NHL power rankings: Oilers remain scorching hot as McDavid extends point streak
Halloween has come and gone, which means that the first full month of the 2026-27 NHL regular season is officially in the books.
By now, we’ve seen more than enough from each team to establish baseline expectations for all of them going forward. As typically happens this time of year, we’re starting to see a handful of tiers forming, both in the standings and in our power rankings, as the contenders and the bottom feeders begin to distance themselves from the pack.
Scott and I are back to recap another wild week across the NHL. We saw another trade request fulfilled shortly after a new one came to the surface; amidst all that, the league’s 32 member clubs continued to jostle for positioning with the playoff race starting to take shape.
As usual, these rankings are an amalgamation of outputs generated by Scott’s fancy-schmancy model and my own peerless intellect. The end result is a straightforward, reader-friendly, and (most importantly) SEO-optimized list from Nos. 1 to 32. Buckle up, because for the fourth consecutive week, we’re starting in the heart of NASCAR country.
1. Carolina Hurricanes
Record: 12-2-2, +27
Last Week: 1st (0)
Mike’s Rank: 1st
Scott’s Rank: 1st
Scott: This is my fifth season doing power rankings, and in my time using the aggregate model to put together my lists, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an aggregate score as low as the three the Hurricanes had this week. Heck, the Wild were next at 4.67 and that was also extremely low, but the Canes are at just a different level. They’re first in three of my six categories, fourth in two others, and the outlier is their PK expected goals against per 60, which ranks a measly seventh. Carolina’s Stanley Cup hangover is so non-existent, I wonder if they even drank to celebrate in the first place.
Mike: Mark Jankowski and Juuso Valimaki are leading the way for the Hurricanes as they defend their Stanley Cup victory, just as we all expected. I just love seeing those guys do well.
2. Edmonton Oilers
Record: 11-2-2, +27
Last Week: 9th (+7)
Mike’s Rank: 2nd
Scott’s Rank: 3rd
Mike: Connor McDavid now has points in 15 consecutive games to start the season. He’s on pace to narrowly eclipse Wayne Gretzky’s single-season points record, and while McDavid almost certainly won’t maintain this pace over a full 84 games, he genuinely might have a chance to become the second player in NHL history to score 200 points. At this rate, if he doesn’t obliterate his existing career-high of 153 points, it’ll be a bit disappointing. McDavid is now at 39 points in 15 games after picking up a goal and an assist in the Oilers’ 4-1 win over the Rangers on Sunday. The Oilers aren’t perfect — just ask Jake Walman how he feels about his start — but they’ve certainly got enough star power to make up for their deficiencies. Whether that means they’ll return to the Stanley Cup Final remains to be seen.
Scott: You can tell McDavid is off to an incredible start because almost no one is talking about the fact that Evan Bouchard is also on a similarly historic pace. He’s currently on pace for 145 points on the season, and the current record for defensemen is Bobby Orr’s 139 points in 1970-71. Bouchard is also on pace for 44 goals, only four short of Paul Coffey’s record of 48 in 1985-86. I wonder if Bouchard keeps this up as well.
3. Minnesota Wild
Record: 10-3-3, +16
Last Week: 2nd (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 5th
Scott’s Rank: 2nd
Scott: With each passing week, the Wild keep winning me over, and this time around I think I might be sold on them as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender this season, especially compared to the quasi-contender they were last season. I wrote last week about how Kirill Kaprizov’s hot start is actually not horribly unsustainable because that top line plus Quinn Hughes are generating chances at an insane rate this season. That plus Jesper Wallstedt looking like an elite goaltender puts the Wild in a very good spot this season. Heck, playing this well without Filip Gustavsson might actually give the Wild an asset to flip to improve their lineup after they (justifiably) used most of them on Hughes. Speaking of Hughes, he might be the real winner of all of this: based on the tea leaves, he can either stay in this lovely environment or go to another Cup contender in New Jersey. Dude’s in a great spot right now.
