Week 5 NHL power rankings: 10 best and 10 worst NHL teams right now

Not every NHL team can get off to a flying start in the new season. Several clubs have issues dating back to last season that they must first overcome before they can earn respectability around the game. However, others have gotten off to some shockingly awful starts that have many around the game confused. Let’s look at the 10 worst teams in the NHL right now.

The Blues are one game under .500 despite being outscored by 14 goals, including an 8-1 wipeout by the Washington Capitals at home on Saturday. St. Louis finishes a five-game homestand Tuesday before playing six of its next eight games on the road, all against Eastern Conference opponents.

The Flyers have earned half of their wins in shootouts, including a 4-3 victory against the Sharks on Monday that saw them blow a 3-0 lead before winning in the tiebreaker. Travis Konecny (8-9-17) and rookie Matvei Michkov (5-7-12) are the only players with double figures in points, and they’re 1-6-0 when starting goalie Samuel Ersson doesn’t play.

The Kraken are off to a good start on their six-game homestand after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in overtime on Friday, but they’re still 2-6-1 in their past nine games. Free-agent defenseman Brandon Montour has produced offensively (four goals, 11 points in 14 games); however, their other big offseason signing, center Chandler Stephenson, has one goal, nine points, and is minus-6 in 15 games.

It’s been an up-and-down season for Columbus, which is getting solid production from Kirill Marchenko (6-9-15) and newcomer Sean Monahan (6-5-11) but not enough from the rest of the roster. The Jackets need more from some of their highly drafted young players, including forwards Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger.

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The lowest-scoring team in the NHL (31 goals in 14 games) has been kept alive by the goaltending of Lukas Dostal (4-5-2, 2.73 GAA, .922 save percentage). Longtime starter John Gibson returned from an appendectomy and defeated Columbus 4-2 on Sunday. But the Ducks have just one player with double figures in points — Troy Terry with 11. Terry and Leo Carlsson are the only Ducks with more than three goals.

It’s looking more and more like the Penguins are headed for a third straight non-playoff season. They’ve already blown four multiple-goal leads, are allowing exactly four goals per game, and were blown out 7-1 at home by the Dallas Stars on Monday, a game that saw them surrender six unanswered goals in the first period.

Connor Bedard’s second NHL season has been a struggle. He has three goals (none since Oct. 26) and 13 points in 16 games. Goalie Petr Mrazek has done his best to keep the Hawks afloat; he’s played 12 of Chicago’s 16 games and is 5-7-0 with a 2.85 goals-against average and .905 save percentage despite woeful support.

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Scoring is no problem for the Canadiens, who have the NHL goals leader in Cole Caufield. Keeping the puck out of their next is a whole different issue; Montreal has allowed 67 goals in 16 games, including five on 18 shots Monday in a 7-5 road win against the Buffalo Sabres. The Canadiens are the only team allowing more than four goals per game.

The League’s worst team last season is still digging out after their 0-7-2 start. Improved goaltending has helped; Mackenzie Blackwood made 44 saves in a 1-0 win at the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. The Sharks are 2-1-2 in five games with No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini in the lineup, but 3-8-1 in the 12 games he’s missed because of injuries.

Nashville’s summertime buying spree has yet to yield much in the way of results. Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault have not generated the kind of offense that GM Barry Trotz was seeking when he opened his wallet this summer. Another problem: No Nashville regular has a positive plus-minus total.

Now it is time to look at the cream of the Week 5 NHL crop. Some of the teams below were expected to be among the 10 best to start the NHL schedule. However, there are a few surprises after the fifth week of the season.

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Thatcher Demko has yet to dress this season, but Kevin Lankinen has saved the day for the Canucks with a 7-1-2 record in his first 10 starts, along with a 2.61 GAA and .905 save percentage. Elias Pettersson’s continuing slump has been a major issue. Defenseman Quinn Hughes is one of the League’s top defensemen again, after winning the Norris Trophy in 2023-24.

The Leafs have gotten this far without a lot of production from Auston Matthews (5-6-11 in 13 games before being injured). But William Nylander (11 goals, 18 points) and Mitchell Marner (16 assists, 20 points) have stepped up. So has goalie Anthony Stolarz, a free agent signee who’s 6-2-2 with a 2.00 GAA and .930 save percentage.

The Stars hit a few bumps in the road before flattening the Penguins 7-1 on Monday. A couple of their top offensive players, most notably Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson, have yet to hit their stride. Jake Oettinger (7-3-0, 2.44 GAA, .914 save percentage) has been his usual consistent self, and the Stars’ 33 goals against are the second-fewest in the League.

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If the Golden Knights played all their games at T-Mobile Arena, they might run away with everything. Vegas was a perfect 8-0-0 at home before a 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. However, the Golden Knights are just 1-3-2 on the road, where they play seven of their next eight games. Rookie Pavel Dorofeyev has been a welcome surprise with eight goals in 15 games.

Can Alex Ovechkin pass Wayne Gretzky for the NHL career goal-scoring record this season? Ovi needed 42 before the season started; he’s already got 10 in Washington’s first 14 games. It’s the ninth time in his career he’s hit double figures this fast; each time, he went on to score at least 42 goals. He’s a big reason the Capitals are successfully building on last season’s surprising trip to the playoffs.

Kirill Kaprizov is the best player hockey fans haven’t heard enough about. He begins the week second in the NHL with 28 points and tied for first at plus-14. He has scored or assisted on more than half of Minnesota’s goals (28 of 53). Minnesota has already played 10 road games and is 7-1-2 away from home.

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The defending Presidents’ Trophy winners have been perfect when they score the first goal but have yet to win when they don’t. Igor Shesterkin had a clunker against the Buffalo Sabres last Thursday but otherwise has been the Rangers’ best player – except maybe for his backup, Jonathan Quick, who’s 3-0-0 and allowed just four goals in the three wins. They’ll get tested by the Jets this week at home before beginning a four-game trip to Seattle on Sunday.

The ‘Canes are their usual selves: They lead the NHL in average shots (34.1) and fewest shots allowed (24.9), meaning they take an average of nine more shots on goal per game than their opponents. The question, as usual, is goaltending: Oft-injured Frederik Andersen was off to a fast start before being hurt, and while Pyotr Kochetkov is 8-1-0, his save percentage was just .896 before a 5-2 win at Vegas on Monday.

The defending Stanley Cup champs stumbled a bit out of the gate but turned things around in late October and took a seven-game winning streak into a rare two-game home series against the Devils. Forward Sam Reinhart is the only player in the NHL who’s in the top five in goals, assists, points, and plus-minus (plus-13). He also leads the NHL with three shorthanded goals.

The Jets are firing on all cylinders. Defending Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck is 11-1-0 with a 1.83 goals-against average, a .935 save percentage (both tops among goalies with five or more appearances), and three shutouts (also tops in the League). He went 191:47 without allowing a goal before Dallas scored against him Saturday. Meanwhile, the power play is converting 41.9 percent of its chances, the second-highest percentage on record at this stage of the season behind the 2021-22 Edmonton Oilers.

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