Jets top Canadian teams, Habs plummet in NHL Power Ranking

There is little debate about who the best team in the NHL has been this season, and our Power Rankings agree with the standings. 

Sixteen games into the season, the Boston Bruins have lost once in regulation. Losing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement, which would be crippling to most teams, has had little on-ice effect to this point of the season.

Boston is still a defensive juggernaut, due in part to the structure it plays within, but also because it boasts the best goaltending duo in the NHL. Jeremy Swayman leads the league in save percentage, while Linus Ullmark ranks sixth. The New York Rangers are the only team hanging in the same stratosphere as the Bruins right now. 

Our top Canadian team, the white-hot Winnipeg Jets, are winners of three straight games and six of their past seven.

Top-line winger Kyle Connor is tied for the league lead in goals with 14, while Cole Perfetti has been a standout on the Jets' second line. The third line, centred by Adam Lowry, has accounted for a team-high 10 goals at five-on-five while surrendering just four. Winnipeg is one point behind the Dallas Stars for the top spot in the Central Division.

The Vancouver Canucks, losers of two-straight games, drop from fourth to eleventh on our list.

The Canucks still lead the league in scoring as the only team averaging more than four goals per game. However, offensive regression is bound to set in at some point as Vancouver sits 19th in expected goals. It may not happen this week though, as the Canucks face the lowly San Jose Sharks at home Monday night and then in San Jose Saturday.

The Ottawa Senators continue to climb in our rankings, up from 15th to 12th after a pair of wins in Stockholm, Sweden. Yes, there are teams with better records below them on our list, but this is an exercise in projection and our model continues to be bullish on the Sens.

Ottawa ranks 10th in goal differential and 12th in expected goal differential. If the goaltending holds up, the Sens will continue their climb up the standings.

Also winners of a pair of games in Sweden, the Toronto Maple Leafs move from 20th to 14th in our Power Rankings. William Nylander continues to terrify opposing goalies with points in all 17 games he’s played this season. Nylander scored a brilliant overtime goal to cap off a fairytale trip to his home country.

The Leafs are still middle of the pack in goal and expected goal differential, but a couple more games like the last two and their spot on our list will better reflect their place in the standings.

The Calgary Flames are up three spots, from 23rd to 20th, this week.

The Flames had a strong week, finishing with a 2-0-1 record. Rookie Connor Zary continues to impress on the second line, scoring four points last week, which tied for the team lead. Zary has eight points in eight games and leads the team in points per game. Calgary hits the road for four games this week, starting with the Kraken in Seattle on Monday night. 

Following a 2-1-0 week, the Edmonton Oilers move up four spots from 26th to 22nd on our list. At some point, the results should start to more closely mirror the process offensively and defensively for the Oilers.

Edmonton sits fourth in expected goals and 22nd in goals per game. We know this team can score, and after scoring four goals in each of its past four games, perhaps Edmonton is finding its groove offensively.

Defensively, the struggles continue as the Oilers rank 29th in goals against. While the mistakes leading to goals against continue, the bottom line is the team needs consistent goaltending more than anything else.

Dropping five spots from 24th to 29th are the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs have lost four straight in regulation as it looks like reality has set in for a team whose record was a bit of a mirage early in the season.

The Canadiens have done a decent job creating chances offensively, ranking ninth in rush-scoring chances and eighth in high-danger chances. But the team continues to bleed chances defensively ranking 31st in slot shots, rush chances, high-danger chances and expected goals against.