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Hurricanes
| Martin Necas | The elite scoring the Hurricanes were looking for all those years was on their roster the entire time. Martin Necas has leveled up his game this season, and the Canes now have a truly elite forward at the top of their lineup. Necas is tied with Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead in points (35). He’s also 10th in goals (12) and third in assists (23). Pretty good company. | — | 15-5-1 |
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Jets
| Connor Hellebuyck | The Jets have a human erasure between the pipes, and he gives them a chance to win every single time he starts. Case in point: Hellebuyck just saved 3.71 goals above average in Winnipeg’s 4-1 win over the Wild on Monday. That brought him to 13.6 goals saved above average, the best mark in the NHL. | — | 18-4-0 |
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Wild
| Young guns | When you’re paying two players just shy of $15 million not to play for your team, you need young players on team-friendly deals to step up. That’s exactly what Minnesota has gotten this season. Marco Rossi and Brock Faber are both still on their entry-level contracts, and they have become key parts of this Wild lineup. Matt Boldy is now making $7 million per season, but even that looks like a bargain right now. | — | 13-4-4 |
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Devils
| Special teams | The Devils are a strong team at five-on-five, but what really makes them dangerous is their ability to dominate on special teams as well. New Jersey ranks second with a 31.5% conversion rate on the power play, and the penalty kill is sixth at 83.6%. No matter the situation, the Devils can simply overwhelm their opponents. | 5 | 15-7-2 |
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Capitals
| Spencer Carbery | In the summer of 2023, Spencer Carbery was perhaps the hottest name on the coaching market, and for good reason. Carbery has quickly transformed the Capitals from a mediocre squad into a possible Stanley Cup contender. It’s no fluke either. Washington has a 51.8% five-on-five expected goals share, and it has a plus-24 goal differential in those situations. | 1 | 14-6-1 |
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Golden Knights
| Goals | Scoring is a pretty important aspect of winning hockey games, and the Golden Knights are very good at it. Their 85 goals are tied for second in the NHL, and they’re getting contributions from up and down the lineup. Five players have at least eight goals and two more have six. It’s tough to defend a team that can do damage with all four lines. | — | 14-6-2 |
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Maple Leafs
| Home ice | The atmosphere at Scotiabank Arena has been the butt of jokes on “Hockey Twitter” in recent years, but no one is laughing right now. The Maple Leafs seem perfectly comfortable in their own barn, going 10-3-0 in their first 13 games. That makes up for a middling 3-3-2 record on the road. | 3 | 13-6-2 |
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Stars
| Depth scoring | The Dallas forward group has a ridiculous amount of talent, and I’m not sure any team can match it. The Stars’ third line, consisting of Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment, has combined for 26 goals. That’s good because some players, like Wyatt Johnston, have yet to really heat up. Just imagine what the Stars will look like when that does inevitably happen. | — | 13-7-0 |
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Rangers
| Goaltending | There are teams that have gone years and years without stable goaltending. Ask Ottawa, or Philadelphia, or Detroit. The Rangers haven’t had that issue with Henrik Lundqvist turning over the crease to Igor Shesterkin. That’s not bad, but to make it even more unfair for the other 31 teams, Jonathan Quick has been exceptional in a backup role, saving 7.24 goals above average. | 4 | 12-7-1 |
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Panthers
| ROI | With a hard salary cap, teams have to make sure they’re getting the most out of every dollar they put into the lineup. Signing a player to an eight-year, $69 million contract after a career year, like the Panthers did with Sam Reinhart, can be a little risky. All Reinhart has done so far is make the case he’s underpaid with 16 goals and 31 points in 22 games. | 3 | 12-9-1 |
11
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Canucks
| Hotel beds | Sometimes it can be refreshing to get away and sleep in a cozy hotel bed. Based on their road performance, it seems like the Canucks agree with me. They’re 8-1-0 away from home, and they have a plus-14 goal differential in those games. It’s a good thing Vancouver enjoys time away because it has won just three of its eight home games. | 1 | 11-6-3 |
12
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Lightning
| Conviction | Letting a franchise legend walk out the door in an attempt to keep your Stanley Cup window open? That takes some real conviction, and it’s what Julien BriseBois did last summer. He allowed Steven Stamkos to leave in free agency to sign Jake Guentzel to a long-term deal. Stamkos has been OK on a bad Nashville team, but Guentzel has been tremendous for the Bolts. | 1 | 11-7-2 |
13
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Avalanche
| Star power | Depth is great, but teams need true stars to win big in the NHL. The Avalanche have plenty of star power, led by reigning MVP Nathan MacKinnon. He already has seven goals and 28 assists in 22 games, but he’s not alone. Mikko Rantanen has 14 goals, tied for fourth in the NHL, and Cale Makar’s 30 points are 10 more than the next closest defenseman. | 2 | 12-10-0 |
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Oilers
| Leon & Connor | Having two of the five best players in the NHL on your roster is a pretty nice luxury. The dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have combined for 27 goals, and no one else on the team has more than six goals. The depth, which appeared to have improved in the offseason, hasn’t been getting the job done. The good news? It doesn’t have to. | 1 | 11-9-2 |
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Flames
| Spunk | I didn’t necessarily expect the Flames to be all that competent this season, and I certainly didn’t expect them to be three points back of the Pacific Division lead at this point. It’s not always pretty, but the Flames are punching unsuspecting opponents in the mouth and stacking wins. Can they keep this up? I’m not sure, but this is a mighty feisty team. | 1 | 12-7-3 |
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Kings
