NHL Power Rankings: Highlights and lowlights of Week 1

The first week of the season has some surprises for the NHL power rankings. Don’t worry, though, as these trends will catch up with everyone.

Happy Thursday everyone, welcome back to the NHL power rankings and highlights (plus lowlights) of the week. We go through each team’s week briefly, giving a highlight and a lowlight from each team. This is a day late, so it doesn’t include Wednesday night’s games.

Considering this is the first week of the season, and most teams have played between two and four games so far, small sample size takes over, especially so combined with the fact that these rankings are based on mathematical merit. Luck plays a huge factor across the board, with teams having unsustainably high shooting percentages or save percentages.

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Teams are jumping around places they shouldn’t ordinarily be, and one game changes so much (as you’ll see with one of the biggest shocks on the list so far). Some teams who have won are worse than some that haven’t yet.

So while these rankings are telling on how the week went, they can easily be mitigated after Week 2. So take everything with a grain of salt, don’t all ask for my head in the comments. I know someone will.

NHL Power Rankings

1. Carolina Hurricanes (4-0-0, +5 Goal Differential)
Last week: 8

Highlight: The Storm Surge is back!

Lowlight: This goal by Jesperi Kotkaniemi showing patience and hands to tie the game at 2.

2. Anaheim Ducks (3-0-0, +5 GD)
Last Week: 26

Highlight: Cam Fowler’s beauty of a goal against the Coyotes, his first of two that night.

Lowlight: Nothing…yet.

3. Edmonton Oilers (3-0-0, +5 GD)
Last Week: 27

Highlight: Big Game James Neal scoring twice against the Kings, then four more against the Islanders, proving the Oilers already won the Neal for Lucic trade.

Lowlight: Mike Smith’s adventures out of the crease led to not one, but two Kings goals in the first period of that game.

4. Buffalo Sabres (2-0-1, +6 GD)
Last Week: 28

Highlight: Their power play clicked six times out of ten so far, which is ridiculously high.

Lowlight: Getting outshot 44-18 by Columbus, despite picking up an OTL point.

5. Boston Bruins (3-0-0, +3 GD)
Last Week: 3

Highlight: Jaroslav Halak blanking the Coyotes.

Lowlight: Jack Edwards’ comments on Roman Polak as he got injured and stretchered off the ice, calling it “bad hockey karma”.

6. Colorado Avalanche (2-0-0, +4 GD)
Last Week: 12

Highlight: Mikko Rantanen turning everything he touched to gold, with three goals in the first couple of games.

Lowlight: Team execs seem to be having trouble with their TV deal, so their games were pulled from certain cable providers temporarily. Ouch.

7. Vegas Golden Knights (2-1-0, +6 GD)
Last Week: 4

Highlight: Cody Glass became the first Golden Knight draft pick to score a goal in the NHL on opening night.

Lowlight: There was a stretch between mid-first and early second against Boston where the Bruins scored four quick goals, which is not good.

8. Toronto Maple Leafs (2-1-1, +4 GD)
Last Week: 2

Highlight: Auston Matthews once again putting in multiple goals on opening night, wresting away the lead for good from Ottawa.

Lowlight: Kasperi Kapanen’s brain fart of throwing his broken stick at puck carrier Jeff Petry, giving the Canadiens a penalty shot (which they, of course, scored on) to tie the game with seven minutes to go in the third.

9. Washington Capitals (2-0-2, Even GD)
Last Week: 9

Highlight: Jakub Vrana’s OT winner against the Blues, ruining opening night in St. Louis.

Lowlight: Devon Toews’ pinball wizard goal that hit four Capitals on it’s way into the net.

10. New York Rangers (2-0-0, +5 GD)
Last Week: 24

Highlight: Mika Zibanejad’s hat trick against his old team, Ottawa.

Lowlight: Lias Andersson tripping over a camera wire during opening night introductions.

11. Nashville Predators (2-1-0, +4 GD)
Last Week: 6

Highlight: Matt Duchene getting three assists in his Predators debut.

Lowlight: Anthony Mantha’s goal breaking through the defense to give the Wings an early 2-0 lead.

12. St. Louis Blues (2-0-1, +1 GD)
Last Week: 5

Highlight: Lifting that big championship banner.

Lowlight: Getting out-played by the Capitals that night, with the shot attempts 48-22 Capitals between the second period through OT.

13. Detroit Red Wings (2-1-0, +1 GD)
Last Week: 30

Highlight: Anthony Mantha putting in four goals, including the game-winner in the last minute against Dallas.

Lowlight: The first period of that game was kinda rough.

14. Philadelphia Flyers (1-0-0, +1 GD)
Last Week: 17

Highlight: Travis Konecny’s second goal against the Blackhawks was a gorgeous backhander after undressing Duncan Keith.

Lowlight: They only played one game and won, not much to look at here.

15. Montreal Canadiens (1-0-1, Even GD)
Last Week: 20

Highlight: Erasing a 4-1 Toronto lead to eventually win in a shootout on one of hockey’s biggest regular-season stages, Hockey Night in Canada Habs vs. Leafs.