4. New Jersey Devils
Record: 9-5-0, +8
Last Week: 8th (+4)
Mike’s Rank: 6th
Scott’s Rank: 4th
Scott: We’re a bit more than a week into the Connor Hellebuyck era in New Jersey, and it’s lived up to the hype so far. I was surprised the Devils were so quick to get him starting games (here I was worrying about his status for his return to Winnipeg Nov. 10), and I was concerned he would get off to a slow start like what we saw from Jeremy Swayman two years ago, but I guess Hellebuyck is the best goalie in the league for a reason. He looked excellent in his first two games with the Devils, and both were against tough opponents in Dallas and Vegas. New Jersey had a rough game in between against Colorado, but that’s a Jake Allen start, so it isn’t as concerning in the long run. It also must have been nice for Hellebuyck that both wins came through domination from the team in front of him, and not solely because of him: he’s only faced 39 total shots and 3.69 expected goals in those two games.
5. Montreal Canadiens
Record: 9-3-2, +6
Last Week: 10th (+5)
Mike’s Rank: 4th
Scott’s Rank: 7th
Mike: Look who’s back in the top five! The Habs have won five consecutive games, including the Heritage Classic in Winnipeg last Sunday, and the most impressive part is they’ve done it all without Nick Suzuki. This team has forward depth for days, and they’re finally getting award-worthy goaltending from Jacob Fowler, who looks like the early frontrunner for the Calder Trophy and might also have a shot at the Vezina if he keeps playing like this. It feels like these Habs haven’t reached their full potential, but their record is already great, and I like their chances of finishing near the top of the Atlantic.
Scott: I’ll give the Habs credit; they’ve stepped up their game this season and are no longer atrocious defensively. They’ve only upgraded to mediocre defensively, but that’s still the best they’ve done under Martin St. Louis, and Fowler is playing well enough in net to make up the difference.
6. Tampa Bay Lightning
Record: 8-3-2, +5
Last Week: 7th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 8th
Scott’s Rank: 5th
Scott: The Lightning have lost three of their last four games (with the lone win coming against the ice-cold Jets), and somehow that isn’t even close to the biggest story in Tampa. When Connor Hellebuyck, Dylan Larkin and Brady Tkachuk requested trades, I was stunned but not totally surprised. Nikita Kucherov though, that was a surprise. Not even a week removed from becoming Tampa’s franchise scoring leader, Kucherov decided that as a pending free agent, he wants out, preferably through a trade. On one hand, it’s hard to imagine him anywhere else in the league, or even feeling the need to leave, considering all he’s accomplished in Tampa. But on the other hand, at this point, he may as well get his bag, and the Lightning probably can’t afford to give it to him. It’s a tough choice for Tampa, because he’s still a top-five player in the league. But they also have very little depth as it is, so a $20+ million AAV would probably end their Cup contention. Or maybe this is also a negotiation tactic from both sides. Regardless, this will be fascinating to follow.
Mike: I’m just fascinated about the ripple effect we’re going to see in Tampa. What does this mean for Andrei Vasilevskiy? Brayden Point? Victor Hedman? I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the beginning of the end for these Bolts.
7. Florida Panthers
Record: 8-4-2, +5
Last Week: 13th (+6)
Mike’s Rank: 3rd
Scott’s Rank: 10th
Scott: I can’t say I love the Panthers as much as Mike does, but credit where it’s due, they might be the best defensive team in the league right now, and that’s without Aleksander Barkov. There will always be that caveat with this team until their captain returns, but until then, you have to admire how well they’re playing in their own zone – so much so that they’ve insulated Akira Schmid well while he acts as the starter during Jacob Markstrom’s injury. I will add one concern though: they are struggling to generate chances, especially when the big guns in the Tkachuk brothers, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Seth Jones aren’t on the ice. You’d hope for a bit more out of a team with this much depth up front, even without Barkov.
Mike: I bumped them up a few spots because I love their new pink jerseys.
Scott: You know what, valid reasoning. It’s nice seeing teams try new colors. It’s miles better than navy blue.
8. Vegas Golden Knights
Record: 9-5-1, +9
Last Week: 3rd (-5)
Mike’s Rank: 9th
Scott’s Rank: 8th
Scott: The Golden Knights have lost four of their last five games after a hot start, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that their goaltending is a driving force behind this slump. Adin Hill had actually had a solid start to the season before this slump knocked down his numbers a bit, but it’s nice to see Ryan Craig actually use him, unlike John Tortorella. Carter Hart continues to be not worth the PR headache either, so it’s looking like help in net is still needed. That Logan Thompson trade looks worse and worse the more time passes.
