You just can’t get the same level of entertainment hockey brings from anywhere else. As soon as the skates start hitting the ice, my heart starts beating.
We’re getting closer and closer to the best parts of the season, too. Let’s not rush too far ahead, though. We’ve had plenty of action in the last six weeks, and we need to focus on that before we jump ahead to the end of the season.
Let’s dive into this week’s NHL team power rankings.
Who are the top teams in the NHL power rankings after week 6?
32. San Jose Sharks (Previous rank: 31)
The Sharks are back on the bottom. However, we focus too much on the negatives with this team. Let’s focus on something positive. Mackenzie Blackwood has been a sight for sore eyes for Sharks fans this season. Despite a poor blue line in front of him (as well as a plethora of other issues), he has stood strong and given San Jose a chance to win every game. It’s up to San Jose to take those chances, though, and that’s where the struggles start to come in.
31. Montreal Canadiens (Previous rank: 32)
You have to be playing pretty badly to make the Habs regret sending off Jake Allen. That’s exactly what they’ve gotten from goalie prospect Cayden Primeau so far. Through seven games, he only has one win, a GAA of 4.67, and a save percentage of .845. Montreal was banking a big part of their future on these young goalies, and so far this season, they have not delivered. You can still have hope in Montambault, though. Primeau’s performance this season has been truly concerning.
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30. Anaheim Ducks (Previous rank: Unchanged)
As expected, John Gibson’s return has done little to boost the Ducks’ win percentage. What can you expect, though? This team can’t score goals to save their lives. Gibson can make fifty saves per game, and it wouldn’t matter if the Ducks couldn’t find the back of the net on the opposing side.
29. Chicago Blackhawks (Previous rank: 27)
The sophomore slump seems to have struck Connor Bedard. It’s not that he’s having a bad season; he still leads the team with 13 points, but it’s far from what was expected of him. He has an impressive ten assists so far but has scored only three goals through this first part of the season. Part of it could be that Chicago is getting a bit more secondary scoring this season.
28. Nashville Predators (Previous rank: Unchanged)
It’s always a difficult time to see a once elite team slowly drop their way back down to the bottom. For Nashville, that slow drop was more like a rock sinking into a lake. Despite a rough start last year, they were able to turn things around and make the playoffs. This start has not only been worse, but they don’t even look anything like the same NHL team.
27. Columbus Blue Jackets (Previous rank: 25)
Columbus is starting to fall back down to the bottom. That saying makes it feel like they were playing well, but really, they were just playing better than expected. Your guess is as good as mine as to the steps needed to take to get Columbus out of this hole. I wouldn’t expect salvation to come anytime soon, though.
Also Read: Ranking All 32 NHL Teams After Week 5 Games
26. Detroit Red Wings (Previous rank: 23)
If you told me that the Red Wings would get more consistent goaltending this season than last yet still play worse, I wouldn’t have believed you. Yet here we are. Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon are giving their all, yet Detroit is in a significantly worse spot to start this year than they were last year. Part of that has to do with the fact that their defense hasn’t improved at all. At -13, they have one of the worst goal differentials in the league.
25. Pittsburgh Penguins (Previous rank: 24)
Speaking of bad goal differentials, the Penguins have the absolute worst in the league at -25. Unlike Detroit, this is a combination of bad goaltending, bad defense, and a bad offense. You heard that right, the former offensive powerhouse the Pittsburgh Penguins, are struggling to score goals. It’s not Anaheim level bad, but compared to the numbers the Penguins are used to putting up, it’s pretty bad.
24. Philadelphia Flyers (Previous rank: 29)
The Flyers have been playing much better. Their offense still hasn’t produced massive numbers, but they’ve made up for it with solid defense and a really good counterattack. They don’t need many opportunities; they just need one. They’re attempting to make up the ground they lost, but they will have to ramp up the level of play to be a playoff team.
23. Buffalo Sabres (Previous rank: 26)
The Sabres didn’t really move up because of anything spectacular they were doing, and it’s just that they were playing better than most of the teams behind them. As of right now, this season has still been fairly disappointing, especially when you consider the amount of hype they had going into last season.
22. Boston Bruins (Previous rank: 20)
I really don’t know what happened to the Bruins. Even Jeremy Swayman is struggling. David Pastrnak is not putting up the offensive numbers he did last season. Everything is going wrong for the Bruins. Every week, they continue to struggle, and you can see the frustration build more and more.
21. New York Islanders (Previous rank: Unchanged)
As stated before, the Islanders are in limbo. They’re hovering right around .500 week in and week out. They’re not an easy NHL team for anyone to play, but they’re not exactly squeaking out much-needed wins, either. They may end up relying pretty heavily on Ilya Sorokin as well, given that Semyon Varlamov’s level of play has dropped a bit this season.
20. St Louis Blues (Previous rank: 17)
The Blues went from playing mediocre to just straight-up playing bad. They’re now under .500 and are struggling to get points. They’ll have to find some way to get themselves back on track and convince the critics that they’re even still capable of competing for a playoff spot.
19. Utah Hockey Club (Previous rank: 15)
Utah continues to drop further and farther. They’re losing more often than winning, and it’s brought them to a .500 record. That hot start is well in the rearview mirror, and now they’re just focused on keeping their heads above water. They may be in a new city, but it’s a lot of the same struggles they had when they were still in the desert.
18. Seattle Kraken (Previous rank: Unchanged)
The Kraken have sneakily been pulling themselves back into the game. They’re finding ways to win games and get points and have slowly but surely pulled themselves back into the playoff race. It’s always a tale of two teams with Seattle, though, so there’s really no telling if they’ll continue playing this way or if they’ll revert back to their losing ways.
