NHL Power Rankings: The top 10 gets a total shake-up

By / / Sports / 12 minutes of reading


What do The Ranking Boys have in store this week? Nothing special, just shootin’ from the hip with some classic takes.

No razzle-dazzle. No glitzy themes. Back to basics. Enjoy!

Last week: 2
Sean’s ranking: 1
Dom’s ranking: 1

Can we get a “hell yeah” going in the chat for Alex Ovechkin? A vintage overtime winner against one of the hottest goalies in the league puts him at 874 career goals. That’s 21 goals away with 37 games left. As our dear friend and colleague would say: We say he does it.

That goal made the Capitals the first team to hit 30 wins this season, something we all expected. Shoutout to Logan “not good enough for Team Canada” Thompson for doing his part. His 19-2-3 record is just silly.

Last week: 5
Sean’s ranking: 2
Dom’s ranking: 2

The Oilers are 22-6-2 in their last 30 games. A 126-point pace — not bad!

In other words, they told Vasily Podkolzin the truth.

Last week: 1
Sean’s ranking: 3
Dom’s ranking: 3

We’re not saying that Jack Eichel should win the Hart Trophy. We’re not even saying he should be a finalist. What seems true, though, is that he should occupy a more prominent spot in the MVP discussion. It’s anecdotal, sure, but it feels right.

Eichel is on pace for the first 100-point season of his career and, with 54 already, is 15 ahead of his closest teammate (Mark Stone). Maybe more impressive, with him on the ice at five-on-five, the Golden Knights outscore their opponents by 1.95 goals per 60. That’s fifth in the league among players with at least 500 minutes.

Last week: 7
Sean’s ranking: 5
Dom’s ranking: 3

This post from our buddy Jesse Granger made at least one of us laugh out loud.

Connor Hellebuyck’s stat visualization on NHL Edge is hilarious.

He basically broke the charts.

[image or embed]

— Jesse Granger (@jessegranger.bsky.social) January 15, 2025 at 2:31 PM

“Gotta clean up that mid-range save percentage, Connor. Get it together.” Hellebuyck stopped 45 of 46 shots in wins this week over Vancouver and Colorado. Standard stuff.

Last week: 3
Sean’s ranking: 4
Dom’s ranking: 5

If you wanted to pick nits on the Stars, Jason Robertson’s play would’ve been a sizable one. At points over the past three seasons, he’d been a fringe MVP candidate — and if nothing else, he’d been a reliable, high-end producer, putting up points-per-60s of 3.54, 4.23 and 3.19. On Dec. 4, though, he was barely over 2.0.

In the 18 games since, he’s been on a tear, nearly doubling his production (3.9 points per 60) and making the Stars look a whole lot more dangerous in the process. That’s not an arbitrary date, either; it’s when the 4 Nations rosters were announced.

Last week: 8
Sean’s ranking: 6
Dom’s ranking: 6

It’s taken a long time, but Alex Turcotte is starting to finally reward the Kings for drafting him fifth back in 2019. The 23-year-old opened things up with a bang against the Canucks with three points in the first period — all at five-on-five. With that, he’s now up to 2.42 points-per-60, the third-best mark on the Kings. He’s making an impact and has earned his place on Los Angeles’ top line.

Last week: 4
Sean’s ranking: 7
Dom’s ranking: 7

Just when you might think the sky is falling in Leafs land, they suck you back in with one of their best performances of the season. Should a team with this much talent show a bit more consistency? Sure. But it was great to see Toronto throw its fastball against a quality opponent. Star power: check. Puck possession: check. Battling from behind: check. It was a signature win that should get the team back on track … until the next skid derails everything again, of course.

It sure helps that Auston Matthews is extremely back.

Last week: 12
Sean’s ranking: 8
Dom’s ranking: 9

It was fair to wonder how much of Marco Rossi’s early success was him and how much was a plum gig centering Kirill Kaprizov. Over the last 10 games, in Kaprizov’s absence, we’ve got our answer: Rossi is the real deal. He’s got 11 points in 10 games and the Wild have outscored opponents 12-8 in his minutes. Rossi looks like a legit No. 1 center, giving Minnesota the kind of 1-2 punch down the middle that could help the Wild go deep in the playoffs.

9. Colorado Avalanche, 27-18-1

Last week: 6
Sean’s ranking: 9
Dom’s ranking: 8

Mackenzie Blackwood has played 13 games for the Avalanche and has allowed more goals than expected only twice. And even then, we’re talking minus-0.2 and minus-0.4 games — big whoop.

Blackwood has been sensational, and it’s starting to look like there isn’t much of a 4 Nations Canadian goaltending crisis after all. Except for the fact that arguably the two best guys, Blackwood and Thompson, weren’t invited to the tournament. Oops!

Last week: 9
Sean’s ranking: 10
Dom’s ranking: 10

After a brief stint of scoring like a garden-variety elite forward, Sam Reinhart has re-entered the Matrix; he had four goals in four games this week, pushing his shooting percentage comfortably back into the 20s. Incredible player! We say it every week! It’s getting boring!

