NHL Power Rankings: Killer Bs! Bruins Rise to No. 1
One week can be explained away.
Some teams play over their heads thanks to good bounces and others head in the other direction perhaps due to lingering malaise or early-season adjustments.
But once you've gotten through a couple of weeks, it's a bit more real.
Which means by this point, as two-time Super Bowl champion coach Bill Parcells used to say, "You are what your record says you are."
Recent elites like Boston, Calgary and Carolina have been joined atop the late-October NHL standings by insurgents from Ottawa, Buffalo and Philadelphia, which makes the 2022-23 regular season a continually compelling watch in a lot of places.
The B/R hockey staff took another wade into things and cast ballots before Wednesday night's games, awarding 32 points for the top team and one point for No. 32 to compile its weekly Power Rankings list. Both the movement since last week's rankings and the collection of votes are listed with each team.
Click through to see where your favorite squad wound up, and feel free to drop a thought or two of your own in the comments section.
Nos. 32-26: Canucks, Sharks, Ducks, Coyotes, Islanders, Predators, Blue Jackets
32. Vancouver Canucks (Move: -2 / Votes: 31, 32, 32, 32, 32)
It was mostly unanimous from the voting panel (and not in a good way) for the Canucks, who finished the second week of games as the league's only winless team. They're 28th in scoring and 29th in goaltending through seven games, and it won't help that forwards Curtis Lazar and Brock Boeser are now lost to injuries.
31. San Jose Sharks (Move: +1 / Votes: 32, 31, 30, 31, 31)
It's almost (but not quite) as bad in San Jose, where the Sharks are 2-2 since opening the schedule with five straight losses. Difficulty was expected with the offense, and it's materialized in the form of just 17 goals in nine games for a league-worst average of 1.89. Only one player on the team has more than four points: defenseman Erik Karlsson (6).
30. Anaheim Ducks (Move: -1 / Votes: 29, 30, 31, 30, 30)
A season-opening OT win against Seattle seems like an eternity ago for the Ducks, who followed the dramatic success with five straight losses (one in a shootout) in which they'd been outscored by a 23-9 margin in regulation. Anaheim allowed three power-play goals in a Sunday loss at Detroit and is 31st in the league with a 65.4 percent penalty kill.
29. Arizona Coyotes (Move: -3 / Votes: 30, 29, 27, 29, 28)
The Coyotes will be pleased to return to the friendly confines of their home arena at Arizona State University after starting the season 2-4 on a six-game road trip. A 6-3 win at Columbus was a quality end to the jaunt, and Arizona will host Winnipeg in its Friday debut at Mullett Arena. "Everything's brand new," winger Clayton Keller said of the team's new digs for at least the next three years. "We'll just go from there."
28. New York Islanders (Move: -14 / Votes: 27, 28, 29, 28, 29)
Wins against visiting Pacific Division foes Anaheim and San Jose were apparently a mirage because the Islanders have gone belly-up since, losing three straight through Tuesday night by a combined 12-6 margin to New Jersey, Tampa Bay and Florida. They scored 12 goals in beating the Ducks and Sharks but scored just seven times in four losses.
27. Nashville Predators (Move: -12 / Votes: 28, 27, 28, 27, 25)
Beware of falling Predators in Nashville as the team continues to struggle in North America, having lost five straight (one in a shootout) since returning from a season-opening series in Europe that yielded two wins. Coach John Hynes is tweaking his defensive pairings with an aim toward ending a stretch that's seen them allow 20 regulation goals during the losing streak.
26. Columbus Blue Jackets (Move: +2 / Votes: 26, 26, 26, 25, 27)
The offseason honeymoon may be nearing an end in Columbus, where the Blue Jackets are 2-3 through five home games in an overall 3-5 start. They were booed at Nationwide Arena during a 6-3 loss to Arizona on Tuesday. "Of course I understand it," coach Brad Larsen said of the crowd's reaction. "You kidding me? Yeah. We don't want to play like that. It's 100 percent understandable."
Nos. 25-21: Wild, Canadiens, Kraken, Jets, Kings
25. Minnesota Wild (Move: +6 / Votes: 25, 25, 24, 24, 26)
It's not an immediate return to title contention, but two wins in three games is a start for the Wild after a particularly difficult start in which they lost three straight and allowed 20 goals. The subsequent three games have seen just eight goals allowed, lowering the team's goals-against average to a slightly less atrocious 4.67.
