The Winnipeg Jets are still flying high atop our NHL Power Rankings.
The Jets have won 18 of their first 22 games. They lead the NHL in scoring with 89 goals, are tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the second-fewest goals allowed with 52 and have the best goal differential in the league at plus-37 – the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals are tied for second at plus-29.
Three of the top six teams in the rankings come from the Metropolitan Division, where the New Jersey Devils are first with 32 points but the Hurricanes are No. 1 in points percentage at .738, having played three fewer games. The surprising Washington Capitals (14-6-1) are also in the top six.
At the other end of the League, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ defensive struggles have dropped them to last place in the rankings, just behind the Chicago Blackhawks. The two teams have opposite issues; the Penguins can’t stop opponents (league-worst 93 goals allowed), while the Blackhawks are tied for the fewest goals scored (50).
2024-25 NHL Power Rankings: From No. 32 to No. 1
32. Pittsburgh Penguins (7-12-4)
Sidney Crosby reached the 600-goal mark on Saturday by scoring against Utah. But appropriately for a season that looks like it won’t end well, the future Hall of Famer’s milestone was also the only goal the Penguins scored in a 6-1 manhandling at home.
Pittsburgh has allowed more goals and has the worst goal differential (minus-34) in the NHL; none of their three goalies has played well enough to grab the No. 1 job.
31. Chicago Blackhawks (7-12-2)
A 3-1 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers last Thursday was impressive. Blowing a two-goal lead in the third period and losing 3-2 in overtime at Philadelphia two days later was not. Connor Bedard still leads the Hawks with 15 points, but he’s gone 12 games without scoring a goal. The goalies, Petr Mrazek and Arvid Soderblom, have kept Chicago in most games, but someone has to start putting the puck in the net.
30. Nashville Predators (7-12-3)
The Preds had their best effort of the season on Saturday when they grounded the high-flying Jets 4-1 before a sellout crowd in Nashville. Nashville owns the NHL’s best penalty-killing unit (90.5 percent) and a decent power play (21.1 percent), but the Predators have scored a league-low 25 goals at 5-on-5 while allowing 49. Steven Stamkos is up to seven goals in his first season with Nashville, but six of them have come on the power play and just one at even strength.
29. Montreal Canadiens (7-11-3)
Sam Montembeault is getting all the action he can handle in goal. He’s started 16 of Montreal’s 21 games, including nine of 10 this month – and relieved in the one he didn’t start. His 3.06 goals-against average and .899 save percentage aren’t awful. Montembeault’s teammates don’t give him a lot of help; Montreal had 13 shots on goal in a 3-2 overtime loss to Utah on Monday, 17 in a 6-2 loss to Vegas on Saturday and has yet to have more than 30 in any game this season.
28. San Jose Sharks (7-10-5)
Early indications are that rookie goalie Yaroslav Askarov might be the real deal. Askarov, acquired from Nashville on Aug. 23, earned his first NHL win Monday by making 22 saves in a 7-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings. He is 1-0-1 with a 1.96 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in two starts since being recalled from the AHL.
27. St. Louis Blues (10-12-1)
Jim Montgomery, a former Blues assistant, wasn’t out of work for long. The Boston Bruins fired him on Nov. 19; the Blues hired him on Nov. 24 after firing Drew Bannister. Montgomery’s arrival appeared to light a fire under St. Louis, which has struggled to score all season – the Blues fired 43 shots and scored three times in the third period to defeat the Rangers 5-2 in New York on Monday.
26. Detroit Red Wings (9-10-2)
Unfortunately for Alex Lyon and the Red Wings, they’ve completed their season series with the New York Islanders. Detroit completed a three-game sweep with 2-1 and 4-2 victories that saw them rally after trailing entering the third period. Lyon has four wins this season; three of them, including his only shutout (1-0 on Oct. 22), have come against New York.
25. Columbus Blue Jackets (9-9-2)
The Jackets head into Thanksgiving with a three-game winning streak that has seen them score 17 goals. It includes a 7-6 overtime win against the Tampa Bay Lightning that saw them overcome a three-goal deficit and a 5-4 shootout win against the Carolina Hurricanes. Columbus is in the league’s top-10 in scoring with 70 goals – but in the bottom 10 in goals allowed with 72.
24. Utah Hockey Club (7-8-3)
With Connor Ingram sidelined by an upper-body injury, Karol Vejmelka has stepped in and played well, allowing seven goals in four games as Utah split a four-game road trip. Offense continues to be a problem for the NHL’s newest franchise, which has been shut out three times in its past 10 games and five times this season. One pleasant surprise has been forward Dylan Guenther, who leads Utah with 10 goals and 20 points in 22 games.
23. Ottawa Senators (9-11-1)
The Senators headed for California on a high note after outlasting the Calgary Flames 4-3 on Monday to end a five-game losing streak. Getting away from Canadian Tire Centre might be good for the Sens; they were 0-5-1 in their last six home games this month. Goalie Linus Ullmark has struggled recently; he’s 0-3-1 in his past four starts and has allowed 17 goals on 83 shots during that span.
