My colleague Scott Burnside has handed over the Power Rankings duties to me for the month of November. After consulting with my dog, Lulu LeBrun (she's a 4-year-old Australian shepherd and she knows her hockey), I've come up with this week's rankings.
1. (Last week: 7) Washington Capitals, 8-2-1
I was chatting with a GM from another team last week when, unsolicited, he brought up the Caps. "They are just so good again. Deep, talent everywhere. Going to be tough to beat," he said. Well, yeah, I mean, we always say that. But is this finally the year? Perhaps.
2. (8) New York Rangers, 10-3-0
It's funny -- back in August, when Jimmy Vesey picked the Blueshirts in his personal sweepstakes, I thought, "Why them? They're in transition mode, you're not going to win there anytime soon." Well, given the way the Rangers have exploded out of the gate, I need to rethink that. They're so much fun to watch, and they lead the NHL with 4.23 goals per game.
3. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins, 8-2-2
Welcome back, Sid! Rust? Ha. How about eight goals and two assists in six games since returning from a concussion. Sidney Crosby is just seven points off the NHL scoring lead despite having played half the number of games most players have. Yeah, I think he has it in him to reel in another scoring title this season.
4. (13) Chicago Blackhawks, 9-3-1
Since starting the season 0-2-0, the Hawks have gone 9-1-1, including six consecutive wins. Hold off, perhaps, on those "window-closing" narratives. Jonathan Toews and company have other plans. Hats off to GM Stan Bowman for continually working his roster magic under massive cap constraints.
5. (12) Tampa Bay Lightning, 7-4-1
My preseason pick to win the Stanley Cup has a big test on Monday night at Florida against the rival Panthers. We need to see these two Florida teams face off in a playoff series next spring, please!
6. (1) Montreal Canadiens, 10-1-1
OK, I know this is a little harsh, given their league-leading record. But I had to make the 10-0 pasting that Montreal suffered against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night count for something! The Habs had a nice bounce-back win the following night at home over a rested Philadelphia Flyers team. You know Carey Price and Shea Weber were going to make sure that happened.
7. (6) St. Louis Blues, 7-4-2
Four assists in two weekend victories by pending unrestricted free-agent blue-liner Kevin Shattenkirk. A juicy matchup awaits Wednesday night at home against the rival Blackhawks.
8. (2) Edmonton Oilers, 9-3-1
The Oilers snapped a three-game slide (0-2-1) on their recent road trip with weekend wins against the Islanders and Red Wings. How much fun will Tuesday's game at Pittsburgh be, as Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby face off?
9. (15) Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-3-2
It was a night for the ages on Friday, with that monumental barrage of goals over the league-leading Canadiens. As I tweeted that night, it was as if Columbus took out 16 years of misery as a franchise on the Habs that night. Here's hoping the Blue Jackets make the playoffs this season. Their fans deserve it!
10. (5) San Jose Sharks, 6-6-0
The Sharks suffered three consecutive losses, including a 5-0 drubbing at home Saturday night in another Stanley Cup final rematch with Pittsburgh. They now embark on a six-game road trek to Washington, Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina, St. Louis and Arizona.
11. (3) Minnesota Wild, 6-4-1
I'm not exactly sure why Burnside had these guys third in the Rankings last week. The Wild suffered losses to Buffalo and Colorado over the past week. And while I think the Wild have the goods to be a playoff team, they are going to have more weeks like that.
12. (10) Ottawa Senators, 7-4-0
Things that make you go hmmm: Despite having the NHL's most offensively gifted defenseman in Erik Karlsson (love having him on my fantasy team this season), the Sens are just 23rd on the power play. They were 26th last season.
13. (24) Anaheim Ducks, 6-5-2
The Ducks have won three of four, and you get the sense that they will start to resemble the team we know they can be soon. Anaheim starts a three-game road trip on Wednesday at Columbus, followed by stops in Carolina and Nashville.
14. (9) New Jersey Devils, 5-3-3
The Devils bounced back after losses to both Florida teams with a 4-1 decision over Carolina despite being outshot 34-21.
15. (17) Los Angeles Kings, 6-6-0
Maybe the Kings don't need goaltending help after all. Veteran Peter Budaj has answered the bell of late, including backstopping the Kings to wins over Pittsburgh and Calgary in their last two games. The Kings open a five-game road trip in Toronto on Tuesday night.
16. (16) Florida Panthers, 5-6-1
After opening the season 2-0-1, the Cats have dropped six of nine games. The massive overhaul on the blue-line -- in combination with key injuries -- has had an impact.
17. (22) Boston Bruins, 6-5-0
The Bruins have the 29th-ranked power play. A year ago, they started the opening month with the hottest power play in the league.
18. (18) Buffalo Sabres, 5-4-2
Don't look now, but the Sabres have won four of their past five games and deserved to beat the Leafs in their lone defeat. Robin Lehner has been terrific in goal.
19. (29) Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-4-3
The Leafs' underlying stats suggested their slow start wasn't really reflective of their overall play -- and now they're getting wins to back that up. The NHL's youngest team is riding consecutive victories, with visiting Los Angeles next up on the docket Tuesday night.
20. (23) Philadelphia Flyers, 6-6-1
The Flyers must have hated watching the Habs get pasted 10-0 in Columbus. The Flyers just knew the Canadiens would rebound. Sure enough, Montreal prevailed over Philly 5-4 in a fun game the next night.
21. (11) Detroit Red Wings, 6-6-1
A six-game win streak was followed by a five-game (0-4-1) winless streak. The Wings will be on that playoff bubble all season.
22. (21) Dallas Stars, 4-5-3
Injuries have certainly influenced the early season for the Stars, who will no doubt bounce back. But the home-and-home, weekend sweep at the hands of Chicago hurt.
23. (28) Nashville Predators, 3-5-3
Still waiting for the team I picked to win the Central Division before the season to wake up. Shootout losses to Arizona and Carolina didn't impress anyone.
24. (19) Winnipeg Jets, 5-7-1
Jacob Trouba kept losing money while the Jets just kept losing games. Saner minds prevailed on Monday when Trouba signed a two-year, $6 million deal to return to Winnipeg's fold. The Jets need him, and he needs to play.
25. (14) Colorado Avalanche, 5-6-0
It's time to ride Calvin Pickard (1.50 goals-against average, .946 save percentage) for a while over Semyon Varlamov (3.67 GAA, .881 SP). Varlamov has two more years, at $5.9 million per on his deal after this season. I would shop him if I were Colorado. Pickard looks legit.
26. (25) New York Islanders, 4-6-2
The Isles have dropped five of their past six games. Something's got to give on Monday night when they host the struggling Canucks.
27. (20) Calgary Flames, 5-8-1
Man, I was convinced the Flames would bounce back and make the playoffs this season. It's early, but boy have they been inconsistent, especially defensively. Calgary is sitting 28th with 3.57 goals against per game.
28. (27) Carolina Hurricanes, 3-5-3
The Hurricanes have but one power-play goal in their last six games, and have gone 1 for 16 during that stretch.
29. (30) Arizona Coyotes, 4-7-0
The Coyotes have been outshot in six consecutive games, although before Sunday's loss at Anaheim they had pulled off wins over San Jose and Nashville.
30. (26) Vancouver Canucks, 4-6-2
The Canucks have gone eight games without a win (0-6-2) since starting the season 4-0. At least they scored three goals on Saturday night in Toronto after being shut out four of the five previous games.