24. Montréal Canadiens (Move: -3 / Votes: 24, 24, 25, 26, 24)
Two losses in three games, with the win coming against Arizona, didn't do the Canadiens any favors with the voters and resulted in a three-spot skid. First-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky finally broke through for his first goal in the defeat of the Coyotes but missed the subsequent two games with an upper-body injury and has not been cleared to return.
23. Seattle Kraken (Move: -1 / Votes: 23, 20, 22, 23, 22)
The schedule's second week was a welcome sight for the Kraken, who followed a 1-2-2 stretch with three straight victories, including defeats of Cup champion Colorado and surging Buffalo. Center Matty Beniers was tied for the league's rookie scoring lead with six points through eight games.
22. Winnipeg Jets (Move: +1 / Votes: 21, 22, 21, 22, 18)
Winnipeg's recipe for success is clear: sound defense and good goaltending. The Jets have outscored opponents 12-4 in their three victories and been outscored 13-4 in their three losses. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck woke up echoes of his 2019-20 Vezina win on Monday night with 25 saves in a 4-0 blanking of St. Louis.
21. Los Angeles Kings (Move: -12 / Votes: 18, 21, 20, 16, 23)
Voters feared inconsistency with the Kings, who opened with two losses, won three straight, lost another two and started a new winning streak on Tuesday over the three-time defending Eastern champs from Tampa Bay. It was L.A.'s first defeat of the Lightning since 2017, ending a 0-7-3 run that was the second-longest winless skid in the NHL between opponents.
Nos. 20-16: Lightning, Devils, Oilers, Capitals, Leafs
20. Tampa Bay Lightning (Move: -1 / Votes: 15, 23, 23, 15, 20)
It's been somewhat of an inconsistent start for the defending Eastern Conference champions, but at least Nikita Kucherov has been great, with 10 points in his first seven games of the season.
19. New Jersey Devils (Move: +6 / Votes: 22, 16, 18, 19, 14)
The Devils jumped six spots on the strength of a stretch that's included four wins in five games after an 0-2 start. A 6-2 win at Detroit was a nice one-off road trip, and the team will play twice more at home before heading to Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary in early November. Winger Jesper Bratt was tied for the league lead with 12 points through Tuesday.
18. Edmonton Oilers (Move: +2 / Votes: 16, 19, 19, 14, 17)
The Oilers have beaten Carolina and Pittsburgh (both unbeaten in regulation at the time) while losing at home to Buffalo and St. Louis. Edmonton has allowed the first goal four times and trailed in five games. The province gasped when Connor McDavid left the ice after crashing into a goalpost against the Penguins, but he returned.
17. Washington Capitals (Move: +1 / Votes: 19, 15, 15, 10, 16)
No. 17 is a moderate uptick in the rankings amid a legitimate surge for the Capitals, who've won four of five since faltering with two straight losses out of the gate. They've scored 16 times across the last three wins, and Alex Ovechkin has three goals in seven games to get to 783 and is creeping ever closer to Gordie Howe (801) for second place among all-time NHLers.
16. Toronto Maple Leafs (Move: 0 / Votes: 14, 17, 16, 7, 15)
The Maple Leafs bounced back from last week's sky-is-falling loss to Arizona with consecutive wins against Dallas and Winnipeg before falling to Vegas on Monday in game two of a five-game trip. A 2.71 goals-per-game average is a surprise considering the talent on hand, as are just two combined goals by Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner.
Nos. 15-11: Red Wings, Stars, Rangers, Sabres, Flyers
15. Detroit Red Wings (Move: -4 / Votes: 12, 10, 12, 21, 11)
A 2-0 start suddenly seems a while ago for the Red Wings, who've since lost three of four while allowing four or more goals in all three losses. Ville Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic have split six starts down the middle, but Husso has performed better, posting a .939 save percentage and 2.00 goals-against average to Nedeljkovic's .890 and 3.96
14. Dallas Stars (Move: -11/ Votes: 20, 12, 13, 13, 7)
The Stars fell hard thanks to winning just once in four games after their own 3-0 start. The offense was particularly hard to find in the losses, generating only five goals, while the season's four wins have featured 18. Goalie Jake Oettinger remains second in the league behind Buffalo's Anderson in save percentage (9.53) and goals-against average (1.41).
13. New York Rangers (Move: -9 / Votes: 7, 18, 17, 9, 13)
Winless in three games heading into Wednesday night's rivalry matchup against the Islanders, the Rangers saw Artemi Panarin's six-game points streak come to an end in Tuesday's shootout loss to the Avalanche.
