NHL Power Rankings: Which Undefeated Team Can Sustain Perfection the Longest?

The Blues and Oilers continue to shoot up the standings, while the Hurricanes and Panthers remain firmly entrenched at the top.

Four teams remain undefeated after the first two weeks of the season. The Blues and Oilers continue to shoot up the standings, while the Hurricanes and Panthers remain firmly entrenched at the top.

While other would-be contenders, including the Lightning and Avalanche, are still finding their footing, the Sabres and Flames have maintained their surprisingly strong starts—though their sustainability remains uncertain. Here’s where every team stands.

Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

32. Arizona Coyotes

Last Week: 32
Record: 0-5-1

One of two winless teams remaining in the NHL, the Coyotes have just one player who has scored multiple goals so far this season—23-year-old center Clayton Keller, who has three. And as bad as their offense has been, their defense has been even worse, allowing a league-high 4.83 goals per game.

31. Chicago Blackhawks

Last week: 27
Record: 0-5-1

The Blackhawks have not held the lead once in their first six games. That adds up to 360 minutes and 57 seconds of game time, the longest season-opening stretch without a lead since the start of the 1979–80 season.

30. Anaheim Ducks

Last week: 31
Record: 2-4-1

The Ducks had the lead entering the final 90 seconds against the Jets on Tuesday, and they looked set to snap their three-game losing streak. Instead, they allowed two goals in 19 seconds to Winnipeg winger Nikolaj Ehlers and took their fourth consecutive loss.

29. Montreal Canadiens

Last week: 26
Record: 1-6-0

The Canadiens finally managed to get their first win, and an impressive one at that, as a Mathieu Perrault hat trick powered them to a 6–1 victory against the Red Wings. But they promptly followed the win with another loss, falling 5–1 to the Kraken on Tuesday.

28. Los Angeles Kings

Last week: 21
Record: 1-4-1

Since starting the season with a win against the Golden Knights, the Kings have dropped five straight games, including their last two against the Blues. Star center Anze Kopitar was kept off the score sheet in both losses in St. Louis.

27. Ottawa Senators

Last week: 22
Record: 2-4-0

The team has placed Matt Murray on injured reserve after he took a knee to the head in Saturday’s loss to the Rangers. The starting goalie has a .936 save percentage this season; neither of his backups, Filip Gustavsson nor Anton Forsberg, has a save percentage greater than .900.

26. Columbus Blue Jackets

Last week: 29
Record: 4-2-0

Patrik Laine did not flourish under former Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, but the forward has turned over a new leaf this season with new coach Brad Larsen. He has six points in six games, including two overtime game-winners against the Islanders and Kraken.

25. Seattle Kraken

Last week: 25
Record: 2-4-1

The Kraken ended a four-game skid with their first home win Tuesday, a 5–1 rout of the Canadiens at a sold-out Climate Pledge Arena. Brandon Tanev led the way with two goals; the winger paces the team with five this season.

24. Detroit Red Wings

Last week: 28
Record: 3-2-1

Tyler Bertuzzi remains unvaccinated, so the 26-year-old forward could not travel with the Red Wings to Canada for a game in Montreal. Detroit missed its goals and points leader in the 6–1 drubbing, and it will miss him again Saturday as the team embarks on a two-game Canadian road trip. The Red Wings have eight games remaining in Canada this season.

23. Buffalo Sabres

Last week: 30
Record: 4-1-1

The Sabres continue to defy expectations, following up their first rocky stretch of the season (a 4–1 loss to Boston and then a 2–1 overtime loss to New Jersey) with a 5–1 win against the two-time defending champion Lightning.

22. San Jose Sharks

Last week: 23
Record: 4-2-0

With six points in six games, two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson has been strong so far for San Jose, but his comparatively weak possession stats and high PDO could spell a regression in his future.

21. Vancouver Canucks

Last week: 19
Record: 3-3-1

Elias Pettersson entered the season with a new, three-year contract worth $7.35 million annually, but the center has just one goal through the first seven games, a worry for the Canucks.

20. Nashville Predators

Last week: 20
Record: 3-4-0

After a slow start, the Predators have started to find their footing behind the playmaking of defenseman Roman Josi, who had six points combined (one goal and five assists) in back-to-back wins against the Wild and the Sharks.

19. Philadelphia Flyers

Last week: 16
Record: 2-1-1

Even with points in three of four games so far, the Flyers find themselves at the bottom of the competitive Metropolitan Division. Still, their offense has been clicking. Philadelphia has scored no fewer than four goals in each game and averages 4.50 goals per game, tied for fourth in the league.

