1
Avalanche
There hasn’t been a back-to-back Norris Trophy winner since Nicklas Lidstrom’s three-peat from 2006-08. That drought may end this season with Cale Makar totaling 23 points in 17 games and posting some strong underlying numbers.
—
11-1-5
2
Hurricanes
The Canes have played well thus far, and that success has come in spite of pedestrian goaltending. In his return from injury — and season debut — Pyotr Kochetkov posted a shutout. Can he take Carolina to the next level in the crease?
3
11-5-0
3
Devils
New Jersey occupies first place in the Metro Division, and it’s managed to do that even without Nico Hischier scoring at anywhere near a 30-goal pace. With Jack Hughes at full health, Hischier doesn’t need to score at that level, but could you imagine if he did?
—
11-4-1
4
Ducks
Cutter Gauthier had an encouraging rookie season in Anaheim last year, and he’s now a critical part of the team’s youthful resurgence in 2025-26. Not only is he up to 11 goals and 20 points, but Gauthier also boasts a plus-11 goal differential at five-on-five.
5
11-4-1
5
Canadiens
Team USA will have some tough calls to make for the 2026 Olympic team, and Cole Caufield is playing himself off that bubble. As Caufield continues to assert himself as one of the best young scorers in the NHL (12 goals in 16 games), it will be nearly impossible to deny him a roster spot.
3
10-4-2
6
Stars
As a proud member of the Thomas Harley fan club, I’m befuddled by his lackluster start to the 2025-26 season. Harley has a 44.0% expected goals share and a minus-7 goal differential at five-on-five. Those are staggering numbers, but some of that might be due to riding shotgun with Ilya Lyubushkin.
2
10-4-3
7
Lightning
The Lightning are a very good team, but they seem to lack one final piece. Their top five forwards (Kucherov, Guentzel, Hagel, Point and Cirelli) are as good as advertised. However, it’s tough to find reliable production outside of that quintet. Tampa needs one more legit top-six option to fill out its lineup.
6
8-5-2
8
Golden Knights
Is Ivan Barbashev one of the more underrated players in the NHL? It sure seems that way. He has 55 goals and 128 points in 190 games with Vegas, and he helps the team dominate play on a nightly basis.
2
7-4-4
9
Jets
The Jonathan Toews experiment may not be working out in Winnipeg. The Jets are relying on Toews to be a top-six forward, but the results just aren’t there. He has three goals and five assists while posting a 35.5% expected goals share and a minus-5 goal differential at five-on-five.
5
10-6-0
10
Mammoth
Utah is backsliding a bit, and you need to look no further than the crease for the biggest reason why. Karel Vejmelka has really struggled of late, allowing three or more goals in six of his last eight starts. Unfortunately for the Mammoth, backup Vitek Vanecek isn’t a good option until Vejmelka gets going again.
3
9-7-0
11
Bruins
The Bruins have now won seven in a row, and they are averaging 3.39 points per game (sixth in the NHL). I think I speak for hockey pundits everywhere when I say that we all definitely saw Boston being an offensive juggernaut this season.
10
11-7-0
12
Penguins
I’m not sure how many people expected the No. 11 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to make an immediate impact in the NHL, but Ben Kindel has done just that. He’s up to five goals and two assists in 15 games, and the 18-year-old has more than held his own against grown men.
1
9-5-3
13
Red Wings
Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are both critical to the long-term success of the Red Wings, and that has been a scary proposition at times over the last couple years. However, both are operating at a high level right now. They both have strong five-on-five impacts, and Raymond is third on the team with 13 points.
3
9-7-0
14
Senators
The good news? Ottawa has gotten at least one point in its last six games. The bad news? The Senators have gone 3-3 straight up in those contests. At least they’re keeping pace with a highly competitive Eastern Conference.
4
8-5-4
15
Panthers
If Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart aren’t scoring goals for the Panthers, you’re going to have a hard time finding someone who is. Those two have combined to score 45.2% of Florida’s goals, and no other player has more than four.
1
8-7-1
16
Flyers
Tyson Foerster is evolving into a defensive monster at the forward position. With him on the ice at five-on-five, the Flyers are surrendering just 1.93 expected goals per 60 minutes. That is a lockdown rate, and that makes Foerster an intriguing weapon for Rick Tocchet.
