Habs On Top of Early Power Rankings
Strong underlying numbers early for Montreal
The Montreal Canadiens have a chance to be one of the most improved teams in the league this season, thanks to some savvy offseason additions as well as the expected internal development of players like Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
They have dominated play early in the season so they are on top of the first regular season version of the NHL Power Rankings.
POWER RANKINGS
1 Montreal Canadiens (4-0-2)
Offseason additions Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Romanov have helped Habs dominate play (59.2 CF%, 59.9 xGF%).
2 Tampa Bay Lightning (3-1)
Defending champs have not missed a beat, even without Nikita Kucherov.
3 Boston Bruins (3-1-1)
Controlling play even with big changes on the blueline and star winger David Pastrnak nears return.
4 Vegas Golden Knights (5-1)
Goaltending split to start the season has provided better results with Marc-Andre Fleury.
5 Toronto Maple Leafs (5-2)
Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews are both playing more than 23 minutes per game.
6. Dallas Stars (2-0)
Stars have only played two games and their even-strength play has been fine but the power play has been ridiculous, scoring eight power play goals in two games.
7. Florida Panthers (2-0)
Panthers have also played just two games so they will be getting busy, soon.
8. Carolina Hurricanes (2-1)
Hurricanes have only played three games but have been dominating play (60.7 CF%, 62.9 xGF%).
9. Colorado Avalanche (3-3)
Splitting their first three series is an underwhelming opening to a season in which they are Stanley Cup favorites.
10. Winnipeg Jets (4-2)
Acquisition of Pierre-Luc Dubois gives Jets long-term strength down the middle of the ice.
11. Calgary Flames (2-1-1)
Goaltender Jacob Markstrom has been a stabilizing presence, at least in this small sample.
12. St. Louis Blues (3-2-1)
RW Jordan Kyrou leads Blues with six points in six games.
13. Pittsburgh Penguins (4-2)
After losing the first couple of games at Philadelphia, the Penguins won four straight at home.
14. Minnesota Wild (4-2)
Rookie LW Kirill Kaprizov has given the lineup a jolt of offensive flair.
15. Philadelphia Flyers (3-2-1)
Sean Couturier’s injury and a couple of tough starts for goaltender Carter Hart have caused early problems.
16. New York Islanders (3-2)
The Islanders have been shut out – once by the Rangers, once by the Devils - for both losses.
17. New Jersey Devils (3-1-1)
Emergence of Jack Hughes in his second season making a big difference for Devils, especially without Nico Hischier.
18. Nashville Predators (2-3)
After getting lit up for eight power play goals in two games against Dallas, the Predators have at least one obvious area for improvement.
19. Washington Capitals (3-0-3)
The Capitals are better than this ranking but it reflects the absences of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznestov, Dmitry Orlov, and Ilya Samsonov for Covid-19 protocol violations as well as winger Tom Wilson who is injured.
20. Arizona Coyotes (2-3-1)
It’s not easy when four of the first six games are against Vegas.
21. Buffalo Sabres (2-3-1)
Overall results aren’t quite there yet but some early encouraging signs from the Sabres’ possession numbers (53.8 CF%, 58.8 xGF%).
22. Los Angeles Kings (2-2-2)
Anze Kopitar is carrying a big load for the Kings offensively, producing 10 points in six games.
23. Edmonton Oilers (3-4)
The Oilers have great top-end talent but if this team doesn’t get more than 45.8% of shot attempts, it’s not going to be enough.
24. Columbus Blue Jackets (2-2-2)
Patrik Laine offers a potential game-breaker that the Blue Jackets need and the lineup should get a boost this week with the arrivals of Jack Roslovic and Mikko Koivu.
25. Vancouver Canucks (3-5)
Getting exposed defensively and still waiting on star C Elias Pettersson to get going offensively.
26. San Jose Sharks (3-3)
A .500 team with subpar goaltending? Sounds about right.
27. Anaheim Ducks (2-2-2)
G John Gibson (.938 SV%) is trying to drag these Ducks into being a competitive team.
28. New York Rangers (1-3-1)
Goaltending has been a little suspect and still waiting for Mika Zibanejad and No.1 pick Alexis Lafreniere to get going offensively.
29. Chicago Blackhawks (2-3-1)
A couple of wins against Detroit help to make this record respectable.
30. Ottawa Senators (1-4-1)
A team that didn’t look nearly as good as Vancouver on Monday.
31. Detroit Red Wings (2-4)
While the goaltending may be improved, the Red Wings are still getting caved in (44.7 CF%, 43.2 xGF%).
Monday’s Game
Ottawa 1 Vancouver 7
VAN C Brandon Sutter 3 G
VAN LW Tanner Pearson 1 G, 1 A
VAN C Bo Horvat 2 A
VAN G Thatcher Demko stopped 35 of 36 shots
Vancouver’s line of Bo Horvat, Tanner Pearson, and Nils Hoglander, as well as defensemen Alexander Edler and Nate Schmidt were on the ice for three goals for and none against during 5-on-5 play.
Ottawa LW Tim Stutzle and C Derek Stepan were both on the ice for three goals against. D Mike Reilly was on the ice for four goals against and one goal for.
Tuesday Game Probabilities
DFS Value Plays
MIN C Joel Eriksson Ek $4200 vs. LA
NJ C Jack Hughes $5100 vs. PHI
FLA RW Patric Hornqvist $4000 at CBJ
FLA LW Carter Verhaeghe $3500 at CBJ
LA RW Adrian Kempe $3800 at MIN
NJ D Ty Smith $3700 vs. PHI
COL D Sam Girard $4400 vs. SJ
FLA G Sergei Bobrovsky $7500 at CBJ
LA G Cal Petersen $6900 at MIN