How underrated is Jesper Bratt for the New Jersey Devils? Ryan Kennedy and Michael Traikos discuss. Chandler Stephenson [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxOTExNDQ4MTY1Njg5MTIy/usatsi_21779215_168400847_lowres.jpg] Chandler Stephenson Welcome back to the ever-popular NHL power rankings at The Hockey News. Published every Wednesday, all 32 teams will be ranked from best to worst with an emphasis on their weekly performances. With the Vegas Golden Knights ranked first and the San Jose Sharks ranked last for the fourth straight week, you’d think the 2023-24 NHL season was a bore. Definitely not. We’re getting to the point of the season where teams we thought would be good really aren’t good at all (Oilers), and teams we thought would be really bad aren’t really bad at all (Ducks). There are very few teams at the top – the Knights and Bruins remain the only teams yet to lose in regulation – a big mess of a middle class, a few teams already thinking about the lottery, and then the Sharks, who, um, exist so others can pad their stats. There have been plenty of surprises, and perhaps none more so than the Ducks and Canadiens, both of whom were expected to be lottery teams. Yet, they both sport winning records, with the Ducks flying high on a four-game winning streak and the Habs losing just twice in regulation so far. (They lost two games within the first week last season). They make the biggest jump in this week’s power rankings, with the Canucks joining the top 10 after being ranked 21st in the pre-season rankings. The Wild, losers in five of their past six, are one of the biggest droppers, and we’ve got a new team in the bottom three with the Flames, losers of five straight and no closer from turning around last season’s disastrous campaign. (All fancy stats are 5-on-5 and courtesy naturalstattrick.com. CF% stands for Corsi-for percentage and xGF% represents expected goals-for percentage.) 1. Vegas Golden Knights (9-0-1, +16 goal differential. CF% league rank: 24, xGF% league rank: 21) If you’re wondering, the Knights’ franchise record for consecutives games with at least a point earned to start the season is 13, set during the 2017-18 season when they went to the Stanley Cup final. Not a bad omen, right? 2. Boston Bruins (8-0-1, +15. CF%: 12, xGF%: 10) No disrespect to the Bruins, but the schedule gets harder from here on out, starting with the Leafs on Thursday, and they don’t play a team with a losing record until Nov. 14 (Sabres) and Nov. 27 (Jackets). 3. New York Rangers (7-2-0, +10. CF%: 14, xGF%: 19) After a 2-2 start, the Blueshirts went 5-0 on their Western Conference road trip and now play four of their next five at home. Some wins were closer than others, but it was pretty incredible. Through their five games, they allowed more than two goals just once. 4. Dallas Stars (5-1-1, +4. CF%: 10, xGF%: 1) It says a lot when they can win games with Jason Robertson off to a slow start. Six of their next seven games are on the road, so that will be a tough test. 5. Colorado Avalanche (6-2-0, +8. CF%: 4, xGF%: 4) They rattle off six straight wins and then get shut out 4-0 in consecutive games. All streaks had to end sometime, but it looked like the Avs seriously ran out of steam. The question now becomes whether or not they can ride their horses for all 82 games; Cale Makar did not skate Tuesday, and Alexandar Georgiev has started every single game. 6. New Jersey Devils (5-2-1, +3. CF%: 2, xGF%: 9) They stumbled in a 6-4 game against the Caps, where they came back from a 0-3 deficit with four straight goals but then allowed another three straight to lose, and narrowly pulled away with one-goal wins in their next two games. They’re scoring their way out of trouble now, but when their scoring rates inevitably dip, as it does for all teams after the first couple of months, the lack of defense will be a problem. 7. Vancouver Canucks (6-2-1, +15. CF%: 17, xGF%: 28) Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season, Colton Sissons’ first-period goal was the first goal the Canucks have allowed at 5-on-5 in two games. Two years ago, blowing the lead and going down 3-2 following a 5-on-3 power play like they did against the Rangers would’ve caved the Canucks. This team’s built differently under Rick Tocchet. 