Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Welcome back to The Hockey News’ NHL power rankings. Every Wednesday, we’ll rank all 32 teams based on their weekly performance.
After just one week, we should throw out everything we know about every NHL team. Well, almost all of them. How shocking to wake up Wednesday morning to find the Avalanche 0-3-0 – with a minus-10 goal differential – and the Predators’ $41-million group of forwards scoring just six goals in three games.
As always, with the early versions of the NHL power rankings early in the season, there’s a ton of movement, though we must be careful not to overreact. There is a new No. 1 – the Dallas Stars knock off the Florida Panthers with a perfect start to their season so far. Among the biggest tumblers are the Oilers, Predators and Avalanche, who have combined for one (!) win. The unbeaten Flames, with a sparkling 4-0-0 record, make the biggest jump from 28th last week to 12th this week.
This week’s NHL power rankings raises a burning question for each team.
1. Dallas Stars (4-0-0, +7. Last week: 4)
Through four games, the Stars already have eight different goal-scorers and 11 who’ve scored a point. Logan Stankoven leads all rookies in scoring, and there’s really no fault with this team right now. Like the Rangers, the big question facing the Stars is if they can end their drought, which is at 26 years and counting.
2. Winnipeg Jets (3-0-0, +8. Last week: 9)
The Jets allowed just two goals through three games. Even with a coaching change, the Jets have not changed their identity, which is a great sign. The question will be if they can stay disciplined enough to stick to their system in the playoffs. Engaging in a track meet against the Avalanche in Round 1 last season was their ultimate undoing.
Related: The Hot Winnipeg Jets’ Big Test Is Only Getting Started
3. New York Rangers (2-0-1, +8 goal differential. Last week: 3)
Realistically, is this the Rangers’ best chance to win the Cup? With expensive contract extensions coming for Igor Shesterkin and Alexis Lafreniere – even with the cap expected to go up – the Rangers will have to shed salary elsewhere. (Jacob Trouba’s already expected to perform off Broadway next season). Can last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winners find the right mix to end a 31-year drought?
4. Florida Panthers (3-2-0, -1. Last week: 1)
No one likes making excuses, but the Panthers were without Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, and their lineup just isn’t deep enough to withstand injuries to key players for long periods. The question that has remained elusive to all champions defending their title is: Was the depth lost to free agency adequately replaced?
5. Carolina Hurricanes (1-1-0, -1). Last week: 7)
So far, so good. The two big questions were health – Frederik Andersen is expected to start Friday in Pittsburgh – and depth – 12 players have already registered a point. Rod Brind’Amour seems to be sticking to his committee approach, with only two players averaging more than 20 minutes per game. Can it still work when they lost so much key depth over the summer?
6. Toronto Maple Leafs (2-1-0, +3. Last week: 8)
Anthony Stolarz looks great, and Joseph Woll is expected to return soon. There’s little doubt the offense will get going, but will it also lift their moribund power play? Without good special teams, the Leafs don’t have a chance. Their power play converted just 4.8 percent last playoffs.
Related: Toronto Maple Leafs’ New Goalie Proving To Be An Excellent Add
7. Tampa Bay Lightning (2-0-0, +6. Last week: 12)
Whether it’s 12 forwards or 11, Stamkos or no Stamkos, the Lightning just chug along and win games. Nikita Kucherov is making yet another run at the Art Ross and leads the league with 2.50 points per game. Do they have enough in the tank to win one more Cup?
8. Vegas Golden Knights (3-1-0, +5. Last week: 13)
Their plus-5 goal differential was aided mostly by a woeful performance by the Avs in the season opener, but they’ve arguably got the best defensive corps in the league, and a healthy Mark Stone is huge. The goaltending looks quite alright, and that’ll remain the biggest question mark going forward.
9. Boston Bruins (2-2-0, even. Last week: 10)
It’s been quite uneven, to say the least, but two early losses to the defending champs is not a good sign. The Bruins need to be more consistent, and Jeremy Swayman has to find his A-game fast after missing all training camp for them to have a chance to win.
