NHL Top 10 Power Rankings (11-15-23)

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There was a bit of shifting this week outside of the Top 5 and some teams are starting to come alive while others are simmering back down. From last week, there is only one new team inside the Top 10. I had to omit the Lightning this week as they were on the brink of being outside anyway, but a 3-loss week will not help their case. On the bright side, Vasilevskiy looks like he may be returning pretty soon, as he surprised his teammates this week by returning to practice. I also have one team making their Power Rankings debut this season and they have seemingly just gotten hot all of the sudden.

As for other hockey news, the Oilers are the first to fire their head coach after their brutal start to the year. I felt like it was bound to happen sooner rather than later. A team with that much firepower can’t be a bottom-dweller for that long with no changes being made. We’ll see how things change from here on out, but the future of the Oilers franchise seems a little shaky, considering the fact that Draisaitl may be on his way out after this season. I think the New Jersey Devils will be back inside the Top 10 in the coming week because it appears that Jack Hughes is skating again and may be back by the end of the week. Look out for them. Also, the Capitals are quietly on fire right now. I didn’t think they were worthy of Top 10 consideration, but who knows? They may enter that discussion in a couple weeks. It was a tough decision for a few of these teams. I feel like the Red Wings are on the outside looking in every week as well as the Maple Leafs. The Jets are creeping up as well. So, the rankings may look a bit differently this time next week, but for now, here are the NHL rankings for this week.

10: Carolina Hurricanes (9-6-0) (Last Week: 8)

I keep ranking the Canes, because they’re still hanging in there, but have they really played like a Top 10 team this season? Probably not, but I think they will find their groove soon enough. If they don’t start looking better defensively, then they may find themselves on the outside next week. Kochetkov got his first win of the season on Saturday in a shutout performance against the Lightning. If he can remain hot, then the Canes have a shot to move up a bit. They only had 2 games last week and the other one was a loss to the red-hot Panthers on the road. Speaking of the road, they haven’t played many games at home, in fact, They are tied with the least amount of home games played this season in the NHL. They have been at home only 4 times and have won all 4. Luckily for them, their next 5 games will be in Raleigh, so look for the Canes to start racking up some wins. They only have two games coming up this week and they’re against the Pennsylvania teams.

9: Colorado Avalanche (9-5-0) (Last Week: 5)

It wasn’t a great week for Colorado in last week’s contests. They dropped games to the Kraken and Blues and picked up a win against the Kraken. They’re defense has been a bit sloppy as of late and it has been a strong suit for them to start the year. They were a Top 3 team to start the year and they just continue to drop each week. They are on the brink of being omitted if they keep it up. While I wouldn’t call the Blues a bad team necessarily, they’re not a great team, so giving up 8 goals to them is quite a bad performance. They have a shot to straighten things up this coming week, but it won’t be easy. They have the Ducks and Stars in their next two with the Preds after that. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if I don’t rank them next week, but they have a real shot to prove that the last 2 or 3 weeks have just been a fluke. On the bright side, Cale Makar is really finding his groove.

8: Anaheim Ducks (9-6-0) (Last Week: 9)

Speaking of the Ducks, they have continued their hot run and even though they dropped a game this week to the Flyers, they looked good in games that they should have won agains the Sharks and Predators. They have two tough ones coming up next against the Avalanche and Panthers, but close out the week against the Blues in a toss-up. I expect the Ducks to start coming back to reality soon enough. They have been on a good stretch, but I think they’re overachieving a bit at the moment. I don’t think Frank Vatrano’s play is sustainable and even though they have a lot of good, young talent, I don’t think they’re a Top 10 team when all is said and done. We’ll see though.

7: Los Angeles Kings (8-3-3) (Last Week: 6)

The Kings had a 1-1-1 week and they drop just one spot this week. They dropped games to the Flyers and Penguins, but had a massive win against the Golden Knights. I would call the upcoming week a favorable one for the Kings, but I think the Panthers could be a stumper for them coming up. Adrian Kempe has a goal in 4 straight games, so that will be interesting to see if he keeps that up. Talbot is still playing solid in his majority time share in front of the net. A crazy stat for this team is that they are a far better team on the road so far. They have a 7-0-0 record on the road and a 1-3-3 record at home. I dont think I have ever seen such a discrepancy with a good team like this. I expect them to be in or around the Top 10 for the majority of the season.