17. Ottawa Senators (Previous rank: 22)
Ottawa gets a decent boost this week just because it seemed unfair to force them to be around other teams who were genuinely playing awful. Ottawa hasn’t been playing at an elite level, but they’ve looked a lot better than teams like the Bruins or Penguins. That being said, they’re still not where they need to be, and they have a lot of work to do if they want any hope of a playoff spot.
16. Colorado Avalanche (Previous rank: 19)
The Avs have looked better. That’s about all I can say. They don’t look as lost in their own zone as they did before. This still doesn’t look anywhere close to the same team that won the Cup a few seasons ago, but at least they’re not struggling to get wins like they were earlier this very NHL season.
15. Calgary Flames (Previous rank: 14)
Calgary has managed to break its fall and keep itself above .500. It’s also well in the playoff race, tied in third place with Vancouver. The Pacific Division has been especially tight this season, though, and a couple of losses can bounce you down toward the bottom. We’ll have to see if Calgary has what it takes to keep up.
14. Edmonton Oilers (Previous rank: 16)
The Oilers are happy to have their captain back. There’s been a noticeable boost of energy since McDavid took the ice again, and Edmonton’s managed to get themselves above .500. Connor also managed to knot his 1000th NHL point so congratulations to him for such an incredible milestone.
13. Vancouver Canucks (Previous rank: 11)
Three Canadian teams in a row. Vancouver currently holds the third-place spot in the division, but it’s by a thread. They only have the lead on Calgary due to having played one less game, and the Oilers are only one point behind both of them. Last year, Vancouver had a stranglehold on the division for most of the season; this year, they’re going to have to battle for that playoff spot.
12. Tampa Bay Lightning (Previous rank: 13)
Tampa may not be back to their old form like I had hoped, but they’re still playing pretty well. It’s them, Toronto, and Florida at the top of the Atlantic, and they have a pretty decent hold on those positions, given how bad the rest of the division has been. It’s hard to say if they’re on the same level as those other two teams or if they’re a step below.
11. Los Angeles Kings (Previous rank: 9)
It’s really, really hard to get a grip on this NHL team. One day, they look like world-beaters; the next, they’re playing well below their skill level. It could be that they’re still settling into their new system and dealing with the injuries that keep popping up (Darcy Kuemper is out yet again), but who can tell? That being said, they’re still in second place in the division and have looked pretty good.
10. Vegas Golden Knights (Previous rank: Unchanged)
It’s to no one surprise that Vegas has started strong again this year. Everyone’s waiting to see how they play in the second half of the year. Last season, they started to struggle, which cost them positioning and forced them to enter the playoffs as a wild card. They’ll want to avoid that this season and try to get a more favorable matchup if they can.
9. Toronto Maple Leafs (Previous rank: 8)
Toronto seems to be getting along okay without Auston Matthews. It helps that they have quite a few offensive powerhouses on their team. I mean, Mitch Marner and William Nylander are absolutely killing it this season. Matthew Knies and John Tavares are holding their own as well. That’s paired with Anthony Stolarz being an absolute beast between the pipes.
8. New Jersey Devils (Previous rank: 12)
Last week, I challenged the Devils to prove me wrong, and they really did. This team wants to win this season. It’s harder to win in the Metro this year though, as the division has been absolutely stacked towards the top. So far, New Jersey has been able to hold their own, but will they be able to keep it up all season? This is a good opportunity for the Devils to prove that they’re here to stay.
7. Dallas Stars (Previous rank: Unchanged)
The Stars being this low is proof of how absolutely crazy the top talent in the NHL has been this season. Picking a top-five has been tremendously hard, and unfortunately, Dallas’ recent struggles mean they didn’t quite make the cut. That doesn’t take away from how incredible this team is, though, and hopefully, they continue to prove that.
6. Florida Panthers (Previous rank: 3)
I didn’t want to have the defending champs this low, as they’ve been really good so far. That being said, so have the remaining five teams on the list. It’s an absolute shark tank at the top of these rankings and I expect positions to change quite frequently in the next coming weeks.
5. New York Rangers (Previous rank: Unchanged)
The fact that the Rangers are 11-4-1 to start the season and are still only in fourth place in the division is a testament to how good the Metro division has been so far this year. If this trend continues, we’ll most likely see five Metro teams making the NHL playoffs this year, as the Atlantic has not been able to keep up in terms of competition.
4. Washington Capitals (Previous rank: 6)
The Capitals are proving a lot of people wrong this season. Ovechkin continues to close in on Gretzky’s record, and Washington continues to show that no matter how long it’s been, they will continue to be relevant. This team is about as hard to predict as the best of them, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Let’s just enjoy the ride while we can.
3. Minnesota Wild (Previous rank: 4)
Speaking of unpredictable, nobody could’ve predicted the Wild would end up being this good. My only real concern is how heavily they’re relying on Fillip Gustavsson, but if he continues to play well, then I guess it’s not really worth mentioning. So far, he’s been a brick wall in the net, but he’s had a pretty good team in front of him as well. I can’t remember the last time I saw the Wild look this good.
2. Winnipeg Jets (Previous rank: 1)
This week, we discovered that the Jets are mortal after all. It was bound to happen eventually, but this is still far from a collapse. This is a determined NHL team. A team that wants to win and shut a lot of people up. They have the tools to be elite, but will they finally be able to cross the hurdle after years of disappointment?
1. Carolina Hurricanes (Previous rank: 2)
So far this year, the Hurricanes are playing like the team I predicted them to be last season. I guess I was off by a year. This is a team that can do it all. They can score, they can defend, and they have a hot goaltender. They can beat you in a barn burner goal fest, or they can shut you down in a defensive classic. They can win; however, they need to win, and it’s made them dangerous.
Also Read: Ranking All 32 NHL Teams’ Offenses From WORST To FIRST For The 2024 Season