Lowlight: Erik Haula’s tying goal in the third, which would eventually lead to a shootout win for Carolina.

16. Los Angeles Kings (1-1-0, Even GD)
Last Week: 29

Highlight: Offense wasn’t a problem against the Oilers, putting up five goals.

Lowlight: The Oilers scored six, including a Matt Roy own goal to start things off on the wrong foot.

17. Pittsburgh Penguins (1-2-0, Even GD)
Last Week: 7

Highlight: 12 different players scored a point in a blowout win against the Blue Jackets.

Lowlight: Evgeni Malkin got hurt and will be out “long term”. So will Nick Bjugstad.

18. Calgary Flames (1-1-1, Even GD)
Last Week: 11

Highlight: David Rittich’s shutout against the Canucks.

Lowlight: Slow start against the Kings was just too much to come back from.

19. Winnipeg Jets (2-2-0, -2 GD)
Last Week: 15

Highlight: Coming back from down 4-0 in New Jersey to win in a shootout.

Lowlight: Their entire blue line from last year is pretty much gone.

20. Tampa Bay Lightning (1-1-1, +1 GD)
Last Week: 1

Lowlight: Getting out-attempted by Carolina 86-29, 50-11 after the first period, with shots on goal going 27-2 in favor of Carolina in that span, and now have the lowest Corsi For percentage in the league.

Highlight: If not for their ridiculously high shooting percentage and save percentage, they’d actually deserve this spot.

21. New York Islanders (1-2-0, -1 GD)
Last Week: 18

Highlight: Scoring three goals in the second period against Winnipeg, then staving off a late charge by the Jets to hold on.

Lowlight: TJ Oshie’s eventual game-winner from his knees in the home opener.

22. Arizona Coyotes (0-2-0, -2 GD)
Last Week: 22

Highlight: Phil Kessel recorded an assist in his Coyotes debut.

Lowlight: That’s still the only goal they’ve scored so far.

23. Chicago Blackhawks (0-1-0, -1 GD)
Last Week: 21

Lowlight: This Flyers goal that hit the crossbar, then Slater Koekkoek, then right into the net.

Highlight: At least Tommy Hawk beat Gritty in a dance-off…right?

24. Dallas Stars (1-3-0, -2 GD)
Last Week: 10

Highlight: Nick Caamano’s first career goal was a beauty to take a third period lead in Washington.

Lowlight: Brayden Schenn’s shot bouncing over Anton Khudobin and in for a tying goal in the third.

25. Florida Panthers (1-2-0, -5 GD)
Last Week: 13

Highlight: Mike Hoffman’s hat trick against the Lightning to cap off a nice home opener.

Lowlight: Penalty kill letting the team down in the third period against their other game against Tampa.

26. Vancouver Canucks (0-2-0, -4 GD)
Last Week: 23

Highlight: Tyler Myers scored a goal in his Canucks debut.

Lowlight: Tyler Myers’ turnover led directly to Elias Lindholm’s GWG in Calgary.

27. Columbus Blue Jackets (1-2-0, -7 GD)
Last Week: 25

Highlight: Alexandre Texier finishing off a great performance against Buffalo with the OT winner.

Lowlight: Mitch Marner dancing around Zach Werenski, then squeaking the puck through the crease, until it was kicked in by Joonas Korpisalo.

28. New Jersey Devils (0-1-1, -5 GD)
Last Week: 16

Highlight: Blake Coleman’s one-handed goal from his backside to give the Devils a 4-0 lead against Winnipeg.

Lowlight: Pretty much the entire game against Buffalo.

29. Minnesota Wild (0-2-0, -5 GD)
Last Week: 19

Highlight: Devan Dubnyk’s windmill glove save on ex-teammate Mikael Granlund.

Lowlight: Giving up four goals to Nashville in the third period of that game.

30. Ottawa Senators (0-2-0, -5 GD)
Last Week: 31

Highlight: Brady Tkachuk scoring 24 seconds into the season, stunning the Maple Leafs’ opening night crowd…

Lowlight: Getting trampled by the Leafs the rest of the way, losing 5-3.

31. San Jose Sharks (0-4-0, -12 GD)
Last Week: 14

Lowlight: Marc-Andre Fleury stealing a Sharks’ stick and handing it to a fan through the camera hole in the glass.

Highlight: They’re done with Vegas until mid-November.

Team of the Week

The Carolina Hurricanes get this spot with four very impressive wins, including one where they blasted the Lightning in the run of play. Had the goaltending been at all even, this game would have been very out of hand. The other teams they beat were pretty good too, with wins over Montreal, Washington, and Florida, to show that the Hurricanes are back with a vengeance this year.

Team in the Box

The San Jose Sharks are the only team to drop four games this week, and are not-so-proud owners of the worst goal differential in hockey at the moment. This is in part due to the offense not clicking, and even more in part to bad goaltending. An .860 save percentage is unsustainably low, but that’s a trend they’d want to buck quickly if they want to get back into the swing of things.