NHL Top 10 Power Rankings (11-8-23)
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We have had a full month of NHL action and things continue to shake up within the Top 10. It is amazing where we were at the beginning of the year compared to the present. There are a few teams that have completely exceeded expectation. Others have been disappointing. When December starts to roll around, I expect things to balance out a bit more, but I am enjoying these shifts at the moment.
As for changes in the Top 10, the Maple Leafs remain out of the Top 10 again, I just dont feel like they are playing up to their capabilities at the moment. I think they will return in the next couple of weeks though. The Devils aren’t in the Top 10 this week. They lost Jack Hughes and they’re clearly not the same team without him. It doesn’t appear too serious though, so I expect them to be in and out of the rankings all season long. I also omitted the Red Wings. They have just been on a bit of a skid lately, so for now they are just outside of the rankings. There will be two new teams, so keep reading to see who they might be.
10: Tampa Bay Lightning (6-3-4) (Last Week: NR)
It feels weird to place a team with more losses than wins in the Top 10, but I don’t have a problem with it. They know how to find the back of the net and that is more than I can say for some teams. Tampa had a 2-1-1 record this week and they have scored 16 goals in the last 3 games. They’re currently 3rd in GPG and PP. Nikita Kucherov has 11 points in his last 3 games, so it appears that he is finding his groove. He is currently the NHL Points leader. The biggest concern for Tampa was obviously goaltending. It hasn’t been great, but I think there are reasons to be optimistic. Jonas Johansson is around 91% on his saves, so that isn’t terrible. They’re also one of the top PK teams in the NHL. I think they can stick around until Vasilevskiy returns, which appears to be on track for late November or early December.
9: Anaheim Ducks (7-5-0) (Last Week: NR)
The Ducks just had a shutout loss to the Penguins last night, but prior to that, they were on a 6-game win streak. I mentioned that they may creep into the rankings last week and here they are. I don’t anticipate them maintaining this level of play, but who knows? I knew once they handed the Golden Knights their first regulation loss, that they had to be included inside the Top 10. Both John Gibson and Lukas Dostal have been solid in the crease, but Gibson has eaten some losses that he really didn’t deserve earlier in the season. Troy Terry had a hat trick against the Coyotes last Wednesday and has been a solid piece for them pretty much all season. Frank Vatrano also has no issues finding the net with 9 goals already on the season. He didn’t have a goal last week, so look for him to light it back up this week. The Ducks are Top 10 for now, but I guess we’ll see if they have staying power. The Ducks also have an easy schedule ahead for the week, so we’ll also see if they can beat the struggling teams that they have coming up.
8: Carolina Hurricanes (8-5-0) (Last Week: 8)
The Canes are winners in 5 of the last 6 and 3 of those wins came in OT. They had bad news coming through the organization last week. They will be without their starting goaltender, Frederik Andersen. He has a blood clotting issue and is out indefinitely. We hope for a speedy recovery for him. Anti Raanta has been solid, so they shouldn’t have many issues there. Pytor Kochetcov is a bit of a question mark though. He has had a bad stretch in his starts, but they hope he can return to the form he had last season in his appearances as a rookie. Svechnikov is settling in pretty nicely. He had 2 big assists in their Islanders win last week, so it will be good to see him back in full form. I don’t anticipate the Canes to fall out of the Top 10 any time soon, but they are kind of teetering still, so keep an eye on them.
7: Dallas Stars (7-3-1) (Last Week: 5)
Everybody talks about how good the Stars are and in the games I do notice it in flashes, but they simply are not putting up the goals. I kind of feel bad for dropping them each week, but wow. They need some goal scoring, desperately. They’re down there with the the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers this season and if you have paid any attention to the NHL this season, then you know how bad that is. The good news is that they have one of the best goalies in the game. It is apparent that they have a goal scoring issue and once they get Jason Robertson going, they may return to a potential contender, but for now they are just a solid team that can’t score. They also need to fix their issues on Power Play. They’re currently 30th in the NHL. That just isn’t going to cut it, considering they were practically polar opposite last season. They have 4 games this coming week and all of them are winnable, so we’ll see if the offense starts to come alive a bit.
