In THW’s Week 2 Power Rankings, we search for one thing from the NHL… Clarity. With a week’s worth of hockey in the books (mostly), the start of the 2023-24 season has been an exciting one, but also complete nonsense as well. So far we have seen bad teams dominate, good teams struggle, highlight-reel goals, lots of scoring, and a rookie doing his best to live up to impossible expectations.
A major issue for a weekly Rankings article like this is the NHL’s scheduling. At the time of this writing, every team has hit the ice at least once, but the sample size is roughly two games played across the league, which isn’t much to work with. It’s easy to look good or bad for one night, after all, which makes it hard to not overreact when a team got shut out in their only game played, for example.
Related: NHL 2023-24 Power Rankings: Week 1
With that in mind, I’m going to try and stay level-headed, but I also think part of the fun of something like this is reacting to the weirdness that is the NHL season. So, with that preamble out of the way, let’s have some fun.
32 – 26: Competitive Starts to the NHL Season
32. San Jose Sharks (Previously 30th)
31. Chicago Blackhawks (Previously 31st)
30. Anaheim Ducks (Previously 32nd)
29. Montreal Canadiens (Previously 28th)
28. Philadelphia Flyers (Previously 28th)
27. Washington Capitals (Previously 21st)
26. Columbus Blue Jackets (Previously 25th)
The best way I can describe the bottom of the Rankings this week is competitive. While I’m not sold on them being a playoff contender yet, the teams here still brought an energy with them to the ice that was often lacking last season. I think it is a good sign that the full-on tanks from 2022-23 are done, and we will be seeing better hockey across the board in the coming weeks.
One of the big winners were the Blackhawks, who pulled off an upset win on opening night against the Penguins. Sure they then went on to lose their next two games, but that doesn’t take away from their big comeback to steal the game.
Also, I want to call out the Flyers for grabbing a solid win against the Blue Jackets, and Columbus for quickly recovering and taking down the Rangers. It would be wrong of me not to mention the Ducks here either, as they pulled off a big upset win against the Hurricanes on Sunday, which no one was really expecting given how much they struggled last season.
For now, the teams at the bottom are at least a lot of fun to watch, as rookie talents bring excitement to the ice, and hopefully, wins will continue to follow.
25 – 13: Building a Playoff Resume Early
25. Florida Panthers (Previously 18th)
24. Tampa Bay Lightning (Previously 17th)
23. Arizona Coyotes (Previously 27th)
22: Detroit Red Wings (Previously 24th)
21: Seattle Kraken (Previously 12th)
20. Nashville Predators (Previously 14th)
19. Winnipeg Jets (Previously 23th)
18. Buffalo Sabres (Previously 13th)
17. Ottawa Senators (Previously 22nd)
16: Vancouver Canucks (Previously 25th)
15. St. Louis Blues (Previously 19th)
14. New York Islanders (Previously 20th)
13. Calgary Flames (Previously 16th)
Ahh, the mushy middle of the NHL. The lack of games played is very apparent here, as these teams may have played one good or one bad game (or in some cases both), but at the same time, I felt like I had to do some market corrections after I played the start of the season too conservatively.
The big risers here are Canucks, who went out and absolutely shellacked the Oilers in their first two games of the season. Vancouver is a franchise that desperately needed a strong start to the 2023-24 season, and if they can build upon these great games, there’s a chance they could find their footing and get back into the playoff conversation. Also, the Coyotes came out and pulled off a big win against the Devils in their first game of the season, and they are a team I could see quickly rising up these standings if they keep finding ways to win, even if they aren’t pretty games.
On the other side of the spectrum, I am very worried about the Kraken. Their first two games did not look good, as their deep offense was largely held silent and their goaltending troubles continued after Philip Grubauer had three poor starts. Sure there’s a lot of time to turn things around, but these issues have been persistent for the franchise, and bad goaltending can push good teams into the draft lottery quickly.
Also, I’m worried that the Lightning and Panthers might just be bad teams as they sort through their long list of injuries. When healthy they are contenders, but right now they are far from healthy. By the time they get back to form, they might have to go on a long winning streak just to get back in the hunt given how weak they looked in Week 1.
I expect over the next week or two, I will split this group in half as the good teams and bad teams start to separate themselves. For now, I’m going to keep everyone in a big clump together here as I wait for that separation to occur.
12 – 1: Good Teams, With Flaws
12. Edmonton Oilers (Previously 4th)
11. Los Angeles Kings (Previously 7th)
10. New York Rangers (Previously 10th)
9. New Jersey Devils (Previously 5th)
8. Pittsburgh Penguins (Previously 8th)
7. Minnesota Wild (Previously 11th)
6. Boston Bruins (Previously 15th)
5. Carolina Hurricanes (Previously 2nd)
4. Dallas Stars (Previously 6th)
3. Toronto Maple Leafs (Previously 9th)
2. Colorado Avalanche (Previously 1st)
1. Vegas Golden Knights (Previously 3rd)
Well, if you had the Oilers as the shaky team at the top of the rankings to kick off the season, you were right. The offensive juggernaut from 2022-23 didn’t look great against the Canucks as they lost back-to-back games behind weak showings on defense and in their net. While I still believe this franchise will be able to outscore their problems, these losses highlight a rightful concern about their goaltending and defense that could hold them back from greatness.
Also, the Devils have looked a bit pedestrian in their first two games, outside Jack Hughes showcasing why he is a true star of the league by posting five points in his first two games. I think the shootout loss to the Coyotes is concerning, but there’s a chance that was just a fluke loss and they still got three out of four points so far, so hey, it’s not the worst outcome.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Bruins reminded the hockey world that they are still contenders even with their losses suffered this offseason. I expect them to keep getting better as the season goes along, and that they will build upon their solid start with more wins in the coming weeks. Plus, if the rumor mill is true, Boston and Edmonton might be having discussions about goaltending in the near future, which would add a lot of spice to the season.
2023-24 NHL Season Kicks Off
I think we can all agree that the start of the 2023-24 season has been as fun as advertised. While many games have been sloppy, they also provided a ton of entertainment that is exactly what you hope for. This has created chaotic Rankings where I haven’t been sure where to place most teams just yet.
Related: Top 10 Dirtiest NHL Players
With some of these big changes now out of the way, I’m hoping that Week 3 will be a bit more normal in the Rankings. I don’t like making huge changes like these on a weekly basis, but really did feel that my pre-season predictions just didn’t reflect reality for most franchises. This could change in an instant, though, so we will see how things go in the coming days.