| Defense | If you love high-flying offensive hockey, don’t tune into a Kings game. They’ve made a habit of stifling opponents, allowing just 2.01 xGA/60 at five-on-five, the best mark in the league. What Los Angeles lacks in offensive skill players it more than makes up for with exceptional team defense. | 2 | 11-8-3 |
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Sabres
| Hope | American Thanksgiving is less than 24 hours away, and the Sabres are sitting in a playoff spot. Hope can be a dangerous thing, but fans in Buffalo haven’t even had much of that in recent years. The Sabres are getting big contributions from key players and quality goaltending from Ukko-Pekka Luukonen. Please ignore the troubling underlying metrics. | 2 | 11-9-1 |
18
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Kraken
| Stability in net | For the first few years of their existence, the Kraken struggled to find any level of consistency between the pipes, but that problem may finally be solved. Joey Daccord showed a lot of promise last season, and he has kept that going. Daccord is fifth in the NHL with 8.76 goals saved above average, and he’s keeping Seattle in the playoff race. | 1 | 11-10-1 |
19
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Bruins
| Boston Celtics | How about those Celtics? No championship hangover. Off to a 15-3 start. They look poised to go back-to-back! Don’t worry about anything else happening in TD Garden these days. The champs are rolling. | 3 | 10-10-3 |
20
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Flyers
| Matvei Michkov | There’s a good chance Matvei Michikov winds up making a few teams look silly for passing on him at the top of the 2023 NHL Draft. He fell to No. 7 overall, and the Flyers were happy to take him. It’s easy to see why. The 19-year-old rookie has eight goals and nine assists in his first 20 NHL games. | — | 9-10-3 |
21
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Islanders
| Overtime | The Islanders now have a multi-year love affair with overtime games. Last season, loser points kept the Isles in the playoff race for the entire season, and the same thing is happening again. New York has already gotten points out five losses, tied with the Sharks for most in the league. | — | 8-9-5 |
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Blues
| Boston Bruins | One team’s emotional and irrational decision is another team’s treasure. Jim Montgomery was unemployed for all of two seconds before the Blues came calling. Now, St. Louis has a coach with a career .661 winning percentage behind the bench, and the team should be a lot better for it. | 3 | 10-12-1 |
23
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Senators
| Brady Tkachuk | Brady doesn’t get the same level of attention as Matthew, but the younger Tkachuk brother is still a lot of fun to watch. Tkachuk leads the Sens with 11 goals, and he’s on pace for 89 points. Ottawa fans need to appreciate what they have because if things keep trending in the current direction, will Tkachuk do what his brother did in Calgary and work his way out of town? | 5 | 9-11-1 |
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Red Wings
| Mediocrity | The Red Wings are one of the worst five-on-five teams in the NHL, and they have two players on pace to eclipse the 20-goal mark. Despite that, they are just three points out of a playoff spot. For that, they can thank the mediocrity that is the Eastern Conference wild card race. | 2 | 9-10-2 |
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Blue Jackets
| Effort | No one would have blamed the Blue Jackets for starting slow this season. Instead, they’ve battled every night, and their five-on-five numbers are shockingly good. Columbus is going to struggle to reach the postseason, but one thing that’s certain is it will take a chunk out of every opponent it faces. | 5 | 9-9-2 |
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Ducks
| Leo Carlsson | Too many of the Ducks’ young prospects have failed to take the next step at the NHL level by now, but Leo Carlsson has already shown marked progress in his second season. Carlsson has 11 points in 20 games, and while his five-on-five game does need work, he has shown flashes of being a franchise cornerstone for Anaheim. | 2 | 8-9-3 |
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Hockey Club
| Youth | Utah has gotten off to a volatile start, but that can be the case when trying to bring along a young core. Consistency can be an issue, but that doesn’t change the fact that the franchise’s future is very bright. Players like Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley and Barrett Hayton have shown the ability to play well at the NHL level. They just have to do it more often now. | 4 | 9-10-3 |
28
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Penguins
| Milestones | The actual results have been pretty disastrous for the Penguins this season, but at least fans have seen some legends hit major milestones. Sidney Crosby has scored his 700th goal and notched his 1,600th point. Evgeni Malkin has picked up his 500th goal and 800th assist. That’s at least something to cheer about. | 1 | 7-12-4 |
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Blackhawks
| Draft capital | The Predators’ big offseason has landed them in 31st place, and a couple more weeks of losing will sink them for good. If you’re looking for positives, you’ll find them in the stockpile of draft picks. Nashville, headed straight for the draft lottery, has five picks in the first two rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft. Rebuilding now would be a full 180 from the summer, but at least the Preds have the picks to do it. | 3 | 7-12-2 |
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Canadiens
| Draft lottery | The draft lottery has been kind to the Blackhawks in the last two decades with Patrick Kane and Connor Bedard being the biggest prizes. The way things are trending in Chicago now, the team might be heading for yet another No. 1 overall selection. | 1 | 7-11-3 |
31
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Predators
| Prospects | The Canadiens do have a relatively deep prospect pool, led by a pair of defensemen in Lane Hutson and David Reinbacher. If those two hit, Montreal will be set on the blue line for a long time. Now, how long will it take before those prospects finally transform the Canadiens back into an NHL powerhouse? | 3 | 7-12-3 |
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Sharks
| Foundation | The Sharks still have a long road ahead of them, but the foundation appears to be in place. They have a couple potential stars up front in Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. In net, Yaroslav Askarov is one of the best goalie prospects across the league. San Jose already has some key pieces in place. Now, it has to build around them. | 3 | 7-12-5 |