8. Los Angeles Kings (5-2-2, +8 . CF%: 5, xGF%: 5) A shootout loss to the Knights was the only blip. Otherwise, the Kings’ offense looks really good, and it seems like they’ve settled on their No. 1 with Cam Talbot. For now, at least. 9. Toronto Maple Leafs (5-3-1, +2. CF%: 13, xGF%: 16) Joe Woll or Ilya Samsonov? The Leafs have shown to be very streaky so far this season and won only three games in regulation. 10. Tampa Bay Lightning (4-2-3, +4. CF%: 22, xGF%: 29) Somehow, Jonas Johansson is getting it done. What’s curious, however, is the Lightning’s porous defense; only the Sharks are allowing more shots per game. For the fourth straight season, the Lightning’s goals against per game has increased. 11. Carolina Hurricanes (6-4-0, even. CF%: 1, xGF%: 7) It’s hard to get on the Canes right now with a shaky goaltending rotation and long stretches where they look really good or really bad. They were streaky last season, too, and they’ll need to string together more wins if they want to move up the standings and be a serious Cup contender. 12. Detroit Red Wings (6-3-1, +9. CF%: 27, xGF%: 24) They went 1-2-0 with 11 goals allowed last week, erasing some goodwill they had earned early in the season. Goaltending remains an issue, but the Wings are noticeably faster and better than they’ve ever been under Steve Yzerman. 13. New York Islanders (4-2-2, -2. CF%: 25, xGF%: 13) It hasn’t been exactly a tough schedule so far, with six of their eight games played on home ice. They are once again, unsurprisingly, not scoring a lot and depending on their goalies to win games. 14. Florida Panthers (4-3-1, -1. CF%: 9, xGF%: 15) A healthy Sam Bennett should give them a boost, as should the pending returns of Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour. They’ve held together well enough with only one regulation loss since their 0-2 start and allowed more than three goals just once. 15. Montreal Canadiens (5-2-2, -2. CF%: 20, xGF%: 20) The Habs have moved up the standings quietly, earning a point in all but two games. Jake Allen put together excellent numbers, and Sean Monahan made an early case to be the comeback player of the year. Having a good power play helps. 16. Anaheim Ducks (5-4-0, +2. CF%: 28, xGF%: 25) Surely, their hot streak will end at some point, but there’s no denying they’re a much tougher out under Greg Cronin. They’ve rattled off four straight wins, three in dramatic fashion with two overtimes and a last-second Mason McTavish shorthanded breakaway goal. 17. Winnipeg Jets (4-3-2, -2. CF%: 6, xGF%: 12) Since starting 1-3-0 they have yet to lose in regulation, but wins have been difficult to come by. Special teams has been a huge problem, ranking bottom-five in both the PP and PK, and Connor Hellebuyck needs to better. 18. Philadelphia Flyers (4-4-1, +2. CF%: 11, xGF%: 8) Even at .500, they’re better than you think. They will go through tough stretches, as they’ve done recently losing four of their past five, but they’ve been competitive in many of those games. It’s a step in the right direction though, realistically, they’re probably nowhere close to contending until Matvei Michkov comes over. 19. Washington Capitals (4-3-1, -7. CF%: 21, xGF%: 22) Perhaps their demise was overblown; after starting 1-3-1, the Caps rattled off three straight wins. They play their next three games and seven of their next nine at home. Perhaps this is the break they needed to get everyone on the same page for one of the league’s oldest teams. 20. Ottawa Senators (4-4-0, +6. CF%: 16, xGF%: 23) They’re either blowing out teams or getting blown out. After a promising start, the Sens have allowed 16 goals in their past four games. It’s hard to have a winning record with such extreme peaks and valleys, but at least it seems like they’re starting to settle on Joonas Korpisalo as their starter. 