It’s still early in the 2019-20 NHL season, but the good teams like the Washington Capitals are starting to separate themselves from the bad teams like the Detroit Red Wings. Here’s a look at the NHL power rankings after Week 3.
The 2019-20 NHL season is still young. However, almost every team has played at least nine games, so it’s time for an update in our NHL power rankings. The Capitals had a bit of a rough start, but have been impressive as of late, winning four straight. Meanwhile, the Red Wings started the season with a 3-1-0 record, but have now lost six straight.
These rankings are based on several factors. They include overall record, underlying stats, and strength of schedule. With that being said, let’s get started with this week’s rankings.
At least the Senators have a high first-round pick to look forward to.
The Red Wings squeezed every drop of juice out of their organization just to get a few more first-round exits and extend a postseason streak. Now they’re paying for it.
A team with as much talent as the Rangers shouldn’t look this bad. Head coach David Quinn should probably be on the hot seat.
Just when you thought their drama was over, a slow start has head coach Bruce Boudreau on the hot seat.
Though the Stars have won two straight, they’re averaging just over two goals scored per game and a shade under three goals allowed per game. That’s a recipe for disaster.
Good news: The Devils have won two straight!
Bad news: Their weird schedule could make it hard for them to keep their momentum going.
Their goaltending is still atrocious.
Despite having a below .500 record, all of their losses, save one to the Capitals (which included an empty net goal), have been by one loss. But keep in mind that’s with outstanding goaltending.
Carter Hart has started off slow, but if he gets right, the Flyers have enough talent to make things interesting in the Metropolitan Division.
The Kings have done the impossible by ensuring the Sharks don’t have the worst goaltending in the state of California.
You know things are getting ugly when you willingly add Luca Sbisa to your NHL roster.
Considering the Blue Jackets lost their best forward and their franchise goaltender this summer, they’re not looking too shabby.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one – a team coached by Bill Peters can’t buy a goal despite having impressive underlying stats.
Sergei Bobrovsky isn’t living up to his mega deal so far.
Nice to see Jonathan Drouin bouncing back after nearly getting traded this summer.
Is it a hot take to say Mike Babcock is an overrated coach at this point? I don’t think it is.
Jordan Binnington‘s having a rough start to the season, but I think he bounces back.
Maybe the Lightning shouldn’t have given Andrei Vasilevskiy a huge extension?
Uh oh, the Arizona Coyotes have figured out how to score goals. And they’ve been scoring against really good teams too.
They still can’t score, but their goaltending is still great.
Great start for the Canucks, but we’ve seen this before. They’ve got to be more consistent.
Something tells me the Predators aren’t going to convert on over 12% of their shots on goal for the entire season.
They’ve lost three straight, but considering their injuries, they played very well.
John Gibson is on top of my Hart Trophy ballot right now.
It’s a bit scary the Hurricanes have been this good even without Sebastian Aho producing that much.
One has to wonder how much longer Marc-Andre Fleury can handle such a large workload.
Connor McDavid is still the best player in the world.
Man, it’s hard to believe Tuukka Rask is the first Bruins goalie to appear in 500 games with the team.
Just as everyone expected, John Carlson is leading the NHL in points. Wait, what?
A lot of surprises so far for the Buffalo Sabres, but none of them is bigger than the way Carter Hutton‘s been playing in goal.
They’re about to get a huge test without star wing Mikko Rantanen, but the great news is he seems to have avoided a significant injury.