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Less than a week remains in the 2023-24 NHL season, so we have a great sense of which teams overperformed, which teams underperformed and which teams were who we thought they were.

For this week’s edition of the power rankings — closing out the regular season — we’re comparing each club’s preseason expectation (using the standings point over/under totals from ESPN BET as a proxy) to their actual number of standings points on April 12.

How we rank: A panel of ESPN hockey commentators, analysts, reporters and editors sends in a 1-32 poll based on the games through Wednesday, which generates our master list here.

Note: Previous ranking for each team refers to the previous edition, published April 5. Points percentages and standings points are through Thursday’s games.

Previous ranking: 1
Points percentage: 68.13%

Preseason O/U: 105.5
Actual: 109

There were high expectations for this club, and Dallas stayed slightly above pace all season. It’s made the Stars into an odds-on favorite to compete for the Stanley Cup. Will they exceed expectations on that journey as well?

Remaining games: vs. SEA (April 13), vs. STL (April 17)


Previous ranking: 2
Points percentage: 68.75%

Preseason O/U: 103.5
Actual: 110

This team was supposed to be good; in reality, the Rangers have been great. Whether it was the coaching change or star performances (from Artemi Panarin in particular) or New York settling into a solid identity early on, the Rangers found a formula to set them apart.

Remaining games: vs. NYI (April 13), vs. OTT (April 15)


Previous ranking: 3
Points percentage: 67.72%

Preseason O/U: 108.5
Actual: 107

Carolina began this regular season in such strange fashion — allowing 33 goals in their first seven games? Yikes! — that we couldn’t help but wonder whether the Hurricanes were tracking towards disaster. Hardly. Carolina corrected to meet expectations and, after a busy trade deadline adding Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jake Guentzel, the Canes look stronger than ever going into the postseason.

Remaining games: @ STL (April 12), April 14 (April 14), @ CBJ (April 16)


Previous ranking: 5
Points percentage: 66.46%

Preseason O/U: 89.5
Actual: 104

Rick Tocchet’s club takes the cake as this season’s largest overachiever. The Canucks have been beastly in ways the oddsmakers couldn’t predict — Quinn Hughes as a Norris Trophy front-runner? — and they’ve maintained a sharp edge for most of the season. The next task is making a mark this postseason.

Remaining games: @ EDM (April 13), vs. CGY (April 16), @ WPG (April 18)


Previous ranking: 4
Points percentage: 67.72%

Preseason O/U: 99.5
Actual: 107

The retirement of Patrice Bergeron tempered expectations for the B’s, but they have proven skeptics wrong by blowing past their predicted pace to sit among the league’s top teams. It’s the Bruins’ consistency that makes them a perennial threat, and after the sting of last season’s first-round playoff loss, Boston is poised to turn up the heat this postseason.

Remaining games: @ PIT (April 13), @ WSH (April 15), vs. OTT (April 16)


Previous ranking: 6
Points percentage: 65.82%

Preseason O/U: 107.5
Actual: 104

Colorado had another strong campaign that mirrored preseason expectations — but that success was hard-won, too. The Avalanche weathered injuries to key players and their goaltending — particularly from starter Alexander Georgiev — was uneven at best. Still, Colorado stayed closely on pace. Impressive.

Remaining games: vs. WPG (April 13), @ VGK (April 14), vs. EDM (April 18)


Previous ranking: 8
Points percentage: 66.25%

Preseason O/U: 99
Actual: 106

Matthew Tkachuk & Co. likely spooked some oddsmakers with all the offseason surgeries to top forwards and defensemen. The Panthers punched back to emerge as one of the NHL’s best teams this season, with a rejuvenated Sergei Bobrovsky, unstoppable Sam Reinhart and enviable depth combining to make Florida better than advertised.

Remaining games: vs. BUF (April 13), vs. TOR (April 16)


Previous ranking: 7
Points percentage: 65.58%

Preseason O/U: 106.5
Actual: 99

An underwhelming start to the season was so bad it cost Jay Woodcroft his job as head coach. The Oilers turned it around under Kris Knoblauch though, aided by the excellence of Connor McDavid and Stuart Skinner, specifically. Even if Edmonton doesn’t quite hit the mark, at least they didn’t get buried (too far) under it.