18. New Jersey Devils

Last week: 18
Record: 3-2-0

The Devils’ third-string goalie in Nico Daws, called into action after injuries to Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier, allowed three goals on seven shots in Tuesday’s 5–3 loss to Calgary. Blackwood could be close to a return, which would provide New Jersey with a much-needed boost.

17. Winnipeg Jets

Last week: 17
Record: 3-2-1

Pierre-Luc Dubois has four goals and three assists in Winnipeg’s last five games. That puts him on track to surpass his totals from last season, when he had eight goals and 12 assists in 41 games.

16. Calgary Flames

Last week: 24
Record: 4-1-1

The Flames have four straight wins, and center Elias Lindholm has five goals during the streak, including a hat trick in Saturday’s 4–3 overtime win against the Capitals.

15. Dallas Stars

Last week: 13
Record: 3-3-0

The Stars are scoring just 1.83 goals per game, second to only the Canadiens (1.67). They are being kept afloat by goalie Braden Holtby and his .939 save percentage.

14. New York Rangers

Last week: 15
Record: 4-2-1

Kaapo Kakko remains on injured reserve after sustaining an upper-body injury in the Rangers’ third game of the season, but the 20-year-old winger is expected back in time for the team’s game Friday against Columbus.

13. Toronto Maple Leafs

Last week: 7
Record: 2-4-1

The Maple Leafs have a league-low 5.5 shooting percentage and a save percentage in the bottom third of the league, which makes Toronto one of the unluckiest teams so far but also a prime candidate for a rebound in the near future.

12. New York Islanders

Last week: 12
Record: 3-2-1

The Islanders are still playing catchup from their slow start, but they have managed back-to-back shutouts of the Coyotes and Golden Knights.

11. Vegas Golden Knights

Last week: 6
Record: 2-4-0

Special-teams problems plague Vegas, which remains the only team yet to score a power-play goal at 0-for-11 on the season.

10. Pittsburgh Penguins

Last week: 11
Record: 3-1-2

No Crosby, no Malkin, no Rust, no Letang, no problem? Even with forwards Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust out with injuries, and defenseman Kris Letang out after a positive COVID-19 test, the Penguins had not lost a game in regulation until their 5–1 defeat Tuesday against the Lightning.

9. Minnesota Wild

Last week: 9
Record: 5-1-0

The Wild suffered their first loss Sunday against the Predators but bounced back with a 3–2 road win Tuesday against the Canucks. Defensemen Jonas Brodin and Mathew Dumba scored their first goals of the season in the victory.

8. Tampa Bay Lightning

Last week: 4
Record: 3-3-1

After an ignominious 5–1 loss Monday in Buffalo, the Lightning flipped the script Tuesday with their win in Pittsburgh. Still, the two-time defending champions remain in search of consistency on both ends of the ice.

7. Colorado Avalanche

Last week: 3
Record: 2-4-0

Last season, Colorado had 10 power-play goals in its first six games. This season, they have two in 20 opportunities. The Avalanche need to find a way to convert on their man-up opportunities.

6. St. Louis Blues

Last week: 14
Record: 5-0-0

At the top of the Central Division, the Blues lead the league with 5.00 goals per game through their perfect start, helped by 23-year-old forward Jordan Kyrou, who has two goals and six assists so far.

5. Washington Capitals

Last week: 8
Record: 4-0-2

Vitek Vanecek was selected by the Kraken in the expansion draft this summer, but the Capitals sent a second-round pick to Seattle to bring the 26-year-old goalie back in a trade. The move has paid dividends as Vanecek has been a steady presence in net for Washington.

4. Edmonton Oilers

Last week: 10
Record: 5-0-0

The undefeated Oilers are scoring on a league-high 47.1% of their power plays for a league-leading eight power-play goals. They also have a shorthanded goal and a respectable 88.2 penalty-kill percentage.

3. Boston Bruins

Last week: 5
Record: 3-1-0

Despite a strong start, the Bruins are still in search of a signature win. They could grab one Wednesday when they face their Atlantic Division rivals, the Eastern Conference–leading Panthers, on the road.

2. Carolina Hurricanes

Last week: 2
Record: 5-0-0

Behind goalie Frederik Andersen, who has a .946 save percentage and has played every minute for Carolina so far, the Hurricanes have allowed just 1.60 goals per game, the fewest in the league.

1. Florida Panthers

Last week: 1
Record: 6-0-0

Eight Panthers players have at least two goals so far this season. That depth makes Florida a force to be reckoned with no matter who is on the ice.