NHL Power Rankings See Hurricanes and Oilers Vault to Top Spots

Hockey fans spent months longing for the NHL season to start, and now the early-season storylines are taking shape.

The B/R hockey staff is in midseason form after cranking out another installment of Power Rankings heading toward the third full week of the 2026-27 schedule.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.

Statistics through games of Monday, Oct. 12.

ANA | BOS | BUF | CAR | CBJ | CGY | CHI | COL | DAL | DET | EDM | FLA | LAK | MIN | MTL | NJD | NSH | NYI | NYR | OTT | PHI | PIT | SEA | SJS | STL | TBL | TOR | Utah Mammoth | VAN | VGK | WPG | WSH

The Flames started 0-5-0 for the first time in franchise history, scoring just eight goals along the way, but coach Ryan Huska preached patience. "We've slowly been getting better, and that's the most important thing," he said .

It paid off on Tuesday, with a win against Anaheim.

A 3-2 shootout loss to Seattle at home made it eight straight games in which the Flyers were held to two or fewer goals. Philadelphia was 21st in the league with 240 goals in 2025-26. The record for fewest goals in an 84-game season is 201, in 1993-94.

The Blackhawks won at Carolina on Saturday and continued a turnaround after a 0-3-0 road start in which they were outscored 15-5. "I have no idea when it's going to be, but this group's going to win," coach Jeff Blashill said , "100 percent."

New captain Connor Bedard returned on Tuesday, leading Chicago to a home win over the Penguins.

Overreactions to the Start of the Season

Early optimism evolved into familiar pessimism for the Canucks, who began the season with two wins in three games before losing four straight, in which they were outscored 20-7. They'll return home from a six-game road trip on Oct. 20.

It's already been a tough start for the Kings, and it didn't help when forwards Mats Zuccarello and Alex Turcotte were placed on injured reserve. "We're competitors in here. We hate losing, and we want to win," goalie Darcy Kuemper said .

Coach Todd McLellan is taking a collective leadership tack for the Red Wings, amid the ongoing turmoil surrounding ex-captain Dylan Larkin. "There's a lot of different people in different leadership roles on our team right now," he said .

Depth of skill hadn't translated into goals for the Devils in 2026-27. New Jersey scored three or fewer goals in three of its first five games, including a shutout by the New York Islanders and one goal in a home loss to Ottawa.

That changed on Tuesday, as they tallied five in an overtime win over the Red Wings.

A home loss to streaking Tampa Bay wasn't ideal, but it gave coach Pete DeBoer a better idea of where his team stands. "It was a good measuring stick game for us," he said . "We passed quite a few of the tests in my mind of how we have to play."

The Isles responded on Tuesday with a home win against Vancouver.

The Blue Jackets went to a shootout to defeat Pittsburgh, then led 2-0 in St. Louis a day later before the tanks ran dry in a 5-3 loss. "The thought process got away from us," coach Rick Bowness said , "and the intensity necessary left us."

It didn't get any better on Tuesday after getting crushed at home by Florida.

It didn't sound super serious at the outset, but it's never good news when one of your best players, in this case defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, leaves a game and doesn't accompany the team on a road trip. "Day to day," coach Lindy Ruff said .

The Blues skidded in Colorado and Chicago, losing 6-1 and 4-2, but rebounded in a raucous home win against Columbus. "Our fans support every single home game ... these past three days they've been absolutely humming," Jimmy Snuggerud said .

They took those good vibes on the road and demolished the Senators in Ottawa on Tuesday.

An iffy start for Jakub Dobes (1-1-1, .857 save percentage) opened the door for AHL call-up Jacob Fowler, who stopped 30 shots to blank Detroit on Saturday. He is the fifth Montreal goalie to have multiple NHL shutouts at age 21 or younger.

It took him until game six, but Brady Tkachuk finally got a point in a Panthers sweater when he assisted on Sam Reinhart's goal in the second period of a Monday loss at Buffalo. He had seven hits and three shots in 16:32 of ice time.

The younger Tkachuk took that as a springboard for a monster game on Tuesday, recording a hat trick versus the Blue Jackets.

