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Welcome back to The Hockey News’ NHL power rankings. Every Wednesday, we’ll rank all 32 teams based on their weekly performance.
We’re now in November, which means in less than a month, it’ll be American Thanksgiving. By then, we’ll have a pretty good idea of which NHL teams are in playoff contention.
Never say never – the Blues’ ‘Gloria!’ run remains fresh in my memory – but this remains a critical month.
Can teams on the bubble overcome their shortcomings in such a short period of time? The Avalanche, with a healthy roster, can cast aside those doubts pretty easily. The Bruins, who have been shut out three times already this season and cannot seem to find any rhythm at all, are in much direr straits.
Among the biggest climbers this week are the Kings, who bounced back from losses to the Sharks and Blackhawks to beat the Knights and Wild, and currently hold the top spot in the Pacific. The biggest fallers are the Senators, who are excellent at home but horrible on the road, the Kraken, who cannot seem to score any goals, and the aforementioned Bruins.
1. Winnipeg Jets (12-1-0, +32. Last week: 1)
Ironically, for a team called the Jets, they’re not very fast. According to NHL Edge, the Jets are below the 50th percentile in top skating speed and speed bursts, which is counterintuitive in a league that’s becoming faster and faster. They are, however, burying a huge percentage of their shots. No matter what, the Jets are getting it done. The big test facing the Avalanche, Stars, Rangers, Lightning and the Panthers twice over the next two weeks is coming up.
2. Carolina Hurricanes (9-2-0, +18). Last week: 3)
The play of Martin Necas and Andrei Svechnikov staying healthy has helped launch the Hurricanes to the top five of the standings despite losing key pieces in free agency. They remain an exceptionally good possession team and will likely withstand the injury to Frederik Andersen, as they have done for multiple seasons.
3. Florida Panthers (9-3-1, +7. Last week: 5)
A sweep of the Stars in the Global Series and the return of Aleksander Barkov has helped the Panthers extend their winning streak to five games. A five-game homestand awaits where they’ve been one of the NHL’s best teams since last season.
4. Minnesota Wild (8-2-2, +9. Last week: 4)
A 5-1 loss on Tuesday was the only blemish, and don’t be surprised if the Wild keep clawing their way to the top. They face the Sharks, Ducks, Blackhawks and Canadiens in their next four games. Kirill Kaprizov continues his MVP campaign and now has a league-leading 15 even-strength points.
Related: Wild Star Kirill Kaprizov Is An NHL Hart Trophy Front-Runner? You Better Believe It
5. Washington Capitals (8-3-0, +13. Last week: 6)
The Capitals have been the biggest surprise this season. Alex Ovechkin is off to a great start, unlike the previous season, and Connor McMichael has added reliable scoring depth after his development stalled last season. What’s a little scary is the Caps’ power play, which has been a reliable machine in the Ovechkin era, still has yet to get going, ranking dead-last at a paltry 10.8 percent.
6. New York Rangers (8-2-1, +20. Last week: 7)
Expectations are so high that the Rangers can have the third-best points percentage and yet still be considered underperforming. A three-assist performance against the Islanders was encouraging, but Mika Zibanejad’s role and impact have been greatly reduced this season.
Related: NHL Rumor Roundup: Latest Rangers And Blues Trade Speculation
7. Dallas Stars (7-4-0, +8. Last week: 2)
The Stars fall following a two-game sweep in Finland, and they’re now 3-4-0 in their last seven games following a blistering start against three teams that might not make the playoffs. The good news is that the Stars have tons of depth, even if Tyler Seguin draws in and out of the lineup, and have a fairly easy schedule for the rest of the month.
8. Vegas Golden Knights (8-3-1, +17. Last week: 8)
The Knights may want to showcase Adin Hill for the 4 Nations Face-Off, but he’s not really doing himself any favors. Despite a winning record, Hill has a .874 save percentage and 3.15 goals-against average, with only one quality start in seven starts. Can Hill carry this team despite never starting more than 35 games in a season and with Ilya Samsonov nursing an injury?
