What Is The Best NHL Team Right Now?
As the NHL season gets underway, we take a look at which teams are looking the strongest and who might be lifting the Stanley Cup come June.
NHL Basics
The National Hockey League (NHL) is the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, consisting of 31 teams in 7 Canadian and 24 United States markets. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the NHL playoff champion at the end of each season.
What is the NHL?
The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league consisting of 31 teams, divided equally between the Western and Eastern Conferences. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded to the NHL playoff champion at the end of each season.
What are the teams in the NHL?
The NHL is made up of 31 teams: 23 in the United States and 8 in Canada. Each team plays an 82-game regular season. The league is divided into two conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, each of which is made up of 16 teams. The top three teams in each division (eight in total) make the playoffs, as well as two “wild card” teams from each conference (for a total of 16 playoff teams). The playoffs are a best-of-seven format, and the winner of each conference goes on to compete in the Stanley Cup Final.
What is the Stanley Cup?
The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, and one of the most prestigious championships in all of sports. The Stanley Cup is awarded to the playoff champion at the end of each NHL season.
The Best NHL Team
There is no definitive answer to this question as teams are always changing, but as of right now, the best NHL team is the Tampa Bay Lightning. They have the best record in the league and are led by one of the best players in the world, Nikita Kucherov.
Who are the best players in the NHL?
The best players in the NHL are those who have played at an elite level for a sustained period of time. There are many great players in the league, but only a handful who can be truly considered the best. Players like Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, and Connor McDavid are among the few who have consistently dominated the league for years.
What teams have the best records?
The Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators, and Boston Bruins currently have the best records in the NHL.
What teams are in the playoffs?
The top three teams in each division make the playoffs, along with two “wild card” teams in each conference, for a total of eight playoff teams per conference.
As of the 2019-20 NHL season, the 31 NHL teams are grouped into two conferences:
Western Conference:
-Central Division: Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets
-Pacific Division: Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks
Eastern Conference:
-Atlantic Division: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senatorsi Tampa Bay Lightning Toronto Maple Leafs
-Metropolitan Division: Carolina Hurricanes Columbus Blue Jackets New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals
The Worst NHL Team
The Ottawa Senators are currently the worst team in the NHL. They have a record of and are last in the league in points. They have struggled offensively, scoring the second fewest goals in the NHL. Their defense has also been terrible, giving up the most goals in the league. Go Sens!
Who are the worst players in the NHL?
The short answer is that the Edmonton Oilers are currently the worst team in the NHL. They have won just 20 of their 70 games this season, and their minus-61 goal differential is far and away the worst in the league. They are currently on pace to finish with fewer than 60 points, which would be one of the worst marks in NHL history.
There are a number of reasons why the Oilers have been so bad this season. Their defense has been atrocious, as they have allowed 3.51 goals per game, which is by far the worst mark in the league. Their offense has also been anemic, as they have scored just 2.29 goals per game, which is also the worst mark in the league. In addition to their struggles on both sides of the puck, they have also been plagued by injuries, as several key players, such as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, have missed significant time due to injury.
It is worth noting that there are a handful of other teams that could lay claim to being the worst team in the NHL this season. The Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, and New Jersey Devils are all cellar-dwellers with similar records to the Oilers. However, all three of those teams have played fewer games than Edmonton, so they technically have a better chance of finishing with more points than the Oilers. In addition, all three of those teams have slightly better goal differentials than Edmonton (-48 for Detroit, -50 for Ottawa, and -56 for New Jersey), so they can make a case for being slightly less bad than Edmonton.
What teams have the worst records?
The Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators, and Dallas Stars currently have the worst records in the NHL.
What teams are not in the playoffs?
As of the 2019-2020 NHL season, the teams that are not in the playoffs are: Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers
