NHL Power Rankings: Bruins, despite injuries, steamroll way to No. 1 with hot start

Bruins
Brad Marchand made his return to the Bruins last week and immediately notched three points in a 5-1 win over the Red Wings. Boston is clicking in every facet of the game, and it is still nowhere near 100% yet. Any criticism of the Bruins to this point would be nitpicking, and they are the undisputed No. 1 team in the NHL right now. 2 10-1-0
2

Golden Knights
In their 2-1 win over the Jets on Sunday, the Golden Knights generated 6.22 expected goals to Winnipeg’s 1.91, per Natural Stat Trick. Last season, that was the type of game Vegas would lose between poor goaltending and tough shooting luck. Now, the goaltending has improved and Jack Eichel and Mark Stone are producing in big moments. 2 10-2-0
3

Hurricanes
Some turnover in the offseason plus Max Pacioretty’s injury opened up more opportunity for Martin Necas in the top six. So far, he has made the most of it. Through nine games, Necas has five goals and 13 points. Even if he doesn’t necessarily keep that pace for 82 games, he should still exceed his career highs in nearly every offensive category. 1 8-2-1
4

Flames
The Flames dropped Round 2 in the Battle of Alberta, but they should be able to take solace in the fact that they controlled most of the game. Star Jacob Markstrom struggled in that game, but I expect him to round into form after a slow start by his standards. 3 5-4-0
5

Devils
You can’t stop them. You can only hope to contain them. The Devils are beating teams into submission these days. They defeated the Avalanche, 1-0, in a game that was nowhere near as close as the final score indicated. They followed that up with a 7-1 whipping of the Blue Jackets and a 5-2 smacking of the Canucks. Maybe the ‘Fire Lindy’ chants were a bit premature. 10 8-3-0
6

Oilers
Jack Campbell has not played well for the Oilers, but Stuart Skinner has picked up the slack in net. The 24-year-old has saved 6.77 goals above average in his four games played, per Natural Stat Trick. If Edmonton wants to ignore the monetary investments in each player and ride the hot hand in goal, Stuart should get some runner as the team’s starting netminder for a while. 5 7-4-0
7

Rangers
Adam Fox has returned to his Norris Trophy form this season. Through 11 games, Fox has two goals and nine points with the Rangers hammering opponents while he’s on the ice. In last week’s game against the Avalanche, Fox put Nathan MacKinnon in his back pocket on a play that began with the Rangers defenseman bullying MacKinnon off the puck and ended with him finding the back of the net at the other end. 3 6-4-2
8

Panthers
Eetu Luostarinen has excelled in a third-line role so far. In over 97 minutes with Luostarinen on the ice at five-on-five, the Panthers have scored nine goals and allowed just one, according to Natural Stat Trick. He seems extremely comfortable on a line with Colin White and Anton Lundell, and that trio has been excellent at controlling play. 1 6-4-1
9

Sabres
I still have some questions about this Sabres team, but I do not have any questions about Tage Thompson. A mutant of an athlete, Thompson stands at 6-foot-7 and can still stickhandle in a phone booth. In the Sabres’ dominant win over the Red Wings, Thompson recorded a hat trick and six total points. 7 7-4-0
10

Stars
Roope Hintz seems poised to establish himself as one of the NHL’s elite. After a three-point night on Tuesday, he is now up to 12 points in 10 games played. As usual, his line featuring Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson looks unstoppable, but Hintz leads the team with an expected goals share of 67.33%, according to Natural Stat Trick. 4 7-3-1
11

Lightning
Tampa Bay is 5-1-0 in its last six games, and this team is starting to look like the Lightning we are all very familiar with. It just takes a few weeks to get the engines revved up after three consecutive runs to the Stanley Cup Final. 3 6-4-1
12

Kings
Are the Kings a legitimate threat in the Pacific Division? I don’t know. Are the Kings very fun to watch? No doubt about it. They are averaging 3.50 goals for per game, which ranks in the top 10. They are also averaging 3.92 goals against per game, which ranks in the bottom five. That’s a recipe for entertaining hockey. 6 6-6-1
13

Avalanche
Taking a peek under the hood, the Avalanche are off to an aggressively mediocre start when it comes to their five-on-five game. Per Natural Stat Trick, Colorado has owned just 45.2% of the expected goals with both teams at full strength. By comparison, the Avs were at 52.0% last season. 5 5-4-1
14

Jets
After a bit of a down year in 2021-22, at least by his standards, Connor Hellebuyck is back to standing on his head and keeping the Jets in games when they have no business even being close. It looks like Hellebuyck is poised to drag Winnipeg to the playoff bubble again this year. 5 6-3-1
15

Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs are back home from their five-game road trip with all of four points in hand. That trip included losses to the lowly Sharks and Ducks. In the latter defeat, Toronto blew a two-goal third-period lead and star winger Mitch Marner was benched. Toronto is unseasonably warm for this time of year. 3 5-4-2
16

Penguins
The Penguins shot out of the gates with their hair on fire, and they have run out of steam quickly. Since their 4-0-1 start, the Penguins have gone 0-4-1. Pittsburgh’s most recent loss featured the team coughing up a three-goal lead to the red-hot Bruins. 11 4-5-2
17

