NOvember 7, 2022
By Tab Bamford

CHICAGO, IL — I want to open this week’s Power Rankings by paying respects to Peter McNab, who passed away over the weekend. The long-time forward and then voice of the Colorado Avalanche was a terrific ambassador for the game and will be missed around the league.

This week we took a step away from a statistically-based rankings to throw one franchise under the bus for a decision that will be talked about for a long time.

After that, there are a few would-be playoff teams who are still trying to start their seasons almost a full month into games. Slow starts can hurt more than a team can afford, and there are a few who are building an awfully steep climb.

Let us know how we did this week as always.

32. Boston Bruins

Their on-ice play should have them at 1 or 2 on our list. But the Mitchell Miller debacle has us wondering if a senseless prospect move could undermine all of the good vibes this team has had to start the season. What a terrible look for the Bruins!

31. St. Louis Blues

Losers of their last six after a three-game win streak to start the season, what was supposed to be a playoff team in St. Louis has won only one of five games on their home ice. What’s worse, the Blues have allowed 35 goals in nine games and Jordan Binnington is trying to pick fights. The wheels may have fallen off already in St. Louis.

30. Columbus Blue Jackets

They have a minus-25 goal differential in 12 games! The Jackets are 2-5-0 at home and 1-4-0 on the road. Maybe their goal all along was to put Connor Bedard with Johnny Gaudreau?

29. Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks join the Jackets as the only two teams in the league with a goal differential of at least 20 on the wrong side of the ledger; Anaheim is minus-22 through 13 games. They could use a few more home games, but 2-6-1 on the road to start the season is bad.

28. Ottawa Senators

The Sens haven’t seen the payoff from the Alex DeBrincat trade they expected and remain winless on the road (0-4-0). They do have an even goal differential but aren’t winning games.

27. Arizona Coyotes

The Yotes have been better than expected (four wins in 11 starts) but their goal differential of minus-14 is tied with St. Louis for the third-worst in the NHL.

26. San Jose Sharks

The Sharks are one of the few teams to have more home games thus far than on the road, and they haven’t taken advantage. They’re only 1-5-3 on home ice to date and have a minus-13 goal differential.

25. Pittsburgh Penguins

Owners of the longest losing streak in the entire NHL (7 games), the Pens are in a bad way right now. Their 1-5-1 road record is a surprisingly bad look, and they haven’t won some games they probably thought they should.

24. Vancouver Canucks

They have been better since the awful start to the season, but there’s still a lot of work to do for the Canucks to get to where they wanted to be (playoff contention). They need help defensively.

23. Calgary Flames

The Flames were supposed to be better than last year’s division champion team, but the production simply hasn’t been there. They have only played one road game in their first ten and have just a 4-4-1 record on home ice to date.

22. Minnesota Wild

The Wild have the same goal differential as the Blackhawks (minus-five). Their 2-4-0 record on home ice is a concern; they’ve won three of five away from home.

21. Nashville Predators

They, too, are under .500 on home ice (2-3-1) and have allowed the same number of goals (40) in 12 games that Minnesota has in 11. The Central Division is up for grabs but none of the supposed playoff teams are grabbing their opportunity.

20. Washington Capitals

Losers of their last four, the Caps have been so busy celebrating Ovi climbing the career goal scoring lists they have forgotten celebrating wins on the ice. They’re 2-4-1 on the road so far.

19. Montreal Canadiens

The Habs should be happy about the production they’ve received from Kirby Dach since moving him to the wing, but they need to come up with more offense if they’re going to compete in a tough division. They’ve scored 34 in 12 games and are only 3-3-0 on home ice.

18. Chicago Blackhawks

The fightin’ Luke Richardsons are off to a continually surprising start. They’re down three goaltenders, their top defenseman and a top-six wing and are still competing every night thanks in large part to Jonathan Toews’ offensive resurgence. They’re 4-2-1 at the United Center to start the season.

17. Philadelphia Flyers

Like the Blackhawks, the Flyers were supposed to be in the Connor Bedard Sweepstakes this season. But a coaching change and strong play from veterans – including the emergence of Carter Hart as the goalie we thought he would be – has them more interesting than many thought they could be this season.

16. Colorado Avalanche

Maybe it’s a Stanley Cup hangover, maybe it’s still trying to replace bodies who are missing from the team that won the championship a few months ago. But these Avs haven’t looked nearly as dominant as they did in the playoffs last season.

15. Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers have lost their last two and have a sub-.500 record on home ice, but still haven’t lost a game on the road (3-0-0). They could also benefit from an addition to their blueline at some point.

14. New York Rangers

Yeah, we’re putting the Rangers down here this week. They’re just 4-3-3 in their last 10 and have a negative goal differential (minus-three) through 13 games. They’re allowing only three goals per game but the offense hasn’t been there.

13. New York Islanders

The Isles are 4-2-0 on home ice early in the season, something they couldn’t say a year ago when they were road warriors for the first month of the regular season. Ilya Sorokin has been the story; he’s been fantastic thus far.

12. Buffalo Sabres

Yeah, they’ve lost two in a row. But the Sabres are 4-2-0 on home ice and have a plus-11 goal differential in 12 games. Their 49 goals scored is a really strong indicator that they have found systems that work for the talent they have on the ice.

11. Winnipeg Jets

A home win against the Blackhawks on Saturday improved the Jets to 4-1-0 on home ice to start the season. The offense hasn’t been quite as potent as they would like (33 goals in 11 starts) but having allowed only 27 has been impressive.

10. Los Angeles Kings

The Kings are the highest-ranked team this week with a negative goal differential (minus-four). They’re 3-3-0 on home ice and get a second date with the Blackhawks within a week on Thursday night.

9. Tampa Bay Lightning

The Bolts have a plus-two goal differential and are still searching for consistency with more offseason departures impacting their offense. But a 3-1-1 record on home ice has helped them stay afloat.

8. Florida Panthers

They haven’t lost a home game in regulation yet (3-0-1) but are under .500 on the road (4-5-0). The two-game suspension for Matthew Tkachuk doesn’t help matters with a date in Carolina coming up.

7. Seattle Kraken

Full credit to the Kraken for their impressive 5-1-1 record on the road to start this season. They’ve won their last four and appear to be developing some chemistry around the questions about Shane Wright’s future.

6. Detroit Red Wings

They apparently hired the right coach and are rolling. With a 5-1-1 start in Detroit, they’re positioning themselves to be an intriguing team before the trade deadline this year.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs

Even with the media frenzy caused by Auston Matthews’ non-fight, the Leafs have won three straight and are 5-1-0 at home. We’re concerned about their 2-3-3 road record, though.

4. Dallas Stars

Dallas’ plus-19 goal differential is tied for second-best in the NHL with Vegas. They’re 4-1-0 on home ice and 4-2-1 on the road. This is a good Dallas squad that is taking advantage of what has shaped up to be a terrible division thus far.

3. Carolina Hurricanes

The Canes might be the best defensive team in the league right now; they’ve allowed 34 goals in 12 games and have a 5-1-1 record away from home.

2. Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas has a seven-game win streak and has only two regulation losses on their resume. It’s been a terrific all-around start this season for a team that had a lot of questions when the puck dropped to start the season. Most of those have been answered emphatically.

1. New Jersey Devils

Too young? Ha! The Devils have won six straight and nine of their last ten. Their plus-13 goal differential is more impressive when you consider fans were chanting for a coaching change just a couple short weeks ago. They’ve allowed only 31 goals in 12 starts.