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Power Rankings # 17 - Dead at the line edition

By Torgo
Comic-Con International 2016 - Preview Night
The next improvement for the Isles defense
Photo by Matt Cowan/Getty Images

Short of trading Dennis Seidenberg for Chuck Norris, there’s nothing that’s going to happen this week that will help the Isles. An 0-2-1 week when they really, really needed a 2-1 (or better) week has pretty much done them in. I mean, sure, some sort of miracle could happen and the Isles manage to get their act together and win more than they lose the last handful of games, but there’s a better chance of me hitting PowerBall and MegaMillions back to back.

I did manage to add a few new sites to the list of 4 professional rankers. I mean, if 4 people telling you your team sucks is good, then 6 telling you the same thing makes it 50% more truthy. TSN, though, couldn’t even be bothered to rank the teams this week:

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

The Metro remains the worst division in the NHL. But, that team that had been sucking along the first half of the season stopped sucking and joined the top 10 for the first time. Pittsburgh rode a 2-1-0 week up 5 spots to 10th overall, and the top of the Metro. Washington went 2-2-0 and fell to second in the division and 12th overall. Philadelphia went 4-0-0 in the NHL standings, but those all came against teams in the bottom 5, and one of them in OT, so it only helped them with 1.7 points and a climb to 14th from 16th. The Devils went 2-2-0 and held on to 4th in the division and 18th overall. Carolina went 0-2-1 to maintain 5th and a drop to 21st overall. The Isles 0-2-1 kept them in 6th and dropped to 22nd overall. Columbus went 2-2-0 to keep 7th, but move to 23rd overall. The Rangers 0-3-0 kept them in 8th in the Metro, and dropped them to 27th overall.

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 Atlantic

Tampa Bay went 3-0-0 and held on to first overall, taking just over a 1 point lead over Winnipeg and Vegas. A 2-1-0 week dropped Boston down to 5th overall. Toronto went 4-0-0 to pick up over 2 points and close in on the top 5. Florida (2-2-0) held on to 4th in the division and the 2nd Wildcard (using the LHH formula). Detroit (1-2-1) fell back to 26th overall. Montreal, Ottawa and Buffalo are 75% of the bottom 4 teams in the league.

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

The Central

Not too much change out here. Winnipeg (2) and Nashville (4) continue to dominate. Minnesota moves up to 7th. St. Louis drops to 13th, Colorado to 15th and Dallas to 17th. It’s still the best division in hockey by far, though.

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

The Pacific

Vegas maintains its stranglehold on the division’s top spot, but dropped to #3 overall after a 2-1-0 week. Anaheim (8) and Calgary (9) join the top 10, and San Jose moves up to 11th. Los Angeles remains just outside the top 8 in the West.

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

The Week Ahead

Wed 2/28: @ MTL (28) - Fail to win this one, and it would be more prudent to talk lottery odds than playoff chances.
Fri 3/2: vs MTL (28) - Fail to win this one, and, well, we can argue which high school program would suffer under Garth Snow when he takes them over after getting fired. Did you make it through reading that without snorting whiskey out your nose? You know Garth Snow isn’t getting fired, right?
Sat 3/3: @ PIT (10) - The Isles will go 1-2-0 this week. This will be the one W, because Islanders.

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