22. Boston Bruins (8-9-3)
The Bruins have tightened things up since Joe Sacco replaced Montgomery as coach last week, allowing three goals while going 2-1-0. Their problem has been scoring; Boston scored only three goals in those three games. Boston hasn’t scored more than three goals in regulation since a 5-3 win at Colorado on Oct. 16. The Bruins need more from David Pastrnak, who has just eight goals this season and none in his past five games after scoring 40, 61 and 47 in the past three seasons.
21. Philadelphia Flyers (8-9-2)
The Flyers lead the NHL in games past regulation (eight; they’re 5-3) and shootouts (five, they’re 3-2). Monday’s 5-4 shootout loss to Vegas was among the toughest defeats of the season; the Flyers blew a 3-0 lead, couldn’t hold on to a 4-2 advantage, failed to score on a power play in overtime and didn’t score in the tiebreaker. Philadelphia is still without No. 1 goalie Samuel Ersson; backups Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov have struggled badly in his absence.
20. New York Islanders (8-9-5)
If NHL games were 50 minutes instead of 60, the offensively challenged Islanders would be in a lot better shape. They lost two games in five days to Detroit despite leading by one goal with less than 10 minutes remaining in each. In all, they’ve blown eight third-period leads, going 2-3-3 in those games. They’ve led after two periods in each of their past four games but won just one of them.
19. Anaheim Ducks (8-9-3)
Frank Vatrano scored his third goal of the season in the Ducks’ 3-2 loss to Seattle on Monday. It was the first goal in five games and second in 11 for Vatrano, a 37-goal scorer last season whose lack of production has hamstrung Anaheim’s offense. Forwards Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson are the only Ducks with more than five goals and 10 points.
20. Buffalo Sabres (11-9-1)
The Sabres come home for Thanksgiving week after a three-game sweep in California, allowing just four goals. Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen won two of the games, shutting out Los Angeles and allowing two goals in an overtime win at Anaheim. They expect to have their top goal-scorer, center Tage Thompson, available Wednesday night against Minnesota after he missed five games with a lower-body injury.
19. Seattle Kraken (11-10-1)
Joey Daccord has emerged as one of the NHL’s best goalies. He hasn’t allowed more than two goals in regulation in any of his eight starts this month; the Kraken are 6-2-0 in those games. The Kraken have needed Daccord at his best as they battle for a playoff berth; they’ve scored just 25 goals in their 11 games this month and have been shut out three times.
16. Colorado Avalanche (12-10-0)
Improved defense and goaltending have been keys to Colorado’s improvement after a slow start – until Monday, when they were routed 8-2 by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the finale of a four-game trip. Despite the loss, they finished 3-1-0 on the swing through the East. They play two of three games at home this week before heading East again for five more games.
15. Edmonton Oilers (11-9-2)
Inconsistency has been an Oilers trademark this season. They’ve alternated losses and wins in their past five games, including a 5-3 home loss to the Minnesota Wild last Thursday followed by a dominating 6-2 win over the New York Rangers two nights later that saw them look like the team that came within one victory of winning the Stanley Cup last spring. The Oilers allowed 16 power-play goals in their first 15 games but are 16-for-16 on the penalty kill in their past seven.
14. Los Angeles Kings (11-8-3)
The Kings played their worst 20 minutes of the season on Monday, getting torched for five goals in a 7-2 loss at San Jose. David Rittich has split four games since taking the starting job while Darcy Kuemper is out with a lower-body injury. Before that, he had allowed one goal in each of the Kings’ three previous games. Anze Kopitar continues to excel at age 37; he had back-to-back two-point games and leads the team with 25 points (six goals, 19 assists).
13. Calgary Flames (12-7-3)
Most NHL teams want big goalies, but the Flames are getting a lot of mileage from Dustin Wolf, who’s just six feet tall and 166 pounds. He’s 8-3-1 with a 2.47 goals-against average and .921 save percentage. He is 4-1-0 in his past five games, allowing just eight goals in that span.
This week will be a test for the Flames, with three road games; they are 9-3-0 at Scotiabank Saddledome but just 3-4-3 away from home. The Flames have helped themselves by going 3-1 in shootouts.
12. Florida Panthers (12-9-1)
Florida has gone from one of the NHL’s hottest teams through the first third of November to a 1-6-0 slide that included three losses in as many games last week. The Panthers were outscored 14-6 in those three losses and have allowed 20 goals since shutting out the league-leading Jets on Nov. 16. Sam Reinhart had two of Florida’s six goals and is tied for the NHL lead with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (16).
11. Tampa Bay Lightning (11-7-2)
The Lightning took out their frustrations after blowing a 3-0 lead in Columbus and losing to Dallas by routing the Avalanche 8-2 on Monday, a game that saw Brandon Hagel credited with five assists – four of them in the first period, tying an NHL record. Anthony Cirelli scored against the Avs, giving him goals in six consecutive games, one shy of the team record help by Nikita Kucherov and Brian Bradley.