Remaining games: vs. ARI (April 12), vs. VAN (April 13), vs. SJ (April 15), @ ARI (April 17), @ COL (April 18)


Previous ranking: 9
Points percentage: 63.92%

Preseason O/U: 106.5
Actual: 101

Toronto fumbled around enough (with inconsistent goaltending, special teams and defensive play) to fall short of the oddsmakers’ high opinions. Could the adversity from their regular season ultimately fuel the Leafs’ postseason goals? Stay tuned.

Remaining games: vs. DET (April 13), @ FLA (April 16), @ TB (April 17)


Previous ranking: 13
Points percentage: 65.82%

Preseason O/U: 92.5
Actual: 104

The Jets showed the potential to far exceed any preseason predictions at times, and they will finish ahead of their preseason over/under. But it was a lack of consistency holding Winnipeg back from reaching higher altitudes in the regular season — a problem the Jets hope to have licked when soaring into the playoffs.

Remaining games: @ COL (April 13), vs. SEA (April 16), vs. VAN (April 18)


Previous ranking: 12
Points percentage: 60.13%

Preseason O/U: 87
Actual: 95

Music City’s hockey team has been the feel-good hit of the season’s second half. The Predators’ prospects looked bleak in the beginning, but enough clicked for Nashville to put them past their expected points pace and right into the postseason mix — was the canceled U2 concert the catalyst?

Remaining games: @ CHI (April 12), vs. CBJ (April 13), @ PIT (April 15)


Previous ranking: 11
Points percentage: 60.76%

Preseason O/U: 93
Actual: 96

The Lightning hitting the over in the final stretch of a semi-tumultuous regular season very on-brand for them. This team just knows how to finish — but can they do it again in the playoffs?

Remaining games: @ WSH (April 13), vs. BUF (April 15), vs. TOR (April 17)


Previous ranking: 14
Points percentage: 60.13%

Preseason O/U: 100
Actual: 95

The Kings are playoff-bound again, but Los Angeles let itself go too often this season to be an expected, top-tier Western Conference contender. The Kings wrestled with underperforming stars, changed coaching and racked up a few too many losing streaks to hit the triple-digit mark in points.

Remaining games: vs. ANA (April 13), vs. MIN (April 15), vs. CHI (April 18)


Previous ranking: 20
Points percentage: 56.33%

Preseason O/U: 93
Actual: 89

The Isles haven’t quite reached full potential in a season stacked with familiar problems, from a dearth of scoring to general lack of direction. The coaching change to Patrick Roy was an attempted shot in the arm, and the Islanders do control their playoff fate after looking much more focused in recent weeks.

Remaining games: @ NYR (April 13), @ NJ (April 15), vs. PIT (April 17)


Previous ranking: 10
Points percentage: 58.97%

Preseason O/U: 103.5
Actual: 92

The defending champs dipped into an inevitable midseason, post-Cup hangover that threw the Golden Knights off their preferred track. It wasn’t quite the injury-riddled campaign of years past — although Vegas did notably lose Jack Eichel and Mark Stone for stretches — but the Golden Knights kept adding (that Tomas Hertl trade was a jaw-dropper) as they look towards a repeat Cup run.

Remaining games: vs. MIN (April 12), vs. COL (April 14), vs. CHI (April 16), vs. ANA (April 18)


Previous ranking: 21
Points percentage: 54.43%

Preseason O/U: 97
Actual: 86

Pittsburgh underachieved for, oh, about 70 games — and then something happened to the Penguins. It started with Sidney Crosby refusing to be denied another shot at the postseason, and everyone else followed suit to put Pittsburgh back in the race. The Penguins won’t meet that preseason points threshold but if they secure a playoff berth we’re pretty sure they won’t mind.

