NHL 2022-23 Season Weekly Power Rankings: Monday 11/28
Another week, another set of power rankings for our weekly power rankings here at Puck Prose. Today we are going over the top teams of the past week, which includes a new team in the top spot.
NHL 2022-23 Season Weekly Power Rankings: Monday 11/28
Thanksgiving has come and gone in the United States, which means we can finally look at what teams are in the playoffs at this time and see which ones could potentially make it into the Stanley Cup playoffs and which teams could fall out of the race.
32. Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks have fallen into the bottom spot in our Power Rankings. The team is currently on a seven-game losing streak and has played some rather bad hockey as of late, even if they did just raise a banner to the rafters for Marian Hossa.
31. Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks have the least amount of points in the entire NHL and for good reason. Anaheim might still have Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry, but pretty much everyone else on the team has not been very good, and this team is going to be getting another top prospect this upcoming summer at the 2023 NHL draft.
30. Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets are the next bottom team. This past week they played on Wednesday and Friday and lost both times, once to Montreal and once to the Islanders. This team has not been great, which is a bummer thanks to the offseason addition of Johnny Gaudreau hoping to elevate the team.
29. Arizona Coyotes
The Central Division wins with having two bottom-four teams with Arizona popping up next on the list. The Coyotes lost three times this past week, but they did win a big game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday.
28. San Jose Sharks
We continue our rise to the 28th-best team in the league and are greeted by the San Jose Sharks. One thing going right for the Sharks has to be Erik Karlsson, who leads the team with 32 points in 24 games. This great play could be enough to get Karlsson traded to a new team or could just hurt the Sharks’ draft lottery chances.
27. Buffalo Sabres
Poor Buffalo. After a strong start once again, the Sabres have fallen down to earth with a record of 2-7-1 in their last ten games. The Sabres were 2-1-0 this past week but they still find themselves near the bottom of the standings.
26. Ottawa Senators
When it comes to expectations, the Senators had the highest going into the season. Now some 21 games in they find themselves 8-12-1 with just 17 points. While it is a positive that the team is on a two game win streak, they still are near the bottom of these rankings.
25. Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers were 0-3-1 this past week and currently find themselves with a record of 0-7-3 in their last ten games. After another great start, it looked like John Tortorella might be able to coach his way out of any bad team, but the Flyers have fallen down to earth.
24. Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators finished this past week with a record of 1-1-0, beating the Arizona Coyotes and losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. This looks like a season where Nashville is going to finally miss out on the playoffs after a lot of success in the past handful of years. Thanks to the great play of so many other teams, it is hard to imagine Nashville getting into the postseason again.
23. Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals lost to the New Jersey Devils and beat the Calgary Flames this past week. Their 5-1 loss to the Devils shows where they stand against a really good team and is why they fall out of the top 20 this week.
22. Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks find themselves on a three-game win streak against a few really good teams. They first beat the Colorado Avalanche, then the Vegas Golden Knights, and finally the San Jose Sharks to finish out the week. Vancouver is still far out of a playoff spot and has struggled, but this past week was really good for them.
21. Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames have lost three straight games, all on the road against Pittsburgh, Washington and Carolina. This team has not been great but luckily will be back at home tonight against the Florida Panthers. Calgary needs to start winning more games consistently.
20. Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens come up next on our rankings. They had a few big wins this past week, including a great game against the Chicago Blackhawks, where former Hawks Kirby Dach scored in a shootout. While Montreal might not be a playoff team, their young core is taking shape.
19. Minnesota Wild
Next up, we have the Minnesota Wild. Minnesota is 5-4-1 in their last ten games and has definitely improved off of a bad start of the year. This team should be in the playoffs when all is said and done.
18. Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers had a busy week playing the Bruins, Oilers, and Blues. They picked up four points, going 1-0-2 during that time, and beat a really good team in the Boston Bruins.
17. St. Louis Blues
The Blues played four games last week, beating Anaheim and Florida but losing to the Sabres and Lightning. Losing 6-2 and 5-2 against Buffalo and Tampa, respectively was not the best way to start a road trip, but they did win two straight games against the Ducks at home.
16. Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers played three games last week, all on the road against the New York area teams. They lost to the Devils and Islanders but did beat the Rangers. I think losing 5-2 to the Devils is definitely a good measuring stick at what the Oilers need to improve on.
15. Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been on a run as of late. Going into their game this past Saturday against Toronto, the team was on a five-game win streak, but that was a really bad effort the Penguins had against the Leafs so they are not going up very much in the rankings.
14. New York Rangers
The Rangers went 1-2-0 this past week, losing to the Oilers and Ducks. Losing to the Ducks is definitely not something many teams should be proud of right now, in fact it was Anaheim’s first regulation win of the season, so that should tell you how the Rangers’ season is going so far.
13. Los Angeles Kings
The Kings did it all this past week. They won a game, lost one and got an overtime point as well. LA beat the Sharks, lost to the Rangers and lost to Ottawa in overtime on Sunday. They have not had the best last two weeks so December is going to be important to get this roster back on track.
12. Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets have been playing great, in large part thanks to John Morrissey, who had three goals and four assists in four games for the Jets this past week.
11. Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars have been led by Jason Robertson as of late. Robertson led the league this past week with eight points in four games, including six goals. This team is lucky to have this young star.
10. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning have been pretty much perfect as of late. In their last seven games, they lost just once. Their one loss came this past week against the Boston Bruins at home. Losing to Boston 5-3 definitely was not a one-sided game.
9. Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings had a perfect week going 2-0-0 during the time frame. They beat the Coyotes and Predators, two winnable games. In fact, their previous two games before that included wins against Columbus and San Jose. Beating these teams is how Detroit will make the playoffs, you have to win the easy matchups.
8. New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are 15-8-0, including wins in their last four games. This team has been fun to watch, thanks to the great play of Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson to start the year. Could you imagine how great this team could be with another addition or two at the deadline?
7. Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina did not have the best week going 1-1-2 during that time. They lost against Winnipeg and Boston in overtime, two good teams. However, they lost 4-0 against the Arizona Coyotes in what can only be described as a night where pigs flew.
6. Toronto Maple Leafs
When you knock the net off as much as the Leafs have this past week, you are destined to win some games. In all seriousness, this Leafs team has been great, beating the Devils, Islanders, Penguins and Wild this past week. All four of those teams are good and Toronto showed up.
5. Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken might be the most shocking team of the 2022-23 season. They are 13-5-3 and have won their past five games, including three from this past week. Seattle beat Vegas, Anaheim and San Jose. For this team to make the playoffs, they need to win those divisional matchups, and so far, they have been pretty good.
4. Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights are 17-6-1 and are the top team in the Pacific Division. This past week they were alright, going 2-2-0 during that time. The main thing is winning the games they need to, and losing to two division rivals in Seattle and Vancouver at home is not great.
3. Colorado Avalanche
Colorado played three games this past week, two against Dallas and one against Vancouver. During that time, they went 2-1-0. I do not know if I would put them this high in the power rankings, but they are the defending champs.
2. Boston Bruins
We have a new top team in the power rankings, which means the Boston Bruins are no longer the top team in the league. Boston has fallen to second place after going 2-1-0 this past week. They lost to the Panthers on Wednesday and beat the Hurricanes in a shootout on Friday. Boston is going to remain in the top four all season, but we had to give props to the Devils in New Jersey!
1. New Jersey Devils
The Devils are the new top team on our power rankings. They have been great, led by the great play of Jack Hughes, who had four goals and two assists in four games this past week. The Devils are first in the Metro division and they truly do look like the real deal this season.