NHL power rankings: Different Bruins team, same incredible dominance

Credit: © Bob DeChiara

We’re only three weeks into the NHL season, and it already feels like a lot has happened. Part of that has to do with us already getting to experience an outdoor game AND Frozen Frenzy, but it also feels like you can’t go a day in the NHL without a crazy story or result. I mean, who would have thought that the three undefeated teams would lose to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Anaheim Ducks and the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins?

Mike Gould and I continue on capturing the chaos with another week of co-op power rankings. I have my same old system which I aggregate six stats (points %, 5-on-5 goal differential, 5-on-5 xGF/60, 5-on-5 xGA/60, power play xGF/60, and shorthanded xGA/60, all coming courtesy of Natural Stat Trick) to come up with a list that eliminates my own biases, along with a rule that no team can be above a team that’s more than five points ahead of them in the standings, regardless of where the aggregate places them. On the other hand, Mike goes off his own intellect and pure vibes, and together we find a way to combine it and meet in the middle.

1. Boston Bruins

Record: 7-0-1, +14
Last Week: 3rd (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 2nd
Scott’s Rank: 1st

Mike: Boston doesn’t much care who you are. They’ll get a point from you, no matter what. David Pastrnak didn’t need that stinkin’ Patrice Bergeron, anyway. He has eight goals and 13 points in eight games while being centered by Pavel Zacha. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Matt Poitras still looks like the best bet to occupy the No. 2 spot down the middle. Why not?

2. Vegas Golden Knights

Record: 8-0-1, +15
Last Week: 1st (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 1st
Scott’s Rank: 4th

Scott: Mike is being very basic with his #1 pick, opting with the guys at the top of the standings even though they currently have a negative shot attempt and expected goal share at 5v5 so far this year. It’s not by a large margin, and it doesn’t mean that they’re bad, it just also means that I wouldn’t call them the best team right now.

Mike: Expected by exactly whom?

3. Colorado Avalanche

Record: 6-2-0, +8
Last Week: 2nd (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 3rd
Scott’s Rank: 2nd

Mike: After winning six in a row to start the year, the Avs dropped back-to-back 4-0 decisions to the Pittsburgh Penguins (sure, I guess) and the Buffalo Sabres (oh dear). No, the sky isn’t falling in Denver, but you can bet Nathan MacKinnon will be extra motivated to get back on the board Wednesday against St. Louis after being outscored 5-0 at 5-on-5 in the two shutout losses.

4. New York Rangers

Record: 6-2-0, +9
Last Week: 8th (+4)
Mike’s Rank: 5th
Scott’s Rank: 3rd

Scott: There’s no better way to move yourself up a list than by winning four games in a row! The Kraken game to start the streak was really the only one where they actually played well to get the win, but both Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick have been up to the task so far this season.

5. Dallas Stars

Record: 4-1-1, +2
Last Week: 4th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 7th
Scott’s Rank: 6th

Mike: Dallas still hasn’t played many games, but they remain one of the best bets to represent the Central Division in the Stanley Cup Final. Still, there’s a lot of hockey left to play before they can get there, and they’ll want to avoid showings like their 4-1 loss to Toronto on Thursday in which they were stymied by Leafs rookie Joseph Woll. I wonder if the Stars will look to bring up sizzling AHL scorer Logan Stankoven to add a bit more offense into their lineup?

6. New Jersey Devils

Record: 5-2-1, +3
Last Week: 12th (+6)
Mike’s Rank: 4th
Scott’s Rank: 10th

Scott: I’m still a bit lower on the Devils than Mike, but that’s mostly because they’ve been outscored at 5v5 and their penalty kill has been a bit rough. Despite that, the Devils are still 5-2-1, so once they figure those few things out they’ll be unstoppable, especially with Jack Hughes playing the way he is right now.

Mike: Tyler Toffoli scores wherever he goes, and he’s right back at it with these Devils. Seven goals in eight games!

7. Los Angeles Kings

Record: 4-2-2, +5
Last Week: 9th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 10th
Scott’s Rank: 5th

Mike: I’ve been a bit of a skeptic of these Kings in the past, but they really looked the part of a threatening playoff contender in their two wins over the Coyotes last week. They showed terrific resilience after falling behind 4-1 at Mullett Arena on Friday, really taking over the game after ex-Kings D Sean Durzi gave the ‘Yotes their three-goal lead midway through the first. Drew Doughty was dangerous every time he touched the puck in that one.

