NHL power rankings: Seattle Kraken rise with nine-game point streak and Winter Classic win
Did you miss us? Mike and I decided to take a bit of a break like the NHL and the rest of you did over the holidays, and the way it lined up this year means we even got an extra day. But now we’re back, so be prepared to endure our horrendous takes and yell at us just like normal.
Mike Gould and I continue to navigate through the results so far with another week of our 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: 22-7-6, +23
Last Week: 2nd (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 1st
Scott’s Rank: 2nd
Mike: There are no circumstances under which the Bruins should still be this good without Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. Has Jeremy Jacobs been practicing the dark arts? That’s the only rational explanation for Trent Frederic, of all people, leading the Bruins past the Red Wings on New Years’ Eve.
Scott: To be fair, since their 14-1-3 start, they’re only 8-6-3, and that’s including their current three-game winning streak.
2. New York Rangers
Record: 25-9-1, +26
Last Week: 3rd (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 2nd
Scott’s Rank: 3rd
Scott: Yeah, yeah, the Rangers are still good, they’ve won six of their last eight games, Artemi Panarin continues to be insane, what else is new? In more important news, the New York PWHL team (which still doesn’t have an official nickname yet) just won the first game in PWHL history with a 4-0 win over Toronto! Most surprisingly, the New York hockey team has an excellent goalie, that’s never happened before.
3. Florida Panthers
Record: 22-12-2, +14
Last Week: 7th (+4)
Mike’s Rank: 6th
Scott’s Rank: 1st
Mike: I don’t dislike these Panthers, but I’ll admit I’m a little nonplussed as to why Scott decided to rank them in first place above so many more proven teams. I get it, they’ve won four in a row even while Matthew Tkachuk continues to struggle, but I’m still really skeptical of this team’s depth and I don’t like their chances as much as other contenders if a guy like Sam Reinhart slows down or gets hurt. I dunno.
Scott: I put them in first because I think they’re the best team. Or at least, they’re the only team to finish in the top 10 for every category I use for my list.
4. Los Angeles Kings
Record: 20-8-5, +36
Last Week: 4th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 4th
Scott’s Rank: 4th
Scott: The Kings aren’t quite as hot as they were to start the year, but even then a 4-4-2 record in their last 10 games is far from a catastrophe. Cam Talbot continues to look pretty good in the crease for L.A., although he’s dropped off from the elite play he was putting up earlier in the year, which makes you wonder how long he can keep this up.
5. Colorado Avalanche
Record: 23-11-3, +23
Last Week: 6th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 3rd
Scott’s Rank: 7th
Mike: The Avs held the Sharks to just 11 shots on goal in their clash on New Years’ Eve. I get the qualms about this team’s weaknesses in goal and down the middle, but those can be rectified with a couple successful trade calls; in the meantime, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen continue to exist. Put Elias Lindholm on this team and they might win another Cup.
6. Vegas Golden Knights
Record: 22-11-5, +21
Last Week: 1st (-5)
Mike’s Rank: 5th
Scott’s Rank: 8th
Scott: Since we last left the Golden Knights, they have just one win in their last six games, and now have the honor of being the first team in Winter Classic history to get shut out. Luckily for them, the Canucks haven’t really played much over the holidays, so they’re both still tied for the division lead.
Mike: Nobody in the Pacific is playing overwhelmingly well at this point but I’m starting to think the Knights are emulating the mid-2010s Kings by saving up all their energy for the playoffs (as long as they get in).
7. Dallas Stars
Record: 22-9-4, +21
Last Week: 9th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 7th
Scott’s Rank: 6th
Mike: The Stars looked like the Stars while the Blackhawks looked like, well, the Blackhawks on New Years’ Eve when Dallas cruised to an 8-1 win. The depth this team has is just unreal. I was telling Scott the other day about how they lead the league in 20-point scorers, and it really shines through in how they’re able to wear their opponents down with three terrific forward lines. This team is overdue for a championship, methinks — especially while Joe Pavelski is still this good.
8. Carolina Hurricanes
Record: 20-13-4, +7
Last Week: 11th (+3)
Mike’s Rank: 9th
Scott’s Rank: 5th
Scott: While I wouldn’t say the Canes have completely figured things out yet, they’re finally starting to put some points and wins together with a 6-1-3 record in their last 10 games. In that same stretch of time, Sebastian Aho has 20 points, which leads all NHLers.
