We’re about a quarter way through the NHL season. As American Thanksgiving draws near, the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders are fighting for the top spot in our weekly NHL power rankings.
The NHL season doesn’t truly begin until American Thanksgiving. That’s when teams tend to know who they are, more or less. Sure, the St. Louis Blues from last season went from worst to first, but history proves they’re the exception, not the rule. In this week’s NHL power rankings, we’re separating the contenders from the pretenders.
Before I begin, I’d like to point out these rankings are based on several factors. They include overall record, underlying stats, and strength of schedule. Now, with that out of the way, let’s get started with this week’s rankings.
NHL POWER RANKINGS
Reuniting Robby Fabbri with Tyler Bertuzzi was a smart move from the Red Wings.
Brad Hunt is tied for third on the team in points. That’s all you need to know about how things are going in The State Of Hockey.
Don’t look now, but the Senators have won six of their last 10 games.
Josh Anderson only has two points in 13 games. That’s certainly not ideal from someone the Blue Jackets were counting on to hold down a spot in the top six.
It’s mid-November and Taylor Hall has scored just two goals.
The Kings knew they were taking a huge gamble when they signed Ilya Kovalchuk. But man, that situation is getting ugly fast.
They might be the most disappointing team of the salary cap era.
The Golden Knights have lost seven of their last eight games, with four of those losses coming in regulation. Only two of those seven losses are to teams currently in a playoff spot.
Filip Chytil has six goals and seven points in nine games since being called up from the AHL. Unfortunately, Ryan Strome is blocking him from a well-deserved extended run at the second-line center role.
Thanks to a six-game winning streak, the Sharks have life. But is it too late?
It’s not a good sign when a line brawl is the highlight of the week for a team.
John Gibson deserves better.
The Lightning are finally starting to resemble the juggernaut everyone thought they would be.
It has been almost a month since the Predators beat a team currently holding a spot in the postseason. They have just one win against a playoff team in regulation all season.
The Sabres stopped their free fall with a win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, but they tried their darndest to keep falling.
Winners of three straight, the Blackhawks aren’t down for the count yet.
The Canucks have won just two out of their nine games so far in November.
Credit the Penguins for doing well so far despite all their injuries. But with Sidney Crosby out long-term, the Pens are in trouble.
The Stars are 6-0-1 since their comeback win over the Minnesota Wild in late October. I’m still not sold on them as Stanley Cup contenders, but they’re looking a heck of a lot closer to being one than they were earlier this season.
They’re finally starting to figure things out and Connor Hellebuyck’s been terrific.
Just when I was ready to put the Flyers in the top 10, they lost to the Ottawa Senators in regulation and blew a 3-0 lead to the New York Islanders on consecutive nights.
The Oilers have won less than half of their games since starting the season 5-0-0. That’s why I’m not sold on this team yet. But with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, they’re well equipped to make me look silly.
While the Coyotes have been inconsistent this season, they showed how great they can be by beating the Capitals and Blues on the road on consecutive nights. On the other hand, they showed how frustrating they can be with two regulation losses to the Minnesota Wild in under a week.
If Sergei Bobrovsky gets back on track, the Panthers could be a Stanley Cup darkhorse. They’ve had the toughest schedule in the league so far.
Had the Hurricanes signed Robin Lehner this summer, they’d be Stanley Cup contenders.
Nathan MacKinnon’s Hart Trophy case is very strong. He’s been phenomenal with Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen out due to injuries. Let’s all hope Matt Calvert is alright after what happened on Saturday night.
The Canadiens seem to have a different star every game. That’s a good way to consistently win games despite not having a true star (other than maybe Shea Weber).
It’s hard to replace someone as great as Vladimir Tarasenko, but David Perron has stepped up.
The Bruins have been playing with fire all season long. They’re starting to get burned a bit, but this is still a great team, albeit a flawed one.
This was tough for me. The Islanders are a terrific team and haven’t lost in regulation in over a month. However, 12 of their first 18 games have been at home. Obviously, it’s not their fault they haven’t played on the road much, but I’d like to see them get some more signature wins on the road before I confidently say they’re the best team in the NHL. Four of their next five games are on the road, so the Islanders have a chance to prove themselves.
Honestly, you could flip the Capitals and the Islanders and my only objections would be rather trivial. But here’s why I have the Caps over the Isles. First of all, the Capitals are 10-1-1 on the road. You’ve got to be able to win on the road to win the Stanley Cup and this team knows how to do it.
Secondly, the Caps have the best record in the league despite having the fourth-toughest schedule so far, according to Hockey Reference. Meanwhile, the Islanders have the ninth-toughest. Those two things give the Caps an ever so slight nod over the Isles.