Senators
Shane Pinto, the No. 32 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft leads all rookie in goals scored with six. Now, will he be able to sustain his 42.9% shooting percentage? I would say probably not, but he has been a fun story so far, and he is part of a young core that makes this Senators team fun to watch. 4 4-6-0
18

Wild
The Wild have won four of their last five games, but the injuries are starting to pile up. Most notably, Ryan Hartman could be out for a while after an apparent shoulder injury suffered in a fight with the Blackhawks’ Jarred Tinordi. Minnesota’s center depth was already shaky, but it’ll be even worse with Hartman out for any significant amount of time. 3 5-5-1
19

Capitals
If you play for the Capitals, you are probably hurt right now. T.J. Oshie, John Carlson, Connor Brown, Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson, and Carl Hagelin are all dealing with some kind of injury. Can the Caps weather the storm until most of those guys get back? They do have Alex Ovechkin, so maybe, but it’s going to be an uphill battle. 2 5-5-2
20

Flyers
Despite atrocious underlying numbers, the Flyers continue to rack up points in the standings. Excuse me, allow me to rephrase that. Despite atrocious play in front of him, Carter Hart continues to rack up points in the standings. Hart is saving Philadelphia’s bacon in the early going. In the Flyers’ overtime loss to the Rangers on Tuesday, Hart allowed just one goal on 4.18 expected goals against. 2 5-3-2
21

Kraken
Following a dramatic third-period comeback against the Flames, the Kraken improved to 5-4-2 on the season. This is now the latest point in the season that they have been above .500 after a train wreck of a start to their inaugural season. Seattle looks much improved, and it will be interesting to see whether they can hang around in the Pacific Division. 4 6-4-2
22

Blues
This sharp drop by the Blues is the result of a five-game losing streak, with all the losses coming by multiple goals, often in blowouts. Throughout this losing streak, St. Louis has been on the wrong end of a combined score of 25-8. It’s tough to find any positives for the Blues right now. 15 3-6-0
23

Islanders
Mathew Barzal has yet to score in 10 games played. For those keeping track at home, that is a 0.0% shooting percentage. On the bright side, he is still playing at a point-per-game pace because he has been absolutely dishing to the tune of 10 assists on the season. 5 7-4-0
24

Canadiens
While some of the Canadiens’ young stars have shown progress so far, but defenseman Kaiden Guhle has struggled. The 2020 first-round pick has been getting shelled at five-on-five, and Guhle is having trouble getting adjusted to the NHL level. — 5-5-1
25

Blackhawks
Chicago has not lost four straight games, all of which have been relatively competitive. If the Blackhawks can do that all the way to the top of the draft lottery, that will be the ideal scenario for this team. 2 5-4-2
26

Red Wings
Mortiz Seider is coming off a rookie season in which he won the Calder Trophy, but he might be enduring a bit of a sophomore slump at the moment. He hasn’t found much of a rapport with new defensive partner Ben Chiarot, and as a result, Detroit controls just 43.8% of the expected goals with Seider on the ice at five-on-five. With just two assists so far, his scoring has dried up too. 6 5-3-2
27

Predators
Last season, the Predators rode career years from Filip Forsberg, Matt Duchene, and Roman Josi to the playoffs. Regression has hit each of those players hard/ Forsberg and Duchene each have combined for five goals through 10 games, and Roman Josi has just six points. Without much help from the rest of the roster, the Predators are sinking in the Central Division. — 4-6-1
28

Coyotes
Credit where credit is due. The Coyotes were able to take chicken droppings and make chicken salad for the christening of Mullett Arena as an NHL barn. Setting aside a student section for the Arizona State students was a nice touch. How long will the novelty keep people invested? I guess we’re about to find out. 2 3-6-1
29

Canucks
The good news for the Canucks is that they now have two wins. The bad news for the Canucks is that they also have eight losses. Unless something changes very quickly in Vancouver, the front office is going to have to face the fact that this team is nowhere near contending for a playoff spot. 3 3-6-2
30

Ducks
I began the season believing that the Ducks would be a fun kind of bad. They still could be, look no further than Trevor Zegras’ efforts in Anaheim’s comeback win over the Maple Leafs as an example, but they could also just be a bad kind of bad. The Ducks have controlled just 40.42% of the expected goals at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick, and they are getting trounced on a regular basis. 1 3-7-1
31

Sharks
The start to the 2022-23 season has been a disaster for Timo Meier, who is in a contract year. Going into Tuesday night’s game against the Ducks, he has scored on just one of his 53 shots for a microscopic shooting percentage of 1.9%. That won’t last, but it has certainly contributed to the Sharks’ offensive woes so far. As a possible trade chip this year, Meier will have to get going in order for San Jose to maximize his value. — 3-8-2
32

Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets have been on the power play 25 times this season, and they have zero goals with the man advantage. That’s not ideal, and it has certainly contributed to their 3-7-0 record. Now, Columbus has to hope to break through with back-to-back Global Series games against the Colorado Avalanche this weekend. 6 3-8-0