NHL teams
Greg Wyshynski, ESPN 6y

Power Rankings: Nashville Predators rule, Boston Bruins close in on Tampa Bay Lightning

NHL, Nashville Predators, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning

The Nashville Predators have taken up residence at the top of the NHL Power Rankings en route to the Presidents' Trophy. But the Boston Bruins also have enchanted our NHL experts, as the Bruins close in on the Tampa Bay Lightning's division lead.

This week in the rankings, we offer some facts and figures about every team, from those climbing the polls to those taking a tumble.

How we rank: We use a panel of voters, and these rankings reflect which teams voters think would win head-to-head matchups. Higher-ranked teams are favored over lower-ranked teams. A run of wins doesn't guarantee a jump, and a couple of losses doesn't guarantee a fall.

Previous rankings: Preseason | Week 1 Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 | Week 22 | Week 23 | Week 24

1. Nashville Predators

Record: 49-16-11 
Week 24 Ranking: No. 1 

P.K. Subban is tied for seventh among defensemen in power-play points, with 22. His previous career-best was 26, which he -- somewhat incredibly -- achieved during the 42-game lockout season in 2012-13, when Subban also won the Norris Trophy.

2. Boston Bruins

Record: 47-17-11
Week 24 Ranking: No. 3 

David Pastrnak has 10 points in his past eight games, including a three-game point streak. His 74 points this season is a career high.

3. Tampa Bay Lightning

Record: 51-21-4
Week 24 Ranking: No. 2 

Ryan McDonagh has a Corsi percentage of 53.94 in his eight games with the Lightning, whom he joined at the trade deadline -- and is skating 20:36 minutes per game with Tampa Bay, down from 23:55 with the New York Rangers.

4. Winnipeg Jets

Record: 47-19-10
Week 24 Ranking: No. 4 

Patrik Laine's 0.57 goals per game is the seventh-best average in the past five seasons, behind guys named Ovechkin, Crosby and Malkin.

5. Vegas Golden Knights

Record: 48-22-7
Week 24 Ranking: No. 5 

William Karlsson's 40 goals are two behind Brian Bradley with the 1992-93 Lightning, who scored 42, for the single-season high by a player on an expansion team.

6. San Jose Sharks

Record: 44-23-10
Week 24 Ranking: No. 9 

Brent Burns (213) has more points in the past three seasons than any other NHL defenseman. (Although Erik Karlsson has him beat in points per game, at 0.93.)

7. Washington Capitals

Record: 46-24-7
Week 24 Ranking: No. 7 

Alex Ovechkin leads the Capitals with 45 goals, which is 20 more than their next leading scorer, Evgeny Kuznetsov. Ovi's power-play goals total (15) is seven more than the Capitals' second-leading PPG scorer, T.J. Oshie.

8. Toronto Maple Leafs

Record: 46-24-7
Week 24 Ranking: No. 8 

The Maple Leafs lead the NHL with seven shootout wins (to only two losses). Tyler Bozak has scored on five of his six shootout opportunities this season.

9. Pittsburgh Penguins

Record: 43-28-6
Week 24 Ranking: No. 6 

The Penguins lead the NHL with a 25.9 percent power-play conversion rate, which includes 26.9 percent on home ice.

10. Minnesota Wild

Record: 42-24-10
Week 24 Ranking: No. 11 

With his next goal, Eric Staal will have matched his total (41) from the previous two seasons combined.

11. Columbus Blue Jackets

Record: 43-29-5
Week 24 Ranking: No. 13 

Alexander Wennberg is third in the NHL (for skaters with 800 minutes or more) in high-danger goals per 60 minutes of even-strength play, at 2.53.

12. St. Louis Blues

Record: 43-28-5
Week 24 Ranking: No. 18 

The Blues have the fewest giveaways in the NHL this season, with 455 in 76 games. They also led the league last season with 431 in 82 games.

13. Los Angeles Kings

Record: 42-28-7
Week 24 Ranking: No. 10 

The Kings lead the league with an 84.9 percent penalty-kill rate, including an 86.3 percent conversation rate on home ice.

