These are your Stanley Cup Playoffs power rankings after Thursday night’s action in the NHL:
1. Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton was down 2-0 against Los Angeles, but impressively, they came back and won the next four games to win the series. Now they have won the first two games of their series against the Golden Knights on the road. They went to game 7 of the Cup Finals last year and are poised to make another deep run. They are on a mission to get back there and win it this time.
2. Washington Capitals
They were the best team in the Eastern Conference all year long, so the fact that they lost game one in OT shouldn’t sway anybody’s opinion. They bounced back with a big win in game two to even the series.
3. Dallas Stars
The Stars survived a great Avalanche team in round one, and they looked great in game one against the Jets, winning on the road in Winnipeg. They were one of the best teams in the NHL during the year, but flew under the radar at times because of how good the Jets and Capitals were.
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
Not many people gave the Leafs a chance in this series against the Panthers. Although it’s only been two games and there’s a lot more hockey to be played, the Leafs have played two of their best games all season when it has mattered most. If they can steal one of the next two games in Florida, they will be just one game away from reaching their first conference final in over 20 years.
5. Florida Panthers
Although they beat the Lightning in just five games, the Panthers have had a much more difficult time in round two. Although they lost each of the first games to the Leafs by just one goal, they have allowed nine goals through two games, and if they don’t win both games 3 and 4 at home, their chances of defending their championship could dwindle.
6. Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina won their series over the Devils pretty handily. Carolina has been great all season, and they showed that in their big game one OT victory over the top-seeded Capitals, but did lose game two.
7. Winnipeg Jets
Maybe it was a hangover from their crazy game seven win in round one, or maybe the Stars are just better built to win in the playoffs. It’s early in the series, but the Stars took game one on the road, and the Jets need to win game two to avoid being down 2-0 and heading to Dallas.
8. Vegas Golden Knights
The Knights had a harder time with the Wild than anticipated. Now they are going to have a tough time with the Oilers, who just never go away. Things looked good for Vegas early on in game one, but the Oilers did what they do best, make comebacks, winning 4-2 and taking a 1-0 series lead over Vegas. Then, in game two, Vegas came back with two goals in the 3rd period to force OT, only to lose anyways.
