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LHH Power Rankings # 15 - And then the bottom fell out

New York Islanders v Buffalo Sabres

In the NHL, the Isles went 1-1-1 last week. The LHH formula considers games that don’t end in regulation to be ties, so that drops their power ranking record to 0-1-2 for the week, and that showed in the rankings.

The Isles didn’t fare so badly in the ranks of the pros:

Entry # 5 - Feb 17, 2019

Site Updated New Ranking Prior Ranking Comments
Site Updated New Ranking Prior Ranking Comments
Buffalo News 2/16/2019 6 6 Playoff site decision using both arenas is probably best compromise.
The Hockey Guy 2/16/2019 3 3 There isn't a player on this roster that is not playing well.
Brian Simmons 2/15/2019 3 4
ESPN 2/14/2019 6 5 What's so wrong about loving two goalies equally? Robin Lehner has gotten a bit more attention, but Thomas Greiss is only a slight step behind and has gone 4-0-1, saving 154 of 157 shots (.981 save percentage) in his past five games.
SportsNet 2/13/2019 4 4 Trade Deadline Prediction: Trader upgrader… we’re guessing. Lou Lamoriello’s lips are sealed like the Ark of the Covenant, but the GM has to reward a group that has rocked the Metropolitan, doesn’t he? While his lack of a 2019 third- or fourth-round pick gives us reason to think he’d be hesitant to let go of a first or second as well, the Islanders should be in the mix for the high-end forwards that become available.
NBC 2/11/2019 7 7 The Islanders are a perfect 9-0 in the second half of back-to-backs.
CBS 2/6/2019 6 6 They're legitimate. They beat who they're supposed to and give the real ones a fight. Barry Trotz really got this defense up to par.
NJ.com 2/5/2019 5 5 A 1-0 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning provided another example of how the Islanders can hang with the league's top teams. After being the NHL's worst defense in 2017-18, things have turned around dramatically on Long Island.

The Metro continues to be the worst division in hockey.

Metro - 100.5

# Team GP W L T Pts LHH # LW L#
# Team GP W L T Pts LHH # LW L#
1 New York Islanders 58 32 18 8 72 116.0 4 115.6 4
2 Columbus Blue Jackets 57 33 23 1 67 109.7 7 105.2 10
3 Pittsburgh Penguins 58 29 26 3 61 107.6 10 112.3 7
WC1 Carolina Hurricanes 59 30 26 3 63 102.8 13 96.5 18
WC2 Washington Capitals 58 29 25 4 62 102.6 14 100.4 12
12 Philadelphia Flyers 58 25 30 3 53 90.0 22 88.0 26
14 New York Rangers 57 19 30 8 46 87.7 25 85.8 26
15 New Jersey Devils 58 21 33 4 46 87.6 26 88.7 25

The Isles fell out of a rankings playoff spot, as Pittsburgh, Carolina and Philadelphia continued to climb. New Jersey has fallen on hard times lately. The Rangers fell into the bottom 5 teams in the league.

There was no change in the Atlantic...

Atlantic - 102.0

# Team GP W L T PTS LHH # LW L#
# Team GP W L T PTS LHH # LW L#
1 Tampa Bay Lightning 59 40 14 5 85 128.3 1 126.2 1
2 Toronto Maple Leafs 58 36 22 0 72 117.6 3 117.5 3
3 Boston Bruins 59 32 24 3 67 107.5 11 100.2 14
9 Montreal Canadiens 58 29 27 2 60 101.9 15 100.2 14
10 Buffalo Sabres 57 24 28 5 53 94.6 18 96.0 19
11 Florida Panthers 56 21 28 7 49 94.0 20 93.2 21
13 Detroit Red Wings 59 21 31 7 49 88.2 24 89.2 23
16 Ottawa Senators 58 22 36 0 44 84.1 31 81.7 31

Out in the Central, Chicago fell back below the average line, but this continues to be the dominant division in hockey.

Central - 100.7

# Team GP W L T PTS LHH # LW L#
# Team GP W L T PTS LHH # LW L#
1 Nashville Predators 61 33 26 2 68 110.8 6 114.7 6
2 St. Louis Blues 57 30 26 1 61 109.7 7 101.2 11
3 Winnipeg Jets 59 34 22 3 71 109.0 9 115.4 5
WC1 Dallas Stars 58 30 28 0 60 104.8 12 108.8 9
WC2 Minnesota Wild 58 26 29 3 55 95.1 17 100.4 12
11 Colorado Avalanche 58 23 34 1 47 88.8 23 92.3 22
12 Chicago Blackhawks 59 23 34 2 48 86.6 27 85.1 30

Vegas continues to run away with the Pacific.

Pacific - 96.9

# Team GP W L T PTS LHH # LW L#
# Team GP W L T PTS LHH # LW L#
1 Calgary Flames 58 35 19 4 74 119.2 2 118.8 2
2 San Jose Sharks 59 35 21 3 73 115.4 5 111.6 8
3 Vegas Golden Knights 60 30 27 3 63 98.8 16 99.4 16
9 Arizona Coyotes 58 24 31 3 51 94.1 19 93.8 20
10 Vancouver Canucks 60 23 31 6 52 92.6 21 98.6 17
13 Los Angeles Kings 58 21 33 4 46 85.2 28 86.4 28
14 Anaheim Ducks 58 19 34 5 43 84.9 29 89.1 24
15 Edmonton Oilers 58 21 34 3 45 84.7 30 87.4 27

This week:

This is an important week for the Isles. 3 home games, 2 games against teams below them in the rankings.

Sun 2/11 - vs Calgary (12)
Tue 2/13 - vs Columbus (24)
Thu 2/15 - vs NY Rangers (26)
Fri 2/16 - @ Carolina (20)