Florida, though, needs someone else to produce; Reinhart nearly outscored the rest of the roster this week, and the Panthers won just four of their last 11 games.

Last week: 11
Sean’s ranking: 11
Dom’s ranking: 11

We’ve been tracking the Lightning’s ongoing search for depth production, and it’s been a mixed bag. Nick Paul put together a five-game point streak before coming up empty in a win over Anaheim, but Tampa Bay lost his five-on-five minutes (5-3 in actual goals, 3.17-1.83 in expected). Luckily for them, Nikita Kucherov and company are still on the roster.

Last week: 13
Sean’s ranking: 12
Dom’s ranking: 12

Someday, possibly soon, the Devils will play a game that ends in regulation. That hasn’t been the case in their last four, of which they’ve lost three — two to Eastern Conference contenders (the Maple Leafs and Panthers) and one to … whatever we’re calling the Rangers these days.

They’re now 3-4-3 since the Christmas break, partially due to a major uptick in quality chances allowed at five-on-five; they were at 2.18 per 60 heading into the holiday, fourth-best in the NHL. In the 10 games since, though, they’re over 2.5.

Last week: 10
Sean’s ranking: 13
Dom’s ranking: 13

The Hurricanes are in a lengthy rut, and they’re paying the price in the Metropolitan standings, especially with Washington staying red hot. On Nov. 28, Carolina’s 82-game point pace was 7.5 points up on the Caps. Today, the Hurricanes are 18.4 points back. Not good.

Why Nov. 28? That was before a back-to-back against the defending Stanley Cup champions — who absolutely dismantled the Hurricanes. That’s starting to look like a turning point for the Canes, who are 10-11-2 since. More alarming: Their usually sturdy five-on-five numbers have crashed.

Last week: 14
Sean’s ranking: 14
Dom’s ranking: 14

Real stat: The Blue Jackets are 17-10-4 since picking up Dante Fabbro off waivers. That’s a 101-point pace. Thanks for the free top-four defenseman, Nashville!

The Blue Jackets have won six straight, and the playoffs now seem like a very real possibility. One move that could help: more starts for goaltender Jet Greaves. In five games, he has a .905 save percentage and has saved 1.6 goals above expected, both numbers well above Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov. Being led to the playoffs on a Cinderella run for the ages by a guy named Jet? Hollywood execs are already salivating at the thought.

Last week: 20
Sean’s ranking: 15
Dom’s ranking: 15

Sometimes a new league power arrives via a slow burn of consistent progression. Sometimes it’s an immediate jolt where everything clicks all at once. Are we seeing the latter happen with the Canadiens?

Montreal is 11-2-1 over the last month despite 10 of those games being on the road and seven coming against legit contenders. No team has been better than the Habs, and they’ve got the underlying numbers to match during this stretch, leading to a league-best plus-22 goal differential. The Montreal Canadiens are actually good.

Last week: 23
Sean’s ranking: 16
Dom’s ranking: 16

At some point under Todd McLellan, the Red Wings’ power play is going to normalize. We’re not there yet, though. Detroit scored three times with the man advantage against Florida on Thursday, giving them 17 in 10 games with their new coach.

Now, have the McLellan Wings been outscored 21-20 at five-on-five? Yes. Still, ride the wave. The bottom of the Eastern Conference is bad enough for Detroit to make it work.

Last week: 17
Sean’s ranking: 17
Dom’s ranking: 18

Cam Fowler might not be a world-beater, but he and Colton Parayko have combined to give the Blues some approximation of a top pair. After Thursday’s huge win over the Flames, the Blues are winning their minutes 14-9. Things look good under the hood, too. Very, very interesting developments in St. Louis.

18. New York Rangers, 21-20-3

Last week: 22
Sean’s ranking: 20
Dom’s ranking: 17

Don’t look now, but the Rangers are 5-1-2 in the new year and back above .500. Good for them. This team is way too talented to be in the position it’s in and it finally looks like itself during this stretch.

Key things within that stretch: Mika Zibanejad is driving play again, Will Borgen has helped stabilize the shutdown pair with K’Andre Miller, and Igor Shesterkin has been his usual amazing self. There’s still work to be done, but a playoff appearance is starting to not look so outlandish after all.

19. Calgary Flames, 21-16-7

Last week: 19
Sean’s ranking: 18
Dom’s ranking: 21

His primary competition is a No. 1 pick (Macklin Celebrini) and a tiny wizard (Lane Hutson), so it’ll be tough for Dustin Wolf to make much headway in the Calder Trophy race, but man, he’s doing his best. Before Friday’s dud against the Blues, he was ninth in goals saved above expected and fifth in save percentage among goalies with at least 500 minutes played. He’s the answer to the question, “How are the Flames pulling this off?”

Last week: 24
Sean’s ranking: 21
Dom’s ranking: 19

Thanks to back-to-back three-point games this week, David Pastrňák is finally above a point-per-game rate on the year. He also has seven goals in his last six games after scoring just 13 in his first 39. Something tells us Pastrňák is in line for a big second half. Will it be enough for the Bruins to lock down a playoff spot?

