NHL

NHL Power Rankings: Life after the Olympic break

The Olympic Break has come and gone, as Canada again claimed gold. One of the other big storylines was the number of NHL players who got injured.

The biggest was Islanders captain and MVP candidate John Tavares, who suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Rangers also lost the services of Mats Zuccarello (left hand) who will be out a few weeks, which isn’t as big a blow.

Carey Price, who allowed three goals in five games in leading Canada to gold, will miss at least two games for the Canadiens after aggravating a lower body injury in Sochi. If he misses more time, it would be a serious blow to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Penguins defenseman Paul Martin, who almost didn’t make Team USA because of a foot injury, broke his hand and will miss 4-to-6 weeks. Luckily for the Penguins, they are well-equipped at the blue line. The Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov (Finland) hurt his knee and may miss six weeks, and teammate Tomas Kopecky (Slovakia) suffered a concussion, meaning the only two Panthers to go to Sochi are now injured.

These and other injuries could impact the playoff races as well as decide who is a buyer and who is a seller at next week’s trade deadline.

1. Penguins (2): Sidney Crosby only had one goal in six games in Sochi, but expect the NHL’s leading point scorer to pick up where he left off three weeks ago.

2. Blues (3): The defense may have slipped recently, as St. Louis has allowed 11 regulation goals in four games, but the Blues continue to find ways to win, having captured 19 of 28 one-goal games.

3. Ducks (1): Anaheim had five players win medals at the Olympics, with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry winning gold for Canada, Jakob Silfverberg taking silver (Sweden) and Teemu Selanne and Sami Vatanen claiming bronze (Finland).

4. Blackhawks (5): Patrick Kane’s confidence took a hit in Sochi, with no goals in six games and two penalty shot misses in the bronze medal game, and Chicago hopes he can put that behind him quickly.

5. Bruins (4): Boston owns a plus-51 goal differential, slightly ahead of Pittsburgh’s plus-48, and its 36 regulation wins are tied for the most in the Eastern Conference.

6. Sharks (7): In a scheduling quirk, the Sharks play their next 11 games against the Eastern Conference, which means the losses won’t be as detrimental for them in the standings.

7. Avalanche (6): No one’s been talking about Nathan MacKinnon that much, but the Rookie of the Year candidate has 22 goals and has been a huge reason for the Avalanche’s turnaround.

8. Maple Leafs (10): They face the depleted Islanders and rival Canadiens this week and can’t afford a letdown – like Team USA and Phil Kessel had in the Olympics.

9. Lightning (8): After not traveling or playing in Sochi, the million dollar question is when will Steven Stamkos be back in the lineup?

10. Rangers (11): Winners of five of six prior to the break, the Rangers will be tested right away with a home game against the Blackhawks Thursday to start a stretch which sees them play seven of eight against current playoff teams.

11. Wild (9): Minnesota has lost four of five road games, a trend it hopes ends with back-to-back games this week against the Oilers and Canucks.

12. Canadiens (12): Without Price for  at least upcoming games against the Red Wings and Penguins, Montreal hopes not to fall too much farther behind the Atlantic Division-leading Bruins.

13. Flyers (15): The break came at an inopportune time for the Flyers, who have won four in a row, allowing four goals during that stretch.

14. Stars (17): With 24 games remaining, captain Jamie Benn needs five goals and 13 points to establish new career highs.

15. Kings (13): How often is a team ranked 29th in goals scored and first in goals against? Not very often, but the Kings, despite their struggles, still hold a playoff spot … for now.

16. Blue Jackets (14): Fun fact: The Blue Jackets have one loss by more than one goal over their past 16 games.

17. Jets (19): Their leading goal-scorer Blake Wheeler hasn’t scored in five games.

18. Red Wings (20): Coach Mike Babcock led Canada to Olympic gold, but it’ll be a much tougher task getting this bunch to the playoffs.

19. Senators (18): The Senators have had over two weeks to get over a 7-2 lashing by the Bruins in their last game before the break.

20. Canucks (16): Henrik Sedin missed the Olympics with a rib injury but is expected to play Wednesday, which would be a huge boost for the Canucks.

21. Coyotes (22): There are six players on the Coyotes with 14 goals or more, but Phoenix has managed just four goals in three games.

22. Hurricanes (21): A five-game road trip right out of the gate could determine if the Hurricanes are buyers or sellers at next week’s trade deadline. Not off to a great start with a loss to the Sabres Tuesday.

23. Capitals (23): After coming off a disappointing run in the Olympics for Russia, there’s a good chance Alex Ovechkin will take out his frustrations on opposing goalies, as he has 40 goals in 55 games.

24. Devils (25): Cory Schneider again got no goal support in a 3-0 shutout in the Devils’ most recent game Feb. 8. It was the seventh time the team was shut out – six of which with Schneider (1.85 GAA) in net.

25. Predators (24): Shea Weber helped Canada advance to the gold medal game with a late goal in the semifinal versus Latvia. Now, the Predators hope he can help them get out of the Central Division cellar.

26. Panthers (28): Florida has been outscored 8-2 in its previous two games, with Tim Thomas allowing four goals or more in four of six games.

27. Islanders (27): Losing John Tavares for the season eliminates them as playoff contenders, and now the question is what will they get in return for Thomas Vanek and/or Andrew MacDonald?

28. Flames (26): Ten years ago, they lost in the Stanley Cup Finals. Since then, four straight first-round ousters followed by four (soon to be five) playoff-less seasons.

29. Oilers (29): Edmonton needs a lot of things, but with all itsyoung talent up front, perhaps it’s time to focus on acquiring a defender or two.

30. Sabres (30): The home losing streak ended at eight games after a 3-1 win over the Hurricanes Tuesday.