NHL Power Rankings: Once mighty Ducks floundering as they fall out of playoff picture
The Ducks tumbled from first in the Pacific to the wrong side of the playoff bubble
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1 min read
Back in November, I wrote about how the Anaheim Ducks were flying out of the gates on the strength of their talented young core, and they sat at No. 4 in these rankings. Well, that has aged rather poorly. Anaheim has since cratered, and the team now sits outside the postseason.
On Nov. 19, the Ducks were 13-6-1 and occupied first place in the Pacific Division. Thanks to an abhorrent 3-9-2 stretch over the last month, Anaheim is now outside the playoffs entirely, left to fight for a wild card spot with the rest of the Western Conference riff raff.
So, what went wrong? How did our beloved -- and once mighty -- Ducks fall so fast? For starters, the player driving that success has hit a wall. At one point this season, Leo Carlsson was atop the NHL scoring charts, alongside players like Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini. Since Dec. 13, Carlsson has one goal and four assists in 13 games. That won't get it done.
On top of that, the team's defensive issues have finally come home to roost. The Ducks bleed expected goals against at the fifth-highest rate in the NHL. While the offense is able to make up for a lot of that, Anaheim's defense gives up too much for the team to hang around near the top of the standings.
The other major issue is that goaltender Lukas Dostal, who got off to a strong start like every other Duck, has been trending in the wrong direction. He's now allowed 6.57 goals above average, which is 76th in the league.
As the Ducks tumble, here are the updated NHL Power Rankings.
Expected goals and goals saved above average data via Natural Stat Trick.
Biggest Movers
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Golden Knights
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Senators
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Brock Nelson has been a terrific No. 2 center spot for the Avs. He's on pace for 40 goals, which would be a new career high at the age of 34. He also boasts a five-on-five expected goals share of 59.3%, which is better than Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. | -- | 33-4-8 |
| 2 |  | Tampa has now rattled off 11 straight wins, but Brayden Point may have suffered a significant injury on Tuesday night. The Bolts have already thrived in spite of the injury bug this season, but a lengthy stretch without Point would really test their mettle. | -- | 29-13-3 |
| 3 |  | One of the biggest reasons for this surge from the Red Wings has been the play of John Gibson. He got off to an abysmal start with his new team, but he's been a wall since the Christmas break. In his last seven appearances, Gibson has saved 8.87 goals above average. | 3 | 28-16-4 |
| 4 |  | The on-ice goal differential may not show it, but K'Andre Miller has been excellent for the Canes. His 57.6% expected goals share is exceptional, and with 21 points in 39 games, he may well set a new career high in that category. | -- | 28-15-4 |
| 5 |  | There's a bender going on in Vegas. Mark Stone just scored goals in seven straight games. That streak came to an end on Sunday, and all he managed to do was register three assists against the Sharks. What a slacker. | 8 | 21-11-12 |
| 6 |  | The young Matt Boldy has taken his scoring to another level. He's already up to 27 goals this season, which matches his total from 2024-25 and is just four away from his career high of 31. Boldly has seen a slight uptick in shots per game, but his finishing has been the difference with a 17.6% shooting percentage. | 3 | 26-12-9 |
| 7 |  | Juraj Slafkovsky has been scorching lately. Since Dec. 20, he's fourth in the NHL with 18 points in just 13 games. Couple that with good five-on-five impacts, and the 21-year-old Slafkovsky seems to be climbing toward his potential in the NHL. | 2 | 26-14-7 |
| 8 |  | Who needs Owen Power to take the next step when you have Mattias Samuelsson? The rangy defenseman has already set career highs in goals (7), assists (15) and points (22). Meanwhile, his plus-12 goal differential at five-on-five leads the team. | -- | 24-16-4 |
| 9 |  | Jake Oettinger hasn't been very sharp since the Christmas break. In his last five stars, Oettinger has allowed at least three goals four times, and his save percentage is .861 in that span. Oettinger should get back on track, but he's had a hand in the Stars' recent dip. | 4 | 27-11-9 |
| 10 |  | Mat Barzal is having a whale of a season, and that's a welcome sight on Long Island after injuries limited him to 30 games in 2024-25. He's up to 37 points, and the Islanders are hammering opponents when Barzal is on the ice. One of the NHL's more underrated stars, Barzal is buoying his team. | 3 | 25-16-5 |
| 11 |  | Since Zach Hyman rejoined the lineup on Nov. 15, he's given the Oilers a big lift with 16 goals and 11 assists in 28 games. Over that span, Edmonton has gone 15-9-4 while climbing toward first place in the Pacific Division. | 1 | 23-16-8 |
| 12 |  | With Aleksander Barkov out, Anton Lundell has struggled in a larger role. Due largely to increased ice time, Lundell is on pace for career highs in the traditional counting stats, but his five-on-five impacts leave a lot to be desired. Will Florida explore the trade market to find another center? | 1 | 24-18-3 |
