The Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings are off to hot starts in the Atlantic Division. Ryan and Mike break it down. Logan Thompson and Paul Cotter [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNzQ2MTY2ODE4Mjg1MTk5/usatsi_21728617_168400847_lowres.jpg] Logan Thompson and Paul Cotter 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. Sorry for the lack of suspense, but for the third straight week, the undefeated Golden Knights are first, and the winless Sharks are last. The Flyers at least made it interesting, looking like they would hand the Knights their first loss of the season before Paul Cotter folded Egor Zamula to tie the game, and Shea Theodore scored the winner with 33 seconds remaining. There’s been plenty of movement following Tuesday’s Frozen Frenzy where all 32 teams were in action with staggered starts. Let’s have more of this, please, and make it regular on Saturdays instead of the middle of the week. We re-learned a few things; for example, the Lightning are still pretty good, and the Flames are still in shambles. But, we’ve also learned some new things; the Yzerplan isn’t as directionless as we assumed, and the Sharks might actually be the worst team in the cap era. (All fancy stats are 5-on-5 and courtesy naturalstattrick.com. CF% stands for Corsi-for percentage [http://www.naturalstattrick.com/glossary.php?teams] and xGF% represents expected goals-for percentage.) 1. Vegas Golden Knights (7-0-0, +15 goal differential. CF% league rank: 18, xGF% league rank: 20) The Knights are unquestionably, indubitably the best team in the league. Despite their reputation for going after big names, 10 of the 23 players on their roster last night were either drafted or taken in the expansion draft. Their ability to develop prospects has been vastly underrated. 2. Colorado Avalanche (6-0-0, +16. CF%: 4, xGF%: 2) Even when Alexandar Georgiev is off, the Avs can outscore anybody. Mark your calendars – the Avs and Knights meet in Vegas on Saturday, Nov. 4 in what may turn out to be a preview of the Western Conference final. 3. Dallas Stars (4-0-1, +5. CF%: 17, xGF%: 6) Their only loss so far has been a shootout against the Knights. The offense has been a little slow, but Jake Oettinger is an early candidate for the Vezina. 4. Toronto Maple Leafs (4-2-0, +3. CF%: 16, xGF%: 15) If they’ve found their starter in Joey Woll – watch out. No version of Auston Matthews and no team on earth could win games consistently with Ilya Samsonov’s .831 SP. 5. New Jersey Devils (3-1-1, +3. CF%: 2, xGF%: 9) Every single one of Jack Hughes’ 10 assists are primary assists, and he’s on pace for 229 points. Not only has he become the biggest challenger to Connor McDavid for the scoring title, we thought McDavid’s 153 points last season couldn’t be topped. 6. Boston Bruins (6-0-0, +12. CF%: 12, xGF%: 13) Their record is impressive, yes, but have you seen that creampuff schedule? San Jose, Anaheim, Nashville and Chicago (twice)? Their toughest test is coming up, and we’ll get a better idea of what they’re made of. 7. New York Rangers (4-2-0, +5. CF%: 8, xGF%: 14) Scored or be scored. The Rangers have allowed just one goal in each of their four wins but allowed nine goals in their two losses. Good news: Alexis Lafreniere is finally scoring. 8. Detroit Red Wings (5-1-1, +14. CF%: 29, xGF%: 25) Every time we doubt Steve Yzerman, he looks at us with those steely eyes and probably imagines us in a clown suit. How dare we question the Yzerplan? The Wings look fast and dangerous, and both of their losses have been by just one goal. 9. Los Angeles Kings (3-2-1, +5. CF%: 10, xGF%: 1) Forget the record; they’re sneaky good, and the analytics are proof. The problem is their goaltending, but their offense has been good enough to overcome it. 10. Tampa Bay Lightning (3-2-2, -1. CF%: 27, xGF%: 30) They’re not supposed to be this good, yet they keep pulling it off. Their possession metrics stink, and they’re getting outscored by their opponents on average, but somehow Jonas Johansson is a good goalie?! 11. Carolina Hurricanes (3-4-0, -5. CF%: 1, xGF%: 8) They’re the best team under .500 you’ve ever seen. One moment they look great, but in the next they look awful. They’ve been outscored 16-8 in their past three games and, somehow, between Frederik Andersen, Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov, they can’t find a reliable starter. 12. Vancouver Canucks (4-2-0, +8. CF%: 25, xGF%: 31) The Canucks are one of the biggest climbers this week and finish a tough road trip with a 3-2-0 record before a three-game homestand. The difference? The Quinn Hughes-Filip Hronek pairing is elite, when previously it was Hughes, 60 feet of dirt, and the rest of their defensive corps. 13. Florida Panthers (3-3-0, -1. CF%: 9, xGF%: 16) After getting outscored 8-4 in their first two games, they’re 3-1-0 and lost to the Canucks after collapsing in the final five minutes of the third period. If they can stay like this until Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad return, they’re in good shape to make the playoffs. 14. Minnesota Wild (3-2-1, even. CF%: 24, xGF%: 27) Literally, they’re wild. They’ve outscored their opponents 14-6 in their wins and also allowed seven goals in two of their three losses. They’re exciting games, but you also get the feeling from Dean Evason that they don’t want to get into track meets all the time because they don’t have all their horses. 