NHL Power Rankings: Alex Ovechkin’s Capitals climbing thanks to dominant performances early

Washington suddenly looks like a real threat in the East

Oct 30, 2024

12:08 pm ET

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1 min read

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In the early days of the NHL season, there are always surprises, and some are better than others. This year, the Washington Capitals are the team turning heads for all the right reasons.

In the 2023-24 season, the Capitals miraculously squeaked into the playoffs with a minus-37 goal differential. It was befuddling, and all that good fortune came crashing down in the first round of the playoffs, where Washington was swept by the New York Rangers.

It’d be tough to blame someone for assuming the same thing has been going on through the first eight games of this season, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Capitals have been hounding teams at five-on-five, and they’ve earned every bit of their 6-2-0 start.

Dylan Strome, perhaps an underwhelming No. 1 center on paper, has been great. Behind him, Connor McMichael has emerged as a quality second-line option. Alex Ovechkin is back to lighting the lamp, and the team’s defense has taken a step forward. This looks like some tremendous work from bench boss Spencer Carbery in his second year on the job.

With the Capitals now a top-10 team, here are the updated NHL Power Rankings.

All expected goals and goals saved above average data courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.

Biggest Movers

Golden Knights

Devils

Teams

Chg

Rcrd

Jets

Kyle Connor will be on the shortlist to make Team USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off later this season, and his audition is going extremely well so far. Connor is tied for second in the NHL with eight goals in the Jets’ first nine games. Connor has always been a sharpshooter in his career, but he has shot out of the gates at warp speed in 2024-25.

8-1-0

Stars

The Stars are off to a good start, but I do have some questions about their defense so far. After some questionable depth moves in the offseason, Dallas has been bleeding scoring chances to this point, and that is a noticeable change from prior seasons. Peter DeBoer may want to think about shaking up his pairings because Ilya Lyubushkin and Matt Dumba are struggling alongside Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley.

7-2-0

Rangers

For the second straight season, it looks like the Rangers have the luxury of a high-end backup behind Igor Shesterkin in the form of Jonathan Quick. The Kings legend has made two starts for the blueshirts, and his .953 save percentage leads the NHL. Being able to give Shesterkin more rest for what should be a deep postseason run will be key, and Quick allows New York to do that.

6-2-1

Lightning

Anthony Cirelli, known for his ability to center shutdown lines, has been quite the playmaker through Tampa’s first nine games. His nine assists are tied for 12th in the NHL, and he’s on pace to smash his previous career high of 28 helpers. I’m not sure Cirelli can keep this type of production up for a full season, but he’s been a pleasant surprise for the Bolts so far.

6-3-0

Golden Knights

Ivan Barbashev had a relatively disappointing 2023-24 season, especially considering the heights he hit during the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup run in 2023. Now, Barbashev seems determined to right the ship. He already has seven goals and five assists in 10 games, and Vegas owns a five-on-five goal differential of plus-7 with him on the ice.

7-2-1

Wild

Kirill Kaprizov is the most underappreciated star in the NHL, and he’s off to a tremendous start this season. His 18 points are tied for first in the league, and Minnesota has outscored opponents 12-4 with Kaprizov on the ice at five-on-five. This is the type of season Kaprizov needs if the Wild are going to compete with the true Stanley Cup contenders in the West.

6-1-2

Hurricanes

The Hurricanes are riding a four-game winning streak, and Martin Necas has been driving the bus. Necas has three goals and five assists in that span, which means he’s been involved in eight of Carolina’s 15 goals. Necas has always flashed the potential to find another gear, including a 71-point season in 2022-23. Perhaps Necas is finally realizing his ceiling.

6-2-0

Avalanche

Cale Makar is off to a preposterous start in 2024-25. He has three goals and 14 assists in just 10 games, and he’s quarterbacking one of the hottest power plays in the league. Colorado has converted on 36.4% of its man advantage opportunities, and a lot of that success comes from Makar’s ability to put the puck on a string at the point.

