{"id":896346,"date":"2026-10-27T12:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T12:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/896346\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T12:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T12:36:13","slug":"nhl-power-rankings-surging-devils-enter-top-10-after-hellebuyck-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/896346\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL power rankings: Surging Devils enter top 10 after Hellebuyck trade"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">With Scott Maxwell<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">The 2026-27 NHL regular season is in full swing, with all but two of the league\u2019s 32 member clubs having played double-digit games across the first four weeks of the schedule.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">To say the past seven days contained multitudes would be an understatement. We saw what will go down as one of the biggest mid-season trades in recent memory, along with an outdoor game, multiple extended winning and losing streaks, and yet another <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BR_OpenIce\/status\/2114548095753064596\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" hreflang=\"en\">homecoming game filled with jeers and clever chants<\/a>. Gotta love it!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">To brighten up your Monday, Scott and I are back with another edition of our power rankings here at Daily Faceoff. We each have our own methodologies for coming up with our individual lists, but by the time we combine them to conjure up the final product, we\u2019ve generally formed a strong consensus \u2014 and the only thing stronger than that is the power of friendship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Where were we? Ah, yes, right: here\u2019s the No. 1 team. Enjoy!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 9-2-2, +18<br \/>Last Week: 1st (0)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 1st<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 1st<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: The Hurricanes have gotten off to as good a start as any defending Stanley Cup champion. They\u2019re first in the standings and have one of the best offenses in the league. We saw that at full fruition with their 6-5 shootout loss with one of the West\u2019s best right now in the Oilers. Although the loss brings up another concern: Brandon Bussi. He just hasn\u2019t been doing well this year, with his .865 save percentage being hidden by the Canes\u2019 elite defense. Pyotr Kochetkov has at least done well, but Bussi\u2019s struggles probably make losing out on Connor Hellebuyck sting just a bit more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Oh, also Alexander Nikishin finally signed a contract, and the end result just leaves me thinking \u201call that for that?\u201d The Canes were smart to hold out to get him down to that price, and I get that Nikishin would rather just get back to playing and kick the can down the road. But it really makes all the offseason drama feel like a nothingburger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: Shoutout to Juuso Valimaki, who scored his first NHL goal in literal years in that game against the Oilers. Dude has dealt with some of the worst possible injury luck as a pro. That one had to feel good.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 8-3-2, +11<br \/>Last Week: 3rd (+1)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 5th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 2nd<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: The Wild spent the week in the Northwest, and while the trip got off to a rocky start with an overtime loss to the Oilers (reasonably expected) and a regulation loss to the Flames (not at all expected). But Minnesota bounced back and finished off the week with wins over the Kraken and Canucks, and now they have points in five of their last six games. I wouldn\u2019t have expected the Wild to have the second-best points percentage in the West in the early goings, especially with injuries to Brock Faber and Filip Gustavsson, but credit where it\u2019s due, just about every player is playing up to their expectations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 8-4-1, +9<br \/>Last Week: 2nd (-1)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 3rd<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 6th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: Vegas is off to a really nice start, but I\u2019m still waiting for Rasmus Andersson to pick up the pace in his first full season with his new club. His underlying numbers are downright terrible compared to most of his teammates, which represents a worrying continuation of a trend that started shortly after he was acquired from the Flames midway through last season. With an $8.5 million cap hit through 2033 and a full no-move clause, the Knights need Andersson to be a legit top-pair guy for them. As it stands, it kind of looks like the Flames made out like bandits in that trade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: I still can\u2019t believe they looked at a <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" href=\"https:\/\/puckpedia.com\/team\/vegas-golden-knights\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" hreflang=\"en\">combined $6 million<\/a> between Kaedan Korczak and Zach Whitecloud playing excellent defensive hockey and decided to move both to acquire and retain Andersson, pay him $2.5 million more, and play significantly worse hockey. When the Golden Knights\u2019 downfall finally occurs, this might be the first chapter of that story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 