Back and forth we go. The Hurricanes' bid for an 82-0 record came to an end at the hands of -- you guessed it -- the Panthers. As a result, Florida climbs back into the No. 1 spot. They still haven't lost in regulation and have picked up 21 of a possible 22 points to this point in the season.
2The Hurricanes have been supplanted after their week in the sun at the top of these rankings, but something tells me they'll have plenty of chances to get back there.
3I was tempted to put the Oilers at No. 1 just because they have Connor McDavid. He scored one of the most outrageous goals you'll ever see against the Rangers, and New York was so rattled that they didn't even bother to show up for their next game against the Flames.
4Kirill Kaprizov was able to get the monkey off his back by scoring a pair of goals this past week, and the Wild have played well after a brief slide. As Kaprizov has searched for his scoring touch, Ryan Hartman has picked up the slack in the department. He already has six goals and looks poised to cruise past his career high of 20 goals in a season.
5The big dogs are all cooking for the Maple Leafs these days. Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander and Mitch Marner are all playing well, and the Maple Leafs are a very tough team to beat when that happens. Toronto is starting to look like the team that everyone thought they would be prior to the start of the season.
6Just a couple of weeks ago, I was doubting the Blues after a hot start because I wasn't buying it. This week, I will defend the Blues because I think they played better in the past week than their 1-2 record might indicate. St. Louis probably should've gotten a win over the Kings, but Jonathan Quick slammed the door in the opposing net.
7Tampa Bay picked up five of a possible six points last week, and they did it in pretty impressive fashion. After going through the 2021 playoffs on one leg, the now healthy Victor Hedman has been outstanding on the blue line.
8The Flames had a rather unlucky week. Prior to routing the Rangers, they lost back-to-back overtime games against the Predators and Stars in which they played well and probably deserved to win. Calgary did everything right, but they just didn't get the results.
9Patrice Bergeron went seven games without scoring a goal, but the floodgates opened against the Red Wings. He scored a hat trick and added another for good measure in the Bruins' 5-1 win. That's not a bad way to end a slump.
10The Golden Knights did it. They managed to rescue Jack Eichel from a messy situation in Buffalo. Now, the trick for Vegas will be winning games while their best players, including Eichel, get healthy. If the Golden Knights are even within spitting distance of a playoff spot when that happens, watch out.
11The big question for the Flyers coming into the season was whether Carter Hart could bounce back. So far, he's looked like his old self. Hart is fifth in the NHL in goals saved above average at five-on-five with 4.84.
12Unfortunately for the Rangers, they will be on the wrong end of NHL highlight reels for years to come. Connor McDavid carved up four of them on the same play before shaking Alexandar Georgiev out of his pads for a jaw-dropping goal. To make matters worse, the Rangers followed that up by getting trounced by the Flames.
13It was a week of missed chances for the Capitals. They lost three one-goal games, and they fell to the Panthers in a thrilling overtime battle. In your weekly Alex Ovechkin update, he tallied a goal and two assists in that game against Florida.
14The Blue Jackets just keep on winning, and they went 2-0 against the Colorado Avalanche last week. Cole Sillinger, 18, who was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 draft, has played well through his first 10 NHL games. He should give the Blue Jackets a lot of optimism moving forward.
15The Avalanche just haven't looked quite right so far. Part of that has to do with goaltending, but part of it has to do with an absolutely loaded power play unit converting on just 10.53% of its opportunities.
16Brock Nelson had a field day against the Montreal Canadiens. He found the back of the net four times to bring his total to seven goals in just 10 games played.
17Kyle Connor has been dominant for the Jets through 11 games. His eight goals are tied for fourth in the league, and his 16 points are good for fourth as well. He looks like one of the best players in the NHL these days.
18Tyler Bertuzzi kept on rolling with two goals against the Sabres and another against the Golden Knights. He has been a big reason that the Red Wings have outperformed expectations to this point.
19The Ducks are riding a four-game winning streak, and Troy Terry is in the midst of an incredible 11-game point streak. He didn't find the scoresheet in the Ducks' season-opener, but he hasn't been left off it since then. The 24-year old is really coming into his own.
20Like their California counterparts, the Kings have won four straight games. They have Jonathan Quick to thank for that. After a few down years, he has had a resurgent start to the season.
21Even without Jack Hughes in the lineup, the Devils have found ways to be competitive, but the challenge will be keeping that up until the young star is able to return from his shoulder injury.
22The Penguins are 1-3-1 in their last five games, and they have suddenly tumbled to the bottom of a competitive Metropolitan Division. COVID-19 has taken its toll on Pittsburgh in the early going, and Sidney Crosby has played in just one game between recovering from surgery and testing positive for the virus.
23Say it ain't so. The Sabres' hot start might be coming to an end. Buffalo went winless last week, and they were very much on the wrong end of the expected goals share in every one of them. At least the Jack Eichel saga is over.
24Dallas has struggled to string together wins, and it probably has something to do with their league-worst 4.71% shooting percentage at five-on-five. Roope Hintz still has yet to light the lamp despite being third on the team in shots on goal. It should only be a matter of time before he gets some positive regression.
25It was actually a winning week for the Predators, but they got outplayed a little too often. They were severely out-chanced in their win over the Flames, and Nashville fell flat in a loss to the Blackhawks one day after they fired their head coach.
26The Sharks got a badly needed win against the Sabres, but they followed that up with a couple of uninspiring performances in losses to the Blues and the Devils. San Jose has been one of the league's worst teams this season, despite a misleading record.
27J.T. Miller is off to another hot start with 14 points in 12 games, and he has been a revelation for the Canucks since they traded for him in the summer of 2019.
28The Kraken have been sinking like a stone, and they hit a low point last week as they handed the Coyotes their first win of the season. That's a tough look, even for a team that has been around for about a month.
29The Blackhawks fired head coach Jeremy Colliton on Saturday after they got steamrolled by the Jets. The team responded to that change with a win over the Predators. It'll be interesting to see what happens from here.
30It was a long week in Ottawa. Since our last rankings, the Senators played four games, and they gave up five goals in each one of them. It should come as no surprise that the Sens went 0-3-1 in that span.
31The Canadiens continue to give up a lot of crooked numbers, and their goaltending tandem is off to an abysmal start. Jake Allen and Sam Montembeault have struggled, but the defense in front of them isn't necessarily helping either.
32The wait is over. The Coyotes are in the win column, and it looked like that might not happen when the Kraken tied the game with under two minutes remaining. However, Lawson Crouse played hero and gave his team the lead back just seconds later. Go wild, Arizona.