9. Toronto Maple Leafs (7-5-2, +4. Last week: 10)
How do you spell Stolarz? V-E-Z-I-N-A. According to naturalstattrick.com, Stolarz’s 8.78 goals saved above average ranks first, and his .958 SP ranks fourth among 71 goalies at 5-on-5. Despite his excellent play, however, the Leafs have yet to go on a sustained winning streak.
10. New Jersey Devils (8-5-2, +11. Last week: 13)
The Devils’ road trip through western Canada was a success, with two shutout wins. Jacob Markstrom’s play improved after a tough stretch in mid-October. With Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce also back in the lineup, and with strong special teams, the Devils are poised for a run. But they face a gauntlet with the Panthers (twice), Lightning, Hurricanes and Capitals starting next week.
11. Los Angeles Kings (8-3-3, +6. Last week: 18)
In retrospect, the Kings’ ranking last week was far too low, but they’ve had a weird season so far. It started off poorly at 1-1-2, including a wild 8-7 overtime loss, and then losses to the Sharks and Blackhawks but wins against the Knights and Wild. This may not be Quinton Byfield’s breakout year, but they’ve found something with him on the third line with Warren Foegele and Alex Laferriere.
12. Vancouver Canucks (6-2-3, +1. Last week: 11)
Since their 6-0 loss in what was probably their worst game ever under Rick Tocchet, the Canucks have won two straight by an 8-3 margin. Admittedly, they were easy games, but the Canucks can really build some momentum here with a six-game home stand coming up. Quinn Hughes’ three-assist effort in his 376th career game makes him the third-fastest defenseman to reach 300 career assists, following Bobby Orr (346 games) and Brian Leetch (368 games).
13. Colorado Avalanche (6-7-0, -8. Last week: 12)
It just doesn’t end. In Artturi Lehkonen’s season debut, Cale Makar was hurt in the second period and did not return. He’s the one player the Avs cannot do without because they don’t have the same kind of depth on their blueline as they do up front. They are, however, getting closer to finding out that Justus Annunen may be their No. 1 goalie going forward.
14. Tampa Bay Lightning (7-6-0, +5. Last week: 9)
They’ve lost three straight and – to no one’s surprise – lost without Brayden Point in the lineup. Andrei Vasilevskiy, who turned 30 in July, is on track to post his worst save percentages of his career over the past two seasons. We spoke prematurely of the Lightning and the Bruins’ fall… could this season be really it?
15. Edmonton Oilers (6-6-1, -10. Last week: 22)
The good news is Connor McDavid might return sooner than expected, but the bad news is their goaltending is not really any closer to being resolved. Their special teams have been horrible, although there are signs their power play is turning it around.
Related: Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl Proves He’s No Byproduct of Connor McDavid
16. Calgary Flames (7-5-1, -2. Last week: 16)
The Flames seem to have a lot of fight, but they just don’t quite have the talent. They’re squeaking by wins but getting blown out in a few losses, and a four-game winning streak is giving them enough cushion to stay in the playoff race for now. They’re 3-5-1 since then, with only one regulation win.
17. St. Louis Blues (7-6-0, -5. Last week: 17)
Joel Hofer was supposed to challenge for the starting job, and he certainly did earlier in the season. But it’s still Jordan Binnington’s net, and he’s at least given the Blues a chance to win on most nights even with injuries to key players. Their two consecutive wins against the Leafs and Lightning have certainly been impressive without Robert Thomas. Now, Philip Broberg and potentially Dylan Holloway are expected to miss time.
18. Buffalo Sabres (5-7-1, -2. Last week: 20)
The Sabres are incredibly streaky, winning three games and then losing three games over the past two weeks. I do find it encouraging, however, since they managed to win three straight games just twice last season, and not until Feb. 21 to 25.
19. Ottawa Senators (6-6-0, +5. Last week: 14)
They’re 5-1-0 at home and 1-5-0 on the road, so something has to give. Their positive goal differential indicates they’re a good team, but they need to find a way to be more consistent and string together wins if they want to make the post-season. They play six of their next nine games at home, so that’s at least encouraging.
Related: ‘We’re Learning How To Win’: Senators’ Consistency Is Improving, But Will The Results Come?
