What Team Is The Best In The NHL?
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We’re taking a look at the best teams in the NHL right now and trying to determine which one is truly the best. We’ll be looking at factors like recent performance, overall talent, and more.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are currently the best team in the NHL. They have a record of 21-7-2 and they have 44 points. They are 8 points ahead of the second place team, the Vegas Golden Knights. The Tampa Bay Lightning have been the best team in the NHL for the past few years.
Regular Season
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The Lightning have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. The team is often referred to as the Bolts, and the nickname was used on their primary logo from 2011 to 2016.
The Lightning were founded in 1992 as an expansion team by Art Williams, and began play in October 1992. Williams served as the team’s first general manager, and was responsible for hiring John Tortorella as the team’s first head coach. The team played its home games at Expo Hall in Tampa’s Tampa Stadium from its inaugural season until 1996, when the arena was renovated for football and renamed Raymond James Stadium.
In 1997, the Lightning moved into their current home arena, Amalie Arena (originally known as the Ice Palace).
Playoffs
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The Lightning have won one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2004, as well as four conference championships. They are often referred to as the Bolts, and play their home games at Amalie Arena.
In 2015, they made the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season but were defeated by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, in the Conference Final.
The Lightning made it back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, where they defeated the Dallas Stars in six games to win their second Stanley Cup championship.
Vegas Golden Knights
Regular Season
The Vegas Golden Knights are currently the best team in the NHL. They have an impressive record of 32-12-2, which is good for first place in the league. They have also been on a hot streak lately, winning their last eight games in a row.
Their success is due to a number of factors. First, they have an excellent coach in Gerard Gallant. He has been able to get the most out of his players and has made them into a cohesive unit. Second, they have a number of great players, led by captain Mark Stone and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. These two players have been All-Stars in the past and are performing at a high level again this season.
The Golden Knights are a well-rounded team and are dangerous both offensively and defensively. They have scored the second-most goals in the league so far this season and have the fourth-best goal differential. They also have one of the best powerplays in the NHL, converting on over 23% of their opportunities with the man advantage.
defensively, they are stingy as well, giving up just 2.51 goals per game, which is third best in the league. They also have a great penalty kill, ranking sixth in the NHL at 83%.
The Golden Knights are playing great hockey right now and look like they could be heading for a deep playoff run this season.
Playoffs
The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The team began play in the 2017–18 NHL season, and was founded by businessman Bill Foley and his Maloof family.
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are an NHL team that has been around since 1974. The team is based out of Washington, D.C., and their home arena is the Verizon Center. The Capitals have won two conference championships and one Stanley Cup.
Regular Season
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals are owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, headed by Ted Leonsis. From 1974 to 1997 the Capitals played their home games at the Capital Centre, in Landover, Maryland. In 1997 the team moved to the arena now called Capital One Arena, their present home arena in Washington, D.C.
The 2009–10 season was the most successful regular season in franchise history as they set a then-NHL record with 56 wins and 120 points en route to winning their first Presidents’ Trophy for having the best overall record in the NHL that season.[5] They won 14 straight games from December 12, 2009 – January 8, 2010, recorded at least one point in 24 straight games from October 10 – December 12 (a franchise record), and won 11 consecutive road games from November 21 – January 2 (also a franchise record).
Led by captain Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Bäckström and Braden Holtby, the Capitals have made eleven appearances in the Stanley Cup playoffs since their inception in 1974.[6][7] In 2018, Holtby became only the second goaltender after Ken Dryden to win at least 40 games while posting a sub-2.50 goals against average and a .920 save percentage up to that point in an NHL career.[8]
Playoffs
The Capitals have not been a stranger to the playoffs in recent years. They have made it to the playoffs in each of the last 11 seasons, and they have advanced to the conference finals four times in that span. But they have never made it to the Stanley Cup Final, and they have only made it past the second round once in the last 11 years.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Maple Leafs have won thirteen Stanley Cup championships, second only to the 24 championships of the Montreal Canadiens.
Regular Season
The Maple Leafs have not won the Stanley Cup since 1967. They last reached the final in 1967, when they were defeat by the Montreal Canadiens. The Maple Leafs are currently in a playoff drought, having not reached the playoffs since 2013. They are the only team in the NHL that has not made the playoffs in the past five seasons. The Maple Leafs have finished last in their conference three times since 2014.
Playoffs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Maple Leafs have won thirteen Stanley Cup championships, second only to the 24 championships of their primary rival, the Montreal Canadiens.
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators are currently the best team in the NHL. They have been near the top of the standings for the past few years and have made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Predators have a strong group of forwards, led by Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson, and a deep defense. They also have one of the best goalies in the league in Pekka Rinne.
Regular Season
The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Predators began play as an expansion team in the 1998–99 season. They play their home games at Bridgestone Arena.
As of the end of the 2017–18 season, the Predators have won five division titles and have qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs eleven times. The Predators reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 2017, but were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.
