NHL Power Rankings: Canadiens emerging as true Stanley Cup contenders behind captain Nick Suzuki
Suzuki has the Canadiens streaking toward the playoffs
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1 min read
The Montreal Canadiens have been building toward something special for a while now, and everything is starting to come together. The team's young stars are really hitting their stride, and coach Martin St. Louis has done a great job of highlighting every player's strengths.
Let's start with captain Nick Suzuki. He is a bona fide star center who is capable of going up against just about anyone in the playoffs. He's on pace for a 100-point season while winning his five-on-five minutes by a wide margin. Suzuki is the anchor for everything Montreal is doing this season.
Cole Caufield is knocking on the door of 50 goals, Lane Hutson is a future Norris Trophy winner, Juraj Slafkovsky is realizing the potential that made him a No. 1 overall pick and rookie Ivan Demidov is a dynamic offensive threat. That's a pretty exciting collection of talent, and it doesn't even include Noah Dobson or rookie goalie Jacob Fowler.
All of these young stars have propelled Montreal toward the top of the Atlantic Division standings, and the Habs sit just four points behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning after beating them on Tuesday to win their sixth straight game. With the Canadiens cracking the top three, here are the latest NHL Power Rankings.
All expected goals and goals saved above average data via Natural Stat Trick.
Biggest Movers
4
Bruins
4
Mammoth
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | You can never have too much defense in the postseason, and Josh Manson has been exceptional for the Avs this season. Spending most of his ice time with Brent Burns, Manson has posted a plus-30 goal differential and a 58.8% expected goals share at five-on-five. | -- | 49-14-10 |
| 2 |  | Jason Zucker has given the Sabres some quality depth this season. The 34-year-old winger has tallied 22 goals in 56 games played, and he gives Buffalo some flexibility with its middle-six. Can he keep this scoring touch into the postseason? | -- | 46-21-8 |
| 3 |  | I think it's fair to say Nick Suzuki has reached superstar No. 1 center status. He's got 92 points -- a career high -- and he boasts a plus-29 goal differential at five-on-five. Suzuki has done all that while wearing the "C" for one of the most iconic franchises in the NHL. | 3 | 43-21-10 |
| 4 |  | It's hard to find a weakness on this Lightning team. They rank third in creating expected goals, and they rank seventh in preventing expected goals against. The power play is 11th in the NHL, and the penalty kill ranks third. The Bolts can win in any number of ways. | 1 | 46-22-6 |
| 5 |  | Seth Jarvis has been on a heater over the last seven games. He's posted two goals and seven assists over that span, and Carolina needs that to continue in the postseason. At his best, Jarvis can provide the offensive pop the Canes have lacked throughout recent playoff shortcomings. | 1 | 47-21-6 |
| 6 |  | The Stars have lost five of their last six games and six of their last eight games. With Roope Hintz and Mikko Rantanen out of the lineup recently, the offense has really struggled at times. Rantanen has returned, but the team is hoping Hintz can make it back in time for the playoffs. Until then, Hintz's two-way presence will be sorely missed. | 3 | 44-19-12 |
| 7 |  | Checking back in on the acquisition of Quinn Hughes, it's worked out very well for the Wild (shocking, I know). Hughes has 49 points in 42 games while posting a 55.8% expected goals share at five-on-five. Hughes has also been one of the NHL's premier work horses, averaging just over 28 minutes per game. | -- | 41-21-12 |
| 8 |  | Pavel Zacha has played a huge role in this surprising season for the Bruins. The veteran center has set a new career high in goals (28) and tied his career high in points (59). Like the rest of the Bruins, Zach has outperformed underwhelming underlying metrics, but they've all been doing it for 74 games. Why stop now? | 4 | 43-24-8 |
| 9 |  | How much Hart Trophy consideration does Ilya Sorokin deserve? He plays behind one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL, and he ranks fifth in goals saved above average at 19.9. Plus, Sorokin's .874 high-danger save percentage is astronomical. | 4 | 42-29-5 |
| 10 |  | Between Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot, the Senators are dealing with injuries to their two best defensemen at the worst possible time. Sanderson should be back on the ice soon, but Ottawa doesn't have much margin for error at this point. The Sens will just have to keep piecing things together on the back end. | 2 | 38-26-10 |
| 11 |  | The Ducks have room for improvement on the blue line, but those concerns would be lessened if Pavel Mintukov takes another step forward. Mintyukov has all the physical tools necessary to succeed, but the Ducks have lost his five-on-five minutes by a considerable margin. | 2 | 41-28-5 |
| 12 |  | The Blue Jackets need to get Kirill Marchenko going for the last couple weeks of their playoff push. Marchenko just snapped an eight-game goal drought in a loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday. Marchenko can be a game-wrecker when he's rolling, but he's been ice cold of late. | 2 | 38-25-12 |