20. Columbus Blue Jackets (5-5-2, even. Last week: 15)
We’ll excuse the 2-1 overtime loss to the Sharks because they really didn’t deserve to lose that one, but losses to the Jets and Caps by a combined 13-4 score showed just how far they are from the NHL’s elite.
21. Boston Bruins (6-7-1, -12. Last week: 21)
No supposed contender has looked worse than the Bruins, and no amount of line juggling can seem to get them going. They’ve been shut out three times this season, including most recently to the rival Leafs on Tuesday after two straight shutout wins. Last season, they didn’t lose consecutive games until Nov. 24 to 27.
22. Detroit Red Wings (5-5-1, -6. Last week: 23)
Another week of the Wings treading water. After winning three straight, they lost three straight and then staged a comeback win against the Sabres despite getting outshot. Their performances are volatile, though I think they may have settled on Cam Talbot as their goalie for now with Alex Lyon struggling in his last two games.
Related: Detroit Red Wings’ Defense Corps Is A Glaring Issue – But It Can Change
23. New York Islanders (5-6-2, -8. Last week: 27)
Count the Islanders as another team with trouble winning in regulation this season. Their elite goaltending tandem can only do so much when they’re averaging just 2.31 goals per game with injuries to key players, though. Not even a top-six forward, such as Pierre Engvall, can save them. (That was sarcasm).
24. Pittsburgh Penguins (5-7-2, -13. Last week: 30)
They had that win against the Isles in hand, but defensive gaffe after defensive gaffe and some questionable decisions once again doomed the Penguins. Their top line alone isn’t enough to outscore their problems, and their defense can’t be fixed in the short term… what levers can they possibly pull?
25. Nashville Predators (4-7-1, -12. Last week: 24)
There was a glimmer of hope following their three-game winning streak, but that turned out to be false as they went 1-2-1 in their next four. Their offense continues to sputter, most recently in a 3-0 shutout loss to the Kings on Monday, where they had just 16 (!) shots on net. They had less than 20 shots on net just three times last season, all of which were losses.
26. Utah Hockey Club (5-5-3, -8. Last week: 25)
The magic has certainly worn off. Utah has just one regulation win since its three-game winning streak to open the season and just two (!) over the entire season. They were at least fun to watch while they were losing games, but they can’t even do that right now.
27. Seattle Kraken (5-8-1, -5. Last week: 19)
The Kraken are absolutely futile at scoring with two shutout losses during their four-game losing streak, and it’s not like the Senators and Bruins are particularly hard to score on. They’re 1-5-1 since their three-game winning streak and, since joining the NHL, rank 24th in goals per game. You can’t blame the fans if their interest keeps waning.
28. San Jose Sharks (4-8-2, -17. Last week: 32)
After a historically woeful start, the Sharks channeled some Ovechkin and told themselves: “We’re not going to be (expletive) suck this year!” All of their wins were by a one-goal margin, but two points is two points, so let’s not try to nitpick.
29. Chicago Blackhawks (5-7-1, -4. Last week: 31)
They’ve won three of their last four, which is a huge step in the right direction after Connor Bedard was visibly frustrated they weren’t winning games. But, I mean, have you seen that lineup?!
30. Anaheim Ducks (4-6-2, -11. Last week: 26)
Perhaps I spoke too soon when the Ducks managed to beat the Isles, and Lukas Dostal looked absolutely superhuman. He’s come back down to earth since, and they’ve lost three straight, with Dostal allowing nine goals on 66 shots (.864 SP) in his two most recent games.
31. Montreal Canadiens (4-7-2, -18. Last week: 28)
The Canadiens have had some awful injury luck, but it’s already the second time this season that the Habs have lost four in a row, and they were either blowouts or late-game collapses. The Canadiens exercised a two-year option on Martin St-Louis’ contract in April, so you have to think his job is relatively safe, but the pressure’s on to really show some improvement.
Related: Are The Canadiens Actually Making Any Progress Under Martin St-Louis?
32. Philadelphia Flyers (4-8-1, -15. Last week: 29)
Samuel Ersson won three straight games, and without him, it’s like the Flyers have no chance, given how bad their depth is in the net. I don’t think the Flyers are lottery-bound bad, but sometimes you wonder if John Tortorella can squeeze any more out of this group.
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