6: Florida Panthers (10-4-1) (Last Week: NR)

The Panthers seemingly emerged from out of nowhere. They had a somewhat slow start to the season, but they have really come alive in the last couple of weeks. They’re winners of 5 straight games. I wouldn’t call it a tough 5 wins, but 5 consecutive is still 5 consecutive. They beat the Caps, Canes, Blackhawks, and Sharks last week and they are on a roll. Sam Reinhart had a 10 point week last week and Carter Verhaeghe notched his 100th career goal last night against the Sharks. Matthew Tkachuk isn’t finding the net at the rate he normally does, but he is finding teammates that are. He has 14 assists on the season, so far. Sergei Bobrovsky is tied with a league-leading 8 wins and he has been solid this season as well. I think the Panthers may be here to stay, if their playoff run from last season suggests anything.

5: Dallas Stars (11-3-1) (Last Week: 7)

I think I was a bit harsh on the Stars last week. I basically called them frauds, but they redeemed themselves this week. They won all 4 of their games last week and put up some numbers in the scoring column. They averaged nearly 6 goals per game in last week’s contests, so I can’t say much about their struggling offense any more for now. Matt Duchene notched goals in all of last week’s slate, he also leads the team in +/-. The Stars only have 2 games coming up and they are going to be tough. The Rangers and Avalanche are up next for them and they will get a shot to prove how good they are this week. Both games are in Dallas, so I give advantage to the Stars and we may see them climbing again next week.

4: Vancouver Canucks (11-3-1) (Last Week: 4)

The Canucks are here to stay. I still cannot believe how well they are performing this year. I definitely didn’t think they would be this competitive. So far, they have the best offense in hockey and it isn’t particularly close. All of the pieces are coming together and this was a superbly crafted team. Elias Pettersson, JT Miller, Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Brock Boeser, Andrei Kuzmenko. I mean, what a team. Their schedule in the upcoming week also suggests that they’re not going anywhere, anytime soon. I seriously debated moving them inside the Top 3. They have yet to lose a game in regulation at home and they have 3 contest this week at home among some of the worst teams in hockey. Their only road matchup is agains the Flames, and they suck, so it should be another big week for the Canucks. Expect a ton of goals to be scored in Vancouver this week.

3: New York Rangers (11-2-1) (Last Week: 3)

I alluded to it last week, but I think the Rangers are going to be the team to beat when it is said and done this season. Patrick Kane is also apparently on the verge of signing with a team and the Rangers are back in the discussion. I could see him returning to the Big Apple to play and he would help their attack tremendously. That is arguably the only thing holding them back right now. Their offense hasn't been what they want it to be, but with a lockdown D like they have, there isn’t an immediate cause to worry. They will have two tough contests this week against the Devils and Stars. Both games are on the road. Their No. 1 pick in 2020 Alexis Lafreniere has seemingly come alive in the last week. He has points in his last 4 games and had a 2-goal game on Sunday agains the Blue Jackets. We’ll see if they continue their success in the coming week

2: Vegas Golden Knights (12-3-1) (Last Week: 1)

For the first time this year, the Golden Knights aren’t the No. 1 team in hockey. Well, it was a good run. By no means, am I expecting them to keep falling. I think they’re still one of the best teams in hockey and a couple of bad losses isn’t going to change that. Well, it was really only 1 bad loss, but the Capitals are looking good lately, so who knows if it was actually a bad loss or not. The other loss last week was to the Kings, and we know how good they can be. They beat the Sharks and that was a gimme, obviously. Their goaltenders are continuing their solid play and they still have one of the better attacks in the NHL. Don’t worry about this Vegas team. They’ll be around for the long haul.

1: Boston Bruins (12-1-2) (Last Week: 2)

It feels like deja vu. The Bruins are back at the top of the rankings. Boston is continuing where the left off in last year’s regular season and are back at the number one spot. In my first power rankings article this season, I suggested that a future on a David Pastrnak that was 20/1 to win the Hart Trophy. Well, he is making a good case for that. 11 goals, 13 assists in 15 contests thus far. The combo of Swayman and Ullmark continue to be unstoppable and I don’t that changing any time soon. They had a tough OT loss to the Canadiens this week, but they looked great other than that. They have a home contest agains the Canadiens again, and they have the Lightning on Monday, so it should be another good week for the Bruins and they could easily remain in the top spot.

Yacs