The Rangers, Stars and Canadiens continue their dominance at the top of the power rankings. The spots under them, however, have seen plenty of changes. The Sharks have dethroned the Kings and the Blackhawks and Red Wings have both emerged in the top 10. It seems that the longer this season goes, the more convoluted the playoff picture becomes.
1. Montreal Canadiens: 16-4-2
The Canadiens offense was flying high again this weekend, scoring nine goals in two games against an impressive Islanders club. Max Pacioretty has been great since becoming the captain, leading the team with 11 goals. P.K Subban and Andrei Markov have also been productive offensively on the blue line, each with over 15 points in 22 games. The Canadiens have been the best offense in the best offense in the league so far this season, and they have all the star power needed to continue their dominance.
2. Dallas Stars: 17-4-0
It’s easy to talk about how dynamic Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are offensively. They are both among the top five in the NHL when it comes to points and goals. However, it is easy to forget that the NHL leader in +/- is also on the Dallas Stars, John Klingberg. The 23-year-old defender has followed up an impressive rookie season with an incredible start to his sophomore campaign, scoring 23 points in 21 games.
3. New York Rangers: 15-3-2
The Rangers do score over three GPG, but also have a 1.9 GAA that is the best in the NHL. Daniel Girardi, Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal and Kevin Klein make up the best top four in the league. Even if the team did not have those great defenders, they still have Henrik Lundqvist to fall back on.
4. St Louis Blues: 13-6-2
The Blues are the strangest team among those in the top five. They are only 17th in GPG and 11th in GAA. They still, however, find ways to win as they are tied for fourth with 13 wins. It will be interesting to see if they can continue their success without being dominant at either end of the ice.
5. San Jose Sharks: 13-8-0
What a difference a week makes! The Sharks catapult into the top of the Pacific Division thanks to their improbable six game winning streak. Martin Jones has had a return to form, moving his GAA down to 2.02.
6. Washington Capitals: 13-5-1
The Capitals imposed their will on Colorado last Saturday, destroying the Avalanche 7-3. They continue to vanquish small fries like Colorado and Philadelphia, but cannot get the victory against the elite of the NHL, losing to the Rangers and Dallas. The good news for them is that they have an easy four games this week, so they should reemerge into the top five.
7. Minnesota Wild: 11-5-3
The Wild continue to be successful in the treacherous Central Division despite Zach Parise facing injury concerns. They have a tough schedule coming up, and it will be interesting to see if Parise will return before their game against Dallas.
8. Nashville Predators: 11-5-3
They were having a superb November before getting shut out 4-0 against Columbus and Minnesota last week. Without any stars on the forward position, it will be interesting to see if they can continue to score enough to keep themselves in the top 10.
9. Chicago Blackhawks: 11-8-2
The team picked up three points in as many games last week, and continues to close the gap between them and the leaders of the Central Division. Patrick Kane continues his electric start to the season, leading the league with 32 points.
10. Detroit Red Wings: 11-8-2
The addition of Pavel Datsyuk to the line up has given the Red Wings the boost they need to climb into the top 10. They have won three of their last four games, the only loss coming in overtime. The team has also seen an improvement on the offensive end, scoring three or more goals in those three wins despite being the 24th ranked offense.
11. Pittsburgh Penguins: 12-8-0
The Penguins offense continues to be inconsistent, thanks to slow starts from their star players. With all of the hype around their vaunted offense, they only rank 25th in GPG. Once they start scoring again, they will reemerge in the top 10.
12. Los Angeles Kings: 12-8-0
Their only win last week was against the putrid Flyers in a shootout. They are still definitely in the playoff picture, but games against Tampa Bay and Chicago will test if this years Kings are for real.
13. Ottawa Senators: 10-5-5
Ottawa took advantage of easy opponents when they shut out Columbus and Philadelphia. Their game against Dallas will be a good measure of how good this borderline top 10 team is.
