October 22, 2021
By Tab Bamford

CHICAGO, IL — We’re now over one full week into the 2021-22 NHL season and what have we learned?

Some front offices may be having second thoughts about players they acquired – or let leave – in the offseason. Others may be wondering if the preseason is actually the time to work on developing chemistry. Some may be considering the future of their head coach.

Meanwhile, the demise of a few franchises may have been greatly exaggerated. And a few (cough, Buffalo, cough) have been a lovely surprise.

Now that we’ve played more than one or two games, let’s jump into our updated Power Rankings for this week. As always, please feel free to let us know how wrong/right/crazy we are to have your favorite team too low/high on the list.

[View the Power Rankings from Week 1]

32. Arizona Coyotes

The “defense” in Arizona allowed 17 goals in their first three games of the new season, and somehow they earned an OT loss. We expected the Yotes to struggle this year and thus far they’re playing the tank perfectly.

31. Montreal Canadiens

Marc Bergevin would like to stay in Montreal after his contract ends, but his team isn’t helping him build a case to do that right now. The losses of Danault, Weber and Price have been too much for the Habs to replace in the lineup early in the season.

30. Chicago Blackhawks

While he’s behind the bench during games, the Hawks are keeping their coffee warm on Jeremy Colliton’s seat in the office. He – and his team – heard the boo birds in their home opener. Their 5-on-5 play has been the worst in the NHL thus far.

29. Winnipeg Jets

Most folks had Winnipeg penciled in for a playoff spot in the Central Division but the start to the season has been anything but smooth for the Jets. Of course, their first three games coming on the road isn’t ideal, but they need to stick the landing when they get on home ice.

28. Calgary Flames

One of the teams with a limited early resume, the Flames are another team with a limited ceiling this season. We’ll see how their leadership group brings the team together while Mark Giordano is wearing the C in another jersey.

27. Nashville Predators

The Preds overhauled their roster in the offseason and the learning curve was expected. Unlike the Jets, the Preds played their first three games in front of their fans at home. The road will make it tougher for the young team.

26. Seattle Kraken

Still waiting to open their gorgeous new arena on Saturday, the Kraken offense has struggles as many expected. They’ll win games in the Pacific, but they look and feel more like what we expect an expansion team to be than Vegas did.

25. Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks aren’t going to win many low-scoring games this season and are another team to start the year with a lengthy road trip.

24. Los Angeles Kings

The Kings are going to be a fascinating team all season. Kopitar and Doughty are playing with chips on their respective shoulders and they’re helping inject youth into the lineup. Will they finish the season as the best team in California?

23. New York Islanders

A team that started the year with legit Stanley Cup hopes, the Islanders have also been road warriors as they wait for their new barn to be ready. They’re giving up a lot of shots and need their goaltending to hold the course.

22. Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas played an absolute gem of an early-season game against St. Louis on Wednesday night. Injuries are slowing them down already and could be a concern as the season moves forward.

21. Colorado Avalanche

Between a suspension and COVID, the Avs haven’t been able to roll their best lineup out yet. When they do, we expect the results to follow. This is a team built for a championship but the have some significant losses to account for from the offseason. We’re not worried about their slow start.

20. Boston Bruins

Not many games on the resume for Boston, and we think they’ll be fine when the schedule starts to heat up. They’re still a work in progress that more action on the ice will help.

19. Columbus Blue Jackets

Winning their first two games on home ice has been a nice start for the Jackets, who once again saw a big name leave the roster this past summer. There are some nice pieces in place for the Jackets to build around and they could surprise a few people if they keep playing the way they’ve started.

18. Ottawa Senators

No longer in tank mode, the Sens are off to a nice start. Getting the Tkachuk deal done was huge for the team’s morale and to get their leader back on the ice. Now they’ll look to build on their start and live up to their ownership’s expectations.

