NHL Power Rankings: Week 7
Here we are again, a little late but we are back with the NHL Power Rankings for the 2021-22 NHL Season. These will be a little shorter but sweeter. Divisions are back to normal! For your benefit the Divisions are: Pacific – Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Seattle, Vancouver, and Vegas. Central – Arizona, Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, and Winnipeg. Metropolitan – Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington. Atlantic – Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Toronto. All records are of the morning of 11.21.21
#16 Nashville Predators (9-7-1, 19 Points)
Literally had to throw up three teams to decide this spot but I will give the nod to Nashville. They are playing very well since Matt Duchene is finding a stride we haven’t seen in a long while.
#15 St. Louis Blues (9-6-2, 20 Points)
St. Louis Blues have had a great start but have since struggled to maintain that strength. They are 3-5-2 in their last 10. The bright part is that Tarasenko has been revitalized after he asked for a trade. This is how you showcase yourself if you are wanting a trade, but perhaps he will change his mind?
#14 Columbus Blue Jackets (9-6-0, 18 Points)
This is a surprising spot for the Blue Jackets after losing their star defenseman and their coach from last year. This team is scraping together, and I am all for it.
#13 Colorado Avalanche (8-5-1, 17 Points)
Avalanche have been not great especially given their talent level. This team’s window is closing fast and teams that shouldn’t be better than them are sitting in prettier situations. Its early but they need to figure it out. 7-2-1 is a better string of games.
#12 Vegas Golden Knights (11-7-0, 22 Points)
Vegas had a bad start but have finally settled in without Flower. 7-3-0 in their last 10 games and they finally look a bit like we expect. They injured players are returning. Jack Eichel is officially in recovery from surgery.
#11 Boston Bruins (9-5-0, 18 Points)
Boston is always solid…always. When will there be a season of the NHL where Boston is not always playing well and going through some shape of a rebuild.
#10 Minnesota Wild (11-6-0, 22 Points)
Minnesota has continued their trend from last year. 6-4 in their last 10 isn’t too shabby. 4-point night for Kaprizov last week just adds to his resume of being a game changer for this squad. 17 points in 17 games, what a player.
#9 Anaheim Ducks (10-5-3, 23 Points)
James, my guy, your Ducks are looking good. I can’t tell if they are actually good or just having a shit ton of fun and playing super loose and its working. But hey who cares at this point. Troy Terry is looking like what was expected at his outset. +13 goal differential. We will wait to see if this is legit.
#8 Tampa Bay Lightning (9-4-3, 21 Points)
Tampa has finally started to look like the Tampa I expected. They only have a +2 goal differential and a .900 SV % as a team which is unlike what we would expect. Perhaps they are human after all, but time will tell. This is one of those “We don’t care about the regular season” teams.
#7 New York Rangers (10-4-3, 23 Points)
Adam Fox has just picked up where he left off after his Norris Trophy season last season. He leads the team in points alongside Artermi Panarin. This team got tougher and it may be what they needed.
#6 Toronto Maple Leafs (12-6-1, 25 points)
Toronto Land had quite a scare in the first week or so. There were many question marks and it felt like the world was ending, I loved every minute. However, they have really pulled it together and look like a force again. 8-2 in their last 10 and Marner is finally settling down…maybe.
#5 Calgary Flames (10-3-5, 25 Points)
Calgary has played very well all things considered, albeit their last 10 games have been a bit off from their hot start. They still have a 23-goal differential which puts them ahead of the curve. Johnny Hockey has been looking good.
#4 Washington Capitals (11-2-5, 27 Points)
The Caps have been quite surprising, given this podcast didn’t know where this team would be. They are getting older, and the window is closing fast. The main driver? Evgeny Kuznetsov who looks like he did in that 2018 playoff run, which is a scary thought, 21 points in 18 games…
#3 Florida Panthers (13-2-3, 29 Points)
This team started out so strong but has since seen a little bit of a push back by teams. Aleksander Barkov will be out for a bit which will test this team. Luckily the captain showed no major damage to his knee. Perfect 10-0 at home is scary to think about.
#2 Edmonton Oilers (13-4-0, 26 Points)
My team has hit different this season. One could argue that McDavid and Draisaitl have been the keys here, but this team is finding secondary scoring and finding a way to play defense. Watch out Pacific/West.
#1 Carolina Hurricanes (14-2-0, 28 Points)
Carolina has been an absolute unit this year. They can’t string together losses and just dominate the play on both ends. They lead the differential stat. When will things even out is the question mark.