NHL Power Rankings: Devils Rapidly Rise After Hellebuyck Blockbuster, Golden Knights And Rangers Slide

Blockbuster trades that cause seismic shifts across the landscape of the NHL don't happen often, let alone in the first month of the season. 

The Winnipeg Jets and Connor Hellebucyk ended a month-long stand-off and made a deal with the New Jersey Devils, who acquired potentially the best goalie in the league and shifted the balance of power in the Metro.

Hellebuyck made good in his Devils debut despite practicing just once, making 17 saves in a relatively easy win against a top-tier team in the Stars. 

If this is a sign of things to come – the Devils have now won four straight – the Carolina Hurricanes will have a legitimate challenger in their division. The Devils make a big jump in the power rankings, boosted by their winning streak and bold gamble on an aging but elite goalie. 

Could this kick off the trading season earlier than usual? The Detroit Red Wings await deals for Dylan Larkin and potentially Simon Edvinsson, and intriguing pending UFA's including Quinn Hughes and Ryan O'Reilly may be on the move this season. 

A playoff contender – the New York Rangers, for example – might also need to bring in extra help to keep their playoff hopes alive after James Reimer's disastrous debut failed to calm concerns regarding their goaltending. And when might the Pittsburgh Penguins consider rebuilding in earnest?

Here is this week’s power rankings. 

If they're not the consensus best team in the NHL right now, we're watching different leagues. 

The road trip started rough but they ended up winning their last three games including an impressive win against the upstart Utah Mammoth following an emotional game when Quinn Hughes returned to Vancouver. The Kaprizov-Eriksson Ek-Boldy line never disappoints, and in fact might be the best line the league. 

The Oilers were down 3-0 against the Toronto Maple Leafs and never recovered, and then in their next game blew their one-goal lead three separate times to lose in a shootout. They suddenly don't seem that infallible anymore even if Connor McDavid is still on pace for 238 points.

The Bruins have been really impressive even with a slightly soft schedule, but still were clearly outplayed by the Hurricanes. It's still undecided if the Bruins are a contender or something better than that. 

They're one of the league's most entertaining teams with their high-end talent and the huge momentum swings in their games. If their goaltending can settle down, they could really disrupt the Central Division. 

They stopped the bleeding but consecutive 6-2 losses and another on the road against the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets showed the Golden Knights can be pretty vulnerable at times. Remember, though, they were pretty streaky at times last season, too. 

A team that won 10 straight times on two separate occasions last season now cannot win consecutive games at all. The Avalanche are 1-3-0 since last week, falling behind early in all three losses. Their poor starts were a theme last week and it hasn't been adequately addressed. 

The Lightning are a serious contender because of their past experience, but consecutive road losses to the Avs and Mammoth while getting outscored 11-7 sprinkles a little more doubt about whether or not this team has the capacity to win one more Cup. Their special teams remains a concern. 

The Devils have suddenly turned a corner with a four-game winning streak, most recently in Dallas where Connor Hellebuyck made his debut with his new club after just one practice. Their big test continues later this week in Colorado and Vegas, and if they can sweep those games we might all have to agree that acquiring Hellebuyck made them an instant Cup contender. 

The loss to the Devils was the only blemish following a five-game winning streak. Some luck was certainly involved – only two wins were in regulation – but we’re also learning that the Stars might be a top-five defensive team, and that bodes really well for their Cup chances. 

Jacob Fowler is putting on a clinic. He's a perfect 3-0-0 with a near-pristine .980 SP and 0.67 GAA this past week.

The Senators have alternated wins and losses for two weeks now. Until Linus Ullmark returns, they’ll just have to pray Samuel Ersson and Jonas Johansson can at least give them a chance to win games. 

Since the hat tricks started on Oct. 13, the Tkachuk brothers have scored 29 points combined, Seth Jones has 12 assists, and Carter Verhaeghe is averaging a goal per game. The 4-0 loss to the Penguins was a head scratcher, but even with a 2-1-0 record over the past week, there’s zero concern with the Panthers. 

