Week:
Yes, it's still early in the season. But why does it seem so late in Columbus? And Carolina and Calgary? Definitely not late in Montreal, where the Canadiens are off to a historic start. It's a start that lifts them to the stop of the Power Rankings this week. The rest? Well, you'll have to read to the bottom to find out.
| 2015-2016 Power Rankings: Week 2 | ||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS | |
| 1 | 1 Last Week: 2 | The Habs handled a very good Red Wings team with relative ease on Saturday to run their winning streak to six games to start the season, a team record. That's saying something, given this team's storied history. They've allowed just seven goals and have a league-best plus-13 goal differential. All hail the Canadiens. | ||
| 2 | 1 Last Week: 3 | The Sharks had their four-game unbeaten streak snapped in Brooklyn, but goaltender Martin Jones remains perfect and the Sharks have to be mighty pleased with life under Pete DeBoer. The loss of Logan Couture, who broke his leg, will test the team's offensive depth. | ||
| 3 | 14 Last Week: 17 | The Stars did not let a second-night disaster to the Avs derail them, as they've won three in a row. Patrick Sharp is starting to make his presence felt on and off the ice, as the Stars lead the league in goals per game. | ||
| 4 | 11 Last Week: 15 | The Blues have won four straight, including a nice win in Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon. Sending Paul Stastny home with a lower-body injury is problematic, though -- he was off to a good start. They are also missing D-man Kevin Shattenkirk. | ||
| 5 | 5 Last Week: 10 | The Predators got a nice 38-save performance from backup Carter Hutton in a rare appearance in place of Pekka Rinne while they knocked off the Senators. The Preds have allowed just nine goals. That's pretty good. | ||
| 6 | 12 Last Week: 18 | Jaroslav Halak returned to earn a win over the Sharks on Saturday, and the offense is starting to cook, as the Isles have won three in a row. Too bad that few in Brooklyn appear to care. | ||
| 7 | 2 Last Week: 9 | The Wild lost their first game of the season Sunday night to the Ducks. They have played only once at home. | ||
| 8 | 4 Last Week: 4 | The homestand got off to a bit of a rocky start with Sunday's loss to the Blues. Next up are Tampa, Minnesota, Los Angeles and Chicago, a good early test for the playoff-hopeful Jets. | ||
| 9 | 5 Last Week: 14 | Young Canucks and old(er) Ryan Miller continue to impress despite an overtime loss to the Oilers. The Canucks have just one regulation loss and have allowed just 11 goals. | ||
| 10 | 2 Last Week: 8 | D-man Victor Hedman was not as seriously injured as first believed, which is good news for the Bolts. They have a good test coming up Tuesday in Nashville. | ||
| 11 |
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Last Week: 11 | Rookie of the year finalist Mark Stone has picked up where he left off, as has defending Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson, who leads all defensemen with eight points for the Senators. | ||
| 12 | 1 Last Week: 13 | Alex Ovechkin finds his alarm clock and Nicklas Backstrom is back in the Caps' lineup. | ||
| 13 | 1 Last Week: 12 | A bit of a collapse against the Stars notwithstanding, it's been a pretty decent start for the Panthers, led by the age-defying Jaromir Jagr. The Cats have allowed just nine goals. | ||
| 14 | 7 Last Week: 7 | The Wings have dropped two in a row, including the Hurricanes' first win and points of the season. Still, lots to like about Jeff Blashill's squad early on. | ||
| 15 | 9 Last Week: 6 | The Blackhawks dropped two in a row but bounced back with a win over the hapless Blue Jackets. Artemi Panarin has made a nice early splash with seven points in six games. | ||
| 16 | 11 Last Week: 5 | The Coyotes have lost two in a row after starting the season with a three-game win streak. Glass half full: The Yotes have hung tough in those losses. The next week or so will be crucial to maintaining that positive buzz. | ||
| 17 | 3 Last Week: 20 | Michal Neuvirth delivered back-to-back shutouts in place of Steve Mason, who left the team for a family emergency. Not much offense yet for the Flyers, but defense has been much-improved. | ||
| 18 | 12 Last Week: 30 | The Bruins have won two in a row since starting 0-3 at home; David Krejci is on fire, with nine points, tied for the league lead. A corner turned? | ||
| 19 | 3 Last Week: 22 | The Pens have won two in a row after a three-game slide to start. Marc-Andre Fleury has given up just nine goals in five games, though. Chris Kunitz has zero points, same as a guy named Sidney Crosby. | ||
| 20 | 19 Last Week: 1 | The Rangers have had more downs than ups after a 3-0 start, as they've gone winless in three after Sunday's OT loss to the previously winless Devils. Questions are already being asked about Rick Nash's production, as he has one assist through six games. | ||
| 21 | 8 Last Week: 29 | The Kings' offense is still stuck in neutral, although they've now won two in a row after Sunday's 2-1 win over the Avs. | ||
| 22 | 2 Last Week: 24 | The Oilers got their first win with a breakout night for Connor McDavid, who scored his first two NHL goals and added an assist versus the Flames on Saturday. They followed that up with a nice win over Vancouver on Sunday in which McDavid set up the Oil's first goal. Look out, world, here he comes. | ||
| 23 | 4 Last Week: 19 | The Avs take one step up and one step back, as they've allowed the same number of goals they've scored -- 16 -- which is a ticket to last place in the Central Division. | ||
| 24 | 3 Last Week: 27 | Good on Mike Babcock for getting his first win as head coach with the Leafs, even if it was against the lowly Blue Jackets. This team plays hard, though, and that's something that couldn't be said of the Leafs for most of last season, even if they don't get rewarded all that often in the standings. | ||
| 25 | 4 Last Week: 21 | We know the Ducks will get better, and they showed some of that with a timely 4-1 win over a Wild team that had not lost in regulation. That should help the blood pressure in Anaheim. | ||
| 26 | 1 Last Week: 25 | The Sabres have one win, an injured starting goaltender (Robin Lehner), an injured top-four defenseman (Zach Bogosian) and an offense that is still a work in progress. In short, the path leads uphill once again, even with Jack Eichel having an immediate impact. | ||
| 27 | 1 Last Week: 26 | The Devils got John Hynes his first NHL win as a head coach and Ray Shero his first win as Devils GM with an OT win over the Rangers. Offense is still tough to come by, which means the wins will likely be few and far between. | ||
| 28 | 5 Last Week: 23 | The Hurricanes have played the Red Wings tough twice and come up with one win. That is about what we would expect from the rebuilding Hurricanes. | ||
| 29 | 13 Last Week: 16 | The goaltending experiment has been a disaster, with neither Karri Ramo nor Jonas Hiller providing enough quality starts for the Flames, who have allowed 19 goals and scored just 10. | ||
| 30 | 2 Last Week: 28 | Disaster city for the Blue Jackets, who have lost six straight and have looked ugly doing it, giving up 30 goals along the way. Pressure has to be on coach Todd Richards and GM Jarmo Kekalainen to turn things around in a hurry. | ||
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