Remaining games: vs. BOS (April 13), vs. NSH (April 15), @ NYI (April 17)


Previous ranking: 16
Points percentage: 56.33%

Preseason O/U: 83.5
Actual: 87

The Blues managed to get in the playoff race with an accelerated second-half points pace — which could have been even stronger if St. Louis didn’t play down to the competition on several occasions. Three loses to San Jose this season? Ouch.

Remaining games: vs. CAR (April 12), vs. SEA (April 14), @ DAL (April 17)


Previous ranking: 15
Points percentage: 53.80%

Preseason O/U: 85
Actual: 85

Washington has walked a tightrope all season. Where the Capitals fall, well — it’s fairly close to the expectation! Washington leaned on young players to complement Alex Ovechkin and the other veterans, and that’s naturally led to growing pains under first-year head coach Spencer Carbery. And yet, the Capitals remain in the playoff race to the bitter end.

Remaining games: vs. TB (April 13), vs. BOS (April 15), @ PHI (April 16)


Previous ranking: 18
Points percentage: 53.80%

Preseason O/U: 86.5
Actual: 85

Dylan Larkin and friends are right on the (preseason) money. But will that be enough to put the Red Wings back in the playoffs? It’s been a dogfight in the Eastern Conference to secure those final slots. When GM Steve Yzerman stood pat at the deadline it was with a belief in Detroit’s current potential. A postseason berth would prove that prediction right.

Remaining games: @ TOR (April 13), vs. MTL (April 15), @ MTL (April 16)


Previous ranking: 17
Points percentage: 53.21%

Preseason O/U: 97
Actual: 83

Minnesota quickly fell short of its own expectations this season (hence the November coaching change) but when injuries to critical players kept piling up there was simply no salvaging things. The Wild can seek better odds (and outcomes) next season.

Remaining games: @ VGK (April 12), @ SJ (April 13), @ LA (April 15), vs. SEA (April 18)


Previous ranking: 24
Points percentage: 50.64%

Preseason O/U: 92
Actual: 79

Seattle went from being the league’s No. 6 goal-scoring team a season ago to No. 29 this season. Clearly no one predicted that sort of tailspin by the Kraken.

Remaining games: @ DAL (April 13), @ STL (April 14), @ WPG (April 16), @ MIN (April 18)


Previous ranking: 22
Points percentage: 50.63%

Preseason O/U: 106
Actual: 81

After a series of unfortunate events — including significant injuries to Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes, along with lackluster goaltending — New Jersey slid well below expectations as one of the season’s most disappointing teams. The Devils are stocked with young talent, but were doomed by compounding issues that even a coaching switch and trade deadline moves couldn’t fix.

Remaining games: @ PHI (April 13), vs. NYI (April 15)


Previous ranking: 19
Points percentage: 53.13%

Preseason O/U: 74
Actual: 85

It surprised many that Philly was in a playoff spot for much of the season. That the Flyers faded into the spring (and out of the postseason hunt) was closer to their anticipated outcome. Still, it’s a positive for Philadelphia’s future to know they’re closer to turning a corner than we predicted.

Remaining games: vs. NJ (April 13), vs. WSH (April 16)


Previous ranking: 23
Points percentage: 50.63%

Preseason O/U: 94
Actual: 81

Some believed this was the year for the Sabres to end the NHL’s longest playoff drought; that won’t be happening. Scoring struggles, goaltending issues and, yes, too many injuries, doomed Buffalo to yet another long offseason.

Remaining games: @ FLA (April 13), @ TB (April 15)


Previous ranking: 25
Points percentage: 48.08%

Preseason O/U: 95
Actual: 75

Calgary immediately underperformed with just four wins in its first 14 games. It set the Flames up for a seesaw of a season, where strong stretches inevitably faded into losing lulls. Oh, and stars like Jonathan Huberdeau still barely hitting double-digit goal totals aren’t exactly helping Calgary excel. The Flames can only hope the current youth movement pays more dividends next season.

Remaining games: @ ANA (April 12), vs. ARI (April 14), @ VAN (April 16), vs. SJ (April 18)


Previous ranking: 28
Points percentage: 46.20%

Preseason O/U: 77.5
Actual: 71

The Coyotes muddled their way to another mediocre season, with news this week that this could be their final one in Arizona.

