NHL Power Rankings: Kraken surge into top five amid six-game winning streak

Devils
The Devils finally lost a game last week, but they got right back in the saddle and have won three games in a row since. Unfortunately for the rest of the league, Jack Hughes has really caught fire. He’s scored five goals in his last three games. Hughes is on track for a 40-goal season, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he is in the Hart Trophy discussion at the end of the season. — 19-4-0
2

Bruins
No one just walks into TD Garden and leaves with a win. Seriously. No one. With their win over the Lightning on Tuesday night, the Bruins built on their NHL record to make it 13 straight home wins to start a season. Boston has been unbeatable at home, but it hasn’t been terribly vulnerable on the road, either. — 19-3-0
3

Avalanche
Remember when we were wondering what was wrong with the Avalanche a few weeks ago? That looks pretty silly right now. The Avs have won seven of their last 10, and they have often done so in convincing fashion. Over the last two weeks, Colorado has controlled 52.31% of the expected goals at five-on-five, which looks a lot more like what we expected out of the defending champs. 1 12-7-1
4

Kraken
Last season, the Kraken ranked 27th in team shooting percentage (8.95%) and 32nd in team save percentage (88.0%). Apparently, the hockey gods showed some mercy on Seattle this year because they rank 1st in team shooting percentage at 13.13% so far this year. Of course, signing Andre Burakovsky and the emergence of Matty Beniers helped quite a bit too. 4 14-5-3
5

Maple Leafs
Mitch Marner has a point in 17 straight games, and he has 22 total points in that stretch. Even more than usual, Marner has been impacting the game with his elite passing ability. Marner’s career high in assists is 68, which he set in 2018-29, but he is on pace to surpass that this year. 5 14-5-5
6

Jets
We need to talk about Josh Morrissey, who leads the team with 25 points. He is a defenseman with a career-high point total of 37. Morrissey is ahead of names like Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Blake Wheeler. How is Morrissey doing this? I have no idea, but every time I flip to a Jets game, he’s doing something on the offensive end. 3 14-6-1
7

Lightning
Mikhail Sergachev has seen several different defensive partners this season, but he has been successful regardless of who has been next to him on the blue line. With Sergachev on the ice at five-on-five, Tampa has controlled 54.76% of the expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick. The actual goals have been closer — 17-16 in favor of the Bolts — but Sergachev has been better than that. — 13-8-1
8

Stars
I’m not one to toot my own horn (I am), and I’ve never taken an early victory lap (I have), but my bold prediction that Jason Robertson would lead the NHL in goals looks pretty good. Robertson’s 19 goals are two ahead of Connor McDavid and Bo Horvat, and he is playing like one of the best wingers in hockey. The Stars even signed his linemate, Roope Hintz, to an eight-year contract extension this week. 3 13-6-4
9

Golden Knights
Zero members of the Golden Knights’ top line — Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Chandler Stephenson — have recorded a point in the team’s last three games. Unsurprisingly, the team is 1-2-0 in that stretch, but I don’t expect that collective cold streak to last much longer. 6 17-6-1
10

Hurricanes
Over the last two weeks, the Hurricanes have hit a bit of a skid by their standards, but I suspect a lot of that is due to poor luck. In their last six games, the Hurricanes are shooting a paltry 5.83%, which is last in the NHL over that stretch. Carolina’s process is still sound, so I expect they’ll bounce back in the very near future. 4 12-6-5
11

Penguins
Tristan Jarry got off to an unusually rough start to the 2022-23 season, but he has turned it around. In his last four starts, Jarry has stopped 130 of the 135 shots he’s faced. He’s part of the reason why the Penguins have reasserted themselves as one of the best teams in the Metro Division. 6 11-8-4
12

Islanders
The Islanders did just win four games in a row, but they also just allowed the Flyers to snap their 10-game winning streak and got thoroughly outplayed in the process. There are some serious questions about this Isles club, and I wonder how long they’ll be able to compete atop a tough division. — 15-9-0
13

Blues
It’s easy to look at Jordan Binnington’s numbers and cringe, but things aren’t as bad as his 3.05 GAA and .900 save percentage would indicate. Well, they are, but just for different reasons. The Blues have just been one of the worst defensive teams in hockey. They give up a high rate of high-danger chances and are 30th in five-on-five expected goals against (50.83). 2 11-11-0
14

Kings
Arthur Kaliyev has turned into quite a power play weapon for the Kings. In 24 games, Kaliyev has already scored six power play goals, which matches his total from last season. If the Kings can ever get him going consistently at five-on-five, Kaliyev has the ability to be a real difference-maker for the team. 2 12-9-4
15

Oilers
From the start of the season through Nov. 8, the Oilers were tied for the league lead in goals with 53. Since Nov. 8, the Oilers are 28th in the league with 24 goals. That seemingly arbitrary date is when Evander Kane suffered his gnarly wrist injury. Since he has been out of the lineup, Edmonton’s offense has taken a step back. 3 12-10-0
16