5-5-0

Canucks

In the absence of Thatcher Demko, Vancouver’s goaltending was a big question this season. Through his first six starts, Kevin Lankinen has provided an answer. Lankinen has posted 4.06 goals saved above average, and his .920 save percentage is among the best in the league.

4-1-3

Panthers

Aleksander Barkov returned to the Florida lineup on Monday and immediately contributed a goal and an assist. The Panthers did well to stay afloat and then some in Barkov’s absence, and now they’re back at full strength. That’s a testament to the depth of a championship roster.

7-3-1

Capitals

Connor McMichael, a 23-year-old former first-round pick, has given the Capitals better center depth than I expected, at least so far. McMichael is second on the team with eight points, and he’s helping Washington control play at five-on-five. McMichael had a nice season for the Caps last year, but it seems he might’ve leveled up a bit.

6-2-0

Devils

The NHL’s leading goal-scorer is currently none other than Nico Hischier. Don’t get me wrong, Hischier is a fantastic two-way center, but his career high in goals is 31. He’s nearly one-third of the way there with nine goals in 12 games. The Devils already have one of the most impressive forward groups in the league, and now Hischier looks like Jaromir Jagr out there.

6-4-2

Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs are a confusing team these days. Last week, they suffered back-to-back four-goal defeats to the Blues and Blue Jackets. Then they lost a heartbreaker to the Bruins in overtime. So, what did they do against the previously undefeated and first-place Jets? They hung a five-spot on Connor Hellebuyck in a 6-4 win, naturally.

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5-4-1

Hockey Club

My love affair with the Utah Hockey Club has hit the skids in a hurry. The team has now suffered four straight losses, and they haven’t been pretty. On Monday night, Utah coughed up a 4-1 lead against the previously winless Sharks before losing in overtime. To make matters worse for Utah, defenseman Sean Durzi and John Marino are both expected to spend significant time on IR.

4-4-2

Senators

The Ottawa power play has been a real weapon through the first few weeks of the season. The Sens have converted on 42.9% of their opportunities, good for second in the NHL. It’s a good thing the man advantage is clicking because Ottawa’s five-on-five game has left something to be desired, and the team has been hanging its goaltenders out to dry far too often.

5-4-0

Kings

The Kings’ annual search for a goaltending solution continues because the duo of Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich isn’t getting it done, and I doubt it will come playoff time. Those two have combined to allow 2.71 goals above average and neither player has a save percentage above .900. Those numbers could keep Los Angeles out of the playoffs.

5-3-2

Oilers

Zach Hyman has reached a level of cold only seen in Antarctica. After scoring 54-goals last season, Hyman has zero goals in 10 games, but it hasn’t been for a lack of trying. His 28 shots on goal are fourth on the team, and Hyman is third in the NHL with 5.72 expected goals generated. Now that Connor McDavid is dealing with an injury, Hyman will have to break out of this slump soon.

4-5-1

Flames

Thanks to a run of tough opponents, the Flames have come back down to Earth a bit. Calgary has suffered straight regulation losses to the Hurricanes, Jets and Golden Knights while scoring a total of five goals in those games. Are we seeing the real Flames reveal themselves, or can they bounce back soon?

5-3-1

Predators

Steven Stamkos is off to a slow start in his first season with the Preds. He has just one goal in nine games, but there are signs a breakout is coming. Stamkos is a career 16.5% shooter, but he’s found the back of the net just once on 30 shots (3.3%). He also has 4.22 expected goals, a number he normally exceeds due to his elite shot. It may be frustrating for Stamkos, but the chances are there, and the goals will come.

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3-5-1

Kraken

The Kraken have opened things up under new coach Dan Byslma, and Jared McCann is reaping all the benefits. McCann is riding a seven-game point streak, and his 14 points are tied for eighth in the league. Seattle needed an offensive infusion, and while it didn’t get that in the form of a splashy personnel addition, Bylsma has made them more dangerous via his coaching philosophy.

