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With just a little over four weeks away from the regular season ending, it is really the start of the home stretch of the regular season. Here are this week's top 10 teams:
10. Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers are in the midst of a three-game funk. They haven't been the same since during their winning ways. The Flyers lost a tough 7-6 (shootout) game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday Afternoon and a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday Afternoon. The Flyers have a big game at home this week against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Philadelphia's record so far this season is 34-21-11 with 79 points. Last week's ranking: 8.
9. Pittsburgh Penguins: The Penguins had a mini bad spell until they defeated the New York Islanders 3-2 in overtime on Saturday Evening thanks to Sidney Crosby. Goaltender Matt Murray is currently sidelined with a concussion because defenseman Olli Maatta hit him in the mask with a slap shot in practice. Casey DeSmith played a couple of games in net (vs New Jersey Devils 35 saves, L 3-2 on Tuesday Night and at Boston Bruins two saves on five shots faced, L 8-4 on Thursday Night). Jarry made 28 saves in relief on Thursday Night and Jarry made 25 saves on Saturday Evening. The Pittsburgh Penguins face the Calgary Flames (Monday Night), at Philadelphia Flyers (Wednesday Night), at Toronto Maple Leafs (Saturday Night), and the Dallas Stars (Sunday Night) this week. Pittsburgh's record so far this season is 37-25-4 with 78 points. Last week's ranking: 6.
8. Minnesota Wild: The Wild continue to find ways to win. They are slowly but surely becoming one of the toughest teams to play against in the Western Conference. Minnesota has a structure to their game with solid goaltending and defence. They have scored 204 goals so far this season, but they have given up 190 goals. Minnesota's record so far this season is 37-22-7 with 81 points. Last week's ranking: 10.
7. Toronto Maple Leafs: Despite winning the past 13 out of 18 games and losing the last three, the Maple Leafs were walloped against the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Saturday Night in the Stadium Series held at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Auston Matthews didn't play in that game and he is currently dealing with an apparent shoulder injury. The Maple Leafs defence is prone to giving up tons of scoring chances. Frederik Andersen made 20 saves on Saturday Night and he was pulled from the game. Toronto has scored 220 goals so far this season and they have given up 190 goals. Toronto's record so far this season is 39-21-7 with 85 points. Last week's ranking: 5.
6. Washington Capitals: The Capitals looked in total command in Saturday Night's 5-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs outdoors. Alex Ovechkin continues to score goals as he is now at 40 goals for the season and 598 for his career. The power play was clicking in that game by going 2-for-2 with goals by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom. Holtby played well in that game with 27 saves, after being pulled in last Monday's 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets with only 12 saves. Washington has been playing better as of late and they are one of the best quietest teams in the league. The Capitals record so far this season is 37-21-7 with 81 points. Last week's ranking: 9.
5. Vegas Golden Knights: Vegas just went 1-3 in the past week. They lost to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday and Tuesday Night (3-2 and 4-1). The Golden Knights lost to the Ottawa Senators at home 5-4 on Friday Night. Vegas finally broke through in the win column once again on Sunday Evening on the road against the New Jersey Devils 3-2. Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves in that game. The Golden Knights defence is starting to crack a little bit. Fleury also made 33 saves on Friday, but he gave up five goals. He made 41 saves in last Monday's loss and gave up three goals in that game. Fleury's record is 22-8-3 with a .928 save percentage and a 2.24 GAA, along with two shutouts. Vegas still has one of the best goal differentials in the NHL (45, 225 goals scored/180 goals given up). The Golden Knights record so far this season is 42-18-5 with 89 points. Last week's ranking: 3.
4. Winnipeg Jets: Winnipeg has the same exact goal differential with the Vegas Golden Knights, but Winnipeg has scored 220 goals and they have given 175 goals so far this season. Even though they are six points behind the red-hot Nashville Predators, Winnipeg continues to be one of the most dangerous teams to play against in the NHL. Newcomer Paul Stastny has scored two goals and recorded two assists in three games with the Winnipeg Jets. Winnipeg lost a tough 6-5 game on Tuesday Night against the Nashville Predators, but the Jets defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Friday Night and the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Sunday Evening. After Hellebuyck gave up six goals on 32 shots on Tuesday Night, he bounced back with 30 saves on 33 shots on Friday Night, and 33 saves on 35 shots on Sunday Evening. Hellebuyck's record so far this season is 34-10-8 with a .922 save percentage and a 2.40 GAA, along with six shutouts. He is probably the second favorite behind Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy to win the Vezina Trophy. Winnipeg's record so far this season is 39-17-9 with 87 points. Last week's ranking: 4.
3. Boston Bruins: The Bruins have won three straight games including a 8-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday Night. Tuukka Rask (22 saves on 26 shots) wasn't great in that game, but David Krejci scored a hat-trick in that game. He has scored 14 goals and recorded 19 goals so far this season. Anton Khudobin made 27 saves in Saturday Night's 2-1 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens. He has been solid as Rask's backup this season. His record so far this season is 14-4-4 with a .921 save percentage and a 2.34 GAA, along with one shutout. Boston has the second-best goal differential in the NHL (51, 209 goals scored/151 goals given up). The Bruins are one of the most balanced teams in the NHL and they are the biggest threat to the Tampa Bay Lightning right now. Last week's ranking: 7.
2. Nashville Predators: The Predators have won eight consecutive games, including a big 6-5 win on Tuesday Night on the road against the Winnipeg Jets. Nashville is locked in and they are already in playoff mode. The Predators are clearly on a mission and they just want to keep winning and put the NHL on notice. Nashville has a mindset that if they get back to the Stanley Cup Finals, they will not lose. That is because of great coaching by Peter Laviolette and leadership. Nashville's defense is one of the best units in the NHL. P.K. Subban leads the team with 50 points (15 goals and 35 assists). Everybody chips in game in and game out. Pekka Rinne has been the backbone of this team as well. His record so far this season is 35-9-4 with a .927 save percentage and a 2.33 GAA, along with six shutouts. Nashville has the third best goal differential in the NHL at 46 (214 goals scored/168 goals given up). The Predators record so far this season is 42-14-9 with 93 points. Last week's ranking: 2.
1. Tampa Bay Lightning: Steven Stamkos had a five-point (2 goals and 3 assists) in Tampa Bay's 7-6 shootout win on Saturday Afternoon. Stamkos now has scored 27 goals and recorded 50 assists. He is eight points behind teammate Nikita Kucherov (33 goals and 52 assists). Despite making 37 saves, Andrei Vasilevskiy gave up six goals in Saturday's game. It is very rare for him to give up that many goals. His record so far this season is 38-12-3 with a .926 save percentage and a 2.41 GAA, along with seven shutouts. Tampa Bay also acquired defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller from the New York Rangers for forward Vladislav Namestnikov, a couple of prospects, and a couple of complementary draft picks for the stretch run. Tampa Bay still has the best goal differential in the NHL at 58 (240 goals scored/182 goals given up). The Lightning's record so far this season is 45-17-4 with 94 points. Last week's ranking: 1.
