NHL Power Rankings, Week 2: Blues, Islanders, Stars make moves but Canadiens still No. 1
Two weeks into the season and we've got an unbeaten team, a winless team, and a coaching change. Not bad.
Let's rank.
1. Montreal Canadiens
(Last Week: 1)
The Canadiens have played seven games and allowed seven goals. They've won 'em all, including four on the road. Their penalty killing is tops in the league, too. We are impressed.
2. St. Louis Blues
(Last Week: 11)
The Blues come in at second because of Vladimir Tarasenko and the fact they've played only a single home game. And they'll survive without Paul Stastny.
3. New York Islanders
(Last Week: 14)
The Islanders have quietly won four in a row against some good teams - the Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, and Columbus Blue Jackets (we said "some"). And John Tavares quietly remains the man.
4. Dallas Stars
(Last Week: 16)
Most impressive of all may be the fact the Stars have allowed only 14 goals in six games.
Benn 1st #Stars player to begin a season with at least a point in each of the team’s first 6 games since Brian Bellows in 1989-90.
— Matt Sitkoff (@msitkoffNHL) October 21, 2015
5. Nashville Predators
(Last Week: 4)
The Predators don't deserve to drop a spot, having won three of four last week, but life isn't fair. At all.
6. Washington Capitals
(Last Week: 13)
The Capitals are undefeated when Alex Ovechkin doesn't sleep in.
7. Vancouver Canucks
(Last Week: 3)
One regulation loss in six games, Ryan Miller's playing out of his mind, and Brandon Sutter leads the team in scoring. Everything's great.
8. San Jose Sharks
(Last Week: 2)
We can't believe Martin Jones allowed a goal. In all seriousness, the Sharks are headed home after five of six to open the season on the road. With four wins, they couldn't have asked for a better start. OK, they could have, but it would have been greedy.
9. Tampa Bay Lightning
(Last Week: 8)
Losers of three of four last week, and only the Boston Bruins and Blue Jackets have allowed more goals in the East. And the Lightning's next three are on the road against Winnipeg, Chicago, and St. Louis. We're about to learn a lot about this Tampa Bay squad.
10. Winnipeg Jets
(Last Week: 10)
Blake Wheeler's really found a home in Winnipeg, and he's one of the more underrated wingers in the game. When their goalies are good, the Jets win - and they've been excellent through six games.
11. New York Rangers
(Last Week: 7)
Henrik Lundqvist looks incredibly handsome even when he's the bloody backup goalie:
(Courtesy: @brodiebrazilCSN)
And, yes, each Rangers installment in the Power Rankings will be a photo of Lundqvist.
12. Minnesota Wild
(Last Week: 9)
Devan Dubnyk has an .887 save percentage. We're trying not to panic, but we're kind of panicking.
13. Florida Panthers
(Last Week: 12)
From Tuesday:
There are 18 players on the Penguins/Panthers rosters tonight that were not born yet when Jaromir Jagr made his NHL debut. That's nuts.
— Adam Gretz (@AGretz) October 20, 2015
14. Pittsburgh Penguins
(Last Week: 21)
Shockingly, the Penguins have won three in a row after losing their first three. And we'll all have a good laugh when Sidney Crosby wins the Art Ross.
15. Chicago Blackhawks
(Last Week: 5)
An underwhelming start and now they're without Duncan Keith for at least a month, maybe more. But you can never really count out the Blackhawks ...
16. Ottawa Senators
(Last Week: 15)
They beat the Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Blue Jackets, and lost to the Canadiens, Penguins, and Predators. That's why they're in the middle of the pack.
17. Detroit Red Wings
(Last Week: 6)
Have you seen Tomas Tatar?
18. Arizona Coyotes
(Last Week: 18)
The Rangers better win a Stanley Cup with Keith Yandle, or they're going to very much regret trading Anthony Duclair.
19. Los Angeles Kings
(Last Week: 30)
An 11-spot jump out of the basement. We may have overreacted last week. Still, they have yet to score more than two goals in a game.
20. Colorado Avalanche
(Last Week: 19)
Reto Berra's outplaying Semyon Varlamov, it isn't even close, and that's a huge problem.
21. Anaheim Ducks
(Last Week: 17)
The Ducks probably deserve to be lower, but their offense is due to explode. Ryan Getzlaf, Carl Hagelin, Ryan Kesler, Patrick Maroon, and Corey Perry are all goalless. But, sure, fire the coach.
23. Philadelphia Flyers
(Last Week: 22)
Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek are going to wake up eventually, and if the Flyers are still playing stingy defense when they do, this team could surprise.
23. Boston Bruins
(Last Week: 29)
Joe Biden announcement: "The window has closed." Weird, I didn't even know he was a Bruins fan.
— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) October 21, 2015
24. New Jersey Devils
(Last Week: 27)
Eleven goals in six games. That the Devils have won two of them - and have points in three - is a little bit of a miracle.
25. Edmonton Oilers
(Last Week: 25)
Connor McDavid (five points), Taylor Hall (four points), and Nail Yakupov (four points) lead the Oilers in scoring. Step up your game, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
26. Toronto Maple Leafs
(Last Week: 24)
The Toronto Marlies are in first place in the American Hockey League's North Division.
27. Carolina Hurricanes
(Last Week: 28)
The Hurricanes move up a spot because the Sabres, Calgary Flames, and Blue Jackets are horrendous.
28. Buffalo Sabres
(Last Week: 23)
Evander Kane is going to score eventually. Maybe.
29. Columbus Blue Jackets
(Last Week: 26)
The Blue Jackets aren't ranked last - even though they deserve to be - because they hired John Tortorella. This is an entertainment business, after all. Torts!
30. Calgary Flames
(Last Week: 20)
The Flames are paying goaltenders Jonas Hiller and Karri Ramo a combined $8.3 million. Hiller's got an .867 save percentage, and Ramo comes in at .879. Yikes.