NHL Power Rankings: Can Anyone Keep Pace With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl?

The two stars are not just carrying the Oilers, but the NHL as a whole as the league’s point leaders. How high can Edmonton ride behind them?

The Senators’ and Sabres’ early-season success seems like a mirage after recent skids, but winning streaks have the Ducks and the Kings on the rise in this week’s power rankings.

NHL goals leader Alex Ovechkin is keeping the Capitals’ offense afloat, while the Oilers are riding high behind their pair of league points leaders in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Panthers handed the Hurricanes their first loss of the season, but was that enough to overtake Carolina for the top spot?

Here’s where every team stands.

Perry Nelson/USA TODAY Sports

32. Arizona Coyotes

Last Week: 32
Record: 1-10-1

After starting the season with 11 straight losses, the Coyotes finally managed a win Saturday, though they held the lead for just the final 65 seconds of the 5–4 comeback victory against the Kraken.

31. Montreal Canadiens

Last week: 30
Record: 3-10-1

A crushing 5–2 loss against the Golden Knights underscores the Canadiens’ struggles this season. Montreal outshot Vegas 20–1 in the first period and held a 2–0 lead at the intermission, but the Canadiens allowed five unanswered goals on 17 shots in the next two periods, including two power-play goals to the previously scoreless Vegas special teams unit.

30. Ottawa Senators

Last week: 28
Record: 3-8-1

The Senators rank 28th in goals per game (2.50) and 30th in goals allowed per game (3.58), but hey, at least they rank fourth in blocked shots per game and first in hits per game. (Please note the sarcasm.)

29. Chicago Blackhawks

Last week: 31
Record: 3-9-2

Since firing head coach Jeremy Colliton and assistant coaches Sheldon Brookbank and Tomas Mitell, the Blackhawks have won both their games.

28. Seattle Kraken

Last week: 26
Record: 4-8-1

Seattle earned an ignominious distinction as the first team to lose to the Coyotes this season. To make the sting worse, the Kraken were up 2–0 just 59 seconds and two shots into the game but squandered the lead.

27. Vancouver Canucks

Last week: 25
Record: 5-6-2

The Canucks won just two of seven games during their recent home stand, and they allowed 10 power-play goals on 24 opportunities. Vancouver has the second-worst penalty kill in the league so far this season (65%).

26. Buffalo Sabres

Last week: 20
Record: 5-5-2

The shine has worn off the Sabres. After starting the season 5-1-1, Buffalo has dropped five straight.

25. Anaheim Ducks

Last week: 29
Record: 7-4-3

The Ducks have won five in a row, led by 24-year-old winger Troy Terry, who has notched a point in 12 straight games. He leads the team with nine goals, already topping his previous career high of seven, which he set last season.

24. Los Angeles Kings

Last week: 27
Record: 7-5-1

The Kings extended their winning streak to six games with back-to-back wins against the Maple Leafs and Canadiens to start their four-game Canadian road trip.

23. Detroit Red Wings

Last week: 24
Record: 7-5-2

Vladislav Namestnikov led the Red Wings with two goals in a 4–2 win Tuesday against the Oilers. Detroit managed to limit the potent Edmonton attack to secure its third straight win.

22. Dallas Stars

Last week: 21
Record: 4-5-2

When Arizona eked out a win against Seattle, it left Dallas as the only team without a win in regulation. The Stars have held a lead in less than 15% of their time on the ice this season.

21. Columbus Blue Jackets

Last week: 23
Record: 7-3-0

Patrik Laine will miss four to six weeks with an oblique strain he sustained last week against the Avalanche. The 23-year-old forward is tied for second on the team in scoring with 10 points, and his absence will likely limit the Blue Jackets’ offensive production.

20. San Jose Sharks

Last week: 22
Record: 7-4-1

San Jose got its five-game road trip off to a strong start with a 4–1 win against Calgary, but the path ahead remains treacherous, with contests against the Jets, Avalanche, Wild and Blues.

19. Nashville Predators

Last week: 18
Record: 6-5-1

While 31-year-old center Max Ducene (10 points in 12 games) is finally finding consistency in his third season with the Predators, the team as a whole remains erratic.

18. New Jersey Devils

Last week: 19
Record: 6-3-2

Miles Wood will be out indefinitely after having hip surgery, the team announced Monday. The 26-year-old forward had been out since sustaining the injury in the preseason, but with both Woods and center Jack Hughes sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Devils’ offense could be in trouble.