7-3-1, +12<br \/>Last Week: 9th (+5)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 7th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 3rd<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: Remember when the Stars were off to a slow start? Five straight wins have pretty much erased that, and they\u2019ve had to knock off some pretty good teams during this stretch. The Blackhawks are the Blackhawks, but the Avalanche and Bruins are tough matchups, and even the Jets and Islanders are playing better than expected and wouldn\u2019t have been easy games. Even Wyatt Johnston\u2019s drought is finally over, as he scored his first two goals of the season on Thursday and Sunday. Things have gone back to normal in Dallas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 8-4-0, +6<br \/>Last Week: 5th (0)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 6th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 5th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: The Mammoth have split their last four games, as after their blowout loss to the Oilers the Saturday before last, they beat the Penguins in a tighter affair than expected, lost to the Kraken and then edged out a win against a much tougher Lightning squad. That said, Utah has still been one of the more dominant teams on the ice: they\u2019ve only lost the 5v5 expected goal battle once this season when adjusting for score effects, and that was in the loss to the Oilers. For the time being, they\u2019re still looking strong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: Speaking of teams that probably should\u2019ve gone harder after Hellebuyck \u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 9-2-1, +22<br \/>Last Week: 10th (+4)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 4th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 9th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: The Bruins have been one of the best stories in the entire NHL to start the new season, with big wins over Nashville and San Jose putting them up to a 9-2-1 record. But it\u2019s been tough sledding for Morgan Geekie, who has just one goal to go along with his eight assists through 12 games. Worryingly, the Bruins have gotten smoked during Geekie\u2019s shifts at 5v5, generating just 42.88 percent of the expected goals \u2014 the worst mark of any B\u2019s regular, via<a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" href=\"https:\/\/naturalstattrick.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" hreflang=\"en\"> Natural Stat Trick<\/a>. Geekie is a talented player with a lot more to give, and I\u2019m confident he\u2019ll figure it out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 7-3-1, +4<br \/>Last Week: 4th (-3)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 8th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 7th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: Last week I voiced my concerns with the Lightning\u2019s power play, and how slow it\u2019s looked this year, but in the past week, that\u2019s picked up a bit as they\u2019ve gone 25% in their last three games. The notable change? They swapped out John Carlson for Charle-Edouard D\u2019Astous to quarterback the unit. I wonder how long that lasts, but so far the returns have been good, and he has added slightly more dynamism to the unit. It\u2019s worked well for him as well, as he has four points in the last three games. Perhaps he\u2019s this year\u2019s Darren Raddysh.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 7-4-0, +4<br \/>Last Week: 19th (+11)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 11th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 4th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: It\u2019s tough to find a weak link on this Devils team so far, as they\u2019ve shot out of the gate to a 7-4-0 start with remarkably strong underlyings. Still, as much as we don\u2019t want to keep picking on the same guys, it\u2019s hard to ignore that Timo Meier only has one goal through 11 games this season. With the Devils ransacking their forward depth a little in the Connor Hellebuyck trade, they\u2019ll need Meier to pick up a bit more slack. Also \u2014 Scott! They traded for Hellebuyck!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: I\u2019ve loved what I\u2019ve seen from the Devils so far this season, as they\u2019ve dominated most teams in terms of creating and preventing chances. In fact, the only game they\u2019ve lost the expected goal battle was against the Mammoth, a similarly dominant team in that regard. I\u2019m excited to see what their ceiling is like with consistent goaltending, never mind the consistently elite goaltending that Hellebuyck provides (assuming he isn\u2019t slow coming out of training camp). At the very least, I think this puts them on the same level as the Hurricanes in the East.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: Hold your horses. This puts them on the same level as the defending champs \u2026 at the very least? Bold words.