Daily Faceoff's Weekly NHL Risers and Fallers

We have a new leader of the Risers and Fallers as the Dallas Stars re-take the crown in the standings over the Carolina Hurricanes. Dallas had two statement wins last week, sandwiched around a disappointing loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.  

The playoff situation in the East is a tortoise race, and it looks like it’ll come down to the wire. The New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings hold the only two spots up for grabs in the East, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and Philadelphia Flyers all trailing by just two points. This should be a nail-biting finish to the season.  

Jump ahead here:

• Week 26 risers
• Week 26 fallers
• Week 27 lookahead

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

Risers

Pittsburgh Penguins

21st -> 15th (+6)

Last Week's Record: 4-0. +8 points.

Monday: 5-2 win over the New York Rangers (4th)

Tuesday: 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils (22nd)

Thursday: 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals (18th)

Saturday: 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning (10th)

Division Standings: Fourth in the Metropolitan (+3), two points behind the New York Islanders.

Wild Card Standings: Third in the Wild Card (+3), one point behind the Detroit Red Wings.  

Player of the Week: Sidney Crosby & Alex Nedeljkovic  

The better story here is Alex Nedeljkovic. He's come in and been the saviour for Pittsburgh, bringing the Penguins back into the race with big performances last week. Nedeljkovic won and started all four games, finishing with a combined 2.5 goals against average (GAA) and a .917% save percentage.  

The ageless wonder, Sidney Crosby, contributed to the successful Penguins week as well. He scored goals in three of four games, totalling five goals and adding one assist. He finished the week with a +4 rating, but unfortunately for shot-on-goal bettors, he failed to clear his line once this week.  

Penguins' Week 27 Schedule: Toronto Maple Leafs (8th), Detroit Red Wings (21st), Boston Bruins (3rd)

Tampa Bay Lightning

13th -> 10th (+3)

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

Monday: 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings (21st)

Wednesday: 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs (8th)

Thursday: 7-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens (28th)

Saturday: 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins (15th)

Division Standings: Fourth in the Metropolitan (-), four points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Wild Card Standings: First in the Wild Card (-), 10 points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings.  

Player of the Week: Nikita Kucherov  

It's not a shocker that the Nikita Kucherov is both the NHL’s leading scorer and Tam[pa’s player of the week. Kucherov finished with one goal and nine assists in four games – extending his lead over Nathan MacKinnon by three points and Connor McDavid by six points.  

Also, why is nobody talking about Kucherov's assist total? All the talk is about McDavid and him getting to 100, but Kucherov is quietly at 93 with five games to go. Could we see two players reach the century mark in assists in the same season?  

Lightning's Week 27 Schedule: Columbus Blue Jackets (29th), Ottawa Senators (25th), Washington Capitals (18th)

Fallers

Colorado Avalanche

4th -> 9th (-5)

Last Week's Record: 1-3. +2 points.

Monday: 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets (29th)

Thursday: 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild (16th)

Friday: 6-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers (6th)

Sunday: 7-4 loss to the Dallas Stars (1st)

Division Standings: Second in the Central (-), five points behind the Dallas Stars.

League Standings: Sixth in the league (-), eight points behind the New York Rangers.  

Let Down of the Week: Alexander Georgiev  

Alexander Georgiev only got into two of the team's four games this week, but he really let the team down. He would lose both of his starts with a combined 6.22 GAA & a .853 S%. These two games were against the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars, who are two potential later-round matchups – seeing this performance from their number-one goalie should have Avalanche fans a little worried.  

Avalanche's Week 27 Schedule: Minnesota Wild (16th), Winnipeg Jets (11th), Vegas Golden Knights (13th)

Philadelphia Flyers

15th -> 19th (-4)

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

Monday: 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders (7th)

Friday: 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres (17th)

Saturday: 6-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets (24th)

Division Standings: Sixth in the Atlantic (-4), two points behind the New York Islanders.

Wild Card Standings: Fifth in the Wild Card (-5), one point behind the Detroit Red Wings.  

Let Down of the Week: The Whole Team

What happened to the Philadelphia Flyers? They've now lost seven in a row and lost their playoff position — one they held since January 12th. Over this losing streak, they've scored just 15 goals while allowing 33 goals against for an average of 2.1 GF and 4.71 GA.  

Flyers' Week 27 Schedule: Montreal Canadiens (28th), New York Rangers (4th), New Jersey Devils (22nd)

Week 27 Lookahead

Target this Tampa Bay Lightning forward's shot-on-goal props

We crushed it with last week's recommendation of Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad. Trocheck cleared his 2.5 shots on goal line in two of four games, while Zibanejad was the real cash cow and cleared his line in all four games last week.  

This week's target? Steven Stamkos.  

The Tampa Bay Lightning play three games this week: Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators and Saturday night against the Washington Capitals. Two of these three matchups are top-four matchups for shots on goal – the Blue Jackets allow the most shots on goal (38.3), and the Capitals allow the fourth most (32.6).  

We start the week off against the Blue Jackets, the best of the three matchups. Stamkos currently plays on the second-line right wing with Nick Paul and Brandon Hagel. Stamkos' betting line is usually set at 2.5, which he's cleared in five of his last six games, averaging 4.7 shots per game. The Blue Jackets allow the most shots on goal to wingers, averaging 16.1 shots to wingers over their previous 10 games. Stamkos has also covered this line in five straight and seven of their last eight against the Blue Jackets, averaging 4.9 shots per game.  

The rest of the week is encouraging for him as he has cleared this 2.5 shots line in four of his last five games against the Senators, averaging 3.6 per game. The Capitals, the better matchup for shots, allow 11.2 shots to wingers. Stamkos has cleared in just two of his last five against the Capitals, averaging 2.2 shots per game. But with this matchup and his current shot volume, consider him throughout the week.