10. New Jersey Devils (4-2-0, +6. Last week: 15)
They looked great at the start but losses to the Maple Leafs and Hurricanes showed the Devils are still trying to climb into the top tier in the East. The big question was goaltending, and Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen have looked pretty good so far. Keep in mind they’re not at full strength yet, with Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce still injured.
Related: Five NHL Skaters Whose Hot Starts Make Us Ask, ‘Where Did That Come From?’
11. Utah Hockey Club (3-1-0, +2. Last week: 21)
A plus-2 goal differential despite winning three of their four games suggests Utah’s not as good as we might think, although they’re incredibly entertaining and must-watch TV. They’re shaping up to be the NHL’s biggest surprise and most improved team. The best part? Utah will actually be a fun place to be on the nine Sundays they play this season.
12. Calgary Flames (4-0-0, +9. Last week: 28)
Jonathan Huberdeau had a four-point game, and the Flames are unbeaten? What year is this?! How dare we question Nazem Kadri about his future with a winning club?! The Flames have been one of the league’s biggest surprises this season, showing the nobody-believes-in-us where a forgotten team exceeds all expectations is alive and well. How long do we think they can keep this up?
13. Minnesota Wild (2-0-2, +2. Last week: 20)
A big sigh of relief because Filip Gustavsson looks more like the 2022-23 all-star version than the 2023-24 version that had the seventh-worst goals saved above average out of 98 goalies at 5-on-5, per naturalstattrick.com. If they’re already this good with the roster they have now, imagine how good they could be next season when the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise cap buyout penalties drop from $14.7 million to $1.7 million.
14. Los Angeles Kings (1-0-2, even. Last week: 14)
Considering they’re 1-0-2 so far on a season-opening seven-game road trip (Crypto.com Arena is getting upgrades) without Drew Doughty, and the fact that they’ve been scoring goals, it’s actually a pretty good start. However, they’re still relying on 37-year-old Anze Kopitar a lot while their young players are still coming into their own.
15. Edmonton Oilers (1-3-0, -11. Last week: 2)
There’s no need to panic because the Oilers offense is just too good to stay down for long, but it was certainly a pretty brutal start to the season. The good news is the Oilers may not be ranked lower than this for the rest of the campaign, but their defensive depth and inconsistent goaltending could be a problem all season.
Related: Comparing The Oilers’ Start: A Year-Over-Year Look At Their First Three Games
16. Philadelphia Flyers (1-1-1, -3. Last week: 23)
The Flyers are low-key fun to watch because of how hard they play, and now, they have a dynamic offensive talent in Matvei Michkov. Their goaltending, which was their biggest question mark going into the season, doesn’t look like it will be a big issue. It’s a tough schedule to start the season with four straight road games and two back-to-backs just two weeks into the season.
17. Vancouver Canucks (0-1-2, -5. Last week: 6)
They’ve scored just three goals in their past two games despite having one of the league’s best offenses last season. Their goaltending will not steal games without Thatcher Demko, and their top players, namely Elias Pettersson, are not providing the offense everyone expects. If they can’t score their way out of trouble, can they grind out enough wins to make the playoffs?
18. New York Islanders (1-1-1, even. Last week: 17)
The return of Ilya Sorokin was a huge relief, especially after he posted a win against the Avalanche. The play of Maxim Tsyplakov is also noteworthy, as he was wonderful in his NHL debut (goal, seven hits, 20:46 TOI). But for the umpteenth time, the Islanders are blowing leads in the third period.
19. Colorado Avalanche (0-3-0, -10. Last week: 5)
A horrific start for one of the NHL’s top contenders. Their depth is shallow, their defense is lacking, and that goaltending… You know it’s bad when you’re hoping Kaapo Kahkonen and his career .899 SP can help turn around their early-season woes.
20. Washington Capitals (1-1-0, even. Last week: 16)
It’s hard to gauge the Capitals having played just two games, but at least they look a little better than they did last season when they were lucky to sneak into the playoffs.
21. St. Louis Blues (2-2-0, -2. Last week: 18)
Someone other than Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich has to score. They’re too thin up front, and the Buchnevich-at-center experiment is ongoing. After a promising start, they lost two straight. At some point this season, the Blues have to decide if they’re good enough to make some noise in the playoffs or be sellers at the deadline and quickly rebuild (re-tool?) around Thomas.
