NHL Top 10 Power Rankings (11-30-23)

Colby Spence

I didn’t do an article last week, so a lot has happened in the 2 weeks that have passed. There will be a bit of switching up in this week’s rankings, so be prepared for that. This was one of the tougher lists that I have had to fill out all season long. There are a lot of teams that are a borderline Top 10 this season. The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of them. They have the team to be a Top 5 team, but things just aren’t quite clicking for them. I do think they will figure it out by the end of the season, though. Same goes for the Hurricanes. They have the team to be contenders. Heck, they were the favorites to win the Cup in the preseason. They need to fix those defensive issues before they get into contention again. You could also put the Lightning in that category as well. They have the team and now they have their superstar goalie back in action, so I expect the Lightning to be back for good, but we may not start to see the results until a couple weeks from now.

The Ducks have fallen from the face of the earth over the last two weeks. They did not win a single game in the two week span and they have fallen in 7 straight games. None in OT either. It appears they will be back where they belong. The Capitals have been on a good stretch as well as the Blues, Flyers, and Predators. Surprisingly, the Preds have been winners in 6 straight. These teams didn’t make the cut, but they could sneak into the Top 10 in the coming weeks if they keep playing good hockey. Speaking of good hockey, here is my Top 10 for the week.

10: Detroit Red Wings (11-7-3)

The Red Wings dropped a close one to the Rangers last night, but that will not omit them from the Top 10. There was big news coming from the Red Wings this week. Patrick Kane announced that he is now a Red Wing and could join the team on the ice within the next week or so. This is a huge addition to an already good team and if Kane is back to his usual form, they could be serious contenders. At the start of the year, the Red Wings had one of the most potent scoring attacks, but they have tapered off a bit as of late. That doesn’t mean they they’re bad. It just appears that they’re settling in a bit. There shouldn’t be too much concern, as they’re still a Top 5 scoring team in the NHL.

9: Florida Panthers (13-7-2)

After a slow start, the Panthers have found the magic that made them Stanley Cup Finalists last season. They made some buzz after they face the other Tkachuk led team in the Senators last week. Everyone on the ice was penalized 10 minutes for fighting. The Panthers are an aggressive team and that is part of what makes them so good. They know how to get under the skin. And as long as you have guys like Sam Reinhart who can find the net with ease, they will have no issues moving forward. They’re also getting good goalie play, so don’t expect the Panthers to stray too far from the Rankings.

8: Winnipeg Jets (12-7-2)

The Jets are a team that I haven’t ranked all season long, but here in the last 3 weeks or so, they have been deserving of the honor. Well, this week, they are inside the Top 10. Connor Hellebuyck is having a decent year so far, but I think he is capable of better performance. They can find the net easily and Kyle Connor, in particular, hasn’t had issue doing that this season. He has 14 on the season already. Josh Morissey and Mark Scheifele have both found the open attacker with ease this season and they have a solid core of guys that could make some noise in the playoffs. Look out for these guys for the rest of the season.

7: Dallas Stars (13-5-2)

I didn’t know exactly where to put the Stars this week. I feel like this is the lowest they could be ranked. They’re a consistent team, but I wouldn’t call them a great team right now. Their Power Play unit has been bad this season, but they’re improving. I can’t say anything bad about the PK unit, however. They have bee fantastic and are 3rd in the league. They have been scoring a lot more over the last 2 or 3 weeks, so it appears that they’re figuring things out, but for now, I can’t put them back into the Top 5 until they can prove that they’re that caliber.

6: Vegas Golden Knights (14-5-4)

Vegas has taken a bit of a tumble over the last stretch. They’re 3-5-3 in their last 11 games. It is pretty crazy to think that they were undoubtedly the best team in hockey for the first month and a half and they also didn’t lose a regulation game until nearly the middle of November. I also wouldn’t say that it has been a tough slate of games for them either. They have just been horrible over the last 3 weeks. I also wouldn’t put the blame on the goalies. They have been fine. They attack has been very poor. They’re nowhere close to the team that they were at the beginning of the season. I think they will find out what is going wrong pretty soon though. Don’t count them out.

5: Colorado Avalanche (15-6-0)

For a little bit, I thought Colorado was on their way out of the Top 5, but they have redeemed themselves. They have gone 6-1-0 in their last two weeks and are in no clear danger of dropping out just yet. At this point you could argue that they are as low as 6th and as high as 2nd. They have had a great stretch have gotten all of their wins very easily over the last couple of weeks. Cale Makar has been superb with 14 points in that 7-game stretch. Nathan MacKinnon has 10 points in the same span. The Avs aren’t going anywhere and I would venture to say they’ll be the favorites in the West when the playoffs roll around.

4: Vancouver Canucks (15-7-1)

You could argue that the Canucks have slowed down a bit, but not enough to matter. They are continuing to be the surprise team of the season and they have the best attack in hockey. The Canucks have 4 players inside the Top 16 in scoring and 3 of those are within the Top 7. Quinn Hughes is playing like a future Norris winner this year and Brock Boeser looks like he could be a favorite for the Rocket Richard Trophy. Not to mention JT Miller is 2nd in league points with 35. The Canucks score and score efficiently. They’re clearly finding good shots with the highest shot percentage in the game. Both Miller and Boeser are at or around 25% shot percentage, which is insane. Also Elias Petersen is no slouch either. We will see if they continue to cool off, but for now, they deserve a Top 5 ranking, in my opinion.

3: Los Angeles Kings (13-4-3)

I didn’t expect the Kings to be up this high at this point in the season, but here they are. They have really been on a good stretch as of late and they are winners of 5 of their last 6. The Kings are 2nd in goal scoring and they give up the least amount of goals in hockey. I will admit, I’m not the smartest hockey guy, but I can tell you that is pretty impressive. The Kings appear to be a big threat for teams in the West and a lot of that can be attributed to the lights-out play from Cam Talbot. He has been phenomenal all season long. Also, both Kevin Fiala and Trevor Moore notched 4 goals each in the last 2 weeks. Don’t expect the Kings to budge to much from here on out.

2: Boston Bruins (14-4-3)

I debated on either the Bruins or Kings for the number 2 spot, but ultimately went with the Bruins because they have been up here all season long. They have been on a tough stretch lately, but I wouldn’t say they’re doomed. In fact, I think they will bounce back pretty nicely in the upcoming week. Pastrnak has continued to be the rock for the team and I would usually say that Swayman and Ullmark are as well, but they haven’t been so hot lately. Both goalies have been giving up a ton of goals, but I have no worries about them. They will get out of this funk and be in tip-top shape in no time.

1: New York Rangers (16-4-1)

The Bruins were my number 1 two weeks ago, but no anymore. The Rangers are the new top team in hockey. New York has been right up there with the Golden Knights and Bruins in terms of goalie play all season and you could say there are very few weaknesses with in this roster. They do everything well. Panarin was on a red-hot stretch with at least a point in every game consecutively until 2 weeks ago. He went on a 3-game stretch where he didn’t have a single point, but has since had at least 1 in 3 straight. Mika Zibanejad seems to be heating up a bit as well. I think they are clearly the team to beat in the East at the moment and they are quickly becoming the favorites for the Presidents’ Trophy.

Yacs