The App is Back! Don’t forget to download the NBC Sports EDGE app to receive real-time player news, mobile alerts and track your favorite players. Plus, now you can check out articles and player cards. Get it here!
Florida continues to be the state to beat, as both the Panthers and Lightning are towards the top of the rankings this week, with the Lightning in particular climbing up quite a few spots.
Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators move down the list after a particularly tough 6-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on November 20th that brought attention to some concerns.
Here are the Power Rankings for this week:
1 - Carolina Hurricanes (no. 1 last week):
The Carolina Hurricanes have won their past four consecutive outings and continue to prove that they are the team to beat in this league. Their points percentage has increased from last week and now sits at a league-leading .875. Frederik Andersen also continues to be solid in the crease for Carolina. He has a save percentage of .937 and a GAA of 1.89 through 13 games started. Andersen has only posted a save percentage below .900 twice this season, further cementing how talented this Hurricanes roster is.
2 - Florida Panthers (no. 3 last week):
The Panthers are on a three-game winning streak after having a successful past week. Spencer Knight had a career game against the New Jersey Devils on November 18th, during which he made an impressive 45 saves on 46 shots. That game gave an indication as to what type of player he has the potential to develop into and the Panthers should be excited.
3 - Washington Capitals (no. 2 last week):
The Capitals have only one regulation loss in their last eight games played. This past week they held both the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks scoreless. Alex Ovechkin continues to prove that he is still not past his prime. He has three goals in his last two games played. He has 15 goals so far, which is tied for the second-most in the league.
4 - Edmonton Oilers (no. 5 last week):
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continue to dominate game after game. Draisaitl leads the league in points with 35 and McDavid is right behind him with 32. McDavid has not played in a single game this season without notching a point. The Oilers ended this past week with two wins against the Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks.
5 - Calgary Flames (no. 12 last week):
The Flames have earned wins in four of their last five games. The one game they did not win during that stretch was an OT loss. In three of those five games the Flames did not allow a single goal. Dan Vladar has two consecutive shutouts in his past two appearances, an indication of goaltender depth for the team. Johnny Gaudreau is currently on a four-game point streak and has four goals in his last three appearances.
6 - Toronto Maple Leafs (no. 4 last week):
The Maple Leafs have won six of their past seven games. Jack Campbell in particular has been incredibly impressive in net. He has three shutouts in the month of November. Through 16 appearances this season, Campbell has a save percentage of .944 and a very impressive GAA of 1.66.
7 - Tampa Bay Lightning (no. 15 last week):
Tampa Bay has just one loss in their last five games. The reigning champions continue to be a solid team. Having Steven Stamkos in the lineup consistently has been big for the Lightning. Stamkos has nine goals and 10 assists for a total of 19 points. He leads his roster in both overall points and goals. With the exception of a tough showing on November 20th against the New Jersey Devils, Andrei Vasilevskiy has returned to his elite form after having a slow start to the season.
8 - Minnesota Wild (no. 8 last week):
The Wild currently hold the number one spot in the Central. They earned a big 7-2 win against the Dallas Stars back on November 18th. Kirill Kaprizov is riding some major momentum as of late. He has seven points in his last three games. Kaprizov leads his team in points with 18.
9 - New York Rangers (no. 11 last week):
Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox continue to lead the Rangers in point production. Panarin has four goals and 15 assists for a total of 19 points in 18 games played this season. Fox has four goals and 14 assists for 18 points in 18 games played. The Rangers sit in the third spot in the Metropolitan.
10 - Anaheim Ducks (no. 9 last week):
The Ducks have been an incredibly fun team to watch in the early part of this 2021-2022 season. The team currently holds the third spot in the Pacific. The Ducks posted good performances this past week against two of the best teams in the league. On November 16th they picked up an OT win over the Washington Capitals. On the 18th they lost a close 2-1 contest to the Carolina Hurricanes. They are proving that they can keep up with the elite teams.
11 - Colorado Avalanche (no. 17 last week):
The Avalanche are finally finding their groove. They have four straight wins, including a dominant 7-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken on November 19th. The Avalanche have constantly been viewed as cup contenders, so the early part of this season has been rather underwhelming. Although they are riding positive momentum right now, these past four wins have come against comparatively easy opponents. It will be worth seeing if they can carry this newfound energy into tougher games.
12 - Winnipeg Jets (no. 7 last week):
The Winnipeg Jets sit one point behind the number one spot in the Central. Kyle Connor is riding a six-game point streak. He leads his team in points with 12 goals and 10 assists in 17 games played. Andrew Copp and Pierre-Luc Dubois are also posting good numbers with 16 points each.
13 - Philadelphia Flyers (no. 19 last week):
The Flyers picked up a win against the Calgary Flames, a shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and a loss to the Boston Bruins this past week. Carter Hart has bounced back from his rough 2020-2021 season. Hart has a save percentage of .932 and a GAA of 2.25. Hart has not posted a save percentage below .900 since the season opener back on October 15th. Philadelphia should be excited about finally having consistency between the pipes.
14 - Vegas Golden Knights (no. 10 last week):
The Golden Knights have only one loss in their past six appearances and are recovering from their slow start to the year. Vegas also has a lot of injured players who are inching closer to returning to the roster, as such the team will only get better from this point. Robin Lehner has also found his groove, as he has not posted a save percentage below .900 in his last six appearances.