8. Detroit Red Wings

Record: 5-3-1, +8
Last Week: 5th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 8th
Scott’s Rank: 8th

Scott: The Wings cooled off a bit last week, dropping all three games to the Kraken, Jets, and Bruins. They weren’t going to score four goals a game forever, but a hot start in the Atlantic Division is key with all the moving pieces.

9. Carolina Hurricanes

Record: 5-4-0, -1
Last Week: 6th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 11th
Scott’s Rank: 9th

Mike: The Hurricanes haven’t exactly lit the world on fire in the early goings of the season, although Teuvo Teravainen is off to a fantastic start with seven goals in eight games. Carolina’s five wins this season have come against Ottawa, Seattle, L.A. and San Jose (twice), so we still don’t really have a book on what this iteration of the team can do. We’ll get a better sense of that when they take on the two New York teams this week.

10. Tampa Bay Lightning

Record: 4-2-2, +5
Last Week: 19th (+9)
Mike’s Rank: 9th
Scott’s Rank: 12th

Scott: I kept saying that I was ranking the Lightning based on how they were playing, and not how I think they will when everyone’s healthy through the first two weeks, and now they’re actually playing well anyways. Well, their 5v5 play is still quite suspect, but they’ve masked it up a bit better so far.

Mike: Still waiting to see why the Lightning gave up what they did for Tanner Jeannot. He now has two goals in 28 games over parts of two seasons in T-Bay.

11. Toronto Maple Leafs

Record: 5-2-1, +5
Last Week: 7th (-4)
Mike’s Rank: 6th
Scott’s Rank: 16th

Mike: Remember when everyone was aghast at the prospect of Kyle Dubas giving William Nylander nearly $7 million a year? Hah, how quaint. Willy is a terrific player in normal times, but he’s taking full advantage of it being his contract year right now. He is that team’s pulse.

Scott: Honestly well deserved too after all the criticism he’s been put through despite being the only Leaf to consistently show up in the playoffs.

12. Pittsburgh Penguins

Record: 3-5-0, -2
Last Week: 10th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 15th
Scott’s Rank: 7th

Scott: I’m probably a bit too high on the Penguins, but it’s still too early in the season for a team’s record to really affect my judgment, especially when the Pens offense has generated a ton of chances at 5v5 and on the power play. That said, their defense hasn’t been great, and that’s cost them a lot early on.

13. Vancouver Canucks

Record: 5-2-1, +12
Last Week: 23rd (+10)
Mike’s Rank: 13th
Scott’s Rank: 13th

Mike: Putting Vancouver over Florida still feels … wrong, but it’s deserved at this point. Everything finally seems to be coming together out west, with that talented group of forwards finally coalescing to become a consistent offensive juggernaut. And to think Elias Pettersson only has two goals so far! But the one guy who does still stick out on the wrong end of things is Conor Garland, who has not scored since tallying this Canucks team’s very first goal back in the season opener. Something eventually has to give there. Say … Garland to Washington for Anthony Mantha?

Scott: To be fair, Vancouver and Florida are literally tied for our picks, and Vancouver won the tie breaker, so that’s the only reason they are ahead.

Mike: …. Expected by exactly whom?

Scott: Sigh…

14. Florida Panthers

Record: 4-3-0, 0
Last Week: 15th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 12th
Scott’s Rank: 14th

Scott: The Panthers won both of their games last week, and suddenly they’re looking a bit better, especially because they’ve managed to stay afloat while waiting on Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour. Sam Reinhart’s played a big role in that with seven goals in seven games thus far.

15. Philadelphia Flyers

Record: 4-3-1, +3
Last Week: 16th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 18th
Scott’s Rank: 11th

Mike: And in the end, it really was A New Era of Orange after all. Carter Hart looks great, Cam Atkinson is scoring in bunches, and Sean Couturier legitimately might take over Patrice Bergeron’s mantle of being the “default Selke Trophy winner unless proven otherwise.” Also, Bobby Brink is so much fun to watch.

16. New York Islanders

Record: 4-2-1, -1
Last Week: 14th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 14th
Scott’s Rank: 19th

Scott: I don’t think I’d consider this Isles team to be in the top half of the league at the moment, especially when they’ve been bleeding scoring chances and their whole schtick is to not do that. Even Ilya Sorokin has only been good, not great, and that’s the guy they need to be great if they want any chance of competing.

