NHL 2022-23 Season Weekly Power Rankings: Monday 1/23

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?

The NHL is several weeks into the new year, and there are some teams that are still searching for a new version of themselves in 2023. For others 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. Arizona Coyotes (Previous Rank: 31)

The Arizona Coyotes have steadily descended down these power rankings in recent weeks, and with ten losses in January (all in regulation), it’s hard not to look at the Yotes as one of the worst teams in the NHL.

31. Vancouver Canucks (27)

The Vancouver Canucks have made headlines for all the wrong reasons this year, and that continued this week when the team officially fired head coach Bruce Boudreau and hired Rick Tocchet.

With the poor handling of the coaching change and the trade rumors swirling around star players, the Canucks are not in a good place right now.

30. Columbus Blue Jackets (30)

Columbus won one of its four contests last week and continued its inability to find any traction this season. Things are bad in general for the Blue Jackets, and playing in a loaded Metropolitan Division doesn’t make things any better.

29. Anaheim Ducks (29)

Like the Blue Jackets, the Anaheim Ducks can’t seem to get to the next level. This is a young team that has not yet taken a step forward as a whole, and its only positive from last week was a 5-3 win over the aforementioned Blue Jackets.

28. San Jose Sharks (28)

Outside of a solid win over the New Jersey Devils, the San Jose Sharks did not do much last week that called for a change in their position. Fans don’t need to be reminded that this has been a trying season in San Jose, but last week was another example of just that.

27. Chicago Blackhawks (32)

The Blackhawks actually made a bit of a jump in this week’s rankings thanks to a three-game winning streak last week. Chicago has now won six games this month, and while that’s not enough to get them out of the NHL basement, it does warrant a rise on this list.

26. Montreal Canadiens (26)

The good news for the Canadiens is that they went 3-1 last week, including a victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The bad news is that forward Cole Caufield will miss the remainder of the season. As a result of those things, Montreal stays put.

25. Ottawa Senators (25)

Ottawa’s injury outlook was much different than Montreal’s last week, as forward Josh Norris returned to the lineup. He couldn’t save the Senators from a 1-3 record, but getting him back is important for this struggling team.

24. Detroit Red Wings (20)

The Red Wings posted a 1-2-1 record last week as they continue to slide down the NHL standings. There was a time that this club was firmly in a playoff position, but now, the Red Wings are 19-18-8 and almost ten points out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

23. Philadelphia Flyers (24)

Philadelphia’s struggles this season get a pass in the City of Brotherly Love since the Eagles are on their way to the NFC Championship Game.

As for these rankings, however, the Flyers showed last week in a 6-0 loss to the Boston Bruins that no matter how many bad teams they beat, fans shouldn’t be fooled by John Tortorella’s team.

22. New York Islanders (16)

It looked for a few weeks as though the Islanders were coming around and beginning to find the form that led them to back-to-back deep playoff runs in 2020 and 2021. Last week, however, the Isles went 0-2-2 and once again have a lot of work to do in the race for the postseason.

21. Florida Panthers (22)

Things have not come easily for the Florida Panthers this season, but they are coming off of a great week. The Cats went 3-0-1 in their four games, scoring at least four goals in each contest.

It would be a knee-jerk reaction to say that the Panthers are back, but another week or two with this type of offense and things will be looking up in Sunrise.

20. Buffalo Sabres (18)

Buffalo continues to be one of the more confusing teams in the NHL. The Sabres are 23-19-3 on the season with a +17 goal differential, yet they sit several spots out of the playoff picture.

They had a decent week against some struggling teams, but their place in the standings is holding them back.

19. St. Louis Blues (19)

The streaky St. Louis Blues have had a mixed bag this month, and last week was no different. They posted a 2-1 record, defeating the Senators and Nashville Predators while losing to the Blackhawks.

The Blues are not an immediate threat to jump into a playoff spot, so they stay where they are.