9. Vancouver Canucks
Record: 23-10-3, +43
Last Week: 5th (-4)
Mike’s Rank: 8th
Scott’s Rank: 9th
Mike: I hate to be the bearer of bad news about a certain Russian bear, but Nikita Zadorov hasn’t exactly been the greatest fit in Vancouver. He’s still a bit too much of an adventure to be a true top-four guy. Even so, the Canucks just keep winning. They piled up eight victories in December and are right there among the top teams in the Western Conference, even if they’re not quite running the table to the same extent they were early on.
10. Winnipeg Jets
Record: 22-9-4, +29
Last Week: 12th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 10th
Scott’s Rank: 11th
Scott: Mike and I continue to not be fully sold on this Jets team, even with wins in four of their last five and six of their last eight. If it’s any consolation, I like their play at even strength right now, but their underlying numbers on the power play and penalty kill are BRUTAL. Quite a weird twist of narratives for a team that usually struggles at even strength.
Mike: Surprise, surprise: Connor Hellebuyck looks like the best goalie in the world. You can go pretty far when you have a guy like that. But the rest of this Jets team is just OK.
11. Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 19-12-5, +10
Last Week: 10th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 11th
Scott’s Rank: 10th
Mike: I don’t think I’m alone when I say I still have no idea who these guys are. I like Sean Couturier as much as anyone but is his return really enough to power this Flyers team to a real run? Are these Flyers even a playoff team? Will they take a divisional spot? Will Travis Konecny cool off? If anything, I’ve detected John Tortorella becoming slightly more ornery of late — but is that even a bad thing? No clue. Ask me in two months.
12. Toronto Maple Leafs
Record: 17-10-7, +6
Last Week: 8th (-4)
Mike’s Rank: 12th
Scott’s Rank: 14th
Scott: Just when things were starting to settle down in Toronto with a blowout win against their former GM, the Leafs have gone and lost five of their last six, including some ugly losses to bad teams like the Sabres, Sens, and Blue Jackets. Some of that has been due to the goaltending though, so with Ilya Samsonov down in the minors and Dennis Hildeby up on the big team to back up Martin Jones, it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out until Joseph Woll returns. If Hildeby can continue his play from the SHL and AHL, it would be interesting to see the Leafs have a tandem of two young goalies that they drafted after not having a homegrown goalie since what, James Reimer? Tuukka Rask? Felix Potvin?
13. Pittsburgh Penguins
Record: 18-13-4, +14
Last Week: 20th (+7)
Mike’s Rank: 14th
Scott’s Rank: 12th
Mike: After losing four consecutive games to kick off December, the Penguins responded by picking up points in eight of nine leading into the new year. Sidney Crosby is ageless, Kris Letang might be too, and Jake Guentzel is going nuclear in a contract year (surprise, surprise). What’ll be really interesting to see is whether the Penguins elect to move Guentzel if they’re on the playoff bubble leading into the deadline.
Scott: As someone who’s followed most of Kyle Dubas’ professional hockey managerial career, I can say that if the Pens are anywhere close to the playoffs, he will not.
14. New Jersey Devils
Record: 19-14-2, -4
Last Week: 15th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 15th
Scott’s Rank: 13th
Scott: The Devils just keep being… average. 5-4-1 in their last 10, and that’s with a recent three-game winning streak making them look better. At the very least, Timo Meier briefly rediscovered that he could score with a three-game goal streak a few games ago, and Luke Hughes also recently went off with a three-game goal streak. Yes, you read that right, Luke Hughes, not Jack.
Mike: If I’m Tom Fitzgerald, I’m calling up Flames GM Craig Conroy every day asking for a package deal to get Jacob Markstrom and Chris Tanev. It makes so much sense.
15. Arizona Coyotes
Record: 19-14-2, +11
Last Week: 19th (+4)
Mike’s Rank: 13th
Scott’s Rank: 16th
Mike: It is so much fun to see the Coyotes firmly in the thick of the playoff race at this point in the season. It’s an incredible testament to this team’s depth that they’ve been able to survive in the Western Conference playoff picture for so long without their top-line center in Barrett Hayton. I also think it’s about time we start showing more respect to Connor Ingram and Karel Vejmelka as one of the league’s top tandems. Add another top-four defenseman to this group and you’re cooking.