The Stars scored 11 goals in their first five games, and just one on the power play, and it won't help that forward Matt Duchene is now expected to miss three months after surgery to repair a core injury that he dealt with in training camp.

The Predators frittered away a lead, gave up a late goal, and lost in a shootout to Ottawa. "It's been a little common in the past few games," forward Jonathan Marchessault said . "We kind of lay off the gas a little bit and let teams back in."

Darnell Nurse played 798 games for Edmonton, but he'd never played in the Oilers' rink as a visitor until Saturday's 3-1 loss. "It was odd. Never been through that before, but preparation is no different," he said . "Just go out there and play."

Ending a three-game slide (0-2-1) with a shootout win against a tough Dallas team after allowing a late tying goal provided a significant moment for coach Dan Muse. "This was way better," he said . "For me, it's an exciting step for us to take."

Pittsburgh took a step back Tuesday in Chicago, though, despite a Sidney Crosby goal.

Take a breath, Toronto fans. Gavin McKenna might be ready for the NHL after all. The top overall pick was pointless in his first three games but had a goal and three assists in his next three. "Every game he is taking steps," coach Jim Hiller said .

He scored Tuesday night against the Mammoth, but the Leafs lost in Utah.

Alex Ovechkin scored on his 190th goalie when he beat the Kraken's Joey Daccord, but the Capitals saw a brief two-game win streak halted by Seattle. Washington won three of its first four games in which it scored at least three goals.

A Saturday loss to Toronto was just the second of the season, and the first at home for Colorado, but coach Jared Bednar was not having it. "You got the team doing it right," he said , "and you got a couple of guys that weren't there for us (Saturday)."

The Bruins finished their six-game early-season purgatory without defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who was suspended for a slash on Buffalo forward Zach Benson in the playoffs. Boston was held to one goal twice, but scored 18 in the other four.

Just when it seemed the Jets had started well enough to deflect the Connor Hellebuyck drama, it's back. NHL Insider David Pagnotta suggested the goalie could return to the team if a long-discussed trade doesn't happen soon.

Listing the league's premier goal-scorers? It'll probably be a while before you get to Nick Schmaltz. Still, the 30-year-old did score 33 times last season and had six goals in four of Utah's first games in 2026-27, setting a pace for 67 in 84 games.

Break up the Kraken! Seattle had six goals dumped on it by Vegas in an Oct. 6 home loss but took to the road for a five-game trip that opened with 11 goals scored in consecutive games at Detroit (6-3) and Washington (5-3).

The Kraken followed that up with another win, a shootout victory over the hapless Flyers on Tuesday.

It was bad enough when Igor Shesterkin left Friday's game . It got far worse when it was announced that he was done for the season —leaving the New York net (thanks to a lingering injury to backup Joonas Korpisalo) to 24-year-old Dylan Garand, who entered 2026-27 having made three career starts.

The Ducks' 4-2 win at Calgary lifted them to 4-1-0 for the fifth time in franchise history, following similar starts in 2011-12, 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2019-20. Anaheim started 3-0-2 on the way to the franchise's lone Stanley Cup in 2006-07.

Quinn Hughes proved his worth to the Wild with points in six straight games to open the season, the sixth-longest season-opening streak in league history by an American-born defenseman. He had 76 points in 2025-26.

The Golden Knights split their first two games of the season but had reeled off four straight wins (and allowed just eight goals) before the early streak ended when they lost 4-2 on Monday at Minnesota. Jack Eichel has 12 points in six games.

There's championship muscle memory in the Tampa Bay locker room, but early success helps indoctrinate the new guys, too. "You want to be able to build some confidence within the team," forward Brandon Hagel said , "within the group."

It wasn't a reach to suggest Linus Ullmark's play would be a key factor for the Tkachuk-less Senators this season and the 33-year-old Swede responded with a great start, winning his first five appearances while allowing just six goals.

Having the league's top scorers in northern Alberta isn't a novelty, but raise your hand if you had the Oilers, under Mike Babcock, as the last team in the NHL without a regulation loss. Edmonton was 2-2-1 through five games last season.

Reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jordan Staal will miss at least a month as the Hurricanes chase a repeat after tearing a calf during warmups for a Sunday game in Philadelphia. Staal had 12 points in 19 playoff games in Carolina's cup run.