NHL Power Rankings: Filip Gustavsson drags Wild into contention atop Central Division

The Bruins’ winning streak is in the double digits, and all of their trades made within the time limit are triggered. Just when you think this Boston team has reached its peak, they just take their game to the next level. The only question is when the Bruins will win the President’s Trophy.

The Carolinas didn’t make much of a splash ahead of the NHL trade deadline, but they added Arizona Coyotes guard Shane Gostisbere, and it’s already looking good. Gostisbehere scored two goals and four points in his first two games for the Hurricanes.

In his first game for the Devils, Timo Meyer played on the same line with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. I offer my sincere condolences to any team trying to defend this lane. Once these three have established chemistry together, they can set up camp in the offensive zone for an extended period of time.

Wild got hot, and it wasn’t because of their scorching attack. In his last nine starts, Gustavsson has only conceded more than two goals once, and in that time he has recorded 15.79 above-average goals saved, according to the Natural Stat Trick. In these games, Minnesota scored a total of 15 goals, or 1.67 per game.

I would like to personally thank the Golden Knights for creating the opportunity for an all-time rematch streak by acquiring Jonathan Quick from the Blue Jackets. If Vegas and Los Angeles meet in the playoffs, Bruce Cassidy will have to run Quick in the net.

Toronto’s biggest acquisition, Ryan O’Reilly, has broken his finger and will be out for at least four weeks. It’s bad news for the Maple Leafs, but at least O’Reilly should be back by the offseason. On top of that, the Leafs have a solid second-place lead in the Atlantic Division after the recent fall of the Bolts.

The Kings won four games in a row, and Anze Kopitar scored 25 goals for the first time since the 2017/18 season. Kopitar seems to have found some chemistry with Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield. The three have played 280 minutes together in a five-on-five game, during which time they outscore their opponents 20-8, according to the Natural Stat Trick.

Despite some positive emotions associated with the Rangers’ flashy acquisitions on time, they did not show good hockey. Over the past two weeks, the Rangers have been leading 2-4-0 with a goal difference of minus 6 on a five-on-five game, according to the Natural Stat Trick.

The Avalanche lost a three-game streak Tuesday night, but they had to face the Sharks, the best medicine for a team in decline. Colorado beat San Jose 6-0 and conceded just 0.87 of the expected goal in all situations. This should give Avs some confidence to move forward.

Roop Hintz has been on the brink of contention lately. Hintz leads a six-point streak with seven goals and nine points in that time. Dallas will have to fight for the top spot in the Central Division, but the task will be a little easier as long as Hintz scores at an incredible pace.

With 17 games remaining in 2022/23, Connor McDavid has already set a new career high in goals (54) and points (124). McDavid is close to finishing the year with 68 goals and 156 points, marking the 14th highest scoring season in NHL history. This would put him on a par with Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

Jared McCann had a good season with Kraken in 2021-22 and general manager Ron Francis rewarded him with a five-year, $25 million contract. This deal already looks like a good deal as McCann scored his first 30-goal season with plenty of time left to add to that tally.

The Senators won five games in a row, returning to the playoffs before losing 5-0 to the Blackhawks. Ottawa is just three points behind the Penguins in the playoff run, and they’re poised for a big turnaround away from the Western Conference.

The atmosphere in Tampa is as bad as it has been since the team was taken over by the Blue Jackets and posted this terribly embarrassing tweet. In Saturday’s loss to the Sabres, Steven Stamkos, Braden Point and Nikita Kucherov were benched for the entire third period. The next day, the Bolts lost to the Hurricanes 6-0.

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