16. Nashville Predators
Record: 20-16-1, 0
Last Week: 13th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 16th
Scott’s Rank: 15th
Scott: Nashville seems to be the Flyers of the Western Conference in that nobody expected them to be good enough to hang around in the playoff race, and yet here they still are. That said, they did have a three-game losing streak before sneaking out a 3-2 win over the Caps to finish off last week, so any lead they had in the Wildcard race has evaporated.
17. Tampa Bay Lightning
Record: 18-15-5, -6
Last Week: 17th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 18th
Scott’s Rank: 18th
Mike: I always chuckle a little bit when Scott and I both agree on where a team should be ranked but they end up coming in higher or lower in the aggregate. These Bolts are tough to get a read on. I don’t think enough people are considering just how likely it is that Steven Stamkos is in the midst of his final season in Tampa Bay. Man, they’d get a haul if they moved him at the deadline … not unlike how they sent Marty St. Louis packing in the midst of their competitive window back in 2014. Get some top assets back and start building around Brayden Point? Hmmmmmmmm.
Scott: I think how split we are on the next two teams will explain exactly why the Lightning ranked higher than both of us wanted. Also, did you really just say “build around Brayden Point” while Nikita Kucherov is leading the league in scoring and not even three years older than him?
Mike: Him, too.
18. Washington Capitals
Record: 17-11-6, -18
Last Week: 14th (-4)
Mike’s Rank: 21st
Scott’s Rank: 17th
Scott: It still feels weird that we have to treat each Alex Ovechkin goal these days as an announcement and not as a normal day in hockey. I knew he was under-achieving but how does he only have seven in 34 games?!? The rest of the team has finally caught up to the play of their captain, as they are currently riding a four-game losing streak.
19. Edmonton Oilers
Record: 18-15-1, +13
Last Week: 21st (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 17th
Scott’s Rank: 21st
Mike: It has always seemed at least somewhat inevitable that the Oilers would rebound and shoot back up the standings, but … even then, I’m not sure if they’re as good as last year. Even with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl having their best seasons ever, the Oilers couldn’t get out of the second round of the playoffs. It was Colorado in 2022 and Vegas in 2023. Will it be Dallas in 2024? Either way, losing to the eventual champs isn’t a good enough excuse for a team this skilled.
20. New York Islanders
Record: 17-10-9, -9
Last Week: 16th (-4)
Mike’s Rank: 19th
Scott’s Rank: 20th
Scott: Oh wait, I finally get to talk about the Isles? I can finally do the thing! Hold on, give me a second, I prepared for this…*extremely Mike Gould voice* It’s the Islanders. Who cares?
Mike: Just going to take this opportunity to say I really like Brock Nelson and think he should make Team USA in the next big international hockey tournament.
21. Seattle Kraken
Record: 15-14-9, -12
Last Week: 26th (+5)
Mike’s Rank: 20th
Scott’s Rank: 19th
Mike: The Kraken generally are not a particularly compelling team, but they put their best foot forward in their 3-0 shutout victory over the Golden Knights in the Winter Classic on Monday. Seattle would actually be one of my preferred landing spots for Macklin Celebrini — it’s a cool market and they don’t have much else in the pipeline — but they’re probably too good (read: mid) to get him. C’est la vie.
22. Minnesota Wild
Record: 16-15-4, -3
Last Week: 22nd (0)
Mike’s Rank: 22nd
Scott’s Rank: 22nd
Scott: The Wild can’t seem to catch a break this season. After finally turning things around and winning seven of their last eight games, they dropped back-to-back games against a Jets team that they probably want to catch up to, and lost both Kirill Kaprizov and Filip Gustavsson to injuries. Marc-Andre Fleury may have hit game #1,000 this weekend, but he’s going to need to play like he did around game #150 these next couple weeks.
23. St. Louis Blues
Record: 18-17-1, -13
Last Week: 25th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 23rd
Scott’s Rank: 26th
Mike: I refuse to watch or pay close attention to these Blues unless A) one of my favorite teams is playing them or B) I suspect I might have to write about them in these Power Rankings, which is actually a possibility every week. As a result, I’ve watched much more of these Blues than I’ve wanted to this year. Robert Thomas has been fantastic to watch in the games I’ve seen, but there aren’t many others playing up to his standard. It’s tough hockey to watch.
