NHL Power Rankings: Quarter-mark check in
While things have obviously been calmer in some burghs than others, there’s more than enough season under the bridge to use this week’s power rankings as a way to elevate the key event, storyline or performance of the first quarter for all 32 clubs.
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About two-thirds of the way through a 15-game slate on Saturday, we will hit the quarter-mark of the 2024-25 season. And, with that, we’ve basically crammed all the math we’re capable of into one sentence.
Nobody can claim the first 25 per cent of the campaign has been uneventful. Connor McDavid got hurt, then came back to record his 1,000th career NHL point in the fourth-fewest games of anybody in league history. Alex Ovechkin did the reverse, signalling he was going to take down Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals mark this season thanks to a scorching start, then got injured on Monday near the end of a game where he netted his league-leading 15th tally.
We’ve seen the Winnipeg Jets set a new out-of-the-gate standard for excellence by winning 14 of their first 15 contests; a trade of at least some consequence — with the promise of more to come in Pittsburgh — as the Pens shipped Lars Eller to the Caps and, unfortunately, we’ve also witnessed the first fired coach, as Jim Montgomery got the boot from the Boston Bruins 16 months after winning coach-of-the-year honours in 2023.
It’s almost hard to believe three-quarters of the track remains.
While things have obviously been calmer in some burghs than others, there’s more than enough season under the bridge to use this week’s power rankings as a way to elevate the key event, storyline or performance of the first quarter for all 32 clubs.
1. Winnipeg Jets (16-3-0) Even if you thought the Jets were a Central Division contender — and many of us saw them more as being in a battle for the final two or three playoff slots after an underwhelming off-season — nobody could have predicted a sweet 16 victories in 19 outings. How about the twin 12-12-24 statlines produced by Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor? Incredible stuff in Manitoba.
2. Carolina Hurricanes (14-4-0) Martin Necas has become an offensive force. He’s third in league scoring (30 points) behind only Nathan MacKinnon (34) and Kiril Kaprizov (33).
3. Washington Capitals (13-4-1) The Ovi injury is a true gut-punch, but it shouldn’t overshadow what this team has achieved to start the year. Washington was, at best, seen as a team that would scrap it out to claim a wild-card berth and the Caps — with huge steps taken by the likes of Dylan Strome and Connor McMichael — have been one of the best teams in the NHL so far and have both the wins and underlying numbers to back that status up.
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4. New York Rangers (12-4-1) Will Cuylle continues to be a wonderful surprise on the Rangers’ third line. The 22-year-old sophomore is on pace for 68 points after registering 21 as a rookie. Even if he winds up being a 20-goal, 50-point guy, that’s enormous production from a winger who comes in a six-foot-three, 211-pound package.
5. Minnesota Wild (12-3-3) Kirill Kaprizov is an established scoring star in this league, but this year he’s out gunning for the Art Ross. Also, Minnesota was looking for ways to unload Filip Gustavsson in the summer. Today, he’s got the second-best save percentage (.926) of any goalie who has played 10 games this season.
6. Florida Panthers (12-6-1) It was easy to think Sam Reinhart’s 57-goal showing last year— a new personal best by 24 goals — was a one-off explosion. Well, he’s right back in the Rocket Richard race with 14 this year, putting him on pace for 60 goals.
7. Toronto Maple Leafs (12-6-2) After Joseph Woll’s whitewash in a 3-0 win over Vegas Wednesday night, the Leafs have the fourth-best team save percentage in the league at .913. Much of that is driven by Anthony Stolarz’s NHL-best .927 mark.
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8. Dallas Stars (12-6-0) For the second straight year, Jason Robertson is struggling to find the net out of the gate. Even with a tally Wednesday night, he’s got just five on the season and is on pace for just 50 points.
9. New Jersey Devils (12-7-2) Jacob Markstrom, first seven games with Jersey: 3-3-1, .891 save percentage. Jacob Markstrom, past seven games with Jersey: 5-2-0, .924 SP. Couple that with Jake Allen’s strong play and the new goalie battery is starting to take form.
10. Tampa Bay Lightning (10-6-1) Anthony Cirelli looks like he’s making an offensive leap as a 27-year-old 2C. He’s got 17 points in 17 contests and has found the back of the net in three straight outings.
11. Vegas Golden Knights (11-6-2) Ten years after being drafted No. 2 overall behind Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel — after all kinds of injury troubles — is having the elite No. 1 centre season many believed was always in him. The 28-year-old is on pace for 121 points.
12. Calgary Flames (10-6-3) It’s an enormous surprise to see Calgary in a playoff sport through a quarter of the season and, increasingly, the driving force behind the Flames’ success is the Calder-worthy play of goalie Dustin Wolf.
13. Edmonton Oilers (10-8-2) It’s obviously not the same as the 5-12-1 debacle that cost Jay Woodcroft his coaching job last year, but Edmonton’s underwhelming start to this year is still cause for concern.
