Over an 82-game season, injuries are always a story. It’s a fact of life in this league that every team has to live with. Next man up. When the schedule gets compressed to make way for the Olympics, though, injuries become an even bigger topic.
That’s where we stand now, as injury issues have had significant ramifications for almost every NHL team. This week, we look at what could’ve been if not for a plethora of key injuries around the league. What if your favorite team wasn’t injured?
1. Tampa Bay Lightning, 31-13-4
Last week: 2Sean: 1
Dom: 1
Look, we all know who the best team in the league is. It’s still the Avalanche. But it gets a little boring having the same team up top every week, so we decided to switch things up during Injury Week. It helps that the Lightning are on a torrid 13-0-1 run while the Avalanche have lost six of nine.
The Lightning may still be 11 points back of the Avalanche (!), but it’s fair to wonder if they would be that far away without all the injuries they’ve had to deal with. Every core player has missed some time, and the team’s top pair of Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh has missed over half the season. Every team’s injury excuse is valid — until you look at what the Lightning have dealt with.
2. Colorado Avalanche, 34-5-9
Last week: 1Sean: 2
Dom: 2
On Jan. 4, with Devon Toews already out of the lineup, Gabriel Landeskog left Colorado’s game against the Panthers with an upper-body injury. The Avs lost that night 2-1. Since then, they’ve won three of seven.
Does that mini-skid erase their record-setting first three months of the season? No. Does it change their long-term outlook? No. It has, however, gone on long enough to push them out of first place for the first time since, oh, Halloween or so. We’ve said it plenty of times: These are the Power Rankings, not the Power Standings.
3. Carolina Hurricanes, 31-15-5
Last week: 3Sean: 3
Dom: 3
From Oct. 12 to Jan. 19, a stretch in which Jaccob Slavin played just three games, the Hurricanes allowed 3.25 expected goals per 60, fewer than all but eight teams, and went 25-14-3. Imagine what they’d have done with The League’s Best Defensive Defenseman™. We’re saying 38-3-1. They’d have clinched the Metro by the Golden Globes.
4. Buffalo Sabres, 28-17-5
Last week: 4Sean: 4
Dom: 4
Remember when the once-lowly Sabres started the season 11-14-4? It’s clear now that the early losses piling up were entirely the result of early-season injuries. The Sabres were without several players on a nightly basis, and now that the team is somewhat healthier (minus Josh Norris, who is seemingly always injured), they’re winning in bunches.
Would the Sabres be the best team in the East without all those early injury troubles? Yes, absolutely. The fact that they’re playing at a 100-point pace while getting 31 games combined from their top two centers, Norris and Jiri Kulich, is a testament to that.
5. Minnesota Wild, 29-14-9
Last week: 7Sean: 5
Dom: 6
The return of Joel Eriksson Ek — still the Wild’s best center — is big for Minnesota. His average Game Score of 1.07 is top-30 at the position. The Wild will have to deal without Jonas Brodin for six to eight more weeks, but they’ve done that in the past.
Before Eriksson Ek’s return, and with Brodin, Matt Boldy and Marcus Johansson out of the lineup, too, Minnesota smoked the Maple Leafs 6-3. Imagine what they’d look like at full strength.
6. Vegas Golden Knights, 24-13-12
Last week: 6Sean: 7
Dom: 5
The Golden Knights are among the league’s most-injured teams every season, so where they find themselves is no surprise. Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, William Karlsson, Shea Theodore and Noah Hanifin have all missed extended time, and Adin Hill has been held to just seven games. The Golden Knights would be a lot higher in the standings with a healthy team; then again, we say that about them every year.
7. Detroit Red Wings, 31-16-5
Last week: 8Sean: 6
Dom: 7
Some might view the Red Wings as one of the league’s healthiest teams. They might say that Detroit has been fortunate compared to the rest of the league. Those people would be wrong. Anytime a team misses the literal top two picks of a draft for 10 games or more, it makes an impact, and that’s exactly what’s held back the Red Wings from making a run for No. 1 in the East. So what if that draft was 19 years ago? The point stands.
8. Dallas Stars, 28-14-9
Last week: 5Sean: 8
Dom: 8
It’s tough not to feel bad for Tyler Seguin, who tore his ACL in December and seems set to finish another regular season on long-term injured reserve. His team is another story, though; we’re assuming that they’ll use that cap space to trade for Artemi Panarin or whatever.
While we’re here, let’s do a quick check-in with Thomas Harley. Since Dec. 9, after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury, he’s put up eight points and a Net Rating of about minus-1. They’re going to need more from him.
9. Montreal Canadiens, 28-16-7
Last week: 9Sean: 9
Dom: 9
With Patrik Laine missing all but five games this season, the Canadiens’ power play has … scored more goals per 60 minutes than 25 other NHL teams. Imagine how good that unit would be if he were healthy! Pay no attention to how things went during the playoffs!
The actual loss was Kaiden Guhle, a legit second-pair guy who helped Lane Hutson big time in Hutson’s rookie season. Guhle’s underlying numbers in his first five games back have been promising enough.
10. Pittsburgh Penguins, 25-14-11
Last week: 10Sean: 10
Dom: 10
There was a point a couple of weeks ago where it felt like the wheels were finally about to come off for a Penguins team many (us included) expected to be bad this season. That point, a nine-game losing streak, immediately coincided with Evgeni Malkin leaving the lineup. That’s not a coincidence, and while things are back on track with Malkin back in the lineup, it’s fair to wonder where the Penguins would be had he never left. Would that nine-game losing streak have been a nine-game winning streak instead? Maybe — and those extra 18 points would push the Penguins to first in the league.