Kudos to the prescient hockey-watchers among us.
Given their respective No. 16, No. 21, and No. 24 slots in last season’s overall standings, it would have taken a true ice guru to suggest the New Jersey Devils, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins would occupy lofty positions through the opening furlong of the 2025-26 NHL schedule.
Yet, we are approaching Halloween, and the trio is 22-7-2 through its first 31 collective games, earning the respect of voters in this week’s B/R Power Rankings, where the Devils took first, the Penguins fourth and the Red Wings eighth.
Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames sit at the other end of the heap, taking the 32nd and final position for the second straight week.
B/R’s hockey staff awarded 32 points for a first-place vote all the way down to one point for a No. 32 vote in compiling the rankings, which saw a 17-spot drop for the St. Louis Blues (13th to 30th) and a 12-spot rise for the Dallas Stars (22nd to 10th).
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.
(All stats and records are updated through games on Tuesday, Oct. 28.)