6: Los Angeles Kings (7-2-2) (Last Week: 7)
LA is really starting to find their groove lately. They won both of their contest last week and like the Canes, have won 5 of their last 6 contests. The Kings have only given up 3 goals in the last 3 games and Cam Talbot appears to be in for a solid season. Quinton Byfield has been on fire as of late with 6 assists in his last 3 games. Also, none of their skaters have a negative +/-. It has been a really good stretch for the Kings and I expect them to continue their good play. They’re currently 2nd in goals scored per game, so I don’t anticipate any issues throughout the year, because we knew they were capable of being this good.
5: Colorado Avalanche (8-3-0) (Last Week:3)
The Avs went on a bit of a tumble last week, but they somewhat redeemed themselves this week. I say that, but they did lose 7-0 to Vegas last weekend. It was a bit embarrassing, but moving forward, it should not be an issue. They’re still legitimately a Top 5 team regardless. Rantanen had 5 points in his last 3 as well as Cale Makar. Makar also made a little bit of history that I forgot to mention a couple weeks ago. He became the quickest defenseman in NHL history to 250 Points. That is an incredible feat and it looks like he won’t be slowing down any time soon. Don’t expect Colorado to slow down too much this season. They should be in prime position to maintain their status all season long.
4: Vancouver Canucks (9-2-1) (Last Week: 6)
The Canucks have been the surprise of the season. At this point, you definitely can’t ignore how well they have been playing. They have been one of the best teams through the first month and they’re just playing very good team hockey. Quinn Hughes is lighting it up with 12 points in the last 4 games. Elias Pettersson is 2nd in total points with 21. JT Miller is up to 18 points on the season. They’re a wagon in the first month and it will be interesting to see if they continue this ride. They have also had superb goalkeeping from Thatcher Demko this season with 95% save percentage. They have a Canadian road trip in the next 3 games and I think they could sneak away with at least 2 wins, because the Sens and Habs are struggling right now a little bit. The Canucks are a very fun team to watch.
3: New York Rangers (9-2-1) (Last Week: 4)
The Rangers could be a cool bet for the Stanley Cup this season. I wouldn’t be a bit shocked to see them go on a run in the playoffs. They had a tough loss against Minnesota in a shootout, but other than that, they have looked great. Everything seems to be clicking for them. Rangers are winners in 7 of the last 8. Panarin is out of this world right now with 20 points on the season. He is currently riding a 14-game Point streak dated back from last year’s regular season. The goalies are still playing lockdown D. This team isn’t one that you want to face in a meaningful game. They can rip you apart. As long as everything continues to click and no major injuries happen, this team could be a favorite to win out of the Eastern Conference.
2: Boston Bruins (10-1-1) (Last Week: 2)
Boston is just too good. Like the Rangers, everything is clicking for the Bruins. They have goalie advantage over every team in the NHL and they have a potent attack. They had a bad loss to the Red Wings on Saturday night, but that was their first regulation loss of the season, so you really can’t say that it was a struggling week for them. Also, I probably shouldn’t say it was a bad loss either, but they should have won that game easily. Looking ahead for this week, they have another favorable week. I could see them sweeping the week, yet agin, but at the very least they should get two wins out of three. I don’t think the Top 2 teams are going to be dropping any time soon.
1: Vegas Golden Knights (11-1-1) (Last Week: 1)
The Golden Knights have been my top team all season long and it doesn’t appear things are going to change in the near future. They are so stacked and it will be interesting to see who can take them down, because there aren’t many teams that would have a shot in a best of 7 against them at this point. The Ducks handed them their first regulation loss and with the way that the Ducks are playing, that isn’t a bad loss necessarily. Like the two teams below, everything is clicking right now and unless there is a major injury or two within the lineup, I don’t anticipate a change with that any time soon. The defense is solid, goalies are solid, and they are scoring goals. What more could you ask of them? Nothing. They have a tough matchup tonight agains the Kings, but they have the Sharks and Caps coming up, so definitely expect 2 wins from the Knights this week and expect them to retain their title of the best team in hockey.
Yacs