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Playoff Special Issue 2023
Check out our annual Playoff Special, breaking down the chances for each team vying to lift the Stanley Cup. In addition to our full-page team previews, depth charts and Fantasy Zone, we have features on Linus Ullmark, Josh Morrissey, Adam Fox and Ryan O'Reilly, plus we dig deep on the many playoff myths to find out what's fact and what's fiction. On top of our NHL coverage, we also shine a spotlight on the stars from the top teams in the AHL, ECHL, PHF, PWHPA, CHL, NCAA and more.
CALGARY FLAMES
THN POWER RANKING | 17TH THE DATA-DRIVEN analytics crowd claims the Flames should be among the top teams. Their possession numbers are strong, and they almost always outshoot the competition. Calgary’s positive shot differential of 8.2 per game this season is second to Carolina’s 9.3 and third-best in the NHL since 2009-10. In short, the Flames take a ton of shots and give up a scant few compared to the rest of the league. Problem is, most of the shots that Calgary takes aren’t from prime scoring areas. The Flames rank in the bottom third in the league in high-danger chances. Under coach Darryl Sutter, the offensive approach is to get pucks on net and hope for deflections and rebounds. It’s a good plan in theory, but rivals have countered by tightening…
SEATTLE KRAKEN
THN POWER RANKING | 13TH THE KRAKEN ARE an excellent example of a team being greater than the sum of its parts. On paper, they’re pretty much the same collection of players who struggled to a third-worst finish in their inaugural season a year ago. Sure, Andre Burakovsky and Oliver Bjorkstrand were off-season additions to boost the middle of the lineup, but it’s more a case of 16 everyday regulars returning and getting accustomed to playing a cohesive system under coach Dave Hakstol. What’s the secret? Three things: balance, balance and more balance. The top Seattle forward in terms of average ice time doesn’t even rank in the top 60 in the league. Would you believe us if we told you that forward is Alex Wennberg? The No. 2 Seattle forward in…
EDMONTON OILERS
THN POWER RANKING | 10TH THE OILERS ARE banking on addition by subtraction this spring. Can a reduction in both goals scored and goals allowed result in additional playoff games that stretch well into May? That’s the plan. At the deadline, the Oilers traded Tyson Barrie, who was in the top 15 in both goals and points by a defenseman this season, to Nashville. In return, they acquired shutdown defender Mattias Ekholm, who won’t provide a lot of offense. But that’s fine. The Oilers rarely have problems generating offense. It’s keeping pucks out of their own net that’s been a problem for a while. So Ekholm’s arrival knocks a few Edmonton defensemen down the depth chart to somewhere they’re better suited. Ekholm will also be relied upon on the penalty kill and…
COLORADO AVALANCHE
THN POWER RANKING | 2ND IT SURE WOULD be easier to forecast Colorado’s playoff potential if the Avalanche had been able to ice their best 20-man roster at some point this season. Alas, Gabriel Landeskog’s off-season surgery kept him out of the lineup into March, Valeri Nichushkin has been plagued by injury, Nathan MacKinnon missed nearly a dozen games, Cale Makar battled head injuries, and, when it seemed it couldn’t get worse, Erik Johnson broke his ankle and landed on the shelf indefinitely. That the Avalanche were in the mix for top spot in the Central despite the hefty price paid to the injury gods, however, is suggestive of a roster deeper than expected, and that is only going to get better when the infirmary empties. In no small part, Colorado’s success…
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