Daily Faceoff's Weekly NHL Risers and Fallers

We have a new face at the top of this week's power rankings, as the Carolina Hurricanes earn the honour…for now.

While it's the New York Rangers that hold the top seed in the Eastern Conference, it should be an exciting race to follow down the stretch to see who steals the first seed in the Metropolitan.

Jump ahead here:

• Week 25 risers
• Week 25 fallers
• Week 26 lookahead

Let's take a look at the biggest risers and fallers in the weekly power rankings.

Risers

Carolina Hurricanes

4th -> 1st (+3)

Last Week's Record: 2-1. +4 points.

Tuesday: 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins (21st)

Thursday: 4-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings (22nd)

Saturday: 3-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens (28th)

Division Standings: Second in the Metropolitan (-), three points behind the New York Rangers.

League Standings: Third in the League (+2), three points behind the New York Rangers.  

Player of the Week: Goalies & Top Line  

Well, this team as a whole earned the number-one spot in the power rankings this week. Both Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen tallied shutouts — Kochetkov with a 26-save shutout against the Montreal Canadiens and Andersen with a 24-save shutout against the Detroit Red Wings.  

This new top line of Jake Guentzel, Sebastian Aho, and Seth Jarvis has been dynamic for the Hurricanes. Guentzel had four assists, and Aho and Jarvis both had two goals and five points, respectively, last week. The Eastern Conference ought to watch this line closely because this trio is producing.  

Hurricanes' Week 26 Schedule: Boston Bruins (6th), Washington Capitals (17th), Columbus Blue Jackets (29th)

New York Rangers

7th -> 5th (+2)

Last Week's Record: 3-0. +6 points.

Tuesday: 6-5 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers (15th)

Thursday: 3-2 shootout win over the Colorado Avalanche (4th)

Saturday: 8-5 win over the Arizona Coyotes (27th)

Division Standings: First in the Metropolitan (-), three points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes.

League Standings: First in the League (+1), one point ahead of the Dallas Stars.  

Player of the Week: The Artemi Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Alexis Lafreniere Line  

The New York Rangers have been categorized as a one-line team — boy, was this proven correct this week. Between the three of them, they collected 21 points. Panarin had one goal and seven assists with a +6 rating, Trocheck had one goal and five assists with a +7 rating, and Lafreniere had five goals and two assists with a +4 rating. All three forwards cleared their shots on goal line in two of their three games this week.  

Rangers' Week 26 Schedule: Pittsburgh Penguins (21st), New Jersey Devils (20th), Detroit Red Wings (22nd), Montreal Canadiens (28th)

Fallers

New Jersey Devils

16th -> 20th (-4)

Last Week's Record: 1-1. +2 points.

Tuesday: 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs (9th)

Friday: 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres (25th)

Division Standings: Sixth in the Metropolitan (-), six points behind the Washington Capitals.

Wild Card Standings: Fifth in the wild card (-), six points behind the Philadelphia Flyers.  

Let Down of the Week: Erik Haula?  

While playing just two games and the Devils scoring eight goals, it was hard to pinpoint a player who performed poorly — but we landed on Erik Haula. It's not that he played poorly necessarily, but when you're on a line with Jack Hughes, who scored twice during the week, you should expect to find the scoresheet at least once.  

Devils' Week 26 Schedule: Pittsburgh Penguins (21st), New York Rangers (5th), Ottawa Senators (24th), Nashville Predators (10th)

Florida Panthers

1st -> 3rd (-2)

Last Week's Record: 1-2. +2 points.

Tuesday: 4-3 loss to the Boston Bruins (7th)

Thursday: 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders (16th)

Saturday: 3-2 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings (19th)

Division Standings: Second in the Atlantic (-1), two points behind the Boston Bruins.

League Standings: Seventh in the League (-4), five points behind the New York Rangers.  

Let Down of the Week: Sam Bennett  

Sam Bennett went pointless this week and finished with a -4 rating. One should produce more when centering a line that includes Matthew Tkachuk. Shots on goal bettors would hit his prop in just one of the three games this week.  

Panthers' Week 26 Schedule: Toronto Maple Leafs (9th), Montreal Canadiens (28th), Ottawa Senators (24th), Boston Bruins (6th)

Week 26 Lookahead

Target New York Rangers centres' Shots On Goal props this week

The front-runner for the Presidents Trophy, the New York Rangers, play four games this week: Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wednesday against the New Jersey Devils, Friday against the Detroit Red Wings and Sunday against the Montreal Canadiens.  

Three of these four games are more than favourable matchups, especially for the centremen. These three teams rank in the top four for most shots on goal allowed to centres. The Devils allow the most shots on goal to centres, averaging 13.3 per game; the Red Wings allow the third most, averaging 12.2 per game, and the Canadiens allow the fourth most, averaging 11.6 per game.  

Both Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad have been firing the puck lately, too. Trocheck has cleared in 11 of his last 16 games, averaging 3.0 shots per game. Zibanejad has cleared in four of his previous five games and also averages 3.0 shots per game. Consider their shots on goal prop throughout the week.