Rangers
The Rangers have lost three games in a row, and frankly they are doing a lot of things right. They’ve just had a couple of issues. First, Artemi Panarin had been ice cold in the goal-scoring department. Prior to Monday’s game against the Devils, he hadn’t scored in 12 games. Second, Igor Shesterkin isn’t playing like the best goalie in the NHL by a country mile like he was last year. He’s just been closer to above average. 1 10-9-4
17

Flames
In a highly anticipated matchup between the Flames and Panthers, Calgary jumped all over Florida in the first period. The Flames held a 3-0 lead at the first intermission and never looked back. Jonathan Huberdeau recorded a goal and an assist against his former team, and MacKenzie Weegar got on the scoresheet with an assist. 3 10-9-3
18

Panthers
Matthew Tkachuk made his return to Calgary, and somewhat surprisingly, he got a standing ovation in the first period. That’s where the warm feelings ended though because Tkachuk and the Panthers were on the wrong end of a 6-2 score. Florida just hasn’t been able to get any kind of momentum this season, but it’s probably not time to worry… yet. 5 10-9-4
19

Red Wings
After missing a month due to injury, Tyler Bertuzzi is still trying to get his feet underneath him, but so far he has just three points in his first six games back. Once Bertuzzi gets back to his old self, that will be a massive boost to this Detroit lineup. 1 11-6-4
20

Predators
The Predators had a pretty odd Thanksgiving weekend. They came home from Detroit to find that Bridgestone Arena had been flooded due to a water main break. As a result, both of Nashville’s games on Thanksgiving weekend. The Preds did manage to dry the place out enough to beat the Ducks 2-1 on Tuesday night. 1 10-9-2
21

Wild
The Wild recently acquired Ryan Reaves in a trade for reasons I have yet to really understand. Not only does Reaves lack the kind of scoring touch Minnesota needs, to put it lightly, but it also takes away cap space that GM Bill Guerin could use to go get a scorer on the trade market. — 10-9-2
22

Canadiens
Whatever funk Brendan Gallagher was in last season has carried over to this one. Gallagher has just three goals in 22 games, and his shooting percentage sits at 5.9%. That is one point higher than his 2021-22 shooting percentage, but it’s still well below his career average. Montreal has to find a way to get one of its biggest leaders going. — 11-10-1
23

Capitals
As is normally the case, John Carlson is having a good offensive season with seven goals and 13 points in 18 games played. However, it has been tough sledding for him at five-on-five. With Carlson on the ice in those situations, the Caps have controlled just 48.5% of the expected goals. — 10-11-3
24

Canucks
Over the last two weeks, the Canucks have managed to claw their way back into sight of playoff position, but there is still work to be done. Part of that recent success can be attributed to an overdue hot streak from Elias Pettersson. He has five goals and nine points in his last seven games. 4 9-11-3
25

Senators
After losing his starting role in Minnesota last season, Cam Talbot was traded to Ottawa, and he has been solid as the No. 1 option for the Senators. He has outplayed Anton Forsberg, and Talbot has saved 3.48 goals above average, which is already an improvement over his 2021-22 numbers. 4 8-12-1
26

Sharks
Overall, San Jose has not been as bad as its record would suggest. The Sharks are closer to the middle of the pack in a number of categories, except for save percentage and goals saved above average. San Jose’s team save percentage of 88.74% ranks 29th in the league, and James Reimer and Kaapo Kahkonen have combined for -7.17 goals saved above average. 2 8-13-4
27

Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets need to make some changes on the blue line. The players on the ice the most have gotten the worst results. That’s a bad combination. Vladislav Gavrikov, Andrew Peeke, and Erik Gudbranson are the top three players in terms of ice time, but they combine for an on-ice goal differential of -24 at five-on-five. 2 7-12-2
28

Coyotes
There has been a lot of talk about when and where Jacob Chychrun will get traded, but Shayne Gostisbehere has to be on that watchlist too. He’s in the final year of his contract, and Gositsbehere is second on the team in points with 14 in 20 games played. 1 7-10-3
29

Sabres
The Sabres might be seventh in the Atlantic Division, but good news isn’t hard to find. For instance, rookie defenseman Owen Power is more than holding his own as a 20-year-old. He has 10 points in 22 games, and Buffalo is controlling 52.61% of the expected goals with him on the ice at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. 2 9-12-1
30

Blackhawks
The Blackhawks are slipping into Flyers territory with one win in their last 10 games, and they have now slipped below the Coyotes in the standings. Honestly, credit to general manager Kyle Davidson. The man came in with a plan, and he has executed it to perfection so far. — 6-11-4
31

Ducks
I spent longer than I should trying to find something positive to say about the Ducks, but I couldn’t do it. This team is just so bad. The Ducks have six wins, and five of them have needed overtime or a shootout. Hey, that’s something. Anaheim is really good after regulation. 1 6-15-2
32

Flyers
The Flyers just ended a 10-game losing streak last night, but it’s going to take more than one win in your last 11 to avoid last place in the power rankings. The Ducks might be bad, but they haven’t been that bad, at least not yet. 6 8-10-5