Week three of the NHL had some pretty good games. Some NHL teams have started to pick up the pace, while others have seemed to fall into skids or continue digging their holes.
Luckily for these teams and for fans, the season is still young, and there’s plenty of time to shake things up!
That being said, we’re talking about week three today and will grade each NHL team’s performance this week!
Which NHL teams earned high grades after week 3 of games?
Anaheim Ducks Grade: D- (Previous grade: C-)
At the end of the day, at least the Ducks can still say they’re better than the Sharks. This was proven by their 3-1 victory over the Sharks this week, which ended up being their only win this week. They would follow it up with a 2-1 loss to the Rangers and a 6-2 loss to the Devils. The offense continues to be the Ducks’ biggest weak point.
Boston Bruins Grade: D- (Previous grade: C+)
What an ugly week for the Bruins. They lost 4-0 to the Predators then immediately followed it up with a 5-2 loss to the Stars. They slowed the bleeding a bit with a 4-3 OT win over the Leafs to end the week, their second win over the Leafs this season. But beating up the Leafs is a Boston tradition at this point and probably doesn’t help ease the sting of a bad week too much.
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Buffalo Sabres Grade: A+ (Previous grade: D)
Buffalo pole vaulted themselves up the Atlantic division rankings with three straight wins this week, including a 5-2 win over the powerhouse Stars. The weakened state of the division has made it possible for Buffalo to place themselves in third place just by stringing a few wins together. Putting that aside, though, this is a better week than Buffalo had the entire length of last season. That’s got to be some level of confidence booster for this NHL team.
Calgary Flames Grade: D (Previous grade: A)
This was by far the weakest week of Calgary’s season so far. They started out fine enough by beating the Penguins 4-3 in a shootout. They then ended the week with two straight losses, which also happened to be their first two regulation losses of the season. There’s no shame in losing to Carolina and Winnipeg, however, so it’s far from the worst week they could’ve had.
Carolina Hurricanes Grade: A+ (Previous grade: B-)
After middling about a bit for the first two weeks of the season, Carolina found their form with three straight wins this week. Not only did they hand Calgary their first regulation loss of the season, but they also stuck it to Seattle and downed the Oilers in OT. They looked good this week, and it may be the ignition of their engines, which took them a bit of time last year.
Chicago Blackhawks Grade: F (Previous grade: D)
The Blackhawks lost all three of their games this week, which brought their losing streak up to four games in total. They’ve only managed two wins so far this season, which is fairly similar to how they started out last year. Not the improvements they were hoping to see, that’s for sure. It’s most likely going to be another long wait for the draft lottery.
Also Read: Ranking All 32 NHL Teams’ Defenses From WORST To FIRST For The 2024 Season
Colorado Avalanche Grade: A+ (Previous grade: D)
The Avs struggled mightily there for a minute, but now they’ve rattled off five straight wins, including winning all three of their games this week. Alexandar Georgiev has taken a backseat from the starting role, and so far Justus Annunen has been relatively solid in net. That boost in goaltending has allowed Colorado to find their footing and start playing their game.
Columbus Blue Jackets Grade: C- (Previous grade: D)
The Jackets aren’t having a swell start to their season by any means, but hey, it could be a lot worse. They played two games this week, losing one in OT to the Predators but also picking up a fairly impressive 6-2 win over the Leafs. Every now and then, this NHL team shows glimpses of what they could be, but it’s been getting fewer and farther in between.
Dallas Stars Grade: B (Previous grade: B+)
Outside of a 4-2 loss to the streaking Sabres, Dallas had another fairly solid week. They beat the Hawks 4-2, and beat the Bruins 5-2. This brings their record up to 7-2-0 to start the season which is pretty respectable. They look as deep as ever, and as usual are pretty dang hard to score on.
Detroit Red Wings Grade: D (Previous grade: D-)
They started off the week with a really solid 5-3 win over the Devils, but it was all downhill from there. They got beat by the Sabres 5-3, then ended their week with a 3-2 OT loss to the Oilers. There’s no consistency with this Detroit team, and it’s biting them in the rear so far this NHL season. The state of the Atlantic means they’re not out of the race yet, but surely they’re going to want to start getting better results.
