NHL Power Rankings: Hurricanes Surge to the No. 1 Spot

Attention, the NHL: There's a storm brewing in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The Carolina Hurricanes, winners of the Central Division last season and boasting one of the league's best stockpiles of young talent, have picked up where they left off.

Rod Brind'Amour's team arrived to Wednesday night's game against the Chicago Blackhawks as the NHL's last unbeaten squad, and they left United Center that way too, winning 4-3. The Canes' unblemished start earned them a unanimous nod as the league's top team in the latest installment of B/R's weekly NHL power rankings.

In fact, the Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers were listed 1-2-3 on every ballot, a slight switch from last week, when the Panthers, Oilers and Hurricanes were first, second and third, respectively.

Carolina had the league's best goal differential, plus-21, heading into Wednesday and had the lowest rate of goals allowed per game (1.50) thanks to the work of offseason acquisition Frederik Andersen, who had stopped all but nine of 205 shots against him through seven starts prior to the win in Chicago.

"That's obviously the biggest part, I think, of why we have the record we have," Brind'Amour said. "He's been great. Let's call it for what it is."

Read on to see how the remaining spots were filled, and feel free to drop a note or two in the comments section to let our puck heads know where they got it right, and perhaps otherwise.

Editor's note: Votes were recorded before Wednesday night's games.

Nos. 32-26: Coyotes, Blackhawks, Canadiens, Kraken, Senators, Canucks, Kings

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

32. Arizona Coyotes (Last Week: 31st)

They have to win eventually, right? The Coyotes have managed one OT loss in 10 games while being outscored 42-13. Nine regulation losses have included three shutouts and four one-goal games.

31. Chicago Blackhawks (Last Week: 32nd)

Off the ice, with the ramifications of the report concerning sexual abuse allegations still being felt, it's been disastrous. On the ice, the Blackhawks ended an 0-7-2 stretch with a 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Patrick Kane's three goals moved him to third on the team's all-time list with 408.

30. Montreal Canadiens (Last Week: 30th)

After the start the Canadiens had, even a 2-2 week seems like a huge advance. Both wins, on the road to San Jose and home against Detroit, included shutouts by Jake Allen, who saved all 67 shots he faced across the two games.

29. Seattle Kraken (Last Week: 28th)

Three wins and an OT loss in 10 games isn't quite on the level of Vegas' expansion arrival a few years back, but it's not dreadful for Seattle. Brandon Tanev has six goals after scoring seven in 32 games last season.

28. Ottawa Senators (Last Week: 26th)

It was a win, a loss and an OT loss for the Senators, whose per-game clip of 3.33 goals allowed is tied for 26th in the league. Filip Gustavsson, though, has been solid with a .916 save percentage in four games. 

27. Vancouver Canucks (Last Week: 21st)

A three-game skid ended with an OT win against the New York Rangers on Tuesday, but offense is a recurring issue. Vancouver is scoring 2.4 goals per game, which is a better record than those of just five of the league's other 31 teams.

26. Los Angeles Kings (Last Week: 29th)

The Kings were just 1-5-1 through seven games but bounced back with consecutive wins over Montreal, Buffalo and St. Louis in the second, third and fourth matchups of a five-game homestand through Friday night.

Nos. 25-21: Stars, Ducks, Red Wings, Predators, Islanders

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25. Dallas Stars (Last Week: 23rd)

A 3-2 start was followed by two regulation and two OT/shootout losses for the Stars, who haven't yet managed a regulation win. Braden Holtby has been excellent, though, stopping 206 of 223 shots.

24. Anaheim Ducks (Last Week: 27th)

Two straight home wins turned around the week for the Ducks, whose record of 35 goals is the fourth-best in the league. 

23. Detroit Red Wings (Last Week: 24th)

An OT win in Washington started the week but was followed by three straight losses for the Red Wings, who were without the unvaccinated Tyler Bertuzzi for the defeats in Toronto and Montreal.

22. Nashville Predators (Last Week: 25th)

A 1-4 start turned into a four-game win streak for the Predators before Wednesday's 5-2 loss in Edmonton. Nashville allowed just seven goals in the four wins after conceding six to Winnipeg on Oct. 23. 

21. New York Islanders (Last Week: 11th)

The Islanders passed the halfway point of a daunting 13-game road swing to begin the season before new building UBS Arena opens on Nov. 20. The payback? They'll play 10 of their 14 games in December on home ice.

Nos. 20-16: Devils, Golden Knights, Penguins, Bruins, Sabres

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

20. New Jersey Devils (Last Week: 20th)

A defeat to Anaheim on Tuesday was almost incidental to the loss of prized free-agent pickup Dougie Hamilton to an unspecified lower-body injury. He inked a seven-year, $63 million deal and had six points in his first eight games for the Devils.

19. Vegas Golden Knights (Last Week: 15th)

Jack-Pot! Vegas finally put the Jack Eichel sweepstakes to rest early Thursday morning after reportedly landing the Sabres' captain in a blockbuster deal.               

