NHL Power Rankings: Lightning strikes, Flames burn out

30. Arizona Coyotes (+1)

Once again, not only have the Coyotes have struggled, buttheir problems are widespread. Young star Clayton Keller shined to start the year and looked to have given the Coyotes some life. They collapsed throughout the season and found themselves near the bottom of the league again. To improve next season, they need to strengthen their defense. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is one of the most underrated defensemen in the league because he is stuck on a bad team. There are some good pieces around him, like Jakob Chychrun, but the Coyotes need more to be more successful. There have also been offensive struggles this year but Clayton Keller, Derek Stepan and Max Domi are great pieces to build around.

The Arizona Coyotes are actually starting to pick up some wins, and it couldn’t come at a worse time. Usually, at the end of the season teams near the bottom of the standings are trying to lose games to guarantee the best draft pick possible. Instead, the Coyotes won four of their last six games including wins against the Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights. Their only two losses were against the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers. This four-win stretch has actually moved the Arizona Coyotes ahead of the Ottawa Senators into the 29th position in the league with only five games remaining on the season.