22. Pittsburgh Penguins (2-2-0, -2. Last week: 22)
It started off terribly with a 6-0 loss to the Rangers, but the Penguins bounced back with a 6-3 win in Detroit and then alternated wins and losses again. Last season, the Pens had only two winning streaks that lasted longer than three games, and it was only for four and five games. They need sustained success to make the playoffs – do their vets (other than Sidney Crosby) have enough gas in the tank, and are they consistent enough to do it?
Related: If Crosby And Malkin Stay Healthy, Are The Penguins A Playoff Team? They Weren’t Last Year
23. Montreal Canadiens (2-2-0, -1. Last week: 27)
Samuel Montembeault looks like the real deal, and he might be the biggest factor in the Canadiens’ success this season. Lane Hutson also looks fantastic, and Patrik Laine will play at some point this season. We know Martin St-Louis can coach at this level, but the question is how he can push them to win more games.
24. Ottawa Senators (2-1-0, even. Last week: 24)
An 8-7 overtime win showcased just how important Linus Ullmark will be this upcoming season. The fact everyone’s healthy and no season-ending shoulder injuries have tanked their season so far is a great sign.
Related: Ottawa Senators’ Rollercoaster Win Serves As Big Wake-Up Call For Ullmark’s Understudies
25. Seattle Kraken (2-2-0, +2. Last week: 25)
Hopefully, the seven-goal outburst against the Preds is a sign of things to come. Defensively, they shouldn’t have to worry too much, but offensively, they need to score more goals. Since the club’s inception, they’re ranked 25th in goals scored per game and 28th on the power play.
26. Detroit Red Wings (1-2-0, -3. Last week: 19)
I think the best criticism of the Yzerplan is that it doesn’t seem to stick to any principles. They splurge in free agency, the bunch of minor roster swaps here and there, and all it’s created are cap problems in addition to continued inconsistencies and a playoff drought.
27. Nashville Predators (0-3-0, -8. Last week: 11)
They have $41 million tied up in their forwards, and they can barely score two goals per game? Andrew Brunette has to figure out that offense quickly, and they’re already desperate enough to break up their top line. How bad is it? The Predators are the only team that has not held a lead at any point in any game so far this season.
28. Columbus Blue Jackets (1-2-0, even. Last week: 31)
Credit to the Jackets for their resilience. With a heavy heart to start the season and then losing captain Boone Jenner to a long-term injury, they’ve been better than anyone expected. Players are stepping up. Keep an eye on Kent Johnson, who’s been their best player and, despite lining up on their third line, has played over 21 minutes in two straight games.
29. Chicago Blackhawks (1-2-1, -3. Last week: 30)
Other than the season opener against an offensively gifted and exciting Utah team, the Hawks have at least kept their games close. They’re trending in the right direction, though it’s easy to do when you finish second-last the previous season.
30. Buffalo Sabres (1-3-0, -4. Last week: 26)
It started with an 0-2-0 showing in Prague, where they couldn’t string together two good passes, and you know it’s a bad start to the season when the highlight is Peyton Krebs and Rasmus Dahlin dropping the gloves at practice. The question now is when panic really sets in, and the Sabres are forced to make a significant move.
Related: Buffalo Sabres’ Dahlin And Krebs Throw Punches In Competitive Practice
31. Anaheim Ducks (1-1-0, even. Last week: 29)
Their season opener against the Sharks nearly put me to sleep, and so did their next game. For a team with so many high-end prospects, they simply can’t score, and it doesn’t help that they’re rolling three (very mid) scoring lines. There’s a reason the Ducks play more games on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays than any other team, traditionally the nights with the fewest NHL games on tap.
32. San Jose Sharks (0-1-2, -4. Last week: 32)
Losing Macklin Celebrini for at least a week is a huge bummer because he generated a ton of genuine interest in the Sharks’ season opener. At the very least, with a minus-4 goal differential through three games, the Sharks are not on pace to be one of the worst defensive teams in the cap era. Hooray! Progress!
Related: Will Macklin Celebrini’s Early Injury Hurt His Calder Case?
Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or by visiting our forum.