17. Montreal Canadiens

Record: 5-2-1, -1
Last Week: 20th (+3)
Mike’s Rank: 19th
Scott’s Rank: 15th

Mike: Sean Monahan is turning back into a No. 1 center before our very eyes, and it’s a sight to behold. Cole Caufield keeps chugging along as one of the most exciting young players to watch in the entire league. But on the other end of that spectrum, Juraj Slafkovsky remains stuck at just one point in eight games as a sophomore. That pick was questionable to begin with and it isn’t out of the question that Slafkovsky ends up heading to the AHL at some point this year. Not ideal.

18. Edmonton Oilers

Record: 2-5-1, -10
Last Week: 18th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 20th
Scott’s Rank: 17th

Scott: The Oilers’ brief stretch with Connor McDavid out with an injury and Leon Draisaitl leading the team went exactly as expected, with the Oilers playing mediocre hockey and Draisaitl getting just two secondary assists in that span. McDavid’s value showed on Sunday with the Oilers immediately looking like their old selves when he returned to the Heritage Classic against their provincial rivals.

Mike: I still want to see the Oilers look that good in a game against a team that isn’t a tire fire, but it was an intriguing step forward.

19. Winnipeg Jets

Record: 4-3-1, -1
Last Week: 22nd (+3)
Mike’s Rank: 16th
Scott’s Rank: 23rd

Mike: The Jets have points in four consecutive games, but they haven’t exactly been going up against the best opponents. They were flat-out goalie’d by Jake Allen in their 4-3 shootout loss to the Canadiens on Saturday, managing three goals on 45 shots in the frustrating setback. They blew a 3-1 lead to lose that one. Not great!

20. Ottawa Senators

Record: 4-4-0, +6
Last Week: 13th (-7)
Mike’s Rank: 21st
Scott’s Rank: 20th

Scott: If we did a Clown Rankings all season, I would’ve expected the Blue Jackets to run away with it with how their season began, but the Senators have somehow caught up in only a month with the sports wagering suspension to Shane Pinto and the rumors of Pierre Dorion getting fired. And somehow amongst all this, D.J. Smith still has his job even though the Sens are off to a slow start again and look horrendous defensively.

Mike: Remember when Brian Burke described the Leafs as an “18-wheeler going off a cliff”? I don’t think these Sens are that bad on the ice, but all the noise around Dorion and a potential punishment for the Evgenii Dadonov NTC debacle from a couple years ago brought that phrase back into my mind.

21. Nashville Predators

Record: 4-4-0, +2
Last Week: 11th (-10)
Mike’s Rank: 23rd
Scott’s Rank: 18th

Mike: There still just isn’t much to get excited about in Nashville. They’re not good enough to be good, but Juuse Saros should prevent them from making a high draft pick. That’s what we in the business call “purgatory.”

22. Minnesota Wild

Record: 3-4-2, -6
Last Week: 26th (+4)
Mike’s Rank: 17th
Scott’s Rank: 29th

Scott: Mike, are we watching the same Wild team? They’ve been consistently walked all over so far this season, and it’s not like they’re off to a hot start to mask it either. There’s still plenty of room for improvement, especially with Matt Boldy close to a return, but they’re looking more and more like a team that has almost a fifth of its cap space allocated to two players not on the roster.

Mike: Kirill Kaprizov has to be better than he’s shown thus far. I still think the Wild will be a playoff team once their goaltenders come around, but it hasn’t been pretty to start.

23. Anaheim Ducks

Record: 4-4-0, +1
Last Week: 28th (+5)
Mike’s Rank: 27th
Scott’s Rank: 21st

Mike: Frank “The Tank” Vatrano has had a ridiculous start to the season, netting eight goals in eight games and picking up his second hat trick of the young campaign in Anaheim’s highly entertaining 7-4 win over the Flyers on Saturday. On the flip side, Trevor Zegras hasn’t really look like himself at all, managing just two points in eight games to start the year. Maybe that protracted extension negotiation wasn’t the best idea …

24. Buffalo Sabres

Record: 4-5-0, 0
Last Week: 27th (+3)
Mike’s Rank: 24th
Scott’s Rank: 24th

Scott: It still hasn’t been a nightmare for the Sabres to start the year, but there’s only so long they can go playing .500 hockey before they find themselves in the same spot as last season. At the very least, Tage Thompson is starting to play like Tage Thompson again, with three goals and five points in his last three games.