15. Winnipeg Jets (3-3-0, -3. CF%: 6, xGF%: 11) Thank goodness Connor Hellebuyck is finding his groove, allowing just four goals in his past two games after a shaky start and the Jets losing three of their first four games. For a team that’s been having some trouble generating offense at times, it’s still amazing that Nikolaj Ehlers averages less than 16 minutes per game. 16. Philadelphia Flyers (3-2-1, +2. CF%: 15, xGF%: 7) If you consider this team was in the lottery last season, no team has improved more. Of course, having a healthy Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson, and also a reliable Carter Hart, really helps. THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNTg5MzM3NTA5NzY2MjUy/my-thn-ad-banner-1500x150.jpg] THN.com/free 17. Ottawa Senators (3-3-0, +4. CF%: 11, xGF%: 17) You appreciate the fight, but what a debacle this roster has been. From having no cap to play 18 skaters in the season opener or re-sign Shane Pinto, to needing Travis Hamonic to tell Anton Forsberg he was pulled [https://x.com/SabresPlays/status/1716981244125192665?s=20], the Sens are either really good or really bad. 18. Buffalo Sabres (3-4-0, -3. CF%: 14, xGF%: 24) We’re almost through the first month, and all three of their goalies have one win each. Their vaunted offense isn’t quite there yet, scoring more than three goals just once. Last season, they scored fewer than three goals just twice in nine games in October. 19. New York Islanders (2-2-1, -4. CF%: 28, xGF%: 26) The Isles win two straight games because Ilya Sorokin allowed just two goals, and then lose three straight after allowing 15 goals. With their poor finishing and poor possession metrics, it’s further proof they will only go as far as Sorokin carries them. 20. Nashville Predators (3-4-0, +1. CF%: 23, xGF%: 3) It’s hard to be consistent when you alternate home and road games for the first two weeks before playing five straight on the road and then nine of your next 10 at home. The good news is the Preds are getting scoring from all of their lines, but the bad news is there’s no standout player. 21. Arizona Coyotes (3-3-0, +1. CF%: 20, xGF%: 19) The Yotes might be the most exciting .500 team ever. They will play five of their next six games at Mullett Arena, where they were six games over .500 last season. 22. Columbus Blue Jackets (3-2-1, -2. CF%: 19, xGF%: 23) The Calder race is heating up with Adam Fantilli’s first multi-point game, and aside from a 4-0 loss to the Wings, all of their games have been decided by two goals or fewer. Pascal Vincent’s lineup decisions may have been strange at first, but they’re trending in the right direction. 23. St. Louis Blues (2-2-1, -4. CF%: 32, xGF%: 29) The good news is, they’re not nearly as streaky as they were last season when they started with a three-game winning streak, an eight-game losing streak and then a seven-game losing streak. The bad news is they don’t look that much better. 24. Edmonton Oilers (1-4-1, -10. CF%: 3, xGF%: 10) Is it panic time yet? It wouldn’t be the first time the Oilers have squandered elite talent, but this truly is a new low. Jay Woodcroft has to be feeling the seat getting hot, with three of their losses decided by at least three goals and three games where they failed to score more than two goals. At worst, their offense was supposed to be good. 25. Pittsburgh Penguins (2-4-0, -3. CF%: 7, xGF%: 5) The Pens can be frustrated, but Father Time is undefeated, and at some point, reality sets in. It’s still early, but the Pens are just lacking the pieces to be a contender and lost three straight after a promising start. 26. Seattle Kraken (2-4-1, -9. CF%: 13, xGF%: 21) There’s more work to do before they rise from the depths, but at least the Kraken are scoring. With Joey Daccord's two straight wins, he has the inside track on the starting job, and that might be the turning point for their season. 27. Anaheim Ducks (2-4-0, -3. CF%: 21, xGF%: 12) Frankly, load management for Leo Carlsson is a little ridiculous. It’s already a win for the Ducks since they’re no longer the league’s worst defensive team – not by a huge margin. Their problem now is they’re having trouble scoring. 28. Calgary Flames (2-4-1, -9. CF%: 5, xGF%: 4) Mean coach, nice coach. Good coach, bad coach. How about no coach? The Flames are playing with the same consistency as a beer league team with spotty attendance, which undermines Jacob Markstrom and Jonathan Huberdeau’s improvement from last season. 29. Montreal Canadiens (3-2-1, -3. CF%: 22, xGF%: 22) I see the record, but two of those wins were against teams below them on the power rankings, and one was against the struggling Sabres that mustered just one goal. Really, do you think the Habs won’t be in the lottery this season? 30. Washington Capitals (1-3-1, -12. CF%: 26, xGF%: 18) Alex Ovechkin fired 14 (!) shots on goal, and it still wasn’t good enough to keep the game close. That’s a big problem because nobody else on this team can score goals. Legit question: What happens first, Ovechkin tying Gretzky’s all-time goals record or the Caps making the playoffs? The Caps haven’t been this low since, well, when they drafted Ovechkin. 31. Chicago Blackhawks (2-5-0, -7. CF%: 30, xGF%: 28) They’ve lost three straight, were shut out twice and were called out by their coach for their lack of compete. We’re just two weeks into the season, by the way. Taylor Hall’s incredible streak of playing for teams that end up in lottery contention continues. 32. San Jose Sharks (0-5-1, -15. CF%: 31, xGF%: 32) The lowest number of wins by any team in the cap era in an 82-game schedule is 21, set by the 2013-14 Sabres and 2005-06 Blues. Any takers on the Sharks setting a new low? Realistically, when is their first win going to come? If they don’t beat the Caps in D.C. on Oct. 29, there’s a legitimate chance they won’t win their first game until mid-November.