14. Los Angeles Kings (10-7-3) We all thought this was the year Quinton Byfield would wreak havoc on the league, but he’s stuck on two goals in 20 games.
15. Vancouver Canucks (9-6-3) With J.T. Miller now on leave from the squad for personal reasons, it’s hard to say anything has defined Vancouver’s season more so far than the team’s ability to at least tread water without No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko all year, goal-scorer Brock Boeser since early November and now, a huge forward piece in Miller.
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16. Colorado Avalanche (10-9-0) The Avs are starting to get some bodies back, but — in addition to sub-par goaltending — the support-staff injuries up and down the lineup have killed this club.
17. Buffalo Sabres (9-9-1) Honestly, the story of Buffalo’s quarter-season might be that the Sabres started 1-4-1 and didn’t let that torpedo their year. In other seasons, it feels like that stumble would have snowballed into disaster. Instead, Buffalo is still in position to challenge for the final playoff spot in the East. It’s not glamorous, but it’s something.
18. Seattle Kraken (10-9-1) The story of the Kraken’s season is swings. They went 4-2-0 to start, stumbled through a 2-6-1 stretch and have followed that by going 5-1-0 on a homestand where they basically had to have nine or 10 of 12 available points. Stay tuned; Seattle now plays seven of nine on the road.
19. New York Islanders (7-7-5) As always, it’s a death struggle for this team to score. The Isles are averaging 2.53 goals per game, fewer than all but five teams in the NHL.
20. Boston Bruins (8-9-3) The axing of Jim Montgomery somehow feels simultaneously shocking and predictable. He had huge regular season success in Boston, yet entered this year without an extension coaching a roster with less talent than people realize and a goalie tandem that went from Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman to a late-arriving Swayman (following drawn-out contract negotiations) and Joonas Korpisalo. The Bruins can still get into a playoff spot, but it sure feels like they’ll be in an unfamiliar dogfight the rest of the way.
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21. Anaheim Ducks (8-8-2) The Ducks allow the most shots against per game (35.6) and have the second-worst expected goals-for percentage (42.49 per cent) according to Moneypuck. But Moneypuck will also tell you 24-year-old Lukas Dostal has the most goals saved above expected (13.7) of any goalie in the league, which is why Anaheim is a .500 club.
22. Philadelphia Flyers (8-10-2) Matvei Michkov — who is still 19 for a couple more weeks and leads all freshmen with six tallies — has already shown he’s going to be a franchise-defining offensive player. He’s on pace for 68 points this season.
23. Ottawa Senators (8-9-1) Another crummy November — Ottawa won just two 60-minute games in the 11th month last year — has this team feeling stuck in the mud. The Sens are 3-5-1 since Nov. 1 this season.
24. Utah Hockey Club (7-8-3) Nothing can dampen the joy of hockey in a new city, but UHC was obviously in trouble once both Sean Durzi and John Marino were lost long-term from the blue line. After a good start, the Hockey Club is 3-7-2.
25. St. Louis Blues (8-11-1) St. Lous was without its top centre, Robert Thomas, for most of the first quarter. He returned this week, so let’s see if he can give the Blues a boost and get them better positioned by the halfway point of the year.
26. Detroit Red Wings (7-9-2) Detroit’s poor first-quarter performance makes you wonder if the second quarter will be defined by hiring Jim Montgomery to coach the team.
27. Pittsburgh Penguins (7-10-4) The Pens have already shipped out Lars Eller as part of the realization this roster is nowhere good enough to compete, likely even for a playoff spot. The first quarter of this season has crystalized Pittsburgh’s true standing in the league.
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28. Montreal Canadiens (7-10-2) The Canadiens have steadied the ship a little in the past week, allowing us to put the focus on how good rookie Lane Hutson has been. The undersized defenceman has recorded 11 assists while playing 23 minutes a night in 19 games.
29. Columbus Blue Jackets (7-9-2) It’s an all-or-nothing offence in Columbus. The Jackets have scored six goals in a game on five occasions, but have netted two or fewer in 10 of their remaining 14 contests.
30. San Jose Sharks (6-11-4) For a team that started 0-7-2, going 6-4-2 since then is massive as San Jose has kept true misery at bay during Macklin Celebrini’s first season. They have a .500 points percentage in the nine games Celebrini has played.
31. Nashville Predators (6-11-3) The first quarter of Nashville’s season is what it looks like when an all-in play blows up in your face. The Preds need a sizzling second quarter to make this nightmare stop.
32. Chicago Blackhawks (6-12-1) There’s no getting around what a disappointment Connor Bedard’s three goals are right now. More than that, it felt like — after a flurry of good-looking free-agent moves — this team had a chance to jump up the standings a bit. Instead, you can see where it is right now.