Edmonton Oilers Grade: B- (Previous grade: C+)
It’s not as bad of a start as they had last year, but it’s certainly not the start they wanted, either. That being said, Edmonton had a pretty decent week. While they started off with an OT loss to the Hurricanes, they then rattled off two wins against the Penguins and Red Wings. It’s hard to have faith in this team making another comeback if they don’t start getting some solid goaltending and some much-needed support on the blue line, though.
Florida Panthers Grade: B+ (Previous grade: A)
They started off this week with a brutal 5-1 loss to the Wild. They didn’t let that slow them down, though, as they went on to beat the Rangers 3-1 and the Islanders 6-3. They’re slowly starting to distance themselves from the rest of the Atlantic Division, which is currently not in its best state. If they can keep putting together wins, they may just run away with the division title.
Los Angeles Kings Grade: B- (Previous grade: C+)
The 6-1 loss to the Golden Knights was brutal for LA, but they managed to stop the bleeding with a pair of 3-2 wins over San Jose and Utah. They also finally got to play in their own building after starting out the year with seven straight road games. That’s a tough schedule for any NHL team to start with, man, and it’s no wonder LA has taken some time to get used to their new system. Darcy Kuemper is back from injury as well, so maybe we’ll start seeing some of the best hockey from LA, which is already off to a 5-2-2 start.
Minnesota Wild Grade: A- (Previous grade: A)
They had their four-game winning streak snapped and got handed their first regulation loss of the season at the end of the week in a 7-5 barn burner against Philadelphia. That doesn’t erase their other two games this week, though, which were both wins against Florida and Tampa Bay. Minnesota has started this year out 5-1-2, which has been shocking, to say the least.
Montreal Canadiens Grade: C+ (Previous grade: F)
It was a decent week for Montreal, which is what they needed after their rough week two. They did get routed by the Rangers 7-2, but they also had a solid 5-2 win over the Blues and stifled a Philly comeback to beat them 4-3 to end their week. They’re 4-4-1 so far this year, and given the state of the Atlantic, they just need to find some consistent play, and they could find themselves competing for a playoff spot.
Nashville Predators Grade: A+ (Previous grade: F)
The Preds finally got their first win of the season and it was all systems go from there. After beating the Bruins 4-0 to get into the win column, Nashville rattled off two more wins against Chicago and Columbus. Not the highest quality of competition at the end there, but given the way they were playing the last two weeks, it’s very much an improvement.
New Jersey Devils Grade: D (Previous grade: A)
New Jersey lost their first three games this week, bringing their losing streak to four games. They managed to snap that streak with a 6-2 win over Anaheim to end week 3. This was their second straight four-game week and has brought their total games up to 12, the most so far in the NHL. A lot of work early for this Devils team.
New York Islanders Grade: C (Previous grade: A-)
They had an impressive 4-3 win over the Devils, but that came in between a 1-0 loss to the Red Wings and a 6-3 loss to the Panthers. Goals haven’t come easy for New York this year, especially given the grinding style they have to play in order to slow down the other teams. That being said, their goaltending and defense are still fairly solid.
New York Rangers Grade: A- (Previous grade: A+)
They had their first regulation loss of the season in the form of a 3-1 loss to the Panthers this week. That came in between two wins, a 7-2 win over Montreal and a 2-1 win over Anaheim. New York has shown an amazing ability to adapt to the play styles of other teams and be able to win in a multitude of different ways, which has led them to a 6-1-1 start so far this year.
Ottawa Senators Grade: D+ (Previous grade: A-)
While they did have a very solid 4-0 win over Utah, they followed it up with a 6-4 loss to Vegas and a 5-4 loss to Colorado. While their ability to score goals has been very impressive, it seems their ability to stop goals has started to slip again, even with Linus Ullmark between the pipes. That could be a worrying sign for this Ottawa team.
Philadelphia Flyers Grade: D- (Previous grade: F)
Philly finally ended its six-game losing streak and notched its second win of the season in an exciting 7-5 win over the Wild. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a fun game and a win. Unfortunately, it followed up with yet another loss, this one to Montreal. Desperate, it’s turned to rookie goaltender Aleksei Kolosov in hopes that he can provide solid backup goaltending to Samuel Ersson.
