NHL Top 10 Power Rankings (10-18-23)

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I am going to try to keep up with a weekly Top 10 for the NHL. Granted, the first few weeks may be a bit of a jumbled up mess. We’ll see how this goes.

10: Edmonton Oilers (1-2-0) 2 pts.

The Oilers have been struggling in the first week of action, but don’t expect this to be a common thing. They will figure things out and hop right back into their dominant form. They dropped two games to the Canucks last week and I honestly thought about including them in the Top 10, but that defense is struggling despite the outpour of goals scored. Even though they won 1 of 3 last week, they’re still a Top 10 team.

9: Ottawa Senators (2-1-0) 4 pts.

The Sens picked up two wins in their first week of the season and even though those wins were against the Flyers and struggling Tampa Bay Lightning, those wins were big. Brady Tkachuk is seemingly in midseason form with his 5 points and 4 goals in the last two games. Most people probably won’t have Ottawa in the Top 10 just yet, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. I don’t know how long they will be inside the Top 10 though. They feel like a borderline playoff team to me.

8: Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1-0) 4pts.

Pittsburgh will likely improve from last season and I think they have the team to be back. Tristan Jarry has been phenomenal in front of the net in his two appearances. Jake Guentzel has been sharing the puck well and already has 5 assists in 3 contests. Sid the Kid has 3 goals and Malkin is leading the Penguins in points. It should be a solid season for them and once Erik Karlsson finds his groove, look out.

7: New York Rangers (2-1-0) 4 pts.

Aside from the bad loss to the Blue Jackets, the Rangers have looked great. Igor Shesterkin has been his normal self to start the season and aside from the 5 goals he gave up in Columbus, he has only given up a goal in each of the other starts. Chris Kreider looks to get back to his 2021-22 form when he scored 52 goals. He is off to a good start with 4 goals in the first week of action. Zibanejad and Adam Fox both have 4 assists each and I expect the Rangers to continue to be very good.

6: Dallas Stars (1-0-1) 2 pts.

The Stars have only played 2 games in the first week, but have looked ok. the reason that I am ranking this high is because the analytics nerds say that they’re the real deal despite the 1-0-1 record. Jake Oettinger could be the best Goalie in the NHL and he has certainly played like it in the first 2 contests. Their offense wasn't strong in those two contests but I’m not particularly worried about that. They’ll find their groove. The defense on the other hand has be solid. They will likely be in and around the Top 10 all season long.

5: Boston Bruins (2-0-0) 4 pts.

The Bruins are a tough team to gauge at the moment, but I think they will be really good again this season. They faced the Blackhawks and Predators in their first two contests at home and even though those teams aren’t exactly top notch, they still looked good. Pastrnak is off to a good start and could be a sneaky Hart Trophy candidate *cough, cough, 20/1 odds*. Those odds are pretty tempting. The tandem of Ullmark and Swayman have been good in the two games and I don’t expect that to change any time soon. The Bruins will likely not drop out of the Top 10 either.

4: Toronto Maple Leafs (2-1-0) 4 pts.

The buzz has been all about the Maple Leafs so far this season, especially surrounding Auston Matthews. Matthews started the season with hat tricks in the first two games of the season. The Leafs had a bad loss to Chicago on Monday night, but they will certainly bounce back from that. Matthews, Nylander, and Tavares each have 6 points in the first 3 contests to start the year. Goalie play has been a bit of a concern, but nothing I would be too concerned about at the moment. It is still early and Toronto should be stout.

3: Carolina Hurricanes (3-1-0) 6 pts.

The Canes defensive unit has struggled in the first 4 games of the season, but on the bright side, their offense has been on fire. They averaging the most goals so far this season. Despite the flurry of goals on offense, they may be missing their goalie, Frederik Andersen for a little bit. While the extent of his injury is unknown, he was forced out of their last game against the Sharks. They had a bad loss to the Ducks, but it isn’t a concern at the moment. The Canes should figure out their defensive struggles and be a wagon, yet again.

2: Colorado Avalanche (3-0-0) 6 pts.

There have been two near perfect teams in the first week of the season. The Avs are one of them. They were great in nearly every aspect of the first week’s slate. Their goalie, Alexandar Georgiev has been superb, allowing only 4 goals to get past him so far. Two of the teams that they have faced were playoff teams, so you can’t say it was a breeze for them. The Avs are impressive and it is difficult to believe that they won’t be in the Top 5 for the majority of the season.

1: Vegas Golden Knights (4-0-0) 8 pts.

The Stanley Cup Champions have looked like it in their first 4 contests. Like the Avalanche, they had a near perfect week to start the year. There was some questions regarding the status of their goalies, but not in a way you would think. Logan Thompson was projected to be the main starting goalie, but Adin Hill has started in 3 of the 4 so far. I think they will each get their fair share of time and if the Bruins season last year was any indication, having two dominant goalies is definitely ideal. Chandler Stephenson has been their strongest asset so far this season on offense and it will likely be a toss up between him and Jack Eichel to see who will lead their team in points.

Yacs