Remaining games: @ EDM (April 12), @ CGY (April 14), vs. EDM (April 17)


Previous ranking: 26
Points percentage: 46.84%

Preseason O/U: 93.5
Actual: 74

A team that underwent many off-ice changes within the past 12 months, Ottawa never came close to reaching the expectations set for them — by anyone, really. The Senators said goodbye to their general manager and coach, dealt with the drama of a gambling scandal and are finding their way under new ownership and executives. Now, how will the Senators translate all those adjustments into success?

Remaining games: vs. MTL (April 13), @ NYR (April 15), @ BOS (April 16)


Previous ranking: 27
Points percentage: 46.20%

Preseason O/U: 73
Actual: 73

Montreal stayed the course in its rebuild and it kept them on track with where the oddsmakers expected — and that’s right near the bottom of the standings. Again.

Remaining games: @ OTT (April 13), @ DET (April 15), vs. DET (April 16)


Previous ranking: 29
Points percentage: 40.00%

Preseason O/U: 75
Actual: 64

Due to a number of factors, Columbus failed to be even average this season. That’s what happens when the infirmary fills up with most of a team’s top players. It also doesn’t help that they went through a coaching change (before training camp even began), and are now searching for a new full-time general manager. Nowhere to go but up!

Remaining games: @ NSH (April 13), vs. CAR (April 16)


Previous ranking: 31
Points percentage: 36.08%

Preseason O/U: 66.5
Actual: 57

GM Pat Verbeek took his team harder into rebuild mode than some envisioned. Where there was once Trevor Zegras as a beacon towards the Ducks’ future, Zegras trade rumors popped up instead. That, in a nutshell, shows where Anaheim is at in the process of outlining its next chapter.

Remaining games: vs. CGY (April 12), @ LA (April 13), @ VGK (April 18)


Previous ranking: 30
Points percentage: 32.69%

Preseason O/U: 71
Actual: 51

The Blackhawks might have been slightly less terrible if Connor Bedard hadn’t missed almost six weeks with a fractured jaw. That hurt (in more ways than one). The Blackhawks don’t appear in any rush to rebuild, though so it will be interesting to see how highly the bookmakers project them for 2024-25.

Remaining games: vs. NSH (April 12), vs. CAR (April 14), @ VGK (April 16), @ LA (April 18)


Previous ranking: 32
Points percentage: 29.75%

Preseason O/U: 64.5
Actual: 47

San Jose overachieved at underachieving. That might be the best description for the Sharks this season.

Remaining games: vs. MIN (April 13), @ EDM (April 15), @ CGY (April 18)

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Giants sell 10% stake to private equity firm

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Giants sell 10% stake to private equity firm

The San Francisco Giants have sold a reported 10% stake in the team to private equity firm Sixth Street.

The team confirmed the deal Tuesday but not the amount of the investment, which was first reported Monday by the New York Times.

Sportico places the value of the franchise and its team-related holdings at $4.2 billion.

Sixth Street’s investment, reportedly approved by Major League Baseball on Monday, will go toward upgrades to Oracle Park and the Giants’ training facilities in Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as Mission Rock, the team’s real estate development project located across McCovey Cove from the ballpark.

Giants president and CEO Larry Baer called it the “first significant investment in three decades” and said the money would not be spent on players.

“This is not about a stockpile for the next Aaron Judge,” Baer told the New York Times. “This is about improvements to the ballpark, making big bets on San Francisco and the community around us, and having the firepower to take us into the next generation.”

Sixth Street is the primary owner of National Women’s Soccer League franchise Bay FC. It also has investments in the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and Spanish soccer powers Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

“We believe in the future of San Francisco, and our sports franchises like the Giants are critical ambassadors for our city of innovation, showcasing to the world what’s only made possible here,” Sixth Street co-founder and CEO Alan Waxman said in the news release. “We believe in Larry and the leadership team’s vision for this exciting new era, and we’re proud to be partnering with them as they execute the next chapter of San Francisco Giants success.”