Pittsburgh Penguins Grade: F (Previous grade: C)
The Pens find themselves in the midst of a five-game losing streak after this week. They played three games and lost all three, only collecting one point in the process. Tristan Jarry’s less-than-stellar performances saw a rare transaction occur in which he was put down in the AHL on a 14-day loan without having to clear waivers. Given his large contract and the hopes of his play, this is extremely disappointing for the Pittsburgh club.
San Jose Sharks Grade: F (Previous grade: Unchanged)
The Sharks are still winless. They’ve now made NHL history as the first team ever to lose their first nine games in back-to-back seasons. That’s not a record that any team ever would want. Unfortunately for the Sharks, outside of finally getting a win, I doubt things are going to get much better for them.
Seattle Kraken Grade: F (Previous grade: A+)
After a strong start to the season and a particularly excellent week 2, Seattle has now lost three in a row. It’s hard to say if this is just a skid or not, given Seattle’s tendency to be hard to predict. The hope is that they can gather themselves back up and get back to their winning ways. They have the talent to do so. They just need to execute.
St Louis Blues Grade: C (Previous grade: A-)
While their 5-1 win over the Leafs was great, their 5-2 loss to the Habs was not. Throw a 3-2 loss to the Jets in there as well, and you will have a pretty mediocre week for the Blues. They still have a winning record and a decent squad, but one has to wonder how high their ceiling really is.
Tampa Bay Lightning Grade: C (Previous grade: A)
The Bolts went 2-2-0 this week, a perfect .500. They ended their week with a solid 3-0 win over the streaking Capitals. Their other win this week was a rather sloppy, albeit entertaining, 8-5 win over the Devils. Their losses were a 5-2 loss to the Leafs and a 4-2 loss to the Wild. They’re 5-3-0 to start the year so far, which is good for second place in the currently struggling Atlantic Division.
Toronto Maple Leafs Grade: F (Previous grade: B-)
While they did start off the week with a solid 5-2 win over the Bolts, it won’t be enough to save them a bad grade as they went on to lose their next three, two in embarrassing fashion. While losing 4-3 in OT to the Bruins is just fine, losing 6-2 to Columbus and 5-1 to St Louis back-to-back is not, especially for a team of this caliber.
Utah Hockey Club Grade: F (Previous grade: D+)
Utah lost all three of their games this week, dropping them down to a 4-4-1 record. While this certainly takes the fire out of them a bit, one can only hope they can find a way to reignite it because those first two weeks were fun. I want this team to succeed because it would be such a great story after everything they’ve been through.
Vancouver Canucks Grade: A+ (Previous grade: B-)
Vancouver won both of their games this week, beating Pittsburgh 4-3 and Chicago 6-3. This brought their winning streak up to four games and their record up to 4-1-2. Talk about turning around a slow start. Vancouver is very much on a roll right now and looks much more like the team we saw last season, and so far they’ve managed to do it without Thatcher Demko.
Vegas Golden Knights Grade: A+ (Previous grade: F)
Vegas completely turned their fortunes around this week, winning all three of their games and scoring in high quantities. They beat the Kings 6-1, beat the Senators 6-4, and beat the Sharks 7-3. This solid week gets them right back to the top of the heap, and they’ll be hoping to stay there if they can remain consistent.
Washington Capitals Grade: A- (Previous grade: A+)
The Capitals continued to add to their stellar start, beating up the Flyers in both games of a home and home to bring their win total to five. They ended the week with their second loss of the season, a 3-0 loss to the Lightning, but that doesn’t make their start any less impressive so far. One can only guess if they can keep it going, but for now, this team is brimming with confidence.
Winnipeg Jets Grade: A+ (Previous grade: Unchanged)
With an 8-0-0 start, Winnipeg managed to go undefeated through the first three weeks of the season, which is not an easy feat to do in today’s NHL. They won all three of their games this week to add to that win total, and they’ve been doing it with a solid defensive structure that seemingly stifles offenses as soon as they enter the zone. I wouldn’t want to play this team right now. Sheesh.
Also Read: Ranking All 32 NHL Teams After Week 2 Games
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