NHL Power Rankings: Minnesota, Toronto and New York Poised to Crash the Party

Boston and Detroit are the hottest teams in the East and West, respectively, but another perennial contender, Vancouver, has jumped into the mix.

Pittsburgh hasn’t slowed down with the addition of Crosby, New York continues to win and Toronto has routed Washington and Tampa.

In the West, San Jose is on a roll (but had their four-game win streak snapped by Vancouver) and Minnesota looks rejuvenated after years of futility.

Will the established contenders reign supreme after the first quarter of the season, or will the newbies (New York, Toronto and Minnesota) crash the party?

Stay tuned.

30. Anaheim Ducks

Last week: 28

With only one win in November and an inability to find the back of the net (29th offense in NHL), the Ducks have dug themselves a deep hole for the rest of the season.

Their game against Chicago (6-5 loss) initiated a six-game homestand.

The time to turn it around is now.

29. New York Islanders

Last week: 30

Having the league’s worst offense and fourth-worst defense is a recipe for disaster.

Just ask the Islanders.

They’ve only won three games in November.

28. Carolina Hurricanes

Last week: 29

After two impressive wins against potential playoff teams, Toronto and Philadelphia, the inconsistent 'Canes fell to the struggling Canadiens and Jets at home.

27. Calgary Flames

Last week: 26

Following an impressive 5-2 win over the Blackhawks, the Flames have lost three straight on the road.

26. Montreal Canadiens

Last week: 23

The Habs are playing good defense and look like they’re up trending in the Northeast.

Montreal has lost three of their last four, however, and cannot suffer spells like this if they want to make up the ground they lost early in the season.

25. New Jersey Devils

Last week: 14

New Jersey has the league’s best penalty kill, but they have struggled in all other aspects of their game.

They have played mediocre lately. Columbus took them to a shootout and they lost to the Islanders at home 3-2.

24. Colorado Avalanche

Last week: 18

Owners of the league’s second-best power play, the Avalanche need to improve the other aspects of their game if they’re going to move up in the Northwest Division.

They have two wins in their last seven games.

23. Nashville Predators

Last week: 7

After a good start to November, Nashville has dropped four straight.

To make matters worse, the Preds play their next three games away from Tennessee.

22. Buffalo Sabres

Last week: 17

The Sabres have lost three of their last four, including a stinker—a 5-1 loss in Columbus.

They picked up a 5-1 win over Washington on Saturday.

Perhaps that is what they need to turn things around.

21. Columbus Blue Jackets

Last week: 27

The Jackets have won three of their last four, including an impressive 5-1 win over Buffalo on Friday.

20. Ottawa Senators

Last week: 20

The Sens finished their road trip 3-3, showing signs of life after losing five in a row to start the month.

They get a struggling Hurricanes club before departing on a three-game road trip.

This means they’ve played nine of their past 10 games away from Canada’s capital.

19. Washington Capitals

Last week: 21

Porous defense (second-worst in league) has cost the Capitals.

They’ve given up three-plus goals in their last eight games.

Washington is 2-6 in those contests.

18. Winnipeg Jets

Last week: 24

The Jets had a three-game win streak in their last homestand, but lost two contests on their three-game road trip.

They get the next five games at home as a respite after an up-and-down road trip.

17. Dallas Stars

Last week: 25

The scrappy Stars remain atop the Pacific despite not having a statistic in the top half of the league.

Their line: 22nd offense, 17th defense, 20th power play and 17th penalty kill.

Dallas’ lead in the Pacific is in peril. Currently, they have a three-way tie with Phoenix and San Jose, and Los Angeles is right behind with 26 points.

16. Florida Panthers

Last week: 10

Florida had a good thing going, but they’ve lost two-straight to their Sunshine State brethren.

They’ve got six of their next seven games away from Sunrise.

It’s an early make-or-break scenario for the upstart Cats.

15. Tampa Bay Lightning

Last week: 22

After a devastating loss to Toronto, the Lightning are moving in the right direction with two straight wins over the Panthers.

14. Los Angeles Kings

Last week: 11

If the Kings are going to separate themselves from the pack in the Pacific, they must score more goals (currently: 2.3 goals per game, 26th in the league).

Their lack of production has cost them three of their last four contests.

13. Chicago Blackhawks

Last week: 13

The Central-leading Blackhawks have an impressive offense (third in league), but they're struggling on defense and have the league’s worst penalty kill.

Despite their defensive deficiencies, the Hawks have finished their road trip well with victories over Anaheim and LA.

12. Phoenix Coyotes

Last week: 5

The Yotes are a part of the three-way tie atop the Pacific, but they haven’t strung together two wins since mid-November.

They’ve got to string more wins together if they’re going to remain in the Pacific race this season.

11. Edmonton Oilers

Last week: 19

The Oil need to get their offense going if they want to return to the top of the Northwest Division.

The division lead is not out of the question, though. They finished their road trip 2-2, including a 5-2 win over the red-hot Wild.

10. St. Louis Blues

Last week: 8

The Blues are playing well defensively, but they have the league’s worst power play and are struggling on offense and the PK.

They’ve won two straight, however, and only have four losses in November.

Bringing in Ken Hitchcock looks like it was the right move for St. Louis.

9. Philadelphia Flyers

Last week: 4

The Flyers own the league’s best offense, but they need to improve other aspects of their game to compete with their crosstown rivals in the Atlantic.

Philly had won two in a row before being shut out by the rival Rangers on Saturday.

8. Toronto Maple Leafs

Last week: 15

An impressive offense and power play has kept the Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference race.

They’ve won three of their last four, including 7-1 doozies against Washington and in Tampa.

7. Minnesota Wild

Last week: 6

It’s simple: If Minnesota is going to stave off Edmonton and Vancouver in the Northwest, they’ve got to score more than 2.2 goals per game.

The Wild won five straight before their 5-2 loss to Edmonton.

This red-hot squad can be seen on Versus on Monday.

6. San Jose Sharks

Last week: 3

If only the Sharks didn’t have to kill penalties.

San Jose’s been playing good hockey. They had their four-game win streak snapped by Vancouver on Saturday and only have three losses in November.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins

Last week: 12

The Penguins are a top-10 team in all categories: offense, defense, power play and penalty kill.

They are also 3-0-1 since Sidney Crosby has come back.

In short, they’re a force to be reckoned with in the East.

4. Vancouver Canucks

Last week: 16

The Canucks have turned it up and look like they’re poised to challenge the Wild for the Northwest Division lead.

They’ve won five of their last six contests, including shutouts in Colorado and Phoenix.

3. New York Rangers

Last week: 2

Behind the league’s best defense, the Rangers have ascended in the East.

They only have two losses in November.

The nation can get a glimpse of this team when they take on the Penguins Tuesday on Versus.

2. Boston Bruins

Last week: 1

The power play is this team’s only weakness.

Boston owns the second-best offense, defense and the eighth-best penalty kill.

They are 14th on the power play, however.

No worries in Beantown. The B’s have one loss, a 3-2 shootout to Detroit, in November.

1. Detroit Red Wings

Last week: 9

The penalty kill is struggling, but otherwise the Red Wings are playing solid hockey.

Detroit is currently on a five-game win streak.