NHL Power Rankings: Rangers Fall Hard; Bruins, Devils and Golden Knights Keep Pace
The NHL has arrived at its unofficial quarter pole.
And now that each of the league's 32 teams have played at least 20 games, there's a little more certainty to the weekly goings-on as it relates to B/R Power Rankings.
After several weeks of double-digit rises and falls, only one squad—the New York Rangers—experienced such a precipitous change, plunging 11 spots from No. 11 to No. 22.
No other team moved any more than six spots up or down and six teams stayed stationary after voting by a four-person panel.
Each of the four voters placed the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils at 1-2 for the third consecutive week while the Vegas Golden Knights dropped a spot from third to fourth.
Moving into the top-five this week are the Seattle Kraken, up four spots from seventh to third, and the Toronto Maple Leafs, who also moved four from ninth to fifth.
Our panel awarded 32 points for first place and one point for 32nd in coming up with the weekly list. A team's ranking from last week and its subsequent move are listed alongside each updated placement. Scroll through to see where your favorites landed and drop a thought or two of your own in the comments.
Nos. 32-26: Ducks, Blackhawks, Sharks, Blue Jackets, Senators, Coyotes, Sabres
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32. Anaheim Ducks (Last Week: 32 / Move: 0)
With six wins in 23 games and no immediate answers in suburban Los Angeles, it’s getting easier to envision junior ace Connor Bedard setting up shop with Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry next season.
31. Chicago Blackhawks (Last Week: 27 / Move: -4)
No team has scored fewer goals than Chicago’s 52, and the fact that they’ve netted just 14 in the last seven games sheds all the light needed on a losing skid that stretches back to early November.
30. San Jose Sharks (Last Week: 28 / Move: -2)
A shutout win in Montreal was a welcome start to a four-game road trip and the first as a Shark for goalie Kaapo Kahkonen, who’s won just three times in 10 starts in his first full season with San Jose.
29. Columbus Blue Jackets (Last Week: 25 / Move: -4)
Every team’s got a beef about injuries, but it’s been particularly bad in middle Ohio, where Patrik Laine has played just eight games and goalie Elvis Merzlikins has suited up just twice in November.
28. Ottawa Senators (Last Week: 30 / Move: +2)
Goalie Cam Talbot may be finding a groove after starting the season on the shelf. He allowed three goals on 59 shots in road wins at Anaheim and Los Angeles after winning just once in his first six starts.
27. Arizona Coyotes (Last Week: 26 / Move: -1)
Getting points in three of four games is a nice stretch amid a 14-game road sojourn for the Coyotes, who’ll visit Los Angeles, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton before next playing at home on December 9.
26. Buffalo Sabres (Last Week 31 / Move: +5)
The Sabres won two straight to end an eight-game slide then promptly lost two on a row at home to New Jersey and Tampa Bay. A Wednesday shootout win Detroit ended a miserable November at 4-8-2.
Nos. 25-21: Flyers, Canucks, Capitals, Rangers, Panthers
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25. Philadelphia Flyers (Last Week: 23 / Move: -2)
The end of another double-digit losing streak got John Tortorella talking. “When you’re in a situation where you don’t have a whole bunch of respect in this league, you’ve got to eat that s--t,” he said.
24. Vancouver Canucks (Last Week: 29 / Move: +5)
The Canucks showed signs of life with a three-game road win streak from Nov. 23-27—accounting for a third of their nine wins for the season—before a 5-1 loss to Washington began a four-game homestand.
23. Washington Capitals (Last Week: 24 / Move: +1)
Two more goals on a Tuesday night vaulted Alex Ovechkin past Wayne Gretzky in career road tallies and got him to 793 overall—eight behind Gordie Howe for second on the all-time list.
22. New York Rangers (Last Week: 11 / Move: -11)
The third of three losses heading into Wednesday—in which the Rangers botched a two-goal lead—had Vezina winner Igor Shesterkin upset. “The goalie played a s–t game again,” he said. “I’m ashamed.” A win over Ottawa last night is the first step in righting the ship.
21. Florida Panthers (Last Week: 21 / Move: 0)
A five-game western trip hasn’t started out so well for the Panthers, who sacrificed a point while blowing a late lead in Edmonton and followed with a loss at Calgary in Matthew Tkachuk’s return.
Nos. 20-16: Blues, Canadiens, Flames, Predators, Wild
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20. St. Louis Blues (Last Week: 14 / Move: -6)
What version of the Blues comes next? St. Louis finished a recent seven-game win streak—which had followed an eight-game losing streak—with a run of three losses in four games.
19. Montréal Canadiens (Last Week: 18 / Move: -1)
A two-win week on the road was snuffed by a 4-0 loss to visiting San Jose on Tuesday night when the Canadiens were unable to dent Kahkonen on 28 shots.