9. Dallas Stars
Record: 8-5-1, +7
Last Week: 4th (-5)
Mike’s Rank: 11th
Scott’s Rank: 6th
Mike: The Stars dropped back-to-back games against New Jersey and Montreal this week before giving the Blue Jackets a Halloween fright on Saturday. Doesn’t it kind of feel like they’re going to trade Jason Robertson for Kucherov? It won’t fix their crippling forward depth issues — no, a 38-year-old David Perron isn’t the answer — but it seems like the kind of thing they’d do.
Scott: Maybe it’s one of the rare situations where two wrongs DO make a right. That said, I feel like the drop-off from Kucherov to Robertson isn’t big enough to justify the long-term hit making that swap would do for Dallas.
10. Boston Bruins
Record: 10-4-1, +19
Last Week: 6th (-4)
Mike’s Rank: 7th
Scott’s Rank: 13th
Scott: While I can’t entirely speak on behalf of Mr. Gould, it feels like we here at Daily Faceoff remain pessimistic about the Bruins’ hot start. At the very least, we need to see a lot more out of the team beyond David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Swayman, because that depth just doesn’t feel good enough for a .700 team. I think they’re probably more of a playoff team than they were last year, but I also don’t think they’re this good either.
Mike: I’m enjoying Mikey DiPietro’s long-awaited breakthrough in Boston. He’s 3-1-0 with a .929 save percentage through his first four starts with the Bruins.
11. Colorado Avalanche
Record: 8-5-1, +15
Last Week: 16th (+5)
Mike’s Rank: 10th
Scott’s Rank: 12th
Mike: The Avs looked pretty darn good against the Flames on Saturday, but to paraphrase Juju Smith-Schuster: “The Flames is the Flames.” Personally, I think Colorado and Dallas are in very similar spots as teams, but the Avalanche just have better stars and better depth. Two standouts to me: MacKenzie Blackwood played out of his mind against Calgary but has otherwise been rather ordinary this season, albeit good enough to get the win more often than not; and Artturi Lehkonen has seemingly come out of nowhere to become the hottest goal-scorer in the world.
12. Utah Mammoth
Record: 9-6-0, +2
Last Week: 5th (-7)
Mike’s Rank: 15th
Scott’s Rank: 9th
Mike: The Mammoth continue to be a great puck-possession team, but their record isn’t nearly as good as it should be, and they lost to the Flyers in rather embarrassing fashion on Sunday. It might not be too early to start sounding the alarm bells around Dylan Guenther, who has just one point in his last seven games and posted a miserable minus-4 rating in Philadelphia. The Anders Lee signing is looking a little questionable to me, too … he has but one point in his last nine. And now that the Connor Hellebuyck sweepstakes are over, I don’t really see a path for Utah to address its goaltending, by far its biggest problem. This is a good team, but I also think they’re far from a playoff lock in the Central.
Scott: I’ll say this about Lee: when I was doing my research for the Kaprizov article, there was one line in the league generating chances at a higher rate than the trio of Kaprizov, Boldy and Eriksson Ek – Lee’s line with Barrett Hayton and Kailer Yamamoto. I feel like the points will come, and even if they don’t, he’s doing his job even if he’s not on the scoresheet often.
13. Buffalo Sabres
Record: 7-4-3, -6
Last Week: 26th (+13)
Mike’s Rank: 12th
Scott’s Rank: 16th
Mike: Sabres fans were due for a good week, and they finally got one as their team swept their California road trip in decisive fashion. Sure, that 7-6 win in Anaheim left a little to be desired, given that they almost blew a 7-3 lead, but all in all, things are looking pretty good now that more bounces are going their way. Once Josh Doan, Ryan McLeod, and Josh Norris start to heat up … look out.
Scott: I’m happy the Sabres weren’t out of the playoff conversation for that long.
14. Ottawa Senators
Record: 9-6-1, +1
Last Week: 11th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 13th
Scott’s Rank: 17th
Mike: The Senators are definitely starting to falter a bit after a strong start to the season, and Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Ducks was undeniably a low point for them. After bursting out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, the Sens gave up six unanswered goals over the final 40 minutes while being outshot 25-15. This team is really feeling the loss of William Eklund right about now, and they could also use a heck of a lot more from Fabian Zetterlund, who has just one goal in 16 games this season.