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: What I mean is that I think they can compete with just about anyone in the playoffs now, and I wouldn\u2019t be surprised to see them beat the Canes in a seven-game series like I would most times (especially when they have the goaltending kryptonite that always defeated Carolina in past seasons). Are they sure-fire Cup contenders? We don\u2019t know yet. But they\u2019ve definitely leveled up their game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 8-2-1, +10<br \/>Last Week: 6th (-3)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 2nd<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 14th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: I\u2019ll admit that my model is a bit bearish on the Oilers. But I also don\u2019t know if I\u2019m ready to anoint them as the second-best team in the league like Mike is. Sure, if this was NHL 27 and you turned off line changes and stamina, and only ran out Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard with two other players and they played the whole game, the Oilers would be unstoppable. But this team does struggle when they aren\u2019t on the ice, and any early signs of an improved defense have since faded. Their three-headed monster has been insane to start the year and they\u2019re carrying the load so far, but they won\u2019t be record-breaking good forever, and when that happens, I\u2019d expect a bit more struggles. Oh, and their stable goalie option in Devon Levi is hurt, meaning they\u2019re back to Tristan Jarry. Their 7-2 loss to the Leafs is a great example of all those issues culminating to one disaster game, and it may be a sign of what could be in store at points this season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: McDavid is on pace for over 200 points. I\u2019ve taken more than my fair share of shots at the Oilers over the years \u2014 I still think they\u2019re still a fundamentally broken team in so many ways \u2014 but it\u2019s almost impossible against a guy who\u2019s scoring at that rate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 6-3-2, 0<br \/>Last Week: 18th (+8)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 12th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 8th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: It\u2019s been a bit of a weird start to the season for these Canadiens, who might finally be starting to come around. Their weaknesses can largely be pinpointed to a few notable underachievers, including Jakub Dobes and Alex Newhook, but it\u2019s especially difficult not to feel disappointed by Chris Kreider\u2019s first few games in Montreal. The veteran winger has one goal and four points in 11 games, and during his shifts, the Canadiens have surrendered 30 high-danger chances at evens while generating just 16 of their own. Likewise, the Habs were heavily outshot at the Heritage Classic in Winnipeg on Sunday, but Jacob Fowler stopped 33 of 34 shots in a huge 2-1 win.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 8-4-0, +4<br \/>Last Week: 13th (+2)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 10th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 12th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: The Senators put up a touchdown against the Rangers on Saturday, but it\u2019s starting to feel like this might be the end of the line for Andre Burakovsky, who still doesn\u2019t have a point in six games since returning from an injury that delayed his Sens debut. It seems like Burakovsky has been around forever, but he\u2019s only 31 and not that far removed from being a critical support piece during Colorado\u2019s 2022 Stanley Cup run. Nevertheless, it seems as though injuries have limited Burakovsky\u2019s effectiveness to the point that he\u2019s now been a healthy scratch twice in Ottawa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 7-4-2, +9<br \/>Last Week: 25th (+13)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 9th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 17th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: I don\u2019t know about you, but Auston Matthews sure looks like he\u2019s feeling 22. I know some folks in the center of the hockey universe wondered whether Matthews would ever get back to his previous heights after a couple of underwhelming seasons. But I already feel pretty darn certain that he\u2019s going to score 50 goals this year. He sure showed McDavid and Draisaitl who\u2019s boss in that 7-2 Leafs win in Edmonton on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: The Leafs still have plenty of reasons for concern, especially with their 5v5 play (which is why I have them as low as I do). But make no mistake, they\u2019re fun to watch again, and Matthews is a big reason why.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 6-4-2, -2<br \/>Last Week: 8th (-5)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 15th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 11th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: Right now, the Panthers are either getting a hat trick from somebody or they\u2019re hardly scoring at all. This past week, it was a lot of the latter. They were embarrassed in Brady Tkachuk\u2019s homecoming game in Ottawa and got shut out by the Penguins before just barely eking past \u2026 the Blackhawks? Seriously!? Eeeeeeyikes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 7-5-1, +5<br \/>Last Week: 11th (-3)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 14th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 13th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: I am 10,000 percent here for Alexis Lafreni\u00e8re finally emerging from Artemi Panarin\u2019s shadow to become a full-fledged star. Unfortunately, he\u2019s being counteracted by this Rangers team\u2019s god-awful defense, which cost them enormously in frustrating losses to both Ontario teams this past week. On a related note, that Pavel Dorofeyev trade is looking like it might be a bit of a turkey, although it\u2019s tough to pin all the blame on him for his .838 on-ice SV% at 5v5.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 5-4-2, +3<br \/>Last Week: 12th (-3)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 19th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 10th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: The Isles lost back-to-back games to finish the week, with the Stars doubling them up by a 6-3 final score on Sunday n\u2014<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Windows32: [Error! A fatal exception has occurred! File:Depthscoring.exe not found! User:MattSchaefer48 granted root access! Offensive system corrupted! Reboot?]