21. Buffalo Sabres (4-5-0, even. CF%: 15, xGF%: 18) The offense is waking up with 14 goals in their past three games, and that’s their bread and butter. Like a few other teams, the goaltending situation remains in flux. After Devon Levi started four straight games, Eric Comrie two straight and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen three straight, we’re still no closer to really figuring out who their best goalie is right now. 22. Nashville Predators (4-5-0, -1. CF%: 18, xGF%: 3) Hiring Andrew Brunette was part of the Preds’ plan to remake themselves into a more offensive team, but with what scorers? The Preds rank 26th in goals scored at 5-on-5 and still need Juuse Saros to carry them on a nightly basis. 23. Seattle Kraken (3-5-2, -10. CF%: 19, xGF%: 17) Just when you think they’ve turned a corner scoring seven goals against the Canes, they go 2-2-1 with zero wins in regulation. They don’t generate many goals and don’t defend very well, and it’s still tough to decipher if they’re more like the first-year disappointing Kraken or the second-year overachieving Kraken. 24. Arizona Coyotes (4-4-0, +7. CF%: 29, xGF%: 11) It’s definitely been an improvement, but still a mixed bag at times. Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz are thriving, while Barrett Hayton has zero points and Logan Cooley is still looking for his first goal. Another good sign: they’ve yet to lose more than two in a row after suffering two separate nine-game losing streaks last season. 25. Minnesota Wild (3-4-2, -6. CF%: 26, xGF%: 27) It’s not good when the goaltending’s not good. They’ve lost five of their past six and neither Filip Gustavsson nor Marc-Andre Fleury can hold down the starting job for more than three games. Some of these losses aren’t even close; they’ve allowed six or more goals three times already. 26. Edmonton Oilers (2-5-1, -10. CF%: 3, xGF%: 2) Things perked up following the Heritage Classic, and it was not a coincidence that Connor McDavid was back in the lineup. However, beating up a basement team doesn’t mean things are going well; it’s just a small signal that there’s still hope. 27. Columbus Blue Jackets (3-4-2, -7. CF%: 23, xGF%: 26) The Jackets have lost four straight but there are a lot of team struggling in the early going. Just look above at the two teams who made the playoffs last season and the two teams below who have recently won Cups. The Jackets can’t score and the lineup’s constantly changing, though perhaps they deserve the benefit of the doubt considering Pascal Vincent took over literally days before training camp. 28. St. Louis Blues (3-3-1, -6. CF%: 32, xGF%: 30) They were incredibly streaky last season, and they seem to have remedied that, but now the problem is they can’t win games at all. Their only two wins in regulation were against the Pens in the midst of a three-game losing streak and the lowly Flames. 29. Pittsburgh Penguins (3-6-0, -3. CF%: 7, xGF%: 6) Who saw this coming? At worst, the Pens were a playoff contender, but they’re now last place in the Metro with American Thanksgiving – the unofficial cut-off line for making the playoffs – quickly approaching. They’ve lost five of their past six and rank 21st in goals for per game; that’s not the result you expected after acquiring a Norris-winning, 100-point defenseman. 30. Chicago Blackhawks (3-6-0, -13. CF%: 30, xGF%: 31) We can write all the nice things about Connor Bedard, but the Hawks are not a good team – full stop. They’ve pulled off some surprising wins against good teams, but for the most part they lack quality and depth at all positions. Either Bedard’s scoring goals or they’re not scoring at all. 31. Calgary Flames (2-6-1, -15. CF%: 8, xGF%: 14) Jacob Markstrom is the most unfortunate soul, playing well but having nothing to show for it on a team that lacks any sort of sizzle. They don’t defend very well and they don’t even have the personnel to put together a competent scoring line. 32. San Jose Sharks (0-8-1, -26. CF%: 31, xGF%: 32) They say sharks don’t sink; I assure you this one definitely does. THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNTg5MzM3NTA5NzY2MjUy/my-thn-ad-banner-1500x150.jpg] THN.com/free
