NHL Power Rankings: Wild and Lightning rise, Kraken and Panthers fall

Last week in the NHL had some massive fallers, with three top 10 teams moving down significantly.

The number one team stays in the one spot with a flawless week, while one of the top fallers last week is this week's biggest riser. The Edmonton Oilers make their way into the top 10 as a result of their current 13-game win streak.

With help from our friends at Daily Faceoff, let's take a look at the biggest risers and fallers in their weekly power rankings.

Jump ahead here:

• Week 15 risers
• Week 15 fallers
• Week 16 preview

Let's dive in!

Risers

Minnesota Wild

27th -> 22nd (+5)

Last Week's Record: 3-1. +6 points. 

Monday: 5-0 win over the New York Islanders (20th)

Thursday: 7-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning (15th)

Saturday: 6-4 win over the Florida Panthers (9th)

Sunday: 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes (10th)

Division Standings: Seventh in the Central (-), 14 points behind the Dallas Stars.

Wild Card Standings: Seventh in the wild card (-), six points behind the Nashville Predators.

Player of the Week: Joel Eriksson Ek

It was tough not to acknowledge Kirill Kaprizov as Player of the Week considering he had a hat trick in his most recent game, but Joel Eriksson Ek had just as many points in less time on ice (TOI). 

Eriksson Ek had points in all four games this week, and finished with four goals and eight points with a +5 rating, while averaging 19:08 minutes of TOI. Shots on goal bettors would have cashed his shots on goal prop in three of his four games this week, as he averaged 4.5 shots per game.

Wild Week 16 Schedule: Washington Capitals (19th), Nashville Predators (16th) and Anaheim Ducks (30th).

Tampa Bay Lightning

19th -> 15th (+4)

Last Week's Record: 2-1. +4 points. 

Thursday: 7-3 shootout win over Minnesota Wild (22nd)

Saturday: 3-1 win over the Sabres (24th)

Sunday: 2-1 loss to the Red Wings (18th)

Division Standings: Fifth in the Atlantic (-), one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Wild Card Standings: Second in the wild card (-), one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Player of the Week: Victor Hedman

Proving that age is just a number, the 33-year-old Victor Hedman and his performance this week brought him to a point-per-game average this season. He scored two goals and five points with a +5 rating in 25:32 minutes of TOI. Shot prop bettors would have cashed his prop in two of three games this week, as he averaged 4.3 shots per game.

Lightning Week 15 Schedule: Philadelphia Flyers (13th), Arizona Coyotes (21st), New Jersey Devils (17th).

Fallers

Seattle Kraken

17th -> 25th (-8)

Last Week's Record: 0-4. 0 points.

Monday: 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins (14th)

Tuesday: 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers (4th)

Friday: 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers (8th)

Saturday: 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs (11th)

Division Standings: Sixth in the Pacific (-1), six points behind the Edmonton Oilers.

Wild Card Standings: Fifth in the wild card (-2), four points behind the Nashville Predators. 

Let Down of the Week: Jaden Schwartz

The Kraken are battling the injury bug right now. Matty Beniers, Yanni Gourde, and Vince Dunn are all on the shelf. The team is looking for players to step up, and that certainly wasn't Jaden Schwartz.

Schwartz saw his regular usage, averaging 17:00 minutes of TOI, but had nothing to show for it. He finished with zero points and a -5 rating in their four games played. With only five shots on goal during this span, he was hardly generating any offensive pressure - tough week for the former Blue.

Kraken Week 15 Schedule: Chicago Blackhawks (31st), St. Louis Blues (26th), Columbus Blue Jackets (29th)

Florida Panthers

2nd -> 9th (-7)

Last Week's Record: 0-1-2. 0 points.

Monday: 5-4 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks (30th)

Wednesday: 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings (18th)

Friday: 6-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild (22nd)

Division Standings: Second in the Atlantic (-), seven points behind the Boston Bruins. 

League Standings: Eighth in the league (-3), eight points behind the Vancouver Canucks. 

Let Down of the Week: Sergei Bobrovsky

Sergei Bobrovsky had a tough week in net, starting two of the Panthers three games but only finishing one game. He finished with a 0-0-1 record, allowing seven total goals against with a .815 save percentage and a 5.5 goals-against average. The most alarming point here is all three teams that beat the Panthers ranked amongst the bottom 12 teams in the league. The Panther’s tough week is even more emphasized when you consider they were the league’s second best performing team the week ended January 14. 

Panthers Week 15 Schedule: Nashville Predators (16th), Arizona Coyotes (21st), Pittsburgh Penguins (14th), New York Islanders (20th)

NHL Week 16 preview

Edmonton Oilers to Push the All-Time Winning Streak Record?

The Edmonton Oilers have won 13 straight games, ranking as the seventh-longest win streak in a single season in NHL history. The Oilers’ opponents this week sit near the basement of the NHL Power Rankings, so the Oil should have no trouble continuing their historic streak. The Oilers face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets (29th), Chicago Blackhawks (31st), and Nashville Predators (16th).

They should be heavy favourites against these teams -- consider their puck line in their first two matchups. For their game against the Nashville Predators, consider Leon Draisaitl's player props. Draisaitl has goals in 10 of his last 13 games against the Predators, totalling a whopping 22 goals and 34 points. 

The Buffalo Sabres California Trip

This week, the Sabres travel through the state of California, playing against the Anaheim Ducks (30th), Los Angeles Kings (12th) and San Jose Sharks (32nd). While the matchup against the Kings is on the latter half of a back-to-back, the other two games should be favourable matchups for Buffalo.

The Anaheim Ducks allow the ninth most goals against (3.4), the fifth most shots on goal against (32.8) and the most powerplay opportunities (4.2) per game. The San Jose Sharks allow the most goals against (4.1), the most shots on goal against (35.4) and the ninth most powerplay opportunities (3.3) per game. Consider looking into players' points and shot props for these matchups. 

Sidney Crosby Shots On Goal Props

Sidney Crosby's shots on goal prop this season is usually set at 3.5. He has cleared this line in 49% of all his games this season, averaging 3.6 shots on 6.2 shot attempts per game. Recently, Crosby has covered this line in four of his last five games. Crosby has some stellar matchups this week, and it all starts tonight against the Arizona Coyotes.

The Arizona Coyotes allow the most shots on goal to the centre position, averaging 13.3 over their last ten games. Crosby has cleared his 3.5 line in four of his previous five games against the Coyotes. Consider his shots on goal player prop tonight at 3.5 for -115 odds. 

The Florida Panthers are a tougher matchup later in the week, but Crosby has cleared this 3.5 line in four straight against the club. The Montreal Canadiens are a better matchup for Crosby, as they allow the second most shots on goal to centres on the season, averaging 12.2 shots per game.

Odds mentioned in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.