10. Vancouver Canucks (11-6-3)
Kevin Lankinen continues to give the Canucks the kind of goaltending they had expected from injured starter Thatcher Demko. He made 32 saves in a 2-0 road win against the Boston Bruins on Monday – Vancouver’s first shutout in Boston since Jan. 15, 1996. The career backup is 10-3-2 with a 2.56 GAA and .909 save percentage. Lankinen is 8-0-0 away with two shutouts from Rogers Arena. The Canucks have a seven-way tie for the team lead in goals — with six.
9. New York Rangers (12-7-1)
Last week was one the Rangers would rather forget. Not only did they lose all three games by a combined score of 14-6, they also allowed 40 or more shots in each game. The Rangers are struggling to defend against the rush, the defense is allowing too many Grade A chances — and aside from forwards Will Cuylle and Artemi Panarin, there’s not much going on offensively. Reports have begun surfacing that GM Chris Drury is ready to play “Let’s Make A Deal,” with defenseman Jacob Trouba and forward Chris Kreider as prime possibilities.
8. Dallas Stars (13-7-0)
The Stars still lead the NHL in fewest goals allowed (50), but they sprung a few leaks in Raleigh on Monday, allowing five third-period goals in a 6-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. A few of Dallas’ big guns, including Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz, are struggling offensively. But Mason Marchment, son of former NHL defenseman Bryan Marchment, is picking up some of the slack – he’s second on the Stars with 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 19 games.
7. Toronto Maple Leafs (13-6-2)
Who needs a 69-goal scorer? Apparently not the Leafs, who are 7-1-0 since center Auston Matthews sustained an upper-body injury on Nov. 3. He practiced for the first time since the injury on Tuesday, and they hope he’ll be able to return by this weekend, when Toronto completes a two-game swing through Florida. The Maple Leafs’ fast start is largely due to the play of goalies Anthony Stolarz (7-3-2, 2.18 GAA, .927 save percentage), and Joseph Woll (5-2-0, 2.00 GAA, .920 save percentage), as well as 14 goals in 21 games by William Nylander.
6. New Jersey Devils (15-7-2)
The Devils helped themselves last week in the scramble for first place in the Metropolitan Division with wins at home against the Carolina Hurricanes and on the road against the Washington Capitals. Captain Nico Hischier scored three straight goals in Monday’s 5-2 win against Nashville for the first hat trick of his NHL career. He has 13 goals in New Jersey’s 24 games; his career high for a full season is 31, set in 2022-23.
5. Washington Capitals (14-6-1)
Washington’s first week without Alex Ovechkin (broken left leg) began with one-goal losses to Colorado and New Jersey, but it ended on a high note with a 4-1 win at Florida that saw center Connor McMichael score twice. His 13 goals are two behind Ovechkin for the team lead and five shy of his career high, set last season. A big part of Washington’s success has been the play of goalie Logan Thompson, who is 9-1-1 with a 2.44 goals-against average and .917 save percentage after beating the Panthers.
4. Vegas Golden Knights (14-6-2)
Vegas won three straight after starting a five-game trip with a 3-0 loss at Toronto. That includes a 5-4 shootout win at Philadelphia on Monday that saw the Golden Knights overcome a three-goal deficit. Jack Eichel (34 points; eight goals, 26 assists) is tied for third in the league in scoring, and Ivan Barbashev has picked up the slack for injured forward Mark Stone with 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists), including seven in the three wins.
3. Minnesota Wild (13-4-4)
The Wild continue to be one of the NHL’s early-season surprises, though they missed a chance to make a statement on Monday when they lost 4-1 at home to the Winnipeg Jets, despite a 44-32 edge in shots on goal. The best news was that their top scorer, forward Kirill Kaprizov, missed just one game after leaving a 5-3 win at Edmonton on Friday following a knee-on-knee collision.
2. Carolina Hurricanes (15-5-1)
The ‘Canes are down to No. 3 goalie Spencer Martin after Pyotr Kochetkov left Saturday’s shootout loss at Columbus due to injury; he’s in concussion protocol and won’t play Wednesday against the Rangers. Martin coughed up four goals on 19 shots against Dallas on Monday, but the offense rallied from a 3-1 deficit against the NHL stingiest defense for a 6-4 win, Carolina’s eighth in a row at home. Martin Necas had a goal and an assist, tying him with Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL scoring lead.
1. Winnipeg Jets (18-4-0)
The Jets stayed on top of the rankings with two wins in three games in the first half of a six-game trip. Connor Hellebuyck picked up his 15th win of the season on Monday with what might have been his best performance of the season, a 43-save effort in a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. The Jets are doing the job at both ends of the ice; they lead the league with 89 goals and are tied with Toronto for the second-fewest allowed (52).ay turned into a 6-3 win that kept the Jets on top of our rankings.