NHL Power Rankings: Metropolitan Division Teams Dominate Top 10

As early-season powerhouses go, there's no better NHL division than the Metropolitan.

No fewer than four of the group's eight teams found their way to the top 10 this week in B/R's Power Rankings, and three of them—Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers—earned perches in the top five.

Both the Capitals and Hurricanes remained comfortably in the elite quintet from last week, while the Rangers arrived at No. 5 after spiking two spots from seventh and supplanting the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

Elsewhere in the league, the streaking Anaheim Ducks are the week's biggest risers with a seven-spot jump from 26th to 19th, while the injury-riddled Vancouver Canucks experienced the biggest drop, plummeting eight spots from sixth to 14th.

Votes were cast that awarded 32 points for first place all the way down to a single point for No. 32. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.

*Votes were tallied after games played on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

Previous Ranking: 27

Overall Record: 6-12-1

If the Blackhawks go as Connor Bedard goes, it can't be a surprise that the team has collapsed to the league's cellar given the second-year phenom's struggle to produce. He had 22 goals as a rookie but just three this season, which is on pace for just 13 in 82 games.

Previous Ranking: 31

Overall Record: 6-10-3

It's been hard to find positives during a dreadful start for the Predators, but another power-play goal by Steven Stamkos yielded a win at Vancouver on Sunday. He had five power-play goals through Tuesday, and the team's efficiency rating (23.3) had climbed to 10th in the NHL.

Previous Ranking: 30

Overall Record: 6-10-4

Top overall pick Macklin Celebrini seems to be settling in after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury. He scored in the Sharks' opener and didn't play again until November 5, but he has three goals since returning and the team is 6-3-2 in 11 games after an 0-7-2 start.

Previous Ranking: 32

Overall Record: 7-10-2

A sink to the rankings basement seemed to jolt the Canadiens, who have won three of four including a 30-save shutout for Sam Montembeault against Edmonton on Monday. It was the 28-year-old's second shutout in 14 starts this season and third of his career.

Previous Ranking: 28

Overall Record: 7-10-4

It's already bad and kept getting worse for the Penguins, who blew a two-goal, third-period lead against Tampa Bay on Tuesday to lose their fourth of five and sixth of eight. Sidney Crosby remains a goal away from becoming the 21st NHL player to reach 600.

Previous Ranking: 23

Overall Record: 7-9-2

A trip west was no picnic for the Red Wings, who dropped games at Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose while allowing 15 goals. Detroit is 1-4-1 in its last six games, and its 4.00 goals-against average in that stretch is tied for 28th in the league.

Previous Ranking: 24

Overall Record: 8-11-1

The long, slow decline has begun in St. Louis, where the Blues started 7-6-0 but have just one regulation win and three points in their last seven games (1-5-1). "That's just the way it's kind of going right now," winger Jake Neighbours said. "We just can't seem to finish."

Previous Ranking: 29

Overall Record: 7-9-2

It may have happened anyway, but it was the Blue Jackets' 5-1 win at Boston on Monday that hastened the firing of Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery. Columbus scored two short-handed goals in a game for the first time since 2022 and sixth time in franchise history.

Previous Ranking: 18

Overall Record: 8-9-3

Coach Jim Montogomery had a 120-41-23 record and a .715 points percentage in parts of three seasons, but it wasn't enough to save his job after a 5-1 home loss to Columbus dropped the Bruins to 8-9-3 this season. He has been replaced by Joe Sacco on an interim basis.

Previous Ranking: 19

Overall Record: 7-8-3

Utah's early-season struggles didn't get any easier in a 6-2 home loss to Washington on Monday, which dropped the team to 2-4-1 in its last seven games. "Right now, we're not getting enough from anybody," head coach Andre Tourigny said.

Previous Ranking: 21

Overall Record: 8-9-1

High-scoring center Tage Thompson missed Wednesday's game at Los Angeles but has returned to practice with the team and could be available later on the road trip in Anaheim or San Jose. He leads the team in both goals (11) and points (18) in 16 games.

Previous Ranking: 14

Overall Record: 8-9-1

A 5-2 loss to Edmonton on Tuesday was a subpar way to kick off four straight games at home for a Senators team that has lost three straight and scored just six goals in doing so. "We were flat," coach Travis Green said. "It is frustrating, for sure."

Previous Ranking: 25

Overall Record: 8-9-2

Veteran defenseman Travis Sanheim has taken a giant step forward in his eighth NHL season. The 28-year-old is third on the Flyers in points (12) and third in the league in ice time (25:35). "He's just been so impressive," coach John Tortorella said. "He's taken off."

Previous Ranking: 26

Overall Record: 8-8-2

There's no team hotter these days than the Ducks, who rallied in the third period to defeat Chicago on Tuesday for their third straight win. Anaheim won at Dallas the night before and is 4-3-2 through its first nine road games after winning 15 of 41 away from home in 2023-24.

Previous Ranking: 20

Overall Record: 7-7-5

The Islanders are a prime example of a middle-of-the-pack team and find themselves tied for 17th in a 32-team league after getting points (3-1-3) in six of their last seven games. New York is 13th overall in goals-against average (2.95) but is 27th in scoring (2.53 goals per game).