| 13 |  | Since Leon Draisaitl exited the Oilers' lineup, Connor McDavid has stepped his game up, to no one's surprise. Over his last seven games, McDavid has registered five goals and five assists. He's fully capable of carrying this Edmonton offense on his own. | 2 | 38-28-9 |
| 14 |  | Philadelphia just refuses to go away, and much of that is due to the efforts of Dan Vladar. Over his last seven appearances, Vladar has posted 2.10 goals saved above average with a .889 high-danger save percentage. | 4 | 37-25-12 |
| 15 |  | It seems like MacKenzie Weegar is still trying to find his footing in Utah. Weegar's underlying metrics -- which include a 46.3% expected goal share -- have been underwhelming through 12 games. The Mammoth have tried Weegar alongside Mikhail Sergachev, but that combo hasn't clicked yet either. | 4 | 38-30-6 |
| 16 |  | Rickard Rakell has been a force for the Penguins over the last few weeks. Since March 7, Rakell has racked up eight goals and nine assists in 13 games. Rakell remains an underrated winger, and he's a key component on this team of wily veterans trying to make a deep playoff run. | 2 | 38-21-16 |
| 17 |  | Desperate for any kind of spark, the Golden Knights made a coaching change, firing Bruce Cassidy and replacing him with John Tortorella. Vegas beat the Canucks in Tortorella's debut, but it still has very serious goaltending questions. | -- | 33-26-16 |
| 18 |  | The Red Wings' lack of scoring depth is really starting to show now. Dylan Larkin has helped carry this team for long stretches of the 2025-26 season, but he has just two goals in his last eight games. Detroit just doesn't have enough firepower further down the lineup to mask slumps from its big guns. | 2 | 39-27-8 |
| 19 |  | Regression has hit Dylan Strome with a lot of force this season. After scoring 29 goals last season, he has just 17 goals in 72 games this year. That's what happens when a player shoots 19.5% in one season and 12.5% the next. | 2 | 38-28-9 |
| 20 |  | It's almost certainly too late for the Devils' playoff hopes, but Jack Hughes was a man on a mission in March. He ranked fourth in goals (10), fourth in assists (14) and second in points (24). | -- | 38-34-2 |
| 21 |  | The Blues have caught fire since the Olympic break, going 11-3-2, which is the second-best record in the NHL over that span. On the one hand, the team is probably happy to see some life out of this roster. On the other, their draft lottery odds have tumbled over the last month. | 2 | 31-31-11 |
| 22 |  | After winning five straight games to seize control of the second wild card spot, the Predators have now lost three straight in regulation. No one wants that final playoff spot in the West, and it's easy to see why with a matchup against the Avalanche on deck. | 3 | 34-31-9 |
| 23 |  | What will happen with Jonathan Toews after this season? His return to the NHL hasn't gone smoothly with just 25 points in 73 games -- and a minus-11 goal differential. Will the Jets bring back the hometown hero in hopes he will get stronger in his second season after recovering from illness? | 1 | 32-30-12 |
| 24 |  | Interim coach D.J. Smith took over behind the bench on March 2, but the results haven't really improved since. The Kings are 5-5-4 under Smith, and they're still on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff race. It's been especially bad lately with L.A. losing five of its last six. | 2 | 29-26-18 |
| 25 |  | Macklin Celebrini just became the sixth teenager in NHL history to reach 100 points in a single season. Will he join Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby as the only 19-year-olds to win the Hart Trophy? | 1 | 34-31-7 |
| 26 |  | Jordan Eberle has one goal in his last 13 games as the Kraken's playoff chances are hanging by a thread. Seattle needs to find some offense over the next couple weeks, and Eberle will have to heat up if that's going to happen. | 1 | 32-30-11 |
| 27 |  | Now is as good a time as any to marvel at what Blake Coleman has done this season. He has a 53.8% expected goals share and a plus five goal differential at five-on-five. To do that on this Flames team is pretty impressive. | 1 | 31-35-8 |
| 28 |  | Well, the Maple Leafs finally got their retribution on Radko Gudas for ending Auston Matthews' season. Does it matter that it came almost three weeks after the original hit occurred? Or that a banged-up Gudas essentially laid down for Max Domi? I guess not. | 2 | 32-30-13 |
| 29 |  | Matthew Tkachuk has been playing really well lately, and that's a big win for the Panthers. He's battled injury dating back to the 2025 playoffs, and it seems like he's fully healthy again, or as close as he can be at this point in the season. The long offseason may do his body a lot of good heading into 2026-27. | 2 | 36-35-3 |
| 30 |  | This has been a miserable season for first-year Rangers captain J.T. Miller (at least in the NHL). His production has fallen off a cliff with just 16 goals in 61 games, and his five-on-five impacts have been somewhat troubling as well. Miller, 33, still has four years left on his contract at $8 million per season. | 1 | 31-35-9 |
| 31 |  | Anton Frondell, the No. 3 overall pick in 2025, recently made his NHL debut and has four points in four games. If Frondell hits, that gives the Blackhawks two franchise cornerstones in Frondell and Connor Bedard. | -- | 27-34-14 |
| 32 |  | Drew O'Connor is probably the only Canuck having a good year. He's already set a new career high with 17 goals, and I'm a little surprised Vancouver didn't capitalize on his semi-breakout by trading him at the deadline. | -- | 21-44-8 |