\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: Well. I certainly didn\u2019t expect that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 6-5-1, +9<br \/>Last Week: 7th (-9)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 13th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 16th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: At first when I looked at the Avalanche\u2019s slow start to the season, I expected it to just be regression from last year\u2019s pace, even though they were still excellent under the hood. But there are some legitimate concerns with this team. Most notably, they\u2019ve actually been outplayed and outchanced more often than not this season with a 47.89% 5v5 xG%, and their 2.97 5v5 xGA\/60 is the ninth-worst. Hopefully this is just an early hiccup, because I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve seen them play like this since the pre-Cale Makar years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: It took 11 games for Nazem Kadri to score his first goal of his age-36 season. Doesn\u2019t seem to bode particularly well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 4-4-3, -4<br \/>Last Week: 14th (-3)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 21st<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 18th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: The Jets finally got the 207-pound weight that rested on their shoulders to start the season that was the Connor Hellebuyck situation. The return was extremely underwhelming, as it looks like the Jets really went all in on getting NHL-ready names with the likes of Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad going the other way. But it\u2019s done, and now Winnipeg doesn\u2019t have to worry about it being the big storyline for the Heritage Classic. Instead, it was for their lifeless performance against the Canadiens! Montreal is obviously a much better team, but that doesn\u2019t write off the Jets\u2019 performance, especially since they\u2019ve now lost five games in a row.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 7-4-1, +3<br \/>Last Week: 17th (-1)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 16th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 24th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: Good news for Kraken fans everywhere: Calgary is on the schedule twice over the next two weeks. Seattle beat these Flames by a combined score of 12-2 in two games at the very start of the new season. Also, fun fact: Kaapo Kakko is now on pace for exactly 70 points, which would tie Jared McCann\u2019s single-season Kraken scoring record. No, Seattle has never had anyone score more than 70 points in a season, why are you surprised?<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 6-4-0, +2<br \/>Last Week: 16th (-3)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 17th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 23rd<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: It was cool to see Alex Tuch score the overtime winner for the Capitals in his first game against the Sabres since leaving Buffalo over the summer. Unfortunately, these Caps are starting to remind me a little too much of the 2022-23 Flames, another team that \u201cwon the offseason\u201d by adding a bunch of veteran players who fell short of true stardom. I just don\u2019t see the difference-makers on this roster \u2014 too many B-plus talents, not enough A\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: Yeah, with each passing week, this team feels more and more underwhelming, particularly on the defensive side. I\u2019d wonder if they regret moving John Carlson but he hasn\u2019t exactly been a world-beater in Tampa, especially after losing his spot on the top powerplay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 4-3-4, -4<br \/>Last Week: 23rd (+3)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 20th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 20th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: The Predators continue to be about as average of a team as one would expect, but one place they aren\u2019t getting an average performance is in net. Juuse Saros looks a lot better than recent seasons with a .908 SV% (11th among goalies with more than five starts), and that\u2019s dragged down by two separate five-spots. Considering how hard he had fallen off the past three seasons, this is a good sign for a Preds team trying to gun for a playoff spot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 5-5-1, 0<br \/>Last Week: 22nd (+1)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 23rd<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 19th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: Mason McTavish\u2019s hot start slowed down a bit last week, with just one goal in the three games the Blues played. Hopefully that\u2019s just a couple off games for him and not a sign that he was lucky (he was generating a fair amount of chances to start the season so it likely wasn\u2019t that). Even then, the Blues have bigger concerns: Robert Thomas has been close to invisible this season. Perhaps it\u2019s him adjusting to the weight of being captain, but they certainly need more than six points in 11 games out of him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: I\u2019m trying and failing to come up with something that sounds more boring than watching these Predators and Blues play against each other. Wait, what do you mean they\u2019ve already done it once this year? And they combined to score seven goals? That doesn\u2019t sound right.