Week 6 NHL power rankings: 10 best and 10 worst NHL teams right now, including the dominant Jets and awful Penguins

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 return to respectability in 2024-25. However, others have gotten off to some shockingly rough starts that have many around the game confused. Let’s look at the 10 worst teams in the NHL right now.

Senators fans never know which version of their team they’ll see on any given night. Five Ottawa players have scored at least seven goals, and three have at least 17 points. But the same team that scored eight goals twice this season (the only team to do so) is also capable of clunkers like a 5-2 home loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday and a 4-0 loss at Carolina last Saturday.

Karol Vejmelka’s 49-save effort in a 4-1 win against Carolina last Wednesday was arguably the best performance of the season by an NHL goalie. But Utah lost the next two games, is 2-4-1 in its past seven, has dropped below .500 after a hot start, and begins a four-game road trip Thursday in Boston.

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It’s been an up-and-down month for Columbus, which has won two of its past three games (each by four goals) after beginning November 0-5-1. The Blue Jackets play their final four games this month at Nationwide Arena, where they are 5-3-0. Third-year forward Kirill Marchenko has impressed with a team-high 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 18 games.

The Red Wings will be glad to get back to Little Caesars Arena after a horrible 0-2-1 California swing that included a no-show 4-1 loss in Los Angeles, a 6-4 loss at Anaheim when they blew a 3-1 lead, and the overtime loss in San Jose. Coach Derek Lalonde’s time in the Motor City could be nearing an end unless his team perks up soon.

Getting Robert Thomas, one of their best offensive weapons, back should help the attack – the Blues are averaging just 2.45 goals through 20 games while allowing 3.45. Their minus-20 goal differential is the fourth-worst in the NHL. Jake Neighbours is the only player with more than five goals, and he’s a team-worst minus-10.

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Starting goalie Sam Montembeault’s play continues to improve. He’s 3-1-0 in his past four decisions and made 30 saves in a 3-0 shutout of the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. The Canadiens are 3-1-0 in their past four games after starting November 0-3-1.

You could make a case that the Penguins should be even lower. Their 3-2 overtime loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday marked the fifth time in their 20 games that the Penguins lost after leading by multiple goals – and that doesn’t count their 4-3 shootout win over the Sharks last Saturday that saw them win the tiebreaker after failing to hold a 3-0 lead.

Macklin Celebrini showed why the Sharks took him with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft when he made a brilliant move to score the overtime winner against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. He’s missed 12 of San Jose’s 20 games due to injury but has four goals in the eight games he’s played. San Jose is 6-3-2 after starting 0-7-2.

Goalie Juuse Saros (5-8-2, 2.55 goals-against average, .914 save percentage) is keeping the Predators afloat. Steven Stamkos, one of Nashville’s two big free-agent signees, is up to six goals (five on the power play) after scoring twice Sunday in Vancouver; however, Jonathan Marchessault has just three goals in 19 games and is minus-11.

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Not much is going right for the Blackhawks, who’ve lost three straight overall and five of seven at home. Starting goalie Petr Mrazek, who has five of Chicago’s six wins, missed Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to Anaheim for personal reasons, and there’s no word when he will return. Six players, including team scoring leader Connor Bedard (15 points) are minus-6 or worse.

Now it is time to look at the cream of the Week 6 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 first month and a half of the season.

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A one-week break in the schedule appears to have reinvigorated the Lightning, whose three-game winning streak is tied for the longest active run in the League. Andrei Vasilevskiy won all three games; a 4-1 win against Winnipeg on Nov. 14 made him the 40th goalie in NHL history to reach 300 victories – and by doing it in 490 games, he’s the fastest to reach the milestone.

The Maple Leafs are doing just fine without star center Auston Matthews, a 69-goal scorer last season; they are 5-1-0 since Matthews went down with an upper-body injury on Nov. 3. GM Brad Treliving says his captain will miss the home game against Vegas on Wednesday but could return as soon as Sunday against Utah, though next week’s two-game swing through Florida might be more likely.

Forward Mason Marchment was the NHL Second Star last week, with three multi-point performances in as many games. But a 4-2 loss to the Ducks on Monday showed that the Stars still need their big guns to find the range offensively – most notably Jason Robertson, a 109-point scorer in 2022-23 who has four goals and eight points this season and no goals in his past nine games.

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The defending Stanley Cup champs were on a tear until losing twice at home to New Jersey and splitting two games with Winnipeg. But don’t blame forward Sam Reinhart for any problems; his goal in a 6-3 road loss to the Jets on Tuesday extended his points streak to 11 games, and he’s on pace to better last season’s total of 57 goals.

The Pacific Division leaders begin a five-game road trip in Toronto on Wednesday. They’ll need their best player, center Jack Eichel (five goals, 28 points in 18 games) to keep up the pace, especially with forward Mark Stone, their No. 2 scorer, placed on injured reserve on Tuesday with a lower-body injury. Stone has 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) but hasn’t played since Nov. 6.

Goaltender Filip Gustavsson’s play has kept them among the top NHL teams. He rebounded from a shaky performance last season and is 9-3-2 with a 2.07 GAA and .926 save percentage. The Wild have scored 61 goals; Kirill Kaprizov has scored or assisted on 33 of them and is second in the League in points and plus-minus (plus-17).

The Rangers are the League’s road warriors; they are 7-1-0 away from Madison Square Garden after a 4-3 win at Vancouver on Tuesday and have outscored opponents 35-13. New York has gotten tremendous work from backup goalie Jonathan Quick, who’s 4-0-0 with a 0.91 GAA and .970 save percentage. He shut out Detroit and Seattle in his past two starts.

Also Read: NHL November storylines include Connor McDavid’s absence, Alex Ovechkin’s chase

Alex Ovechkin’s quest to take the NHL career goal-scoring record from Wayne Gretzky is on hold. He’s week to week with a leg injury sustained after he scored twice in Washington’s 6-2 win at Utah on Monday – one night after he had a hat trick in a 5-2 win at Vegas. Losing the first player to score 15 goals this season will make it harder for the Caps to keep pace with Carolina and the Rangers.

Not even an injury to ostensible No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen can show down the ‘Canes. Pyotr Kochetkov has won nine of his first 11 decisions and lowered his GAA to 2.42 after a shaky start. Journeyman Seth Martin, who was called up when Andersen was hurt, got his first NHL shutout in 60 games over five seasons when he blanked Ottawa 4-0 on Saturday.

A trip to Florida brought the Jets back to earth, as they were beaten soundly by the Tampa Bay Lightning before losing 5-0 to the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers. But a return match with the Panthers in Winnipeg on Tuesday turned into a 6-3 win that kept the Jets on top of our rankings.

Also Read: Andrei Vasilevskiy grounds record-setting Jets to become fastest NHL goalie to 300 wins