15. New York Islanders
Record: 7-5-2, +1
Last Week: 15th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 19th
Scott’s Rank: 11th
Scott: The Isles are playing some of their best defensive hockey since the height of the Barry Trotz years. That shouldn’t be a surprise when Pete DeBoer is the best coach they’ve had since Trotz, but it’s nice to see they still have that dawg in them. Of course, they didn’t have Matthew Schaefer last time around, and that just adds a whole other level to this team. I would still love to see them add a dynamic forward because they are still lacking in the chance-creation department, but maybe Mathew Barzal’s return is enough to make that happen.
16. Toronto Maple Leafs
Record: 8-6-2, +7
Last Week: 12th (-4)
Mike’s Rank: 17th
Scott’s Rank: 15th
Scott: I think the Leafs got a bit too high on themselves to start the week after their four-game winning streak and significantly underestimated equally hot Calgary and Seattle teams. The Seattle loss was more on Sergei Bobrovsky, but the Flames game was just a forgettable one altogether. Losing Marchenko in the Flames loss on a week-to-week basis only added to the tough start to the week for Toronto.
However, the Leafs bounced back against the Canucks (a game they should have won), but it wasn’t without drama as Jim Hiller benched Gavin McKenna AGAIN! I get that he has plenty of blemishes in his own zone, but isn’t it better to let him make those mistakes and learn from them instead of denying him the experience altogether? Especially against the Canucks of all teams, you can get away with those more! He’s tied for the rookie lead in scoring, it’s not like he’s struggling to adjust like some other rookies. It just feels a bit early to be doing this. If these problems persist in Games 40-50, or even next season, sure. But he’s played 16 games. Give him some room to grow.
17. Detroit Red Wings
Record: 6-5-3, -2
Last Week: 23rd (+6)
Mike’s Rank: 20th
Scott’s Rank: 14th
Scott: Just when it felt like the drama was beginning to calm down a bit, Dylan Larkin cranks the temperature up a bit and decides he’s sitting out until a trade. It seemed like he was going to be a good soldier and play until the deal happened, but it looks like something has changed that. Whether it’s him trying to speed up the process, or if it’s actually something on Shawn Horcoff/Detroit’s end and they aren’t doing their due diligence to get a trade done (or are ignoring some fair trade returns), this situation continues to get messier. Kucherov has upstaged him a tad, and perhaps it may have slowed down the market for Larkin. After all, if a team has the assets and cap space for Larkin, why not throw a couple more assets and $800,000 more cap space and get a much better and more proven player in Kucherov, even if he is a winger?
Mike: In situations like the ones we’ve seen involving Larkin and Hellebuyck, where players have been suspended without pay for failing to report, I’d be in favor of them also losing their trade protection. I think there’s a real slippery slope when it comes to talking about revoking NTCs and NMCs simply for asking out, but when a player doesn’t fulfil the basic requirements of his contract, I think it’s fair to remove some of their control over the proceedings.
18. Washington Capitals
Record: 8-5-0, +2
Last Week: 19th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 16th
Scott’s Rank: 19th
Scott: It feels weird to say this about a team who had won five of their last six games before losing 5-1 to the Wild on Sunday, but it still feels like there’s more to the Caps than what they’re giving us. That deep scoring just hasn’t shown up yet (save for Alex Tuch), their defense has been lackluster, and the goaltending has been good but not great enough to save them more. Hopefully this streak is a sign of them turning things around, because they need to catch up to a developing arms race in the Metropolitan Division with Carolina and New Jersey.
19. New York Rangers
Record: 7-7-1, -1
Last Week: 14th (-5)
Mike’s Rank: 18th
Scott’s Rank: 18th
Mike: It already feels like these Rangers are toast, doesn’t it? They’ve lost four straight games to teams both good and bad, which isn’t a huge surprise given that Igor Shesterkin isn’t available to save their bacon. Alexis Lafrenière’s emergence is a welcome development, but the rest of this team is just so … meh. Nobody is feeling the loss of Shesterkin more than Pavel Dorofeyev, given that the Rangers have allowed 20 goals on just 91 shots with him on the ice at 5-on-5. That’s a .780 on-ice save percentage.
