NHL 2022-23 Season Weekly Power Rankings: Monday 1/9
Another week of hockey is in the books, which means that it’s time for the next round of power rankings for the 2022-2023 NHL season.
This list is a combination of my rankings and rankings done by Jim Lynch, and stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Eastern Conference still owns the top spot.
Where does each team stand at this point in the NHL season?
It’s officially a new year, and there are some teams that would definitely like to see a new version of themselves in 2023. For those at the top of the standings, they’ll hope that more of the same is in store in the second half of the season.
With the first full week of 2023 in the books, here are the updated NHL power rankings.
32. Chicago Blackhawks (32)
For the fourth week in a row, the Chicago Blackhawks own the bottom spot. The Blackhawks did pick up two wins last week, but as the worst team in the NHL, it’s going to take more than that to get out of the basement.
31. Columbus Blue Jackets (31)
Outside of a surprising win against the Carolina Hurricanes, last week was about what you’d expect from the Columbus Blue Jackets. With a record of 12-25-2, Johnny Gaudreau and company are firmly in last place in the Metropolitan Division.
30. San Jose Sharks (29)
The San Jose Sharks went 1-1-1 last week, beating the Blackhawks but losing to the Anaheim Ducks. Erik Karlsson is still giving Sharks fans a reason to watch games, but nothing else about this team is overly exciting.
29. Anaheim Ducks (30)
No, your eyes are not deceiving you, the Anaheim Ducks have emerged from the 30s in these NHL power rankings. Anaheim picked up a win over the Dallas Stars last week, but it’s the win over the Sharks that bumped the Ducks up a spot.
28. Montreal Canadiens (28)
Fans knew that this wasn’t going to be an easy season for the Montreal Canadiens, and here they are. A win against the St. Louis Blues at the end of the week put a stop to a stretch of seven games without a victory.
The Habs would move down if the teams below them weren’t struggling just as much.
27. Arizona Coyotes (26)
Compared to what this franchise usually puts on the ice, I find the 2022-2023 Arizona Coyotes to be one of the scrappier rosters that fans have seen in the desert. With that said, the Yotes have lost five games in a row, including four last week, so there’s no upward movement here.
26. Vancouver Canucks (25)
The Canucks continue to be an intriguing team. The talent is plentiful, but so are the trade rumors. This team only went 1-2 last week, so it drops a spot, but the long-term uncertainty is what keeps Vancouver this low.
25. Philadelphia Flyers (27)
Give the Philadelphia Flyers some credit, as they have enjoyed a productive stretch in the last couple of weeks. Prior to Sunday’s loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Philly had won four straight contests.
24. Ottawa Senators (24)
The Ottawa Senators have found consistency that isn’t losing enough to be at the bottom of the standings. Ottawa went 2-1 last week and picked up an important win over the Buffalo Sabres. Still, the Sens are several spots away from being a playoff team, so they stay put.
23. Florida Panthers (23)
There are few teams that feel like they’ve made a smaller impact on this NHL season than the Florida Panthers. This campaign has been uninspiring for the Cats, and while there is plenty of time to stage a comeback, they have work to do if another playoff appearance is in their future.
22. St. Louis Blues (21)
Yes, the Blues moved down one spot this week, but they still had a strong start to January. St. Louis picked up impressive wins over the Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, and Minnesota Wild.
This team could be poised to move up next week if this turns out to be part of another hot streak.
21. Nashville Predators (22)
Don’t look now, but the Nashville Predators are on a five-game point streak. Since losing six straight games in December, the Preds are 6-1-2 and are inching closer to a wild card position in the West.
The Predators have essentially broken even now over the last month or so and must find a way to use their momentum to start taking bigger steps forward.
20. Buffalo Sabres (20)
Buffalo saw its winning streak come to an end last week, but the team has still taken significant strides forward as of late.
Part of what keeps the Sabres from moving up here is that the teams they’re chasing in the East aren’t letting up, so Buffalo needs points just to keep pace, not to gain ground.
19. Pittsburgh Penguins (8)
The biggest drop this week belongs to the Pittsburgh Penguins. I’ve talked before about how streaky the Blues are, but the Penguins are emerging as a team that is just as streaky.
Fortunately for Pittsburgh, it snapped its losing streak on Sunday in Arizona, plus it still owns a playoff spot, but the Pens can’t afford to keep losing six or seven games in a row.
18. Detroit Red Wings (16)
Detroit’s descent has been slow and painful. A three-loss week brings the Red Wings down to 18 in these rankings and sixth in the Atlantic Division. Hopefully, the Wings will find a way to right the ship but right now, there’s a lot more going wrong than right in the Motor City.
