USA TODAY International Edition
Lightning hold on to No. 1, but Blues are gaining
20. Avalanche:
The Lightning have lost two games in a row for the first time this season, but they have not lost the top spot in the USA TODAY NHL Power Rankings.
The Lightning are the NHL’s most dangerous team when you consider all areas, although their hold on the top spot seems less secure than it was two weeks ago.
Here is our ranking (note: records and stats through Monday):
1. Lightning: The Lightning have a premium offense, led by Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, a premium defensive group led by Victor Hedman and an elite goalie in Andrei Vasilevskiy. Bullish on coach Jon Cooper as well.
2. Blues: They’re almost at a dead heat with the Lightning. Even their goal differential is close. The Blues have one more regulation loss. Coach Mike Yeo is pulling the right levers.
3. Knights: With almost 30% of the regular season in the books, isn’t it time to accept that coach Gerard Gallant’s Golden Knights are a quality team? They are 9-1 at home.
4. Predators: With all the moves general manager David Poile has made, the Predators are much stronger offensively than they were when they reached the Stanley Cup Final last season.
5. Blue Jackets: Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has given up two or fewer goals in each of his last eight starts and in 14 of 20 appearances overall.
6. Jets: The Jets’ strength is their offense, but they rank fourth with 371 blocked shots.
7. Devils: Rookies Will Butcher (216—18), Nico Hischier (5-13—18) and Jesper Bratt (7-8—15) hold down three of the top five positions in the team scoring statistics.
8. Islanders: Could the Islanders trade potential free agents John Tavares or Josh Bailey with the team playing this well? Don’t see it happening.
9. Maple Leafs: The Leafs were good, then bad, then sharp and now sloppy. Consistency is always the last piece to the puzzle.
10. Kings: Anze Kopitar remains on an 85-point pace. He has reached 80 points once, and that was in 2009-10.
11. Rangers: With Kevin Shattenkirk sitting at 18 points in 24 games, the Rangers are getting exactly what they needed to get from their primary offseason acquisition.
12. Capitals: The Caps rank 20th in team goals-against average (3.00), and that isn’t what you expect from a Barry Trotz-coached team.
13. Flames: Sean Monahan (6-4—10) and Johnny Gaudreau (3-5—8) have combined for 18 points in their last five games. And we didn’t think anyone could look as dangerous as Stamkos and Kucherov did early in the season.
14. Blackhawks: You are lying if you say you expected that Artem Anisimov would be leading the Blackhawks in goals (11) at this point in the season.
15. Penguins: Big win against Tampa Bay. Sidney Crosby has nine points in his last five games. Signs that the Penguins are finding their game.
16. Sharks: With a 5-2-1 record, the Sharks have been the best road team in the Pacific Division.
17. Wild: Even losing Zach Parise to injury, the Wild are averaging three goals per game, ranking them 13th. The issue has been a 3.04 goals-againstper-game average.
18. Stars: Jason Spezza’s three goals in 23 game ranks among the biggest disappointments at the quarter pole of this NHL season. He’s receiving an average of 13 minutes, 18 seconds of playing time from coach Ken Hitchcock.
19. Canucks: Brock Boeser has 11 goals, tying him with Clayton Keller for the NHL rookie goal-scoring lead.
After finishing as the NHL’s worst team last season, the Avalanche rank seventh in scoring this season (3.27 per game) and 24th in goalsagainst average (3.18). They’ll be without captain Gabriel Landeskog (suspension) for four games.
21. Hurricanes: Defenseman Justin Faulk has scored 15 or more goals in each of the last three seasons and this season has one goal in 22 games.
22. Bruins: No. 1 goalie Tuukka Rask is having a miserable season (3-8-2 with 2.91 goals-against average and .899 save percentage) while backup Anton Khudobin has been sharp (9-7-2, 2.22, .932).
23. Red Wings: With 11 goals, Anthony Mantha has one fewer goal than Auston Matthews, Tyler Seguin and Vladimir Tarasenko and the same number of goals as Patrik Laine, Phil Kessel and Gaudreau.
24. Ducks: With six goals, 13 points and a +7 rating, defenseman Brandon Montour deserves a place on the NHL’s most underrated list.
25. Senators: Since the Senators acquired Matt Duchene, he has one goal in eight games. He’s also -10. They desperately need Duchene to find his way.
26. Oilers: As disastrously as the Oilers have performed, they are six points out of a playoff position.
27. Canadiens: Can a healthy Carey Price be the spark the Canadiens need to turn around their season?
28. Flyers: The Flyers have won once in regulation over the last 10 games, but they have earned seven points.
29. Panthers: The Panthers’ situation would be far worse without goalie Roberto Luongo’s .927 save percentage.
30. Sabres: The Sabres rank last in goals per game (2.29) and 29th in goalsagainst average (3.42). That explains everything.
31. Coyotes: We’ve seen an indication that the Coyotes can be competitive if Antti Raanta can stay healthy. He’s out again.