18. Calgary Flames (Last Week: 16 / Move: -2)
Go ahead and try to figure out the Flames, who started 5-1, lost seven in a row, won four of five and then lost three straight before drilling Florida in Jonathan Huberdeau’s first crack at his old team.
17. Nashville Predators (Last Week: 20 / Move: +3)
The Predators sat through a water main break that prompted Bridgestone Arena’s closure and the postponement of two games. They defeated Anaheim on Tuesday and now have three straight on the road.
16. Minnesota Wild (Last Week: 22 / Move: +6)
Only six teams had scored fewer goals than the Wild’s 62 heading into Wednesday’s games, but the offense has perked up with 13 of the 62 coming in the last three games.
Nos. 15-11: Oilers, Kings, Penguins, Lightning, Red Wings
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15. Edmonton Oilers (Last Week: 19 / Move: +4)
The Oilers salvaged a road trip with a dramatic rally against the Rangers that erased a 3-0 third-period deficit then returned home to tie Florida in the final five seconds before winning in OT.
14. Los Angeles Kings (Last Week: 15 / Move: +1)
Goalie Cal Petersen was put on waivers Wednesday despite having signed a $15 million contract extension just 14 months ago. He allowed four goals on 16 shots in a chaotic Tuesday loss to Seattle.
13. Pittsburgh Penguins (Last Week: 17 / Move: +4)
Defenseman Kris Letang was sidelined indefinitely for the second time in his career with a stroke suffered this week. He had one in 2014 and played just 37 games in the 2013-14 season.
12. Tampa Bay Lightning (Last Week: 12 / Move: 0)
The Lightning have won six of eight, with both losses coming against league-leading Boston. The Bruins outscored Tampa Bay 8-4, dropping the team to 18th in goals-against average (3.18) through Tuesday.
11. Detroit Red Wings (Last Week: 12 / Move: +1)
The Red Wings had won four straight before a 4-2 loss to visiting Toronto in the third game of a five-game homestand that continued Wednesday night against Buffalo.
Nos. 10-6: Avalanche, Islanders, Hurricanes, Stars, Jets
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10. Colorado Avalanche (Last Week: 4 / Move: -6)
The defending champs won four of five before beginning a four-game road trip with an inglorious 5-0 loss to Winnipeg in which they didn’t score on 40 shots but stopped only 19 of 24.
9. New York Islanders (Last Week: 10 / Move: +1)
The Islanders had won four straight before dropping a 3-1 decision to Philadelphia that ended the Flyers’ 10-game skid. Winger Josh Bailey was pulled and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
8. Carolina Hurricanes (Last Week: 8 / Move: 0)
An OT win in Pittsburgh kick-started a six-game trip that’ll go until December 15. Meanwhile, goalie Frederik Anderson, who’s not played since November 6, returned for on-ice work.
7. Dallas Stars (Last Week: 6 / Move: -1)
Playing at a point-per-game pace through the season’s first quarter earned 26-year-center Roope Hintz a big payday in the form of an eight-year, $67.6 million deal that’ll keep him from restricted free agency.
6. Winnipeg Jets (Last Week: 5 / Move: -1)
It’s four wins in five games for the Jets, who scored 21 goals in the victories while allowing just nine. Connor Hellebuyck is sixth or better in the league in goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts.
Nos. 5-1: Maple Leafs, Golden Knights, Kraken, Devils, Bruins
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5. Toronto Maple Leafs (Last Week: 9 / Move: +4)
Goalie Erik Kallgren was returned to the AHL thanks to the return of Ilya Samsonov from injured reserve. Kallgren, who made 12 starts last season, was 3-2-4 in 10 games across this stint in Toronto.
4. Vegas Golden Knights (Last Week: 3 / Move: -1)
A shootout win at Columbus on Monday started a four-game road trip and ended a November in which Vegas went 9-4-1 and moved to the front of both the Pacific Division and Western Conference.
3. Seattle Kraken (Last Week: 7 / Move: +4)
The league’s longest active win streak goes to the Kraken, who’ve won six straight—three at home and three on the road—including a franchise-best nine goals in an OT win at Los Angeles.
2. New Jersey Devils (Last Week: 2 / Move: 0)
A 2-1 loss to visiting Toronto on November 23 is the only blip on the radar for the remarkably hot Devils, who’d won 13 straight going in and have won three straight—outscoring foes 13-5—since.
1. Boston Bruins (Last Week: 1 / Move: 0)
Their second defeat of Tampa Bay in eight days was a fitting close to November for the rampaging Bruins, who entered the month amid a seven-game win streak and finished it 11-2.
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