5-4-1

Red Wings

Marco Kasper, the No. 8 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, is getting his first real look at the NHL level. Through five games, Kasper only has one assist, but he’s still getting his feet wet with the Red Wings. Detroit needs another high-end center in its lineup behind Dylan Larkin, and Kasper is an obvious internal candidate after putting up 35 points in his first AHL season last year.

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4-4-1

Bruins

It took nine games, but Brad Marchand finally got his first goal of the season in overtime against the Maple Leafs on Saturday. The Bruins have to hope that sparks him because Marchand has been going through it so far. Not only has Marchand’s production dipped, but his five-on-five expected goals share of 44.0% is a red flag for the 36-year-old winger.

4-5-1

Sabres

I regret to inform the rest of the NHL that the noise they’re hearing might be Tage Thompson’s music. Thompson has started to roll with six goals in his last seven games, and he’s up to seven on the season. Thompson took a step backward in the goal-scoring department last season, but he is currently on a 57-goal pace through 10 games. If he can sniff that number, Buffalo’s postseason drought might actually end.

4-5-1

Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets have been really fun in the first few weeks of the season. I touched on the performance of Kirill Marchenko last week, but Sean Monahan has been excellent, as have Yegor Chinakov and Zach Werenski. Columbus is riding some unsustainable percentages, but if any team deserves some breaks, it’s the Jackets.

4-3-1

Blues

Robert Thomas will miss at least six weeks with a fractured ankle, and the Blues are now bordering on “unwatchable” territory. Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich will do their best to keep this operation together, but it could get ugly without Thomas. Need evidence? Look at last night’s 8-1 beatdown at the hands of the Senators.

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5-5-0

Ducks

Troy Terry is doing an awful lot of heavy lifting for the Ducks. Terry failed to get on the scoresheet in the season-opener, but since then he’s registered a point in every single game. That includes the game-winning goal against the Isles last night. Can someone else (Trevor Zegras, Frank Vatrano) step up and give this man some help?

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4-4-1

Islanders

The Islanders’ offense has been truly abysmal. They’ve already been shut out three times this season, and only one team has fewer than their 22 goals. That team is the Ducks, which just beat the Isles by a score of 3-1 on Tuesday night. I’d say this team has to hold teams under three goals to win, but two of the aforementioned shutouts were 1-0 losses.

3-4-2

Canadiens

Cole Caufield has 31% of the Canadiens’ 29 goals through their first 10 games. That’s both a testament to how great Caufield has been and how anemic Montreal’s offense has been. At least Juraj Slafkovsky returned to the lineup on Tuesday, so that should give the team a boost.

4-5-1

Penguins

At one point, Tristan Jarry looked like goalie of the future for the Penguins. In the summer of 2023, he signed a five-year deal worth $26.8 million. Last week, Jary was sent down to the AHL following a dismal start to the 2024-25 season. Jarry’s future is now very much up in the air, and the Penguins are now 31st in the NHL.

3-7-1

Blackhawks

It’s only been 10 games, and Connor Bedard has already expressed frustration with losing. It’s great to see that Bedard, at the age of 19, wants to set a higher standard for his club. Having said that, he may have to wait until 2025-26 for a shot at kicking the losing habit.

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3-6-1

Flyers

Dating back to the start of the 2022-23 season, the Flyers have a .871 save percentage, and only two teams have been worse in that span. The crease has been a mess in Philly for a while now, and while Aleksei Kolosov is an interesting prospect, he’s probably not the answer in the immediate future.

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3-6-1

Sharks

If you want to find a player who is absolutely juicing his trade value early in the season, look no further than Mikael Granlund. He has 13 points in 11 games, and seven of those have come on the power play. San Jose needs to keep letting Granlund pile up the points because I can promise you some team will overpay for him on the trade market if this continues.

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2-7-2

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