The 5-3 win against a subpar Karel Vejmelka and the Mammoth aside, the Kraken still remain several tiers below the contenders with losses to the Lightning, Panthers, and Wild by a combined 17-7 score. They are quietly off to a solid start, however, taking advantage of a weak division. 

It looks like the Capitals have now settled on a top line they like and finally come to terms with the idea that Alex Ovechkin might be a bottom-six player at even strength for the rest of the season. 

After winning two straight the Islanders have a rough patch, trailing early against the Kings and Stars and nearly blowing a 3-0 lead to the Predators before prevailing in a shutout. 

Colten Ellis is proving that maybe not getting Connor Hellebuyck is a blessing in disguise. Their goaltending has been a pain point all season and Ellis at least alleviated that for one game against the Sharks, but note the Sabres have not been sharp on offense despite their envious collection of young talent.

There will be the odd game where everyone questions if Sergei Bobrovsky is too old, but Anthony Stolarz is having a good bounce-back season so far. Beating the Avs and Oilers is also a good sign of the Maple Leafs' potential. 

Starting seven straight games is a daunting task for any goalie, let alone a rookie. However, James Reimer proved not to be the answer in just a single period, and the Rangers may now have to figure out another solution or be patient until Joonas Korpisalo returns. Their good start is being squandered. 

Maybe alternating Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedejlkovic is the proper way to go considering how they've also alternated hot streaks to start the season. Until the Sharks are able to find more consistent answers, including who will quarterback the power play, it feels like they're at a holding pattern unsure what the next step forward should be. 

Back-to-back shutout losses doesn't bode well for a team that seemed to have found its offense. The underlying stats say the Blues are better than their record suggests, but at some point they need to string together more wins.

Ironically such an inconsistent team with both losses and wins against upper-tier opponents. They've been excellent at home, having beaten the Canadiens, Stars, and Panthers. 

The more the Predators lose, the more trades the already-active Chris MacFarland will make, including pending UFA O'Reilly and maybe veteran defenseman Brady Skjei, who has not fit in very well since signing a big seven-year contract. 

Since the start of Devin Cooley's winning streak, he ranks first in saves, fifth in total goals saved above-average, seventh in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes, and seventh in both save percentage and high-danger save percentage, per Natural Stat Trick. He also ranks first in people-I'd-like-to-hear-most post-game per 60 minutes. 

The Red Wings' comeback win via shootout with third-string rookie Michal Postava staring down Connor McDavid in his first ever start was really impressive. It was also the last game of a four-game road trip with already 3-of-6 possible points earned; the Red Wings had every excuse to lose and didn't. 

It's worth noting again the Blue Jackets have only one regulation win this season and really having to grind it out. If they still have trouble scoring and their defense and goaltending remain inconsistent, how long do they hang on for before they completely fall apart and Rick Bowness runs out of words?

For a team that's supposed to be ushering in a youth movement, their top two scorers are 37-year-old Patrick Kane and 32-year-old Teuvo Teravainen. Oh, the irony. 

The Ducks won a key rivalry game in Philadelphia where they usually never win, but they’ve lost six of their past seven, including on Tuesday when they blew a 5-2 lead to the league-worst Canucks and lost in overtime. They’re 1-5-1 over the past two weeks. 

Forget goaltending; all of a sudden, the Jets offense has gone dark. They've lost five straight with only nine goals scored, and the only forward they got back in the Devils trade who can contribute right now is Dawson Mercer. 

The veteran Kings went 3-for-5 during a tough road trip and now have a seven-game homestand. If there's a point early in the season where they can turn their season around, it's right now. 

It's one step forward and then two steps back with the Flyers. After ending their season-starting losing streak with big upset wins, they’'e now lost consecutive games yet again. 

If you're going to lose a lot, at least make the games entertaining. They have an underrated offense with a decent power play, which helped them complete a big comeback win in Anaheim to end their 10-game losing streak. 

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