Previous Ranking: 22

Overall Record: 9-9-1

The Kraken will head down the Pacific coast to visit Los Angeles and Anaheim after wrapping up a six-game homestand on Wednesday against Nashville. Seattle won the first four games at Climate Pledge Arena before dropping a 2-0 decision to the Rangers on Sunday.

Previous Ranking: 17

Overall Record: 10-9-0

The Avalanche opened a four-game eastern trip with a 3-2 win at Philadelphia and will continue at Washington, Florida and Tampa Bay before returning home on November 27. Colorado has won five of its last seven and is 10-5-0 since an 0-4-0 start.

Previous Ranking: 16

Overall Record: 10-8-2

Connor McDavid has recorded at least a point in 12 games this season and multiple points in eight of those 12, including a league-high 14 points (six goals, eight assists) since November 9. The Oilers are 4-1-1 in that stretch, tops in the Western Conference.

Previous Ranking: 6

Overall Record: 9-6-3

Everything that can go wrong is going wrong these days for the Canucks, who'll be without J.T. Miller indefinitely for personal reasons. They've missed Brock Boeser for five games and Thatcher Demko all season with injuries. Vancouver was 2-4-0 in a six-game homestand.

Previous Ranking: 15

Overall Record: 10-6-3

The Flames seemed to be plummeting a week ago, but they successfully reversed course with three wins in four games, and goalie Dustin Wolf stayed hot at home. The seventh-round pick from 2019 is 6-1 with a .944 save percentage and 1.83 goals-against average in Calgary.

Previous Ranking: 11

Overall Record: 10-6-3

A Wednesday night visit from Buffalo was the second of what will be nine straight games in California for the Kings, who will mix trips to San Jose and Anaheim amid five more home games before a trip to New York to face the Islanders on December 10.

Previous Ranking: 13

Overall Record: 10-6-1

Andrei Vasilevskiy has accolades aplenty, but he added another milestone when a 4-1 defeat of front-running Winnipeg made him the fastest goalie in league history to get to 300 wins. He's won three straight starts while allowing three goals on 72 shots (.958 save percentage).

Previous Ranking: 10

Overall Record: 12-7-2

It seems the only way to beat the Devils these days is to keep them off the scoreboard. New Jersey has won seven of its last 10 games, with all three losses coming by shutouts. The team is eighth in the league with 3.43 goals per game and seventh in goals against (2.67).

Previous Ranking: 12

Overall Record: 11-6-2

The Auston Matthews watch continues in Toronto, where the superstar sniper has missed seven games with an upper-body injury. He's been declared "maybe, maybe not" by general manager Brad Treliving for Sunday's game with Utah, which precedes a trip to Florida.

Previous Ranking: 9

Overall Record: 11-6-0

A three-game win streak in which the Stars scored 16 goals came to an end on Monday when they were held to just two on 36 shots. A Wednesday visit from San Jose preceded a three-game trip to Tampa Bay, Carolina and Chicago before Dallas returns home on Black Friday.

Previous Ranking: 4

Overall Record: 12-6-1

It's an uncharacteristically rough patch for the defending champs, who had gotten off to an 11-3-1 start before a skid that stretched to 1-3-0 with a 6-3 loss at Winnipeg on Tuesday. Sergei Bobrovsky has lost two of his last three starts while posting an .888 save percentage.

Previous Ranking: 8

Overall Record: 11-5-2

It's a stretch of five straight road games and seven out of eight for the Golden Knights, who were in Toronto on Wednesday and will visit Ottawa, Montreal, Philadelphia and Colorado before finishing the month with back-to-back home games against Winnipeg and Utah.

Previous Ranking: 7

Overall Record: 12-4-1

The victories are coming in all forms these days for the Rangers, who got a third-period goal from Chris Kreider at Vancouver to win their third straight and fourth in five games. New York has win streaks of three and four games and hasn't lost consecutive matches this season.

Previous Ranking: 3

Overall Record: 12-3-3

The front-running beat goes on in Minnesota, where the Wild have gone 5-1-1 in their last seven thanks in no small way to a red-hot Kirill Kaprizov. The 27-year-old winger has 12 points in his last six games and has produced at least one point in 10 straight road games.

Previous Ranking: 5

Overall Record: 13-4-1

The chase for history is on a week-to-week hold now that Alex Ovechkin is sidelined after injuring his lower left leg against Utah on Monday. The 39-year-old scored 15 goals in his first 18 games and is just 27 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time record of 894.

Previous Ranking: 2

Overall Record: 13-4-1

To say 25-year-old Martin Necas has found another level this season would be an understatement. The Czech center had a career-high 28 goals in 2022-23 but is on an early pace (through Tuesday) to reach 50 goals and 137 points.

Previous Ranking: 1

Overall Record: 16-3-0

The Jets encountered their first adversity of the season with consecutive losses at Tampa Bay and Florida to complete a three-game road trip, but they bounced back to defeat the Panthers, 6-3, in a return home on Tuesday. It was their 12th game with four goals or more.