18. Pittsburgh Penguins (Last Week: 8th)

The needle was already pointing down in Pittsburgh, where the Penguins are recoiling after a three-game losing streak has seen them outscored 13-3. And now captain Sidney Crosby has COVID-19 after missing the first seven games of the campaign while recovering from wrist surgery.

17. Boston Bruins (Last Week: 6th)

The Bruins dueled with the league's early-season best this week, splitting two games with Florida and dropping a 3-0 decision in Carolina. "I think our guys are understanding our identity," coach Bruce Cassidy said.

16. Buffalo Sabres (Last Week: 12th)

It's been two points through the first three games of a West Coast trip for the Sabres, who dropped consecutive games in Los Angeles and San Jose after beating Anaheim. Seattle is up on Thursday.

Nos. 15-11: Blue Jackets, Avalanche, Sharks, Wild, Flyers

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

15. Columbus Blue Jackets (Last Week: 19th)

It was an up-and-down week for the Blue Jackets, whose overtime win against Colorado on Wednesday gave them their first winning streak since opening the season 2-0. Patrik Laine has 10 points in nine games after putting up 21 in 45 with the team in 2021-22

14. Colorado Avalanche (Last Week: 18th)

Wins over St. Louis and Minnesota made it three in four games for the awakening Avs before Wednesday's OT loss to Columbus. Goalie Darcy Kuemper stopped 29 shots in the 4-1 win over the Wild.

13. San Jose Sharks (Last Week: 14th)

When it looked like the Sharks were sinking, they rebounded with victories against Winnipeg and Buffalo in the second and third outings of a five-game homestand. The latter came without seven regulars who were in the league's COVID-19 protocol.

12. Minnesota Wild (Last Week: 7th)

It took nine games, but reigning Calder Trophy winner Kirill Kaprizov finally scored his first goal of the season on Tuesday against Ottawa. The winger had 27 goals in 55 games as an NHL rookie.

11. Philadelphia Flyers (Last Week: 13th)

A West Coast trip was part of a week that yielded two wins and two losses for the Flyers, who returned home to beat Arizona 3-0. That game saw Carter Hart (.928 save percentage) make 29 saves in recording his third career shutout.

Nos. 10-6: Maple Leafs, Jets, Lightning, Rangers, Capitals

Adam Hunger/Associated Press

10. Toronto Maple Leafs (Last Week: 22nd)

Captain John Tavares' 2020-21 season ended with a scary injury in the playoffs, but he's up to his old tricks with linemate Mitchell Marner this year, with three goals and five assists in 10 games.

9. Winnipeg Jets (Last Week: 10th)

As GM Kevin Cheveldayoff faced off-ice questions about his connection to the sexual abuse allegations in Chicago, the Jets picked up five of a possible six points against Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose on a swing through California.

8. Tampa Bay Lightning (Last Week: 9th)

The champs looked like the champs in the aftermath of Oct. 25's 5-1 loss to Buffalo, winning three straight while scoring 13 goals and allowing four. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy had a .955 save percentage in the wins.

7. New York Rangers (Last Week: 16th)

It's six wins and an OT loss in the last eight for the Rangers, who have seen Igor Shesterkin take hold of the No. 1 goalie role with a .943 save percentage and 1.85 goals-against average in eight starts.

6. Washington Capitals (Last Week: 5th)

A 3-2 loss to the Lightning on Monday was the first regulation defeat of the season for Washington, which had earned points in eight straight games. Still, Alex Ovechkin was the NHL's First Star of the Month for October.

Nos. 5-1: Blues, Flames, Oilers, Panthers, Hurricanes

Karl B DeBlaker/Associated Press

5. St. Louis Blues (Last Week: 4th)

The Blues took a 6-1 overall record and a 3-0 road mark into Wednesday night's shootout loss to Los Angeles. They have received 11, 10 and nine points from Vladimir Tarasenko, Jordan Kyrou and David Perron, respectively, through eight games.

4. Calgary Flames (Last Week: 17th)

A six-game win streak finally ended with an OT loss to Nashville on Tuesday, but the Flames look undoubtedly better to start the season, led by goalie Jacob Markstrom's 4-1-2 record and microscopic 1.56 goals against average.

3. Edmonton Oilers (Last Week: 2nd)

Did you have full confidence in Mikko Koskinen once starter Mike Smith was shelved? The Finn is 6-1-0 and has conceded just 14 goals on 213 shots (.934 save percentage) through Wednesday.

2. Florida Panthers (Last Week: 1st)

The Panthers are adjusting after head coach Joel Quenneville resigned after he was implicated as failing to act upon learning of sexual assault allegations during his time with the Blackhawks. "I'm just trying to keep what we have going and keep the status quo," interim coach Andrew Brunette said.

1. Carolina Hurricanes (Last Week: 3rd)

Four straight wins at home preceded Wednesday night's win in Chicago for the Hurricanes, who are the league's last unbeaten team. Goalie Frederik Andersen was named the league's Third Star of the Month for October after beginning the season with seven wins, a 1.29 goals-against average and a .956 save percentage.