Conroy: NHL Power Rankings

We knew there would be a fair amount of change from the pre-season power rankings through the first month of the NHL season. Not quite this much, though. We don’t expect some of these teams to hang on to these lofty spots, or some others to stay mired in non-playoff positions.

With apologies to Bill Parcells, teams are not always what their record says they this early in the season. But it is how we keep score, and this is how we see it as of Tuesday afternoon.

1. Boston Bruins: The B’s have been dominant at home and not too bad on the road either.

2. Vegas Golden Knights: Maybe the time was right for Bruce Cassidy to leave Boston. The time was definitely right for him to coach this team. Cassidy and his Knights return to Boston on Dec. 5.

3. New Jersey Devils: The calls for Lindy Ruff’s head have suddenly been muted.

4. Carolina Hurricanes: Martin Necas is starting to look like the player many of us thought he might be a couple of years ago. They’ll need that secondary scoring to get over the hump.

5. Dallas Stars: When Jake Oettinger is healthy, the Stars have a chance to win every game.

6. Toronto Maple Leafs: Everyone loves to laugh at the Leafs, but they’re the only team to successfully shut down the B’s high-powered offense and the next night they manufactured a win in Carolina.

7. Winnipeg Jets: The culture change seems to be working in the ‘Peg. That and Connor Hellebuyck stopping the puck.

8. Detroit Red Wings: You had to figure with what Steve Yzerman had been building and then the summer buying frenzy, the Wings would be turning some kind of corner.

9. Tampa Bay Lightning: The Bolts have lost a lot over the past couple of years. They still have a lot. And their winning DNA is still intact.

10. Colorado Avalanche: After a slow start, the Stanley Cup hangover is fading.

11. Seattle Kraken: Yes. The Seattle Kraken.

12. Florida Panthers: The Panthers tried to get nastier in summer with the Matthew Tkachuk trade. There’s no evidence yet that they’ve gotten better, but they’ve been without Aaron Ekblad for much of the season.

13. New York Islanders: What exactly the Islanders are is still a guess, but they’d won six of seven going into Tuesday’s matchup against the Rangers.

14. Edmonton Oilers: The Oil has its usual goal-prevention issues, but Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are a handful every night.

15. Los Angeles Kings: Some expected more from the Kings, but they’ve been OK. Just OK.

16. Calgary Flames: GM Brad Treliving did a great job of restocking the shelves after Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau bolted. Now it’s time for the players to do their jobs.

17. New York Rangers: Some folks might have gotten out over their skis with talk of the Blueshirts being Cup contenders.

18. Buffalo Sabres: If not for a rough weekend with losses in Tampa and Carolina, the Sabres would have been Sweet 16. The belief here is that they will eventually get there.

19. Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers have already exceeded some observers’ expectations but you had to know they’d be a tougher out with John Tortorella behind the bench.

20. Washington Capitals: Tom Wilson has been missed in D.C.

21. Chicago Blackhawks: Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane seem intent on messing up the rebuilding process here.

22. Minnesota Wild: One of the bigger disappointments of the season so far.

23. Montreal Canadiens: The Habs have won just enough to believe things are going in the right direction.

24. Pittsburgh Penguins: You lose seven in a row and you’ll sink pretty hard, but there’s too much here for the Pens to be this bad.

25. St. Louis Blues: Ditto.

26. Nashville Predators: It hasn’t been all downhill since they opened with two wins in Czechia, but they’ve been playing jet-lagged ever since.

27. Ottawa Senators: The Sens have the distinction of being one of two teams to have beaten the B’s, but after beating teams like Boston and Dallas, they’d lost five straight going into Tuesday’s game against Vancouver.

28. Arizona Coyotes: A good power play can help you eke some wins, and the ‘Yotes have one.

29. Vancouver Canucks: Free Jack Rathbone!

30. Anaheim Ducks: There’s some elite and entertaining talent in Orange County, just not nearly enough.

31. San Jose Sharks: Erik Karlsson has returned to the highlight reels, but it’s not translating into team success.

32. Columbus Blue Jackets: The arrival of Johnny Hockey has not been enough to overcome bad goaltending and a terrible power play.

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/MOTuqRF