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 5-6-0, -5<br \/>Last Week: 15th (-7)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 22nd<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 21st<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: If the Ducks are going to run with such a top-heavy group due to salary cap limitations, their top guys had better look the part. Unfortunately, it\u2019s been a bit of a tricky start for Cutter Gauthier, who is sitting on just two goals in 10 games and has gotten killed at 5v5 so far. Jackson LaCombe has also suffered greatly against top-tier competition. These Ducks need more support, but they just can\u2019t afford it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 4-4-3, -5<br \/>Last Week: 20th (-3)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 29th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 15th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: With Alexander Nikishin signing a one-year deal with the Hurricanes on Sunday, Simon Edvinsson is officially the last RFA left standing. Meanwhile, the Red Wings have looked incredibly mediocre in his absence. Sure, they were riding a six-game point streak before Saturday\u2019s loss in Calgary, but three of those games went to shootouts. Once they trade Dylan Larkin, expect the bottom to fall off the wagon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: Yeah, my ranking is solely based on their play right now and now what we should expect from them once Larkin and Edvinsson are shipped out. The fact that their ceiling is still a mid team doesn\u2019t bode well for a team about to lose two notable pieces to their team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 5-6-1, 0<br \/>Last Week: 26th (+2)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 24th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 22nd<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: The Penguins have one of the biggest groups of \u201cI totally forgot about him\u201d guys in the league. Sam Girard? Totally forgot he went to Pittsburgh. Hendrix Lapierre? Right, he\u2019s there too. Andrei Kuzmenko? Sure, why not. Where else would Nick Robertson be tied for the team lead in goals? Where else would Ville Koivunen get the chance to hit the ice in overtime to beat the Predators, as he did on Saturday? Where else would Trevor van Riemsdyk and Ryan Graves both be on the IR at the same time? It\u2019s gotta be Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 6-5-1, -6<br \/>Last Week: 24th (-1)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 18th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 29th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: Yes, I know, the Sharks are in a playoff spot right now, I shouldn\u2019t have them this low in the rankings. But after getting a live viewing of them for their 3-1 loss to the Leafs, they just still look like a work in progress for me, especially when Macklin Celebrini is off the ice. Case in point: only three teams have multiple appearances in the bottom-10 of worst 5v5 expected goals performances this season: the Flyers and the Canucks (both bad teams), and the Sharks, including their 6-4 loss to the Bruins on Saturday when they had just a 21.57% 5v5 xGF%.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 4-4-3, -10<br \/>Last Week: 21st (-5)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 26th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 25th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: The following Sabres have noticeably struggled to put the puck in the net through the first 11 games of the season: Zach Benson, Josh Doan, Josh Norris, Jiri Kulich, Ryan McLeod, Konsta Helenius, and Peyton Krebs. Combined, those seven players have scored seven goals. Considering how good those players typically are, that\u2019s not very many.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: In hindsight, I should have been a bit lower on the Sabres going into this season. As bad as Bowen Byram and Alex Tuch\u2019s contracts are, they were still notable pieces to the team, and Buffalo has seen enough players regress a bit this year that those two players\u2019 impacts are missed, especially Tuch\u2019s. Still, I think those moves were better for the long term, and even if the Sabres miss the playoffs this year, I don\u2019t think it will take them 15 years to return again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 4-5-0, -8<br \/>Last Week: 27th (0)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 25th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 27th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: What a sad state the Blue Jackets have been in this season. Zach Werenski has just six assists in nine games. Adam Fantilli has predictably struggled after a shortened training camp. Matthew Knies has gone pointless in nine straight games. Conor Garland has no points. Jet Greaves has an .883 SV%. Rick Bowness either wants to trade the entire team or quit. Columbus finally figured out how to make Kent Johnson good again (four goals, seven points), but that\u2019s the only bright spot right now. <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/who-will-be-first-nhl-head-coach-fired-this-season-2026-27-prediction-bowness-huska-brunette\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Some of us entertained the idea of Bowness being the first coach to go this season<\/a>, but a new hire would also be the Blue Jackets\u2019 sixth head coach in the last four years. They need stability behind the bench at some point, and that might be a driving issue for their struggles these past few seasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 4-6-0, -16<br \/>Last Week: 28th (0)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 28th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 