraken1-3-030-18-5666.5
21
Ottawa Senators1-1-024-24-3661
22
New York Islanders2-1-127-23-6643.3
23
Detroit Red Wings2-1-023-20-8634
24+1
San Jose Sharks2-1-017-26-11616.8
25-1
Philadelphia Flyers1-2-122-23-10604.2
26
St Louis Blues1-1-024-25-3602.6
27
Vancouver Canucks1-2-121-28-4594.1
28
Montreal Canadiens2-1-022-27-4578.3
29+2
Arizona Coyotes1-0-217-28-8561.5
30-1
Anaheim Ducks1-2-117-31-6542
31-1
Chicago Blackhawks1-1-116-30-5540.2
32
Columbus Blue Jackets1-1-116-33-4527.9

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Week 17 Highlights

Week 17 in the TWC NHL Power Rankings is going back in time a bit to cover the last two weeks of NHL hockey. Since most teams were out enjoying their time off, and the NHL All-Stars were counting down the seconds until their time in Florida was up, it didn’t make sense to include that week’s games since there were only a handful. So naturally, this week’s sample size for our model was much larger.

What stayed consistent was that the Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, and New Jersey Devils all remained the top of the class. Those three teams retained their top three rankings from week to week, despite going 5–2–1 combined. They have such a large gap at the top when compared to the rest of the league, it’s going to be hard to catch any of them.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, despite a 1–2–0 record including a loss to the league worst Columbus Blue Jackets, gained one spot this week into fourth overall. How did they manage that? A fourth ranked SCF% and a third ranked HDCF% is fueling the fire behind the Leafs’ record. Despite other teams being closer to them in the standings, their well-rounded underlying statistics keep them pushing towards the top of our list.

A team that needs no additional explanation, and rounding out our top five this week, are the New York Rangers who went 4–0–0. With the acquisition of Vladamir Tarsenko, the Rangers are all-in and are a force to be reckoned with. Comfortably in a divisional spot, it’s really how high can the Rangers go to close out the rest of the season.

Moving down our list, the hottest team this week were the Vegas Golden Knights who jumped up seven spots into ninth on our list. Just when the team looked to be sliding uncontrollably, they went and won three straight to jump back into the Pacific Division lead. The team is absolutely ravaged by injuries—Logan Thompson and Mark Stone being the most recent—so who knows how they can keep things going. Interestingly enough, they are a middle of the pack team when it comes to most statistical categories, but are actually ranked second in HDCF% which is fuelling their offence. They are generating more high-danger chances than average, and are capitalizing on them. 

Also getting a big bump this week were the Pittsburgh Penguins, who went 2–1–0. Somehow this team is holding onto the final wild card position in the east, with a cornucopia of games in hand.

Looking further down the list, the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, and Washington Capitals all enjoyed a nice bump, while the Calgary Flames took a step back. All four teams are fighting for a wild card position and all jostling on our list. 

Two other teams fighting for positioning in the west suffered massive steps back this week. The Minnesota Wild and Seattle Kraken went a combined 2–6–0 to drop eight and eleven spots respectively. Both teams had bad weeks, but are also middle to bottom half of the league when it comes to most of the categories measured in our model. This is further propelling them into the deep. The most shocking stat though? The Kraken have the 28th ranked SV% in the NHL. That is not going to help down the stretch.

Past 2022–23 Power Rankings

Week 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

Check here for how teams have done over past weeks and stay tuned for upcoming power rankings.

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