Founded in 2009 and based in San Francisco, Sixth Street has assets totaling $75 billion, according to Front Office Sports.

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Ohtani ‘nervous’ in Tokyo but gets 2 hits, runs

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Ohtani 'nervous' in Tokyo but gets 2 hits, runs

TOKYO — Shohei Ohtani seems impervious to a variety of conditions that afflict most humans — nerves, anxiety, distraction — but it took playing a regular-season big-league game in his home country to change all of that.

After the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Opening Day 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Dome, Ohtani made a surprising admission. “It’s been a while since I felt this nervous playing a game,” he said. “It took me four or five innings.”

Ohtani had two hits and scored twice, and one of his outs was a hard liner that left his bat at more than 96 mph, so the nerves weren’t obvious from the outside. But clearly the moment, and its weeklong buildup, altered his usually stoic demeanor.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Shohei nervous,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But one thing I did notice was how emotional he got during the Japanese national anthem. I thought that was telling.”

As the Dodgers began the defense of last year’s World Series win, it became a night to showcase the five Japanese players on the two teams. For the first time in league history, two Japanese pitchers — the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Cubs’ Shota Imanaga — faced each other on Opening Day. Both pitched well, with Imanaga throwing four hitless innings before being removed after 69 pitches.

“Seventy was kind of the number we had for Shota,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “It was the right time to take him out.”

The Dodgers agreed, scoring three in the fifth inning off reliever Ben Brown. Imanaga kept the Dodgers off balance, but his career-high four walks created two stressful innings that ran up his pitch count.

Yamamoto rode the adrenaline of pitching in his home country, routinely hitting 98 with his fastball and vexing the Cubs with a diving splitter over the course of five three-hit innings. He threw with a kind of abandon, finding a freedom that often eluded him last year in his first year in America.

“I think last year to this year, the confidence and conviction he has throwing the fastball in the strike zone is night and day,” Roberts said. “If he can continue to do that, I see no reason he won’t be in the Cy Young conversation this season.”

Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki went hitless in four at bats — the Cubs had only three hits, none in the final four innings against four relievers out of the Dodgers’ loaded bullpen — and rookie Roki Sasaki will make his first start of his Dodger career in the second and final game of the series Wednesday.

“I don’t think there was a Japanese baseball player in this country who wasn’t watching tonight,” Roberts said.

The Dodgers were without Mookie Betts, who left Japan on Monday after it was decided his illness would not allow him to play in this series. And less than an hour before game time, first baseman Freddie Freeman was scratched with what the team termed “left rib discomfort,” a recurrence of an injury he first sustained during last year’s playoffs.

The night started with a pregame celebration that felt like an Olympic opening ceremony in a lesser key. There were Pikachus on the field and a vaguely threatening video depicting the Dodgers and Cubs as Monster vs. Monster. World home-run king Saduharu Oh was on the field before the game, and Roberts called meeting Oh “a dream come true.”

For the most part, the crowd was subdued, as if it couldn’t decide who or what to root for, other than Ohtani. It was admittedly confounding: throughout the first five innings, if fans rooted for the Dodgers they were rooting against Imanaga, but rooting for the Cubs meant rooting against Yamamoto. Ohtani, whose every movement is treated with a rare sense of wonder, presented no such conflict.

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Cardinals shortstop Winn out with wrist soreness

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Cardinals shortstop Winn out with wrist soreness

JUPITER, Fla. — St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn was scratched from the lineup for their exhibition game on Tuesday because of soreness in his right wrist.

Winn was replaced by Jose Barrero in the Grapefruit League matchup with the Miami Marlins, with the regular-season opener nine days away. Winn, who was a 2020 second-round draft pick by the Cardinals, emerged as a productive everyday player during his rookie year in 2024. He batted .267 with 15 home runs, 11 stolen bases and 57 RBIs in 150 games and was named as one of three finalists for the National League Gold Glove Award that went to Ezequiel Tovar of the Colorado Rockies.

Winn had minor surgery after the season to remove a cyst from his hand. In 14 spring training games, he’s batting .098 (4 for 41) with 12 strikeouts.

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