26th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: As we all predicted they would, the Flames rattled off three consecutive wins this week. Their special teams have been shockingly good: Joel Farabee, Matt Coronato, Morgan Frost, Matvei Gridin, and Zayne Parekh have combined to form what is suddenly the most dangerous power play in all of hockey, while their penalty kill has excelled in large part due to the emergence of little-known center Jonathan Castagna. Also, the 2004 throwback jerseys they wore against Detroit on Saturday might be the best-looking sports uniforms in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 3-7-3, -18<br \/>Last Week: 32nd (+3)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 27th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 28th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: Are the Flyers good again? They rattled off three straight wins over the Senators, Avalanche and Sabres to finally end the winless start to the season, and none of these teams are slouches either, even if they all have their struggles. Even in their 5-4 loss to the Ducks, it looked like the Flyers had life again. At the very least, this stretch has been driven by the younger players: the only player above the age of 25 with more than one point during this stretch was Noah Cates. Matvei Michkov in particular looks like the player touted as one of the best in the 2023 NHL Draft right now, so it\u2019s nice to see Rick Tocchet finally trusting him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 2-5-2, -11<br \/>Last Week: 30th (0)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 30th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 30th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: The Kings finally got their first two wins of the season last week, besting the Capitals and Islanders to start their five-game road trip. Those wins were unsurprisingly driven by Artemi Panarin, who had three goals and five points in the two games, although Adrian Kempe was also solid with two goals and three points.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">The Kings need more out of the rest of their roster, but you also can\u2019t blame most of them either. This team just isn\u2019t equipped to play well, especially down the middle. They didn\u2019t adequately replace Anze Kopitar, Quinton Byfield hasn\u2019t stepped up to the plate just yet, and it makes that Phillip Danault trade all the more baffling when they could use a shutdown center of his caliber. It just all feels so poorly thought out by Ken Holland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 3-8-0, -19<br \/>Last Week: 29th (-2)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 31st<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 31st<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: I\u2019m still waiting for this moment when the Blackhawks are going to be good this season, especially now that Connor Bedard is back. This isn\u2019t on Bedard, as he\u2019s been fine since his return with two goals and five points in five games. But the rest of the team is still ill-prepared for a playoff battle, and I\u2019m just not seeing any signs of that changing right now, especially when they have the second-worst 5v5 xGF\/60 AND xGA\/60 in the league.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 2-10-1, -23<br \/>Last Week: 32nd (0)<br \/>Mike\u2019s Rank: 32nd<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 32nd<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: I did not realize that the Canucks have been on a 10-game losing streak after winning two of their first three games of the season. It helps that they\u2019ve had some close games and are seeing some solid performances from the likes of Elias Pettersson, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Leevi Merilainen, but it still shows that this team is one of the worst in the league. At the very least, Canucks fans still know how to have fun, especially after Quinn Hughes came to town. I particularly loved the chirps towards the Wild about the defenseman not re-signing, I\u2019m glad it wasn\u2019t just a pile-on towards Hughes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Mike: I do not remember the last time Scott and I agreed on the placement of three consecutive teams. What a wonderful world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">_____<\/p>\n<p>PRESENTED BY THE DAILY FACEOFF NEWSLETTER<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/dailyfaceoff.com\/daily-faceoff-newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" hreflang=\"en\"><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793104573_19_image.webp\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\"><a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/dailyfaceoff.com\/daily-faceoff-newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" hreflang=\"en\">Your daily hockey fix, delivered straight to your inbox. Get connected to every NHL storyline with breaking news, lineup updates, trade buzz, and expert analysis\u2014delivered every morning. Sign up for the Daily Faceoff newsletter and don\u2019t miss a beat!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Recent power rankings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With Scott Maxwell The 2026-27 NHL regular season is in full swing, with all but two of the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":896347,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-896346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=896346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=896346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=896346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=896346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}