clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

NHL Power Rankings Week 4: Some Teams Are Still Defying the Odds

This week, the biggest movers the Wild, Bruins, and Rangers were while the Kings, Sharks, and Senators fell the farthest.

The formula looks at non-shootout win point totals per game, and multiplies that by five-on-five goal ratio. The numbers end up between 0 and 2 normally, but in the early season, those numbers are highly volatile.

Here we go:

Eastern Conference

This Week Last Week Rationale
Rating
Capitals_medium 1 1 The Capitals remain atop the standings for the third straight week despite losing to the Islanders in regulation and needing OT to beat Anaheim.
1.998
Maple_leafs_medium 2 3
Toronto moved up a spot as two road wins against weak teams (NJ and CBJ) made up for the 7-0 loss at home to Boston.
1.633
Sabres_medium 3 2
The Sabres dropped one spot after averaging 2 GF and 2 GA in their three games last week. Not surprising, they went 1-1-1.
1.581
Flyers_medium 4
4
Philadelphia is holding firm to that fourth spot, tied for 12th in the league in 5-on-5 ratio and tied for 4th in adjusted points per game.
1.440
Rangers_medium 5
10
The Rangers made a big jump this week, going 3-0-1 on a four-game home stand. Their 5-on-5 ratio is 15th best, though, so more improvement is needed.
1.292
Canadiens_medium 6
5
Montreal is tied for 6th in the league in 5-on-5 ratio, but only has five regulation wins in 13 tries.
1.154
Penguins_medium 7
6
The Penguins have a worse 5-on-5 ratio than two-thirds of the league (21st in the NHL) but keep finding ways to win. Two more shootout games for them last week, splitting them.
1.068
Lightning_medium 8
7
Tampa Bay didn't get a single regulation win last week, but did win in OT and SO, only mildly dropped from last week.
1.039
Bruins_medium 9
15
The Bruins are hoping that their 7-0 win in Toronto revives their season. They are now tied for the 6th best 5-on-5 ratio in the NHL, they just need points.
0.938
Panthers_medium 10
9
Florida was home for three games last week and went to a SO in all of them. They lost all three.
0.883
Hurricanes_medium 11
8
The Hurricanes gave up 5 goals in back-to-back games and currently has a 5-on-5 ratio in between Columbus and New Jersey. Not a good sign.
0.740
Jets_medium 12
12
Winnipeg went on the road last week for four games and took two to OT. They went 1-1-2, maintaining their position above the East's scrap heap.
0.731
Islanders_medium 13
13
The Islanders were shutout by Winnipeg before putting 5 goals on Washington. Strange.
0.709
Devils_medium 14 14 New Jersey sits with the 28th best 5-on-5 ratio and the 24th best power play. At least their PK is 3rd in the league.
0.583
Senators_medium 15 11 The Senators dropped to last in the East behind an 0-2-1 week, but the bigger problem is their NHL-worst 5-on-5 ratio. Bad news in Ottawa.
0.512

Western Conference


This Week Last Week Rationale
Rating
Stars_medium 1 2
The Stars take the top spot in the West after a 7-6 OT win over Colorado and a 5-2 win over Carolina.
1.842
Oilers_medium 2 3 Edmonton has the second best 5-on-5 ratio in the NHL, largely due to only giving up 1.54 goals against per game. That can't last.
1.805
Wild_medium 3
12
The Wild were this week's biggest winner, going 2-0-1 and only giving up one goal in each game. They are the only other team giving up under two goals per game.
1.442
Blackhawks_medium 4
5
Chicago finds themselves with the 11st best 5-on-5 ratio in the League and 9th best adjusted points per game. Solid team in Chicago.
1.384
Predators_medium 5
7
The Predators went 1-0-2 on the road last week, but still moved up due to surpassing San Jose in adjusted points per game.
1.354
Sharks_medium 6
1
San Jose went 0-1-2, falling all the way from 2nd in the power rankings to 10th, right where their 5-on-5 ratio is.
1.322
Coyotes_medium 7
6
The Coyotes have somehow managed to take the 16th best 5-on-5 ratio and turn it into the 6th best points per game mark.
1.280
Red_wings_medium 8
8
Detroit continues to tread water, thanks to a 5-0 blowout of Anaheim after only scoring 1 goal in each of their previous two games and 6 goals in their last 6 games.
1.213
Blues_medium 9
10
The Blues have the 6th best 5-on-5 ratio in the League and a new head coach. With 30th ranked PP and 27th ranked PK, maybe their problem was with their assistants.
1.154
Kings_medium 10
4
Los Angeles took a stumble, getting shutout by Edmonton and beat in a SO by Pittsburgh. An even 5-on-5 ratio doesn't speak highly of LA.
1.154
Flames_medium 11
9
The Flames went 2-2 last week, scoring one goal in both losses. They have an even 5-on-5 ratio and an adjusted points per game mark of 1.
1.000
Canucks_medium 12
11
Vancouver is still languishing at the bottom tanks to the 24th best 5-on-5 ratio in the NHL. They can score, but right now they aren't preventing goals.
0.790
Avalanche_medium 13
13
The Avalanche may have as many points as Vancouver, but they only have 4 regulation wins. Sitting in 9th place in the Conference is a mirage.
0.694
Ducks_medium 14
14
Anaheim went 0-1-2 last week, has the 29th highest 5-on-5 ratio in the NHL, and the 30th highest goals per game. The Ducks need offense.
0.583
Blue_jackets_medium 15 15 The Blue Jackets continue to be the bottom of the NHL, with the most goals against per game, 29th ranked PP, 26th most goals per game, 26th highest 5-on-5 ratio, and 28th ranked PK.
0.275