October 31, 2022
By Tab Bamford
POWER RANKINGS
CHICAGO, IL — Happy Halloween to those out there who are dressing up as their favorite movie character, on-ice official or monster. Make sure you get a few carbs in the stomach before the candy hits because the play of some teams around the NHL might make you feel sick already.
One-third of the NHL is tied with ten points right now. And some of the teams that were supposed to be tanking are playing competitive hockey (surprise, Chicago and Montreal and Philly!), while other squads who were looking to improve have hit a few speed bumps.
Another early season week with lots of movement in our Power Rankings gives us a few new teams near the top of the list. As always, let us know what we got right and where we’re terribly wrong.
32. Anaheim Ducks
Welcome to the cellar, Anaheim! With the worst goal differential in the league (minus-19) in nine starts, this has become an ugly start to the season. They’re 0-5-1 on the road and have won two of three at home so maybe a few more dates on their own ice would help.
31. Columbus Blue Jackets
Is the Johnny Hockey optimism gone already? They have a minus-18 goal differential in ten starts and have a 2-4-0 record at home. The defense has been an issue; they’re allowing 4.4 goals per game.
30. Arizona Coyotes
We’re going to let them out of the basement and into some makeshift dressing rooms for this week. They’ve only played two games at home (haven’t won one yet) and scoring just 23 goals in eight games isn’t winning many contests.
29. St. Louis Blues
What is going on here? They won their first three and looked pretty good. But they’ve lost their last four in a row and have only scored 18 goals in seven games. Where’s the offense in St. Louis?
28. Vancouver Canucks
They’re on a heater, folks! Winners of two straight without Quinn Hughes, the Canucks might have just needed that players-only meeting to get their act together. Let’s see if they can sustain the winning for more than a weekend, though.
27. San Jose Sharks
One of four teams in the league with a negative goal differential of at least ten, the Sharks are only 1-5-0 on their home ice. The offense hasn’t been good; they’ve got 24 goals in 11 games, which is bad. At least they aren’t the worst team in California.
26. Nashville Predators
Another team that’s surprisingly struggling to score. The Preds have scored 22 times in nine games and have a minus-seven goal differential. After re-signing Mr. Forsberg to a big deal, they were hoping for more.
25. Chicago Blackhawks
Right now, the Blackhawks are ahead of St. Louis, Minnesota, Nashville and Colorado in the standings. Go figure, right? But they’re now looking at an extended period of time without Seth Jones on the blueline. Kudos to Luke Richardson for doing a fantastic job with this roster early.
24. Minnesota Wild
They beat the Blackhawks in Chicago on Sunday night, so they get to slide in front of them in our Power Rankings. They have a negative-four goal differential and are just 1-3-0 on home ice to start the year, though.
23. Ottawa Senators
The new-look Sens with their internal expectations have at least won four of five at home. It’s their 0-3-0 road record that is the concern.
22. Detroit Red Wings
They Wings have only played eight games and one of those was a loss to Chicago, which stings. Their defense has been solid, though not as good as many hoped; Moritz Seider is working through some growing pains still in his sophomore campaign.
21. Buffalo Sabres
They picked up an overtime home win against the Blackhawks over the weekend, just their second home win so far. They’ve only allowed 22 goals in eight games, which is a nice start. Rasmus Dahlin has been tremendous.
20. Pittsburgh Penguins
Another team that is just struggling like crazy on the road. The Pens are 1-4-1 away from home, which is partially because their defense hasn’t been great. Pittsburgh has allowed 29 goals in nine games.
19. Colorado Avalanche
The defending champs are a .500 team at the end of the season’s first month. We knew there would be a learning curve with some departed players needing to be replaced, but scoring only 29 goals while allowing 26 in nine games is a surprise.
18. Calgary Flames
The Flames are going to have to sit in the middle of the pack until they catch up in games played. They’ve only played seven so far, and only one of those was on the road.
17. Los Angeles Kings
We aren’t big fans of allowing more than four goals per game, and that’s where the Kings are at ten games into the young season. They’re 5-5-0 and their records at home (2-3-0) and on the road (3-2-0) are flipped from what we would expect. LA has a minus-five goal differential.
16. Toronto Maple Leafs
Good luck figuring this one out. The Leafs have allowed only 30 goals in ten games but they’re a .500 club (4-4-2). It’s their 1-3-2 record on the road that has us scratching our heads.
15. Seattle Kraken
The Kraken are one of 11 teams in the league with ten points right now, so it feels like we’re splitting hair ranking some over others. But given where they were last year, the Kraken having only a minus-one goal differential through ten games shows improvement. And Matty Beniers is worth the price of admission.
14. Washington Capitals
With some big names missing from the lineup, Washington hasn’t been scoring at the pace we’re used to seeing; they have only 28 goals in nine games. But they’re 3-1-0 at home early.
13. New York Islanders
The Islanders have turned the ship around nicely, thanks in large part to stellar goaltending and timely offense. They’re 1-2-0 on the road, which must feel nice to have played six of their first nine at home after being on the road for the entire first month last year.
12. Montreal Canadiens
Like the Blackhawks, the Habs didn’t get the Bad for Bedard memo, apparently. They’re 5-4-0 on the year and have a break-even goal differential. And there’s no denying that Martin St. Louis was a terrific hire as their permanent head coach.
11. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Bolts have only played two home games in their first nine, so their 4-3-0 record on the road is impressive. They’re still working things out on their blueline, and the offense hasn’t been consistent yet.
10. Philadelphia Flyers
Torts has the boys working in Philly, where the good vibes are all over the city with the World Series being played there on Monday night and the Eagles riding in first place as well. They’ve only allowed 21 goals in eight games; Carter Hart has been the guy we expected him to be.
9. Winnipeg Jets
The captain-less Jets have adjusted to their new coaching staff well and have scored just enough to win games. They’re 3-2-1 on the road and 2-1-0 at home to start the season with a plus-one goal differential.
8. Florida Panthers
The offense is still adjusting to the new pieces and their defense needs to settle down without MacKenzie Weegar or Aaron Ekblad now that Ekblad is injured. They still haven’t lost in regulation on home ice.
7. Dallas Stars
A team that some think will be active in trying to add before the trade deadline, the Stars have received outstanding goaltending thus far and the offense has been there. They’ve outscored opponents 28-21 in nine games and they’re 3-1-0 at home.
6. New Jersey Devils
Where are the “fire the coach!” chants now? The Devils are suddenly 4-2-0 at home and have a plus-eight goal differential. It’s been a quick turnaround in Jersey.
5. Carolina Hurricanes
We give the Canes some love for having a 4-1-1 record on the road; only two of their first eight games have been at home.
4. Edmonton Oilers
Their game in Chicago this past week was wild (14 penalties in the second period alone). They’re 3-0-0 on the road, so the .500 record at home needs to improve but McDavid is once again playing on another level.
3. New York Rangers
The two overtime/shootout losses at home in their first six is a surprise but Artemi Panarin has been awesome. With 12 points in their first 10 games the Rangers are doing enough to push for a division title while their rivals work on developing chemistry.
2. Vegas Golden Knights
Remember when their defense and goaltending was a question mark? Vegas has a plus-14 goal differential in ten games and has a 5-1-0 record at home. Their 16 points are tied for the top mark in the entire NHL, with the...
1. Boston Bruins
Pasta is going to get paid! Boston’s 6-0-0 at home and have only one loss in their first nine games. They also boast the best goal differential in the league (+18). The B’s have been the league most dominant team to date.