15 - St. Louis Blues (no. 20 last week):
The Blues held their own against the Edmonton Oilers on November 14th, but then proceeded to pick up a loss to the Arizona Coyotes on the 16th. They also ended their week with a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on the 20th. However, their power play continues to rank near the top of the league. The Blues currently have a power play percentage of 28.
16 - Los Angeles Kings (no. 13 last week):
In the month of November, the Kings have put up solid performances against some elite teams. They started the month off with five straight wins. This past week the Kings picked up two regulation losses and one overtime loss. A positive is that they gave the dominant Carolina Hurricanes a run for their money during a 5-4 loss on November 20th.
$1,000,000 up for grabs. Download the NBC Sports Predictor app and play SN7 for FREE! Get started here!
17 - Boston Bruins (no. 14 last week):
The Bruins did not see much action this past week. They earned a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on November 20th, but then followed that up by losing 4-0 to the Flames on the 21st. These past two showings earn them a spot in the middle of the pack.
18 - New Jersey Devils (no. 23 last week):
The Devils truly cannot be discounted this season. Although New Jersey is not a consistent team, they have the ability to pull off some major upsets. One such upset was their 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 20th. Dawson Mercer has been a major win for the franchise, as the rookie has six goals and six assists for a total of 12 points. He leads the team in points.
19 - Pittsburgh Penguins (no. 24 last week):
The Penguins have wins in their past two outings against the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. Furthermore, the team did not allow any goals in those last two games. The Penguins have the best penalty kill percentage in the league at 89.1. As Sidney Crosby settles in, expect Pittsburgh to rise rapidly in the rankings.
20 - Nashville Predators (no. 6 last week):
The Predators picked up two losses this past week. They had a particularly tough night on November 20th, when they lost 6-3 to the Montreal Canadiens. That game was the worst individual performance Juuse Saros had all season, as he allowed five goals on just 19 shots. When Saros is solid the Predators can be a good team, but this past week showcased that on an off night Saros cannot rely on the rest of his team to pick up slack.
21 - New York Islanders (no. 17 last week):
The Islanders have lost six games in a row, including the first two games at their new arena. Many players entered COVID-19 protocol ahead of the home opener, which was a hindrance to the team. However, their season so far has been rather disappointing for a team that has made deep playoff runs and has a talented roster. Mat Barzal only has eight points in 15 games played.
22 - San Jose Sharks (no. 28 last week):
San Jose picked up a 4-1 win against the Minnesota Wild on November 16th before ending the week with two losses. Timo Meier has been posting good numbers, as he has six goals and nine assists for a total of 15 points in 12 games played.
23 - Columbus Blue Jackets (no. 22 last week):
After the first week of November, Columbus has not been able to compete with difficult opponents. The team had a great start to the year, but that early boost is wearing off. They picked up a loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on the 20th and barely came out of the game against the Arizona Coyotes on the 18th with a shootout win.
24 - Dallas Stars (no. 26 last week):
Dallas picked up two wins this past week against the Detroit Red Wings and the St. Louis Blues. However, they also lost 7-2 to the Minnesota Wild on the 18th. Miro Heiskanen leads the team in points with 13, which includes three goals and 10 assists in 16 games played.
25 - Detroit Red Wings (no. 16 last week):
This last week the Red Wings lost three straight games against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights before picking up an OT loss to the Arizona Coyotes on November 20th. The positive is that the team should be excited about the futures of both Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, both of whom are in the Calder conversation. Raymond leads all rookies in points with 19. Seider is right behind him with 13.
26 - Buffalo Sabres (no. 27 last week):
The Sabres picked up a 2-1 win over the Penguins on the 16th before losing two straight to the Calgary Flames and New York Rangers. Tage Thompson has six goals and five assists for a total of 11 points, which is the most on the roster.
27 - Vancouver Canucks (no. 30 last week):
The Canucks picked up a 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets on November 19th, but overall continue to remain disappointing. J.T. Miller leads the team in points with 19. He has seven goals and 12 assists in 19 games played.
28 - Chicago Blackhawks (no. 21 last week):
Chicago won two out of three games this past week. However, they lost against the only difficult opponent they played, the Edmonton Oilers, on the 20th. As of now Chicago cannot hold its own against tough competition. On a positive note, Seth Jones recently went on an eight-game point streak so he is turning out to be a good addition to the Blackhawks roster.
29 - Montreal Canadiens (no. 25 last week):
The Canadiens have one win in their last six appearances. They had a good game against the the Nashville Predators on the 20th, but that is about it for the team. Their season so far has been a complete turnaround from their exciting Stanley Cup Final run.
30 - Seattle Kraken (no. 31 last week):
If the Kraken were hoping that their season would end up anything like the inaugural season for the Vegas Golden Knights, all of those hopes are gone. What has been particularly disappointing is the play of Philipp Grubauer. Grubauer has a record of 5-8-1, with a save percentage of .882 and a GAA of 3.18. This is a huge drop from his last season with the Colorado Avalanche, where he posted a save percentage of .922 and a GAA of 1.95.
31 - Ottawa Senators (no. 29 last week):
Whatever could have gone wrong for the Senators has gone wrong for the Senators. They had to postpone games due to COVID-19, which should end Monday night against the Colorado Avalanche. Prior to the postponements, the Senators still had only one win in the month of November.
32 - Arizona Coyotes (no. 32 last week):
The Coyotes still remain at the bottom of the league standings, but on a positive note, they have won their past two games. Karel Vejmelka finally picked up his first win of the season on November 21st against the Los Angeles Kings, as he stopped 37 out of the 38 shots he faced.