Playoffs
The NHL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament of 16 teams that compete for the Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. The playoffs are held each spring after the regular season ends. The Stanley Cup is a trophy awarded to the National Hockey League (NHL) championship team at the end of each Stanley Cup playoffs. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers it one of the “most important championships available to the sport”.
Winnipeg Jets
Regular Season
The Winnipeg Jets are currently the best team in the NHL. They have the most points in the league and have only lost eight games all season. They are led by captain Blake Wheeler, who is having an MVP-caliber year, and have a deep and talented roster that can score goals in bunches. If they can stay healthy, the Jets should be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time.
Playoffs
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment and plays its home games at Bell MTS Place.
The Jets began play as the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999. True North purchased the team in 2011 and relocated it to Winnipeg prior to the 2011–12 season. The franchise had previously been based in Atlanta, Georgia (1999–2011), and prior to that, Winnipeg (1979–1996).
The team has reached the Stanley Cup Finals once, in 2018, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Calgary Flames
Regular Season
The regular season is when each team plays 82 games. The games are played against teams in their own conference to ensure a fair playing field. The conference is split into two divisions, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. At the end of the regular season, the top three teams from each division plus two wild card teams from each conference advance to the playoffs.
Playoffs
In order to make the playoffs, a team must finish in the top four of its conference. If two or more teams are tied in points, the following tiebreakers are used, in order:
1. Fewer games played.
2. Greater number of wins.
3. Greater goal differential.
4. Greater number of goals scored (not available until 2016–17).
5. Head-to-head record (if the tiebreaker is between only two teams).
6. Record in last 20 games played (since Feb 1 for non-playoff teams and midway through for playoff teams).
7. Record in last 10 games played (since Mar 1 for non-playoff teams and midway through for playoff teams).
8. Record in final 25 games played of the regular season ( since Feb 15 for non-playoff teams and since Feb 25 for playoff teams) . These tiebreakers are used until one team emerges with an advantage over the other(s).
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks have always been a top team in the NHL, and this year is no different. They have one of the best defenses in the league, led by Brent Burns, and a very strong offense. They also have a great goalie in Martin Jones. The Sharks are a well-rounded team and they have a good chance to win the Stanley Cup this year.
Regular Season
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Sharks play their home games at the SAP Center, known locally as the Shark Tank. Since 1994, the Sharks have been one of the most successful teams in the NHL.
During the 2015–16 season, the Sharks made it back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016. They ultimately lost to the Penguins in six games.
Playoffs
The Sharks have made the playoffs in 25 of their 28 seasons in the NHL since 1991, including 15 of the last 16 seasons, and have not missed the playoffs since 2003. They have won two Presidents’ Trophies as the team with the league’s best regular season record, and have appeared in three Stanley Cup Finals as a Western Conference team, losing to the Eastern Conference representative each time. They are one of only four active NHL teams that has never won a Stanley Cup.
Boston Bruins
Regular Season
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) and are one of the Original Six teams of the league. The Bruins have been in existence since 1924, making them the third-oldest active NHL team behind the Chicago Blackhawks (1926) and the Detroit Red Wings (1917).
Boston has won six Stanley Cup championships, tied for fourth most of any team with the Blackhawks and tied for second-most behind the Montreal Canadiens. The Bruins’ Stanley Cup drought from 1979 to 1995 is the longest championship drought of any NHL team.
Since 1995, Boston missed the playoffs only four times (1998, 2006, 2007, 2014), made it to the Conference Finals five times (1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2011), and to the Stanley Cup Finals three times (2011, 2013, 2019). They have qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs in 25 of their last 26 seasons – never more than one season outside post-season play over this entire period.
Playoffs
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team has been in existence since 1924, making them the third-oldest active team in the NHL, and the oldest to be based in the United States.
The Bruins have won six Stanley Cup championships, tied for fourth most of any team. Their home arena is TD Garden, where they have played since 1995. The Bruins began play as an expansion team in 1924. Bruce Cassidy is the current head coach.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Being a Blue Jackets fan, I may be a little biased, but I think they are the best team in the NHL. They have an amazing goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, who has led them to many victories. The Blue Jackets also have a strong offense with players like Artemi Panarin and Cam Atkinson.
Regular Season
The Blue Jackets play their home games at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets have only made the Stanley Cup playoffs three times in their history, all of which came in the last eight years. They were swept in the first round by the Detroit Red Wings in 2009, defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in 2014, and then were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round this past season.
Playoffs
NHL teams that win their division automatically clinch a playoff berth. As of the 2019-20 season, the league awards spots to the top three teams in each division and two wild card teams in each conference. The two division winners with the best records in each conference receive a first-round bye while the remaining eight teams compete in best-of-five series.
The Stanley Cup playoffs is an elimination tournament comprising of four rounds of best-of-seven series to determine the conference and Stanley Cup champions.
