NHL Power Rankings: Lightning strikes, Flames burn out

13. New Jersey Devils (-2)

Taylor Hall is a frontrunner for this year’s Hart Trophy and rightfully so. Hall has contributed 82 points through 70 games this season. The next closest player is Nico Hischier with 49 points in 75 games. Taylor Hall arrived in 2016 with a blockbuster trade that shocked the hockey world. His first season in New Jersey was good but not great. This year he has taken a major step forward and is playing up to his first overall draft pick status. The point totals alone are impressive, but what takes Hall’s year to the next level is his impressive point streak that reached 26 total games.

The New Jersey Devils have been able to win three of their last five games, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes. They dropped games against the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks. The New Jersey Devils have six games left this season. They host the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders. Then they will head to New York to play the Rangers then North to play the Toronto Maple Leafs. The season ends in Washington, D.C., when the New Jersey Devils take on the Capitals. With the games remaining it is not impossible to imagine a scenario where the Devils jump into the Metropolitan playoff spot, forcing Philadelphia or Pittsburgh to a wild card spot. The Devils are only four points back of both teams. But they could just as easily drop out of the playoffs because the Florida Panthers are just three points behind.