17. New York Islanders (15)
The New York Islanders spent last week on the road, going 1-3 in their four games. It wasn’t a good week for the Isles, and bad weeks can be especially troublesome in the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division. New York is currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
16. Calgary Flames (18)
There were a few teams on the last slide that needed to move down, and that’s the biggest reason that the Calgary Flames moved up. I continue to feel lukewarm about the team that I picked to win the Stanley Cup, but I’m still optimistic that this group can hit another gear.
15. Edmonton Oilers (17)
Can someone please help Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl? I mean, McDavid is on pace for an astronomical number of points, and Draisaitl is second in the NHL in scoring behind only his teammate. Somehow, though, Edmonton is dangerously close to falling out of the playoff picture.
14. Seattle Kraken (19)
Next year’s Winter Classic host, the Seattle Kraken, had an outstanding week. A 4-0 record has propelled the Kraken back into the top half of these rankings. Seattle is comfortably in a playoff spot at the moment as a result of a perfect week.
13. Minnesota Wild (9)
The Wild went 1-1-1 last week, so why the move down to 13? Well, first of all, the teams that jumped them this week are simply playing better hockey than the club from the State of Hockey.
Second, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has stepped away from the team to handle a personal matter. NHL fans want to see the three-time champion back in the net soon, but until they do, Minnesota is missing a key part of its roster.
12. Colorado Avalanche (11)
The Colorado Avalanche stay pretty stationary this week after posting a 1-2 record. Last week certainly wasn’t the week that the Avs were hoping for, but with Nathan MacKinnon back in action for the defending champs, they can’t fall too far.
11. New York Rangers (14)
The New York Rangers have been making steady strides up the standings over the last month or so, and they did so again last week by picking up at least one point in each of their games played.
Now, the Rangers find themselves in a wild card spot with an opportunity to climb into the top three of the Metropolitan Division.
10. Washington Capitals (13)
One team that New York is still chasing is the Washington Capitals, another team looking better and better each week. The Caps didn’t pick up quite as many points as the team that’s breathing down their necks, but they’re leaps and bounds ahead of where they were not that long ago.
What also keeps Washington moving up is its health, as forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson have returned to the lineup.
9. Los Angeles Kings (12)
The Los Angeles Kings went 2-1 last week, falling to the NHL’s best team, the Boston Bruins. Their wins also came against tough competition, as they took down two division leaders in the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars.
At ninth in the NHL and second in the Pacific Division, the Kings remain a team worth keeping an eye on.
8. Dallas Stars (5)
An 0-2 week put a damper on what has been a quality campaign by the Dallas Stars this season. With a 24-11-6 record, Dallas maintains the top spot in the Central Division, though its lead is not an insurmountable lead by any stretch of the imagination.
In fact, the Stars don’t come in as the top team in its division in this week’s rankings.
7. Winnipeg Jets (10)
That honor belongs to the Winnipeg Jets. I’ve been waiting all season for the Jets to take some type of step backward, but here I am, still waiting.
First-year head coach Rick Bowness deserves credit for the impressive season thus far by the Jets and especially for the improved defense, which resembles the one for which his Dallas Stars had become known.
6. Vegas Golden Knights (7)
Vegas is an interesting team because it doesn’t feel as though it’s been playing at its highest level, yet it continues to lead the Western Conference. Although the Golden Knights find themselves at six in this week’s power rankings, they do come in as the highest team from the West.
With a record of 27-13-2, the Golden Knights continue to set the pace for the rest of their conference rivals.
5. New Jersey Devils (6)
Like the Golden Knights, the Devils feel like a team that is no longer peaking but is still hanging around. They had a decent week to start the new year, and no game was more important than their 4-3 victory over the Rangers.
New Jersey remains in the Metro’s second position, trailing only the Carolina Hurricanes.
4. Tampa Bay Lightning (4)
The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to quietly go about their business. No one really checks to see where the Bolts are at in the standings, because they all know that by the time the regular season is over, the Lightning will be right in the middle of the action.
An underwhelming week for Tampa Bay prevents them from moving up, though the average play of some of its rivals keeps them from falling off of the final slide.
3. Toronto Maple Leafs (3)
Like the Lightning, the Maple Leafs are maintaining their position without creating too many waves. Toronto is third in the NHL in points in the standings, so the team is easily able to overcome a bad week and remain in the top three here.
2. Carolina Hurricanes (1)
The Hurricanes had been really impressive coming into this week but hit a bump in the road at the beginning of January. They started the week with a win over the second-place Devils to keep their division lead safe but went 0-2-1 after that.
Fortunately for the Canes, most of the teams immediately below them in last week’s power rankings did not play at a level that vaulted them over the Metro leaders.
1. Boston Bruins (2)
The exception to that is the team that has topped these rankings more than any other team this season, the Boston Bruins. The Bruins overcame the Penguins at Fenway Park to win the Winter Classic, then swept a west coast road trip.
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