17. New Jersey Devils

The young Devils have had a light early schedule but have played well when they’ve been on the ice. Dougie Hamilton has helped the back end tremendously, but they’re still dealing with vaccination and injury issues with MacKenzie Blackwood.

16. San Jose Sharks

Kudos to the Sharks for starting their season well in spite of the potential Evander Kane distraction. With Kane out 21 games because of suspension, hopefully those who are actually in the room can focus on continuing the wins.

15. Dallas Stars

Dallas started the season with four road games, beating the Rangers and Penguins while losing to the Bruins and Senators. They finally get to jump on their home ice on Friday night against the Kings. All four of their games thus far have been low-scoring affairs and we expect that to continue as they get comfortable.

14. Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina turned over almost half of their roster this summer and had a few significant departures to work around. But they’ve opened the season as well as could have been expected, and look to be ready for another competitive season with a potentially deep playoff run coming in the Spring.

13. Tampa Bay Lightning

With Nikita Kucherov on LTIR (again), the Bolts depth will be tested. They appear to have a legit rival across the state in Florida; the Panthers have been a handful for the Lightning early this season and are fighting to be the best team in Florida.

12. Toronto Maple Leafs

Eight goals in four games? That’s not the offense we’ve come to expect from Toronto. But here we are, with the Leafs playing solid defensively and covering for an offensive group that’s still finding its footing.

11. Anaheim Ducks

We’re gonna go ahead and pump the tires of the Ducks early in the season. They’re in a full-blown youth movement (except for Ryan Getzlaf) and they’re trying to figure out who goes where, but they’ve been solid early in the season. Can they keep up the pace?

10. Detroit Red Wings

The Wings have built a physical team that isn’t putting up with much on the ice thus far. Steve Yzerman clearly knows what he’s doing and has started putting together a roster that’s going to be hard to play against, even if they don’t win every game.

9. Pittsburgh Penguins

Without a regulation loss through four games, the Pens have been better than many hoped early without Crosby or Malkin available. That bodes well for the time when they have both of them back on the ice. The schedule is going to get harder, however.

8. Washington Capitals

Oh, look. Alexander Ovechkin is scoring goals with ease! Nobody should be surprised that Ovi has started the year on a hot streak, helping the Caps overcome early injuries. When they have their full roster together, they’ll be trouble.

7. New York Rangers

Lots of games away from Madison Square Garden early on the calendar has led to some up-and-down play, and the Rangers are still adjusting to Gerard Gallant’s style. But we like what we’ve seen early on and expect the strong start to continue.

6. Buffalo Sabres

No Eichel? No fans? No problem! The Sabres have been the feel-good story of the early going in the NHL. They’re coming together and playing much better than anyone expected. The Eichel cloud is still hovering over the franchise but the play on the ice is helping fans embrace this roster.

5. Minnesota Wild

Did they overpay? Did they get a nice deal? We’ve got years to see if the Wild get their money’s worth out of Kirill Kaprizov, but the team has started the season with a very good stretch of wins. Their division is a mess right now and Minnesota is taking advantage.

4. Philadelphia Flyers

All of the money and effort they spent on fixing their blue line this summer has looked good early on. And they’re rolling without Kevin Hayes in the lineup. They started the season with three home games, which certainly helps. But the roster maneuvers in Philly have worked.

3. St. Louis Blues

It looks like Vlad Tarasenko is happy with the roster around him. Three impressive wins to open the season have the Blues feeling good about their chances of doing legitimate damage in the Western Conference this season.

2. Edmonton Oilers

Their only concern right now is Mike Smith heading to IR with a lower-body issue. The offense has been as good as expected; they scored 14 goals in their firs three games and Connor McDavid appears ready to put up historic offensive numbers again this season.

1. Florida Panthers

You have to love what’s going on in Florida, where Joel Quenneville has been able to install his philosophy and has a talented young roster ready to roll. They opened the season with wins against the Penguins, Islanders and Lightning and outscored those three likely playoff teams 14-6 in the process. They’re going to be a beast this season.