12. Buffalo Sabres (Move: +5 / Votes: 9, 7, 8, 20, 19)
The Sabres lost the final leg of their Western road trip in Seattle, but don't let that take away from a strong start from a very young team. Rasmus Dahlin leads the way with nine points in six games from the blue line.
11. Philadelphia Flyers (Move: -5 / Votes: 11, 8, 9, 12, 21)
It was a similar up-or-down split on the Flyers, who were seen as a top-10 team by two voters but in the league's lower tier by another. A 3-0 start has given way to a 1-2 second week in Philadelphia, including an ugly 3-0 loss to lowly San Jose. Goalie Carter Hart is unbeaten in four starts, though, with a .949 save percentage and 1.75 goals-against average.
Nos. 10-6: Blackhawks, Panthers, Penguins, Avalanche, Senators
10. Chicago Blackhawks (Move: +17 / Votes: 17, 9, 7, 18, 10)
The Blackhawks arrived to 2022-23 expected to be among the league's doormats after sending away several established players in the offseason, but they've won four straight after an 0-2 start and scored 18 goals while doing so. Winger Tyler Johnson has six points in six games but left Tuesday's game and exited the arena in a walking boot.
9. Florida Panthers (Move: +3 / Votes: 13, 13, 11, 8, 12)
"Uneven" remains the word that best describes the Panthers, who split their last four games while scoring 11 goals and allowing 12. Rankings tumult elsewhere still yielded a three-spot jump, but Florida is still clearly trying to find itself after a busy offseason and ranks a non-elite 22nd in goals per game and 16th in goals against.
8. Pittsburgh Penguins (Move: 0 / Votes: 10, 11, 10, 11, 9)
The Penguins were 4-0-1 to start the season on the eastern side of the continent, but a trip out west hasn't been so good. Pittsburgh lost its first regulation game on Monday in Edmonton and dropped a second straight three-goal verdict in Calgary on Tuesday. Vancouver and Seattle remain on the itinerary before they return home.
7. Colorado Avalanche (Move: +3 / Votes: 8, 14, 14, 6, 6)
The defending champs haven't set the hockey world on fire quite yet in 2022-23, but they made a pitch for a spot near the top with consecutive road wins over fellow perceived elites Vegas (3-2 on Saturday) and the New York Rangers (3-2 in a shootout on Tuesday). New starter Alexandar Georgiev beat former teammate Igor Shesterkin in the latter triumph.
6. Ottawa Senators (Move: +18 / Votes: 4, 6, 4, 17, 8)
The knee-jerk crowd may have reacted to a 0-2 start in which Ottawa scored three goals, but they're quieter thanks to a four-game win streak in which the prolific Senators have netted 22 goals while allowing a manageable 11. Center Josh Norris, though, will miss two weeks with an upper-body injury.
Nos. 5-1: Blues, Hurricanes, Flames, Golden Knights, Bruins
5. St. Louis Blues (Move: +8 / Votes: 5, 5, 6, 5, 4)
The formula for the Blues has been simple: Play stingy on your own end and score when opportunities present themselves. They've scored just 11 times in four games but had a 3-1 record through Tuesday night thanks to allowing a league-low nine goals, good for a third-best 2.25 goals-against average.
4. Carolina Hurricanes (Move: -2 / Votes: 3, 4, 5, 3, 5)
A five-game western trip yielded mixed results for the Hurricanes, who won in San Jose and Seattle, lost in Edmonton and Calgary (in OT), and finished with a win at Vancouver. They return home for the New York Islanders on Friday. "They've come to play every game this year," coach Rod Brind'Amour said of his team.
3. Calgary Flames (Move: -2 / Votes: 6, 2, 3, 2, 2)
The Flames fell off the unbeaten wagon with a loss to visiting Buffalo last Thursday but climbed back among the elites with consecutive home wins over Carolina and Pittsburgh to reach 5-1 for the first time in franchise history. Both the offense and defense are among the league's top 10 in goals per game.
2. Vegas Golden Knights (Move: +5 / Votes: 2, 3, 2, 4, 3)
In case anyone had forgotten how good the Golden Knights had typically been prior to last season, here's a reminder. Their six wins and plus-10 goal differential were both tied for most in the league through Tuesday night, and no team has had a lower goals-against average (2.00).
1. Boston Bruins (Move: +4 / Votes: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)
It's good to be a Bruin these days amid a three-game win streak that's taken them to the top of the league standings. A Thursday home date with Detroit precedes a four-game trip that'll take Boston to Columbus, Pittsburgh, New York (to play the Rangers) and Toronto before they return on November 7.