14. Anaheim Ducks

Record: 39-25-13
Week 24 Ranking: No. 12 

How great has Ryan Getzlaf been? He has a 1.12 points-per-game average in 51 games, including a plus-21, to lead the Ducks.

15. Philadelphia Flyers

Record: 39-25-14
Week 24 Ranking: No. 14 

The Flyers got a huge win at Colorado on Wednesday, catapulting themselves back into the No. 3 seed in the East and tying the Penguins in points, at 92. The problem: Philly has only four games left, one fewer than the Penguins and Blue Jackets.

16. Colorado Avalanche

Record: 41-28-8
Week 24 Ranking: No. 15 

With five games remaining, the Avalanche are one point out of the final wild-card spot, with 90 points. Colorado has the same number of games remaining as the Ducks and Kings, but the Blues have one more in hand.

17. New Jersey Devils

Record: 40-28-8
Week 24 Ranking: No. 19 

What's the wackier stat for Michael Grabner: that 25 of his 27 goals have come at even strength, or that seven of them have been empty netters, which leads the NHL?

18. Florida Panthers

Record: 39-29-7
Week 24 Ranking: No. 16 

Sasha Barkov's 49 assists tie him with Brian Campbell's total in 2011-12 for the Panthers' team high during the past 10 years.

19. New York Rangers

Record: 33-35-9
Week 24 Ranking: No. 23 

Filip Chytil, who recently joined the Rangers, had 31 points in 45 games with the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack.

20. Dallas Stars

Record: 39-30-8
Week 24 Ranking: No. 17 

The Stars are five points out with five games to go, and four of them are on the road. Uh oh.

21. New York Islanders

Record: 32-35-10
Week 24 Ranking: No. 20 

Mathew Barzal's 78 points ties him with Paul Stastny (2006-07) for the fourth most by a rookie since the 2004-05 lockout.

22. Calgary Flames

Record: 35-32-10
Week 24 Ranking: No. 21 

Sean Monahan, whom the Flames have shut down for the season because of injury, leads the NHL with 11 game-winning goals, tied with Nathan MacKinnon.

23. Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 31-36-10
Week 24 Ranking: No. 25 

Alex DeBrincat's 26 goals are the most by a Blackhawks rookie since Artemi Panarin scored 30 two seasons ago. Overall, DeBrincat has the second-most goals by a Chicago rookie since the 2005 lockout.

24. Detroit Red Wings

Record: 28-38-11
Week 24 Ranking: No. 24 

Anthony Mantha leads the Wings with 23 goals, nine of them coming on the power play.

25. Arizona Coyotes

Record: 27-39-11 
Week 24 Ranking: No. 28 

Oh, how it might have all been different were he healthy: goalie Antti Raanta has won seven of his past eight starts, giving up more than two goals just once in that run.

26. Carolina Hurricanes

Record: 34-32-11
Week 24 Ranking: No. 22 

The Hurricanes have averaged 28.9 shots against per game, fewest in the NHL this season, which is something for Bill Peters to put on his resume for his next gig.

27. Edmonton Oilers

Record: 34-37-6
Week 24 Ranking: No. 26 

Among the endless accolades for Connor McDavid, here's another one: Just five of his 40 goals have been scored on the power play, with an additional one scored shorthanded.

28. Vancouver Canucks

Record: 28-40-9
Week 24 Ranking: No. 29 

Despite not having played since March 5 after injuring his back, Brock Boeser still leads the team with 55 points.

29. Montreal Canadiens

Record: 28-37-12
Week 24 Ranking: No. 27 

Brendan Gallagher is tied with Laine for the NHL lead in scoring the first goal of the game, which he has done 10 times.

30. Buffalo Sabres

Record: 24-40-12
Week 24 Ranking: No. 31 

The Sabres are one of eight teams that have yet to lose in regulation when leading after two periods; they have a 15-0-1 record when they lead going into the third period. That might be burying the lede, however, given they've done so 16 times in 76 games.

31. Ottawa Senators

Record: 26-39-11
Week 24 Ranking: No. 30 

To the surprise of no one, Erik Karlsson leads the NHL in points per game for a defenseman, with 0.85.

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