17. Pittsburgh Penguins

Last week: 17
Record: 4-3-4

Kasperi Kapanen entered Saturday’s game against the Wild scoreless on the season, but the 25-year-old winger broke through with his first career hat trick in the 5–4 shootout loss. Production from Kapanen could help make up for Pittsburgh’s missing due to injury and illness.

16. Winnipeg Jets

Last week: 16
Record: 6-3-3

Kyle Connor scored his team-leading ninth goal for the Jets on Tuesday, but Winnipeg fell 3–2 in a shootout to Central Division rival Minnesota. The Jets are third in a tough division, just a point back from the second-place Wild and just two points behind the first-place Oilers.

15. Philadelphia Flyers

Last week: 12
Record: 6-2-2

The Flyers scored 23 goals in their first five games but have tallied just nine in their last five as their offensive production has evaporated.

14. New York Islanders

Last week: 14
Record: 5-3-2

The Islanders’ seven-game point streak came to an end Sunday with a 5–2 loss to the Wild. Despite that blip, their defense has been their strength this season, allowing the fourth-fewest goals per game (2.40).

13. New York Rangers

Last week: 10
Record: 7-3-3

The Rangers jumped to a four-goal lead Monday against the Panthers but almost wasted it in their 4–3 win. New York was outshot 45–18 in that game, and on the season, the Rangers have allowed the third-most scoring chances in the league.

12. Minnesota Wild

Last week: 15
Record: 8-3-0

Seven of Minnesota’s eight victories this season have required a comeback, which could show resilience but could also be a warning sign of a regression to come.

11. Calgary Flames

Last week: 8
Record: 7-2-3

The Flames’ point streak ended at 10 games with Tuesday’s 4–1 loss to the Sharks. Calgary has dropped three of its last four as it prepares to embark on a seven-game road swing, which starts Thursday in Montreal.

10. Vegas Golden Knights

Last week: 13
Record: 7-6-0

The Golden Knights opened their six-game homestand with a 4–2 win Tuesday against the Kraken, but their biggest victory from the past week was the acquisition of star center Jack Eichel from Buffalo. While Eichel is expected to miss the next three months whileafter recovering from neck surgery, he provides a bright spot on the horizon for Vegas.

9. Boston Bruins

Last week: 9
Record: 6-4-0

Everyone’s favorite Bruin Brad Marchand leads the team with 15 points, but the rest of the offense has struggled to get going.

8. Colorado Avalanche

Last week: 7
Record: 4-5-1

Star center Nathan MacKinnon missed practice Tuesday with a lower-body injury and his status for Thursday’s game against the Canucks is unknown. He has just one goal in the first 10 games but leads the team with nine assists.

7. Toronto Maple Leafs

Last week: 11
Record: 7-5-1

Toronto has six goals in its last 12 power-play chances, but the Maple Leafs have not received much production outside their top forwards. That will need to change if they want to continue to move up the standings.

6. Washington Capitals

Last week: 6
Record: 6-2-4

The injury bug has found Washington, as Anthony Mantha, T.J. Oshie and Nick Dowd have joined Nicklas Backstrom on injured reserve. Ovechkin continues to carry the offense, with 21 points and a league-leading 11 goals.

5. St. Louis Blues

Last week: 4
Record: 8-2-1

Goalie Jordan Binnington dazzled in a 3–2 shootout win Tuesday against the Jets, stopping 39 of 41 shots and stonewalling Winnipeg in four shootout attempts.

4. Tampa Bay Lightning

Last week: 5
Record: 6-3-3

The Lightning will carry a six-game point streak into Saturday’s in-state rivalry match against the Panthers.

3. Florida Panthers

Last week: 2
Record: 10-2-1

The Panthers beat the Hurricanes 5–2 on Saturday but proceeded to drop two back-to-back games to the Rangers and Devils to start this week.

2. Edmonton Oilers

Last week: 3
Record: 9-2-0

McDavid and Draisaitl continue to pace not just Edmonton but the league as a whole with 23 points each. Ovechkin has 21, and the next closest player (Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor) has 17.

1. Carolina Hurricanes

Last week: 1
Record: 10-1-0

The Hurricanes lost for the first time this season to the Panthers, but they rebounded with a 2–1 overtime win against the Lightning. Martin Necas scored the winning goal against the two-time defending champs.