14. New York Islanders: 10-8-3
The Islanders were riding a two game winning streak before dropping two against Montreal. They face Philadelphia and Florida this week, which should both be wins for a team that is in serious contention for a playoff spot.
15. Tampa Bay Lightning: 10-9-3
While it may only be a matter of time before the defending Eastern Conference champions get back into the top 10 where they belong, their performance in November is forcing me to drop them further and further down the rankings. They only have five victories in their ten games in November, not impressive for a team that is supposed to be a Stanley Cup contender.
16. Winnipeg Jets: 10-9-2
The Jets were able to rebound last week after an appalling six game losing streak. They are still giving up three GPG, and they will need to correct that in order to maintain their spot in the top 20.
17. Vancouver Canucks: 8-8-6
They may only have eight wins, but they are still third in the Pacific Division and have a star-studded roster. A team with the Sedin twins, Alexander Edler, Radim Vrbata, Brandon Sutter, Dan Hamhuis and Ryan Miller cannot be taken lightly.
18. New Jersey Devils: 11-8-1
The Devils have 11 wins, but there are still too many question marks for this team. Do they have enough offense? When will their aging veterans start to wear down? Can Cory Schneider continue to play at an elite level?
19. Boston Bruins: 10-8-1
As the final team on the rankings with more wins then losses, the Bruins can very easily move their way up. They have four wins in their last six games, and all signs point to a resurgence in the Bruins playoff chances.
20. Arizona Coyotes: 10-9-1
The Coyotes continue to baffle hockey fans. One week they lose to Columbus, but in the next week they come back and beat Montreal. One has to wonder which is the real Coyotes?
21. Florida Panthers: 8-8-4
The Panthers continue to tumble down the rankings thanks to a miserable November. Their penalty kill is ranked 27th, and have seen their defense disintegrate the last two weeks.
22. Anaheim Ducks: 7-10-4
They continue their slow climb back to the top of the weak Pacific Division. Their 5-0 defeat against Tampa Bay hurts, but overall November has been an important month in the recovery of the Ducks.
23. Calgary Flames: 8-12-1
Similar to the Ducks, the Flames are starting to play the kind of hockey we expected them to. They have won three of their last four games, and it looks more and more like Karri Ramo could be the answer to the Flames goaltender problem.
24. Philadelphia Flyers: 6-9-5
In terms of catastrophic Novembers, the Flyers misfortunes are one of the most memorable in recent history. Their last ranked offense could only manage two goals last week, both caused by the lone bright spot on the Flyers in Claude Giroux.
25. Toronto Maple Leafs: 7-10-4
The Maple Leafs knew that Mike Babcock would make them better; it was only be a matter of time. They have won five of their last seven, but still have a while to go before they are serious playoff contenders.
26. Buffalo Sabres: 8-10-2
A four game losing streak has seen the Sabres crashing back down to Earth. Their 27th ranked offense has been appalling over the last couple of weeks, as newcomer Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart have yet to have the kind of impact expected of them. While Reinhart is only a rookie and has plenty of reasons for his slow start, Evander Kane is just embarrassing himself on the top line this year, and it is only a matter of time before he starts whining his way out of Buffalo as he did in Winnipeg.
27. Colorado Avalanche: 7-12-1
Gabriel Landeskog will return this week, but that does not help the terrible defense the team has been displaying. Giving up 3.1 goals a game is not going to give you anything but a top five pick.
28. Carolina Hurricanes: 7-10-3
The last thing this team needed was a five game losing streak to derail their decent October. Eric Staal is a great player, but he isn’t enough for the 28th ranked offense in the NHL.
29. Columbus Blue Jackets: 8-14-0
Columbus has managed to return to the level of play expected of an NHL team, but they have a while to go before they get higher in these rankings. They play New Jersey, Pittsburgh and St. Louis this week, and if they play well against them they would start making a good case for improving in the rankings.
30. Edmonton Oilers: 7-12-1
Nobody knows how to lose quite like the Edmonton Oilers. They have an incredible 12 losses in regulation despite only playing 20 games this season.