25. Arizona Coyotes

Record: 3-4-0, 0
Last Week: 17th (-8)
Mike’s Rank: 22nd
Scott’s Rank: 27th

Mike: The Coyotes showed flashes of brilliance in their two games against the Kings last week, but they came away with zero points. Not great. Logan Cooley is still working his way through some early growing pains, but he’ll have an opportunity to strut his stuff on Monday when the Coyotes play host to Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks at Mullett Arena.

26. Washington Capitals

Record: 4-3-1, -7
Last Week: 29th (+3)
Mike’s Rank: 26th
Scott’s Rank: 26th

Scott: The Caps really took my comments from last week to heart, as they came storming out of the gate with a game against the Leafs that they probably could have won if Joseph Woll wasn’t playing out of his mind, and then followed that up with three straight wins to start looking competent. Their underlying numbers still don’t look great, but hey, Alex Ovechkin finally has a couple goals, so they’re accomplishing what they need to.

27. Columbus Blue Jackets

Record: 3-3-2, -5
Last Week: 24th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 30th
Scott’s Rank: 22nd

Mike: Bad news: Columbus lost all three of its games last week. Worse news: They lost those games to Anaheim, Montreal, and the Islanders. Johnny Gaudreau is stuck at just four assists in eight games to start his second season in Ohio. That’s not the best news for a guy making $9.75 million a year who just turned 30 in August. And it’s not limited to Johnny Hockey — youngsters Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger have both struggled terribly to begin the year.

28. Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 3-5-0, -6
Last Week: 30th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 25th
Scott’s Rank: 28th

Scott: The Blackhawks were handed a tough start to their schedule, as five of their first eight games came against the three teams that went unbeaten for so long in the Golden Knights, Avalanche, and Bruins, but they finally beat one of them the fifth time around with an overtime win over Vegas. Connor Bedard still hasn’t quite broken out with only two goals in his last five games, but he’s also sixth in the league in individual expected goals so far, so the offense will come soon.

Mike: Bedard will score two against Arizona on Monday. Book it.

29. Calgary Flames

Record: 2-6-1, -15
Last Week: 21st (-8)
Mike’s Rank: 29th
Scott’s Rank: 25th

Mike: These Flames are quickly turning into a disaster. Given that they’re one of just two active NHL teams to never make a top-three draft pick (Vegas is the other), their fans would probably welcome a last-place finish. Calgary hockey fans are practically begging for a chance to rally around a young star prospect. It just remains to be seen if the team will elect to go down that road. It’s hard to imagine Flames management could look at this year’s team and decide to double down on their pending UFAs.

30. St. Louis Blues

Record: 3-3-1, -6
Last Week: 25th (-5)
Mike’s Rank: 28th
Scott’s Rank: 30th

Scott: The Blues were a team that sacrificed defense in order to be one of the best offensive teams in the league just two seasons ago, and now what’s mostly the same team this season is the worst in the league at generating expected goals. Not exactly a recipe for success.

Mike: Maybe Joel Hofer can pull a Binnington? Probably not, but it’s fun to imagine good ol’ Jordan getting a taste of his own medicine.

31. Seattle Kraken

Record: 2-5-2, -11
Last Week: 31st (0)
Mike’s Rank: 31st
Scott’s Rank: 31st

Mike: After being the biggest surprise playoff team last year, the Kraken have reverted to their inaugural form — which is to say, awful. They can’t score or defend. Matty Beniers is off to a tough start, Andre Burakovsky is hurt (again), and Philipp Grubauer is rocking a dismal .882 save percentage. At least Joey Daccord has been good in spot duty. But still, it’s hard to imagine this Seattle team going anywhere fast.

32. San Jose Sharks

Record: 0-8-1, -26
Last Week: 32nd (0)
Mike’s Rank: 32nd
Scott’s Rank: 32nd

Scott: I know everyone expected the Sharks to be the worst team this season, but I still don’t think I expected them to be this bad. They ranked last in half of the stats I use to judge teams, and they’re now two games away from tying the record for most losses to start a season. If it’s any consolation, their next two games are against the Canucks and Penguins, and they both provide enough of a chaos factor that I could see them gifting the Sharks their first win.

Mike: Remember when Colorado finished with 48 points back in 2017? I think that’s the ceiling for this Sharks team. They are so, so bad.

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