24. Detroit Red Wings
Record: 17-16-4, +4
Last Week: 18th (-6)
Mike’s Rank: 26th
Scott’s Rank: 24th
Scott: 3-9-1 in the Patrick Kane era for the Wings. It’s funny how that’s played out because Kane actually hasn’t played that badly himself, the team just hasn’t done well since he got here. They’re still in the playoff race for the time-being, largely because no one in the Atlantic Division has gone on a run recently, but they’ve been playing themselves out of one lately.
Mike: I’m not going to say anything here.
25. Calgary Flames
Record: 15-16-5, -13
Last Week: 23rd (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 27th
Scott’s Rank: 23rd
Mike: Jonathan Huberdeau had exactly one point in the month of December, and it came on New Years’ Eve. Awesome. If it’s any consolation, both Nazem Kadri and Jacob Markstrom have been pretty great in recent times and the Flames actually look well positioned to make a high draft pick for the first time in forever. But it kind of feels like everyone involved wants a do-over on that Huberdeau contract — except Allan Walsh.
26. Buffalo Sabres
Record: 15-19-4, -21
Last Week: 27th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 25th
Scott’s Rank: 25th
Scott: Speaking of Atlantic teams that haven’t really done much lately, the Sabres have been as back-and-forth as it comes. Not only are they playing .500 hockey for most of the last month, they even alternated nine-goal games, allowing nine to the Blue Jackets before scoring nine on the Maple Leafs the very next game.
27. Montreal Canadiens
Record: 15-16-5, -23
Last Week: 24th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 24th
Scott’s Rank: 27th
Mike: Look, I get why Johnathan Kovacevic’s goal against the Lightning on New Years’ Eve counted, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. What a mess. Regardless, it’s great to see Juraj Slafkovsky starting to pick up a few more points, and I’m not sure if enough people are talking about Nick Suzuki actually starting to look like a bona fide No. 1 center in this league. These Habs still badly need a top forward prospect but they’re in a better spot than they were six months ago.
Scott: I loved that goal, the Lightning completely played themselves and their in-house DJ. Not the Habs fault.
28. Ottawa Senators
Record: 14-18-0, -1
Last Week: 28th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 28th
Scott’s Rank: 28th
Scott: Entering tonight’s match, the Sens will begin a stretch of 50 games in 106 days to finish out the year. That’s quite the busy schedule, I’m sure that will take a toll on the team. It’s a good thing they made good use of their lighter schedule to start the year and put themselves in a strong position for a playoff spot, right?
29. Columbus Blue Jackets
Record: 12-18-8, -21
Last Week: 29th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 29th
Scott’s Rank: 29th
Mike: Adam Fantilli has been absolutely tearing it up of late, and it’s been a sight to behold. The rookie center is already up to 11 goals in 38 games with the Blue Jackets this year, putting him in third on the team (Kirill Marchenko and Boone Jenner both have 13). The bad news: Zach Werenski is hurt. Again.
Scott: The injury luck this team has had the past couple years is making me wonder if this team is just so cursed that they need to fold the franchise to save everyone involved from further torture.
30. Anaheim Ducks
Record: 13-23-0, -29
Last Week: 30th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 30th
Scott’s Rank: 31st
Scott: The Ducks, the Ducks, what can I say about the Ducks? Um… it’s nice that Leo Carlsson’s injury isn’t nearly as bad as it was first thought to be! Although it will cause a bit of trouble with the Ducks’ plan to build his body up for an 82-game schedule. And I guess Trevor Zegras did a good job of distracting me from the fact that the team has lost their last five games by scoring another lacrosse goal!
31. Chicago Blackhawks
Record: 11-23-2, -50
Last Week: 32nd (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 31st
Scott’s Rank: 30th
Mike: If the Hawks don’t get Macklin Celebrini at this year’s draft, I’m genuinely not sure what they’re going to do. Connor Bedard is already living up to the enormous expectations that have bestowed upon him since he was 15, but the rest of this Blackhawks roster is flat-out horrendous. Lukas Reichel can’t seem to find his way under Luke Richardson. At least Frank Nazar is having an electric World Juniors, even if his tenure at Michigan has been a bit up and down. But the Hawks need way more.
32. San Jose Sharks
Record: 9-25-3, -78
Last Week: 31st (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 32nd
Scott’s Rank: 32nd
Scott: Ah yes, welcome back to the bottom of the rankings, San Jose, you were dearly missed. That little stretch of good play was nice, but now they’re back to being utterly hopeless having lost nine games in a row. Not to worry though, they have back-to-back games against the Leafs this and next week, so that seems like a shoe-in for them to get at least one win.
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