20. Seattle Kraken
Record: 8-5-1, 0
Last Week: 18th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 14th
Scott’s Rank: 23rd
Scott: We’ll get to the Shane Wright/Predators side of this trade shortly, but it’s a shame that Wright didn’t work out for the Kraken. His flameout, and Matty Beniers stagnating as an elite defensive center with subpar offensive capabilities, are the primary reasons for the Kraken’s lack of star power, because the best teams get that through the draft. Wood is certainly an interesting young player to get in return, but he just feels like another middle-six forward to add to the collection. Plus, we all know what happened the last time a team took a blooming, goal-scoring power forward from the Predators: the Lightning traded five draft picks for Tanner Jeannot in hopes of him replicating that 24-goal season form, only for him to score a whopping 28 goals in five seasons since then. Hopefully that isn’t the case for Seattle with Wood (although this season hasn’t been the best start to disprove that).
21. St. Louis Blues
Record: 7-6-1, +2
Last Week: 21st (0)
Mike’s Rank: 23rd
Scott’s Rank: 20th
Scott: The Blues offense hit a wall for a second when they got shut out in back-to-back games, but they managed to bounce back and score four on the Bruins and five on the Red Wings to end the week. In their defense, the shutouts came against one of the best teams in the league in Carolina and against one of the hottest goalies in the league in Montreal’s Fowler, but maybe there’s more to it than that. Their power play has struggled to generate chances, so it’s nice that they finally got their best offensive defenseman out there in Philip Broberg (as opposed to Adam Jiricek). Still, it hasn’t been enough, and St. Louis will need to improve there if they want to maintain their playoff push.
22. Nashville Predators
Record: 5-4-5, -5
Last Week: 20th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 22nd
Scott’s Rank: 21st
Mike: I’m usually a sucker for mid-season trades, but I really couldn’t bring myself to care all that much about Sunday’s swap. Nashville and Seattle making a deal is kind of like Jamie Lee Curtis appearing on Jimmy Fallon — I’m aware that it’s a thing that happened, but none of it appeals to me. Shane Wright and Matthew Wood both feel like different types of Cheerios to me, and there’s no more middle-of-the-road cereal than Cheerios.
Scott: I will say, I don’t mind this gamble from the Predators. Wright might have the highest upside of any center that’s played in Nashville, and if they can extract that upside, that could be a big difference maker for their future. Do I think they’ll actually get the most out of him? No, nor do I think there’s much left of that fourth-overall pedigree. But hey, why not try for it? It’s the biggest long-term gamble this middling franchise has made in years.
23. Anaheim Ducks
Record: 6-7-1, -4
Last Week: 22nd (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 24th
Scott’s Rank: 25th
Mike: I still really struggle to make heads or tails of these Ducks, who shocked the Senators with a come-from-behind victory on Sunday but have otherwise looked rather ordinary for much of the season. It was good to see Cutter Gauthier finally break out with two goals against Buffalo on Friday and a hat trick against Ottawa — he’d started the year with just two goals in 11 games, but he’s always been the kind of player who can score five in two. Anaheim’s upcoming schedule is on the lighter side, and they really need to take advantage.
24. Pittsburgh Penguins
Record: 5-7-2, -2
Last Week: 24th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 27th
Scott’s Rank: 22nd
Scott: Remember when I had the Penguins in second to start the season? Boy, they flatlined quickly. Since winning their first two games, they have just three wins in 12 games, so it appears they’re finally playing to the level that many expected from them last year. That said, they actually have played solid hockey despite the losses (their 54.13% 5v5 expected goal share is the seventh-best in the league), they just suffer from underperforming goaltending and that fact that Sidney Crosby does not look like Sidney Crosby. That said, he looked more like himself on Saturday against his boyhood team when he had points on three of Pittsburgh’s four goals in the loss. Prior to that, he had seven points in 13 games. Hopefully that game is the spark he needed.
25. Los Angeles Kings
Record: 4-7-2, -9
Last Week: 30th (+5)
Mike’s Rank: 25th
Scott’s Rank: 24th
Mike: The Kings went 2-2-0 this week, which was somehow enough to bump them up five spots. They’re just so, so old, and wouldn’t you know it, some of their worst players this year have been their oldest ones. Here’s a real Halloween scare: 41-year-old Corey Perry logged a staggering 19:42 of ice time for the Kings in their 3-2 loss to Buffalo on Saturday, picking up only his second point of the year in his 11th game. There’s just very little to write home about on this Kings roster, much less anything worth writing about in this section.