Last week: 16
Sean’s ranking: 19
Dom’s ranking: 22

Thank God for Leevi Meriläinen. Otherwise, things would feel a lot bleaker for the Senators since the holiday break. In 10 games, Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson have five points, while Tim Stützle and Josh Norris have just four. The team’s core forwards need to be better.

22. Vancouver Canucks, 19-15-10

Last week: 15
Sean’s ranking: 22
Dom’s ranking: 20

Here’s what we’ve gotten from the Canucks over the past six weeks: trade rumors, palace intrigue, interpersonal drama between stars and more best-in-class play from Quinn Hughes.

Here’s what we haven’t gotten: consecutive wins. Since Dec. 1, they’re 6-7-7 with a minus-13 goal differential. If the roller-coaster doesn’t stop soon, someone is going to throw up.

23. Utah HC, 18-19-7

Last week: 18
Sean’s ranking: 23
Dom’s ranking: 23

A potentially lengthy injury timeline for Dylan Guenther is the latest blow to Utah’s playoff hopes. He’s been awesome this season and will be impossible to replace. His absence does create an opportunity for a young player to step up. Josh Doan was recalled after scoring 21 points in 25 games in the AHL, and it’ll be interesting to see whether he can build on last year’s NHL audition. Doan’s demotion was a bit of a surprise after scoring nine points in 11 games last season and while he’s been off to a slow start on the scoresheet, his underlying numbers since being called up have been quite strong.

Last week: 26
Sean’s ranking: 24
Dom’s ranking: 24

It’s nice to see Matvei Michkov get back on track again. He’s got points in three of his last four games after going pointless in 11 of his previous 12 games. That lull was enough to seriously shift the balance in the Calder race and push Michkov outside the top three. He’s got the talent to get back in, but he also has some stiff competition in Hutson, Celebrini and Wolf. It’s going to be a helluva race.

Last week: 21
Sean’s ranking: 25
Dom’s ranking: 26

On one hand, Tristan Jarry didn’t singlehandedly sabotage the Penguins’ season. He had plenty of help. On the other …

Last week: 27
Sean’s ranking: 26
Dom’s ranking: 25

IMG 6161

Last week: 25
Sean’s ranking: 27
Dom’s ranking: 27

With wins over Vegas, Boston and Utah, the Isles made their way to the doorstep of the wild-card discussion — and promptly lost to Ottawa and Philadelphia. Tough.

They also wasted two power-play goals against the Flyers; they’d scored either one or none in 42 of their first 43 games. New York’s power play (3.49 goals per 60) is the worst in the league by a country mile.

Last week: 30
Sean’s ranking: 28
Dom’s ranking: 28

The Preds have won two in a row, putting themselves just seven games below .500. Progress!

They may look absolutely cooked, but check out their schedule before the 4 Nations break: MIN, SJ, SJ, ANA, VAN, BUF, PIT, OTT, CHI, BUF. If ever there was a season-saving stretch, it’s that one. Time for the Predators to seize the moment.

Last week: 29
Sean’s ranking: 29
Dom’s ranking: 29

The Kraken are 29th in all-situations expected goals per 60 (2.76) and goals against per 60 (3.42). No other team in the league is bottom four in both. It’s time to stop thinking of them as mediocre; if Joey Daccord hits a rough patch, look out.

30. Anaheim Ducks, 18-21-6

Last week: 28
Sean’s ranking: 30
Dom’s ranking: 30

It’s hard not to be disappointed with the progression of Anaheim’s young players. Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish aren’t even scoring half a point per game and are getting destroyed at five-on-five. Ditto for Cutter Gauthier. Pavel Mintyukov is having a forgettable season, while Olen Zellweger hasn’t been much better.

It was fair to expect a couple of legitimate breakouts within that group of five. To get inexplicable declines instead? That’s brutal.

Last week: 32
Sean’s ranking: 32
Dom’s ranking: 32

Goaltender Yaroslav Askarov is already living up to the hype. He’s played only eight games, but he’s been sensational in them with a .917 save percentage and 6.4 goals saved above expected. That’s 0.8 per game, a Hellebuyckian feat. Askarov is the real deal — so much so that limiting his starts might be for the best given how fierce the race for last place is.

Last week: 31
Sean’s ranking: 31
Dom’s ranking: 31

Things have gotten ugly for Seth Jones — “booed by the home fans” ugly, in fact. He bounced back a bit against Nashville on Thursday, posting his best Game Score (3.23) since Oct. 8 … but man, even that sounds bad. Three months is a long time.

(Top photo of Alex Ovechkin: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)





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Avatar of Rachel Thomas
Rachel Thomas is a writer who focuses on arts, automotive, travel, and fashion. She also writes about her hobbies: cooking, reading, and playing video games. Rachel has been a writer for Free Press Georgia since 2016. In that time she has written about everything from the best restaurants in Atlanta to how to make your own face mask at home. When she's not writing for FPG she spends her time with her husband and two cats in their apartment.

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