8
8-5-2
17
Capitals
The Capitals need some help at center behind Dylan Strome. Pierre-Luc Dubois is out for an extended period, and he hadn’t registered a point in six games prior to the injury. Connor McMichael has one goal in 16 games, struggling to replicate the magic he had last season.
5
8-7-1
18
Kings
Los Angeles has been stuck in neutral for much of the season until now, but can back-to-back wins over the Penguins and Canadiens provide a spark? As is usually the case, the Kings still need to find consistent offense in order to really roll.
2
8-5-4
19
Islanders
Bo Horvat has very quietly been one of the NHL’s hottest players to start the season, and he has helped the Islanders come firing out of the gates with 12 goals in 16 games. Horvat’s 21.8% shooting percentage does seem unsustainable, although he pulled it off for 49 games in 2022-23.
3
8-6-2
20
Kraken
The Kraken were probably hoping Chandler Stephenson would get a bump in his second season with the team, but that just hasn’t happened. His 33.6% expected goals share is the worst number on the team among full-time players. That won’t get it done for $6.25 million per year.
5
7-4-5
21
Oilers
Connor McDavid can spackle over a lot of holes and cure a great many ailments. He proved that with a couple of showstopping goals in a desperately needed third-period comeback against the Blue Jackets on Monday.
4
7-6-4
22
Blackhawks
It’s impossible to be hotter than Connor Bedard is these days. He’s riding an eight-game point streak, and he’s got seven goals and 11 points in that stretch. Bedard is now tied for third in the NHL with 25 points. That third-year leap is devastating for the rest of the league.
5
8-5-3
23
Maple Leafs
William Nylander’s point streak has reached 11 games, and he’s about the only thing working in Toronto these days. The Maple Leafs have dropped three straight, and they’re back to .500. Craig Berube will start feeling the heat soon — if he isn’t already.
9
8-8-1
24
Sharks
Macklin Celebrini is now tied for the second-most points in the NHL behind only Nathan MacKinnon. The expectations for Celebrini’s sophomore season were high, but he has shattered them to this point.
4
8-6-3
25
Blue Jackets
Coming off a miserable 2024-25 campaign, Elvis Merzlikins is off to a legitimately encouraging start this year. In seven appearances, Merzlikins has saved 2.82 goals above average, and he’s given Columbus a chance to win in most outings.
6
8-7-1
26
Rangers
Congratulations to the Rangers on their first home win of the season. Did it come against the listless Predators? Yes it did, but New York is in no position to get picky about wins at Madison Square Garden.
3
8-7-2
27
Wild
Things are not going well for Minnesota’s trio of talented young defensemen (Brock Faber, Zeev Buium and David Jiricek). None of them have better than a 46.6% expected goals share or minus-2 goal differential at five-on-five.
2
7-7-4
28
Canucks
Vancouver cannot get any kind of momentum, and an upcoming road trip that features games against the Hurricanes, Lightning and Panthers probably won’t help matters. That they play those three games in four days only adds to an already tall task.
2
8-9-1
29
Sabres
Josh Doan flew under the radar in the trade that sent JJ Peterka to Utah, but he hasn’t been under the radar in Buffalo this season. Doan looks like an impact player for a long time to come with nine points and an eye-popping 60.9% expected goals share at five-on-five
4
5-6-4
30
Blues
There are trade rumblings around Jordan Kyrou, but I think that would be a mistake for the Blues to do that now. Kyrou has just one goal in his last six games, but the underlying numbers are actually pretty strong. I expect Kyrou to break through in the near future.
1
6-8-3
31
Predators
Nashville has won one of its last nine games, and the vibes haven’t been this low since the early expansion years. The Preds are off to Sweden for a couple Global Series games now, but you have to think Andrew Brunette might get a pink slip when arrives back on U.S. soil.
1
5-9-4
32
Flames
Something positive for Calgary: Nazem Kadri played in his 1,000th game recently, and he has actually given Flames fans something to cheer about from to time to time. (Now how much longer until he gets traded?)
—
4-12-2