| 13 |  | Marat Khusnutdinov scored four goals against the Rangers last week. Prior to this season, he'd never scored more than three in a single campaign. Now up to nine goals and 20 points, Khusnutdinov has given Boston some unexpected depth scoring, even if the underlying numbers aren't terribly flattering. | 3 | 26-19-2 |
| 14 |  | Matvei Michkov update: Zero goals and three assists in his last eight games. His ice-time is now down more than two minutes per game compared to last season. Michkov's sophomore slump has become a real concern for Philly. | 2 | 22-14-8 |
| 15 |  | Joseph Woll didn't get his first start until Nov. 15 due to injury. Since then, he's recorded 11.2 goals saved above average (8th in the NHL) and a .883 high-danger save percentage. He's given the Leafs an edge in the crease as they make moves up the standings. | 5 | 23-16-7 |
| 16 |  | Erik Karlsson will miss multiple weeks with a hand injury, and that is awful news for the Pens. The veteran defenseman has been a net positive at five-on-five, and he leads the team with 29 assists. This will be a tough blow for Pittsburgh as it tries to claw back into a playoff spot. | 3 | 21-14-10 |
| 17 |  | After a few miserable seasons in Seattle, Philipp Grubauer is having a resurgence. His 10.1 goals saved above average are eighth in the NHL, and along with Joey Daccord, Grubauer has given the Kraken one of the best goalie tandems in the NHL. | 6 | 21-15-8 |
| 18 |  | The Capitals just need to make Logan Thompson a workhorse in goal. That may be easier said than done due to a compressed Olympic schedule, but Charlie Lindgren has been somewhat of a liability. He's allowed 3.62 goals above average and has a .796 high-danger save percentage behind a team that doesn't have a ton of firepower up front. | 3 | 24-17-6 |
| 19 |  | The next step in the Sharks' rebuild has to be acquiring an impact defenseman. They have Sam Dickinson in the prospect pipeline, but he's only 18 years old. San Jose is in dire need of blue liners who can drive play from the back end consistently. | 1 | 23-19-3 |
| 20 |  | Over the last month, the Kings' goaltenders have combined for a .877 save percentage. Los Angeles simply cannot afford to have its goaltending falter for any kind of significant stretch because we know very well this team is unable to outscore its problems. | 2 | 19-16-10 |
| 21 |  | The Devils may not have landed Quinn Hughes. They may be four points out of a playoff spot. But at least they went into Minnesota and won the Hughes Bowl in decisive fashion. It's the little things. | -- | 23-21-2 |
| 22 |  | What a week it's been in Canada's capital. The general manager calls out "trolls and sick people" for starting rumors about Linus Ullmark's absence. Meanwhile, the team has lost four straight games in regulation. | 8 | 21-19-5 |
| 23 |  | Nate Schmidt has turned out to be a savvy addition. The veteran defenseman has a 59.2% expected goals share and a plus-17 goal differential at five-on-five. That's on top of 13 points, which doesn't sound like much but puts Schmidt on pace for his most since 2021-22. | 3 | 23-20-4 |
| 24 |  | Third-year phenom Leo Carlsson got off to a blistering start, but he's been ice cold as the Ducks have tumbled down the standings. Carlsson just snapped a 12-game goal drought on Saturday, and he has just one goal and four assists since Dec. 13. | 7 | 22-21-3 |
| 25 |  | Prior to Tuesday night's win over the Oilers, the Predators surrendered the first goal in 10 straight games. They were 6-4-0 over that stretch. Nashville has lived dangerously in recent weeks, but it hasn't mattered. The Preds have to draw first blood more often. | -- | 22-20-4 |
| 26 |  | The Blue Jackets have pulled the fire alarm by firing Dean Evason just halfway through his second season. I don't know what Columbus expected out of him, but we'll see whether Rick Bowness can get more out of this group. | 2 | 20-19-7 |
| 27 |  | Tyler Bertuzzi has been a real weapon for the Blackhawks on the power play this season. He's got nine goals on the man advantage already, and that's one shy of his career high with 39 games left on the schedule. | 2 | 19-20-7 |
| 28 |  | Mackenzie Weegar's five-on-five results -- which include a minus-23 goal differential -- have been ugly. However, those results are largely driven by abysmal puck luck. His on-ice PDO is .930, which is almost inconceivable. | 1 | 19-23-4 |
| 29 |  | Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi have combined for 46.3% of the Jets' goals. No other player is on pace for more than 14 tallies this season. Winnipeg has an extremely top-heavy offense. | 3 | 18-22-5 |
| 30 |  | It sounds like the Blues are on the verge of hanging a "For Sale" sign out in front of the Enterprise Center. That's probably a wise move because the trade market is flooded with demand, but no teams have been willing to provide the supply. | -- | 18-21-8 |
| 31 |  | Over the last month, the Rangers have exactly two regulation wins. This team, which is now below .500, is bad. There's just no other way to slice it. | 7 | 20-21-6 |
| 32 |  | Brock Boeser hasn't scored since Nov. 28, which amounts to a 21-game drought. He only has five assists over that span. Ouch. | 1 | 16-25-5 |
