LOS ANGELES – The NHL season is in the final weeks of the campaign and the disappointments continue to mount and become clear that the early season failures were no flukes.
The New York Rangers’ brass pulled the plug on the season at the trade window, dumped players and found a new breath of life in their play.
But the good teams are still the good teams and the bad teams welcome new members to their cast like the Edmonton Oilers.
But here is the final scorecard of the regular season, enjoy.
| RANK | January | TEAM | BARTNICK ‘s TAKE |
| 1 | 4 | PREDATORS | Nashville is ready to hoist the Stanley Cup. That’s why Mike Fisher came back, right? |
| 2 | 1 | LIGHTNING | Bolts have been on cruise control since holidays. JT Miller is helping top line put it into overdrive. |
| 3 | 6 | BRUINS | The Bruins can’t be my sleeper team anymore because they are becoming favorites. |
| 4 | 3 | JETS | They will need Mark Scheifele healthy to have any chance of beating Nashville in the postseason. |
| 5 | 2 | GOLDEN KNIGHTS | They have come back to reality a little bit. No longer just happy to be in playoffs. Pressure mounting. |
| 6 | 19 | PENGUINS | The hottest/ best team in the East before the deadline. Derick Brassard has yet to prove he’s better for team than Ian Cole and Ryan Reaves. |
| 7 | 7 | CAPITALS | Will Barry Trotz have Phillip Grubauer be his starting goaltender in the playoffs? It maybe his last decision as Capitals head coach. |
| 8 | 8 | MAPLE LEAFS | Leafs looked lost for a bit without Auston Matthews. But wouldn’t any team really. |
| 9 | 16 | SHARKS | Evander Kane gives the Sharks more pop in many respects. The Sharks have popped into a secure playoff spot. |
| 10 | 24 | FLYERS | Is Petr Mrazek they goaltender they’ve been looking for over two generations? |
| 11 | 11 | DEVILS | A very exciting team to watch. Taylor Hall making case for Hart Trophy. They need Cory Schneider to make case start every game. |
| 12 | 13 | BLUE JACKETS | Have the Jackets finally woken up or did management assure them John Tortorella wouldn’t be fired no matter how or when season ends. |
| 13 | 5 | KINGS | Dion Phanuef solidified the defense. Jeff Carter solidified the lines. Now Kings need to stop playing the occasional clunker. |
| 14 | 15 | WILD | Eric Staal is having a career year. If you said you saw it coming you’re lying. |
| 15 | 14 | DUCKS | This team could either win the West or not make the playoffs. I can’t figured out what is more likely. |
| 16 | 10 | STARS | The Stars are unstoppable when Ken Hitchcock loads up the big three ( Benn, Seguin, Radulov) but then who plays on the next three lines? |
| 17 | 17 | AVALANCHE | Nathan McKinnon has to be on your MVP ballot. Jared Bednar and Joe Sakic need to be on ballots as well. |
| 18 | 25 | PANTHERS | The Big Cats are making an historic run. Did they start to far back? Sasha Barkov is not unknown anymore. |
| 19 | 9 | BLUES | The Blues swept SoCal to save their season and maybe Mike Yeo’s job. |
| 20 | 21 | FLAMES | The Flames have so many bad losses this committee thinks they won’t make the dance. |
| 21 | 22 | ISLANDERS | I hope Islander fans are at least enjoying the final days of John Tavares. |
| 22 | 18 | HURRICANES | GM Ron Francis got canned mid season. Odd move because they’re too far back for it to work other than to embarrass franchise legend. |
| 23 | 27 | OILERS | Connor McDavid is so ridiculous people are touting him for MVP. He’s the captain of this Titanic. |
| 24 | 12 | RANGERS | I agree with the notion of not finishing in the middle of the pack but they didn’t strip it all down. They just gave up. |
| 25 | 20 | BLACKHAWKS | It would be a crime if Coach Q takes the fall. Who will they find better? |
| 26 | 23 | RED WINGS | Does the Tomas Tatar trade save GM Ken Holland’s job? |
| 27 | 26 | CANUCKS | Injuries crushed their season. |
| 28 | 30 | COYOTES | Desert Dogs heating up aS Coach Tocchet has to take a leave of absence. |
| 29 | 28 | SENATORS | Feel the nightmare will extend into offseason. |
| 30 | 29 | CANADIENS | Habs nightmare will extend into next season. Shea Weber out six months. |
| 31 | 31 | SABRES | Why move up now? Ruining their lottery chances is so Buffalo. |