18. Nashville Predators (23)

Nashville was 3-1 last week and picked up important wins over the Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings. This team has plenty of talent, but it still hasn’t found a way to put it all together consistently. With that said, a good week has the Preds moving up this list.

17. Pittsburgh Penguins (21)

The Penguins played against mostly bottom teams last week, but they looked better in the process. Pittsburgh is still trying to get back to the way it was playing in early December, but points in the standings and some newly-found health have the Pens moving up.

12. New York Rangers (10)

Like the Capitals, the New York Rangers had been on a recent hot streak, and for the Blueshirts, that was as recent as two weeks ago. Now, however, the Rangers have stalled, going 1-2 last week with their only win coming against the Blue Jackets.

New York is in a fine position in the standings, but it will need to get back on track this week to keep pace in a competitive Metropolitan Division.

11. Colorado Avalanche (14)

The Colorado Avalanche went 4-0 last week and are on a five-game winning streak. With key wins over the Flames and Kraken, the defending champions appear to be getting healthier and stronger in 2023.

10. Vegas Golden Knights (8)

I feel like I say the same thing each time that I write about the Vegas Golden Knights, but this seems like a team that is still benefitting from some early-season success.

Lately, the Golden Knights have been lackluster, and that is exemplified by a 1-2 week that included a loss to the slumping Red Wings.

9. Edmonton Oilers (15)

The Edmonton Oilers make a big jump in the power rankings this week because of their current six-game winning streak. Connor McDavid and company have scored four goals or more in each game during that streak, and they’re closing in on third place in the Pacific.

8. Seattle Kraken (4)

Seattle’s impressive winning streak came to a screeching halt last week. The Kraken went 1-2-1 and dropped critical games against the Lightning, Oilers, and Avalanche.

There is still a lot to like about this crew, but its surge has ceased, and it will need to regroup if it wants to reclaim first place in the Pacific Division.

7. Winnipeg Jets (6)

The Winnipeg Jets were a pedestrian 2-2 last week, so there’s not much change here for them.

Winnipeg’s defense was great in its wins (two total goals allowed) and porous in its losses (eight total goals allowed). Their play on the back end will play a major role in determining whether or not this team can be among the NHL’s best.

6. Tampa Bay Lightning (3)

The Bolts extended their winning streak to five games this week before falling to the Oilers and Flames. Of course, there is no cause for concern here, but the Lightning slip a few spots as the teams in the top five stay hot.

5. Dallas Stars (9)

One of those hot teams, the Dallas Stars, managed to post three 4-0 shutouts last week.

Yes, there was an unfortunate loss to the Sharks involved, but to blank three teams in the same week is wildly impressive for the current Central Division leaders, especially when considering that two of those shutouts came against playoff teams in the Golden Knights and Kings.

4. Toronto Maple Leafs (7)

The Toronto Maple Leafs went 2-0-1 last week and continued to hold onto the second spot in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs are fourth in the NHL standings but unfortunately find themselves trailing a trio of Eastern Conference rivals, both in the standings and in these power rankings.

3. Carolina Hurricanes (1)

The Carolina Hurricanes also posted a 2-0-1 record but suffered a huge blow as forward Max Pacioretty, who just recently returned from an injury, appears to be out for the season with another injury.

Carolina is still among the best teams in the NHL, but the loss of Pacioretty is enough to end the Canes’ run atop these power rankings.

2. New Jersey Devils (5)

New Jersey has picked up points in seven straight contests and continues to keep pace with the Hurricanes in the Metro.

After starting hot, it looked like the Devils were coming back down to earth, but they’ve righted the ship and once again look like a team that no one wants to play.

1. Boston Bruins (2)

Surprise, surprise, it’s the Boston Bruins back at number one. Boston is remarkably 37-5-4 on the season, and its +81 goal differential is more than double that of the next-best team.

The Bruins have been nothing short of dominant all season long, and while one has to think that they’ll at least slow down at some point, that time has certainly not arrived yet.