26. San Jose Sharks
Record: 7-7-1, -11
Last Week: 25th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 21st
Scott’s Rank: 30th
Scott: I just continue to be underwhelmed by this Sharks team. Every time I watch them, they look like a lottery contender that has a franchise player and two good goalies propping them up towards playoff status. They fail to generate chances when Macklin Celebrini isn’t on the ice, and they can’t defend in general. The former is even affecting their captain as well: Celebrini has just two assists in his last five games, three of them being losses.
The coaching staff is getting some deserved blame for this, but more blame should fall on Mike Grier’s shoulders for his predictably misguided moves in the offseason in an attempt to push the team forward. Chicago is a great example of not doing enough to take the next step, but San Jose might be an example of making the wrong moves. Only time will tell.
27. Calgary Flames
Record: 6-8-0, -16
Last Week: 28th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 26th
Scott’s Rank: 26th
Mike: The Flames have some of the best special teams in the league and have been pretty decent at 5-on-5, but they’re clearly no match for teams like the Avalanche and Golden Knights, both of whom beat them handily in October. That said, they’re getting very impressive contributions from Joel Farabee, who has 15 points through 14 games this season while playing in every situation. Farabee is 26 and could become a UFA in 2028, so while the Flames don’t have any immediate decision to make about his future, they’ll need to keep it in the back of their minds as they move forward.
Scott: I remember Farabee was a fun prospect to have in Flyers Franchise Mode in NHL 19. It’s nice to see him finally live up to that level of player, even if it’s just for a short stretch.
28. Columbus Blue Jackets
Record: 5-7-0, -10
Last Week: 27th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 28th
Scott’s Rank: 28th
Scott: The Blue Jackets haven’t exactly bottomed out yet, but in an Eastern Conference as competitive as this one, playing sub-.500 hockey is basically bottoming out. I don’t know how Kent Johnson keeps maintaining a point-per-game pace when no one else is generating offense except Zach Werenski. Are those two just only passing to each other or something? Adam Fantilli continues to struggle after signing his mega deal, and Matthew Knies has just one assist since getting four points in his first two games. Maybe the Leafs were geniuses to jump off of him as an asset while they could. Marchenko is a point-per-game pace in Toronto despite people thinking he’s “struggling,” by the way. At least Knies is healthy right now, he’s got that going for him.
29. Winnipeg Jets
Record: 4-8-3, -20
Last Week: 17th (-12)
Mike’s Rank: 30th
Scott’s Rank: 27th
Mike: Teams typically don’t like firing head coaches during road trips, but it kind of feels like Scott Arniel won’t make it back to Winnipeg with his job. The Jets have lost nine in a row, most recently falling 7-0 in Carolina on Sunday. What this team really needs is an exorcism, but they might have to make do with a coaching change — and, God willing, a full-fledged rebuild.
Scott: Suddenly, they aren’t doing better without Hellebuyck. That said, I wouldn’t be shocked if the streak carries over to the Nov. 10 return for Hellebuyck and the Jets somehow win that game.
30. Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 4-8-4, -19
Last Week: 29th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 29th
Scott’s Rank: 29th
Mike: Matvei Michkov now has eight goals in his last eight games, and you know what that means, Scott: Rick Tocchet’s coaching strategies are finally paying off. Unfortunately, the Flyers haven’t gotten much in the way of meaningful contributions from Owen Tippett and Tyson Foerster, who have combined for just five goals this season despite being signed through 2032 and 2035 (!!), respectively.
31. Chicago Blackhawks
Record: 4-9-1, -22
Last Week: 31st (0)
Mike’s Rank: 31st
Scott’s Rank: 31st
Mike: The Blackhawks lost back-to-back Original Six matchups against the Red Wings and Bruins to wrap up this past week. They still aren’t getting anything even resembling a meaningful contribution from Patrick Kane, who is going to look even more like Celtics Shaq skating around out there in those green uniforms. A positive? Roman Kantserov has five goals in 14 games, somehow enough to lead the entire team.
32. Vancouver Canucks
Record: 3-12-1, -25
Last Week: 32nd (0)
Mike’s Rank: 32nd
Scott’s Rank: 32nd
Mike: So, you’re the Vancouver Canucks. You’re awful, as everyone expected, but Elias Pettersson actually looks pretty good again and is out there making plays like this. What do you do? Is it possible to trade Pettersson for a haul? Or do you keep him around to play with Jonathan Lekkerimaki and whoever you get at the top of this year’s draft? I actually think it’s a tough question to answer.
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