NHL Power Rankings: Maple Leafs Atop At The Quarter Mark

Welcome to the very first edition of NHL Power Rankings for Full Press NHL.

We have reached the quarter mark of the season and we are seeing teams align themselves between the contenders and pretenders. And while some teams had their seasons stopped because of COVID, those teams are near the bottom and not living up to expectations this season anyway. However, one team is finally buying into their coach’s system and that is the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs are on a tear and one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now.

Forget all the disastrous playoff defeats, this team has finally figured out how to play defence and are protecting their goalies.

Time to dive into the NHL Power Rankings and find out where the Maple Leafs Rank?

NHL Power Rankings

1. Toronto Maple Leafs –

Wouldn’t you know it the Maple Leafs are number one. Toronto is 14-2 in their last 16 games. Goals are coming from every part of the lineup and they are playing defence. Again it comes down to the playoffs for the Maple Leafs.

2. Washington Capitals

Alex Ovechkin is on a tear with 19 goals in 22 games. He will pass Jaromir Jagr this season. Washington is doing this without Nicklas Backstrom in the lineup. Think about that for a second.

3. Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina has dipped a bit but is still playing great hockey. This happens to any good team. A thing to watch out for is COVID with them.

4. Calgary Flames

How about this Flames team. One regulation loss in the past nine games. Darryl Sutter is an excellent coach. Players have bought in and star players are benefitting. Calgary made life interesting in the Pacific Division.

5. Edmonton Oilers

Staying Alberta the Oilers are right behind them in the standings and on this list. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are one of the best duos in the league. Goaltending will be the key for the Oilers.

6. Tampa Bay Lightning

The champs are the champs and are winning without Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point in the lineup. Having Andrei Vasilevskiy helps.

7. New York Rangers

This was the year the New York Rangers were supposed to take the next step in the rebuild. Imagine if they had stayed the course with Jeff Gorton who is now in Montreal?

8. Minnesota Wild

The Wild sit in first place in the Central Division and a big reason why is Ryan Hartman. Outside of his rookie season, Hartman has more goals this season than any other season in the NHL.

9. Colorado Avalanche

No Nathan MacKinnon, no problem for the Avalanche. Nazem Kadri has stepped up for the Avalanche in his absence. Not to mention Cale Makar on the backend.

10. Florida Panthers

There could be some trouble in paradise for the Panthers without Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers are just not the same team without him in the lineup.

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11. Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights are playing much better as they are getting healthier. Still, without two key players, Robin Lehner is shouldering the load until the team gets faith in Laurent Brossoit.

12. Boston Bruins

The Bruins continue to rely on their top line to get things done. However, with Brad Marchand out of the lineup now it would be a good time for others to step up.

13. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins are marching up the standings as they get healthier. Tristan Jarry is playing better, as he was named the third star of the week. The Penguins believe they still have another run in them.

14. St. Louis Blues

The Blues are struggling as of late, with a 4-5-1 record in their last 10 games. But St. Louis is right in the thick of things as many projected them to be to begin the season.

15. Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks are on the recent slide, but they are still 6-4 in their last 10 games. Troy Terry has come into his own this season, and the Ducks are a fun team to watch.

16. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets continue to find ways to win hockey games despite not having any superstars in the lineup. Does not matter the system, the Blue Jackets are a hard team to play against.

17. Dallas Stars

The Stars are playing better as of late as they have transitioned to Jake Ottinger as the starting goalie. Dallas has won four straight and he is a big reason why.

18. Detroit Red Wings

Steve Yzerman continues to look like a genius with the way Lucas Raymond and Mortiz Seider are playing.

19. Winnipeg Jets

The Jets continue to be inconsistent on offence. Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler have yet to find their games.

20. Nashville Predators

Matt Duchene, Juusse Saros, and Ryan Johansen are big reasons why the Predators are doing much better than expected.

21. Seattle Kraken

Here come the Seattle Kraken. Jordan Eberle has been providing the offence with 11 goals in 21 games. However, the goaltending has gotten much better with the reemergence of Chris Driedger.

22. San Jose Sharks

The Sharks continue to impress especially James Reimer. Reimer has given stability to the goaltending position. Something which was lacking.

23. New Jersey Devils

The Devils are playing better than expected. Hence why they are higher in these rankings than others. 9-6-4 to begin the season and have done this without Jack Hughes. Now he is signed for eight more years.

24. Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have come back to Earth since their strong start to the season. Los Angeles is glad Drew Doughty is back in the lineup.

25. Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers continue to struggle having lost six straight games. Something has to give with this team. Goaltending is better than expected especially from Martin Jones.

26. Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres are a team we all thought they were to quote Dennis Green. It was a good story to start, but everyone expected them to come back to Earth at some point.

27. Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks are starting to find their game ever since the coaching change. Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat continue to lead the Blackhawks in scoring.

28. New York Islanders

Expectations were high for the Islanders this season. Panic should be setting in, but the COVID break could do some wonders for this team to reset and find their game.

29. Arizona Coyotes

The Coyotes are still a bad hockey team despite their win over Winnipeg Monday night. There is just no consistency in their game. But they will find ways to win games here and there.

30. Montreal Canadiens

A terrible season just got worse for Montreal. Marc Bergevin and the rest of the staff were fired. Expectations were set too high for a team that got lucky not once but twice.

31. Vancouver Canucks

Another team that is in disarray is the Vancouver Canucks. Elias Pettersson is not the same player he was during his rookie season. They need more from him.

32. Ottawa Senators

Do not who is worse right now, Ottawa or Vancouver. The Senators had to deal with a COVID outbreak. Still, they haven’t won a game in two weeks. Expectations were higher and this team is really disappointing to watch this season.

That does it for this edition of NHL Power Rankings… Stay Tuned for another edition next week.