Week 4 NHL Power Rankings

We’re at the end of October, and the NHL has had no short of surprises in the first month. The Winnipeg Jets continue their early season tear – starting 8-0 on the year – while the New York Rangers look like the most complete team in hockey most nights.

Other teams like the Buffalo Sabres started slow, but have turned around to string wins together and take advantage of the teams playing poorly around them. There’s still six months left in the season, but we’re starting to get an idea of how things are shaping up this year.

Without any more delay, here are the week 4 power rankings for the 2024 NHL season.

RANKINGS NOTE: These rankings come from the average of the individual rankings by everyone on the TWSN hockey staff. They are based on a mix of week-to-week and season-long play. The prior week’s ranking is in parenthesis.

32. San Jose Sharks  (32) – I thought the Sharks would be more competitive, but they just look lost. Winless through nine games, and a league-worst -21 goal differential.

31. Philadelphia Flyers (28)  – I said it last week, and I’ll say it again: the game has passed John Tortorella by, and they will continue to struggle until a coaching change is made.

30. Chicago Blackhawks (24) – The lack of success couldn’t happen to a more deserving franchise.

29. Pittsburgh Penguins (22) – Second-worst in goal differential with goaltending that couldn’t stop a beachball. Kyle Dubas needs to get Pittsburgh a goaltender.

28. Montreal Canadiens (23) – The Canadiens are 31st in shots per game, and it’s showing with their lack of overall scoring.

27. Edmonton Oilers (27) – Edmonton looks ready to break out of its early season slump, but we’ll see if goaltending and defense is up for the task.

26. Columbus Blue Jackets (25) – It’s hard to get an idea on what this Blue Jackets team can be. They just seem to be going through the motions right now.

25. Anaheim Ducks (21) – They have the goaltending, but Anaheim just can’t put the puck in the net. The only team worse right now are the Sharks.

24. Detroit Red Wings (26) – Detroit, to me, has been one of the more disappointing teams so far. At least they won a game with just 11 shots on goal, though.

23. New York Islanders (19) – Something isn’t right on the island. It feels like a powder keg ready to explode with Patrick Roy and crew.

22. Nashville Predators (31) – The new faces are starting to gel, and the Predators are finally finding their way. There are still concerns with the offense, but it’s getting better.

21. Boston Bruins (15) – Jeremy Swaymen looks fine, but not like a goaltender who felt he should’ve been a top-paid goalie.

20. Buffalo Sabres (29) – Ooh, aah, Sabres on a warpath. Don’t look now, but Buffalo has won three straight and is finally putting full games together.

19. Utah Hockey Club (6) – You can take the team out of Arizona, but you can’t take Arizona out of the team. We’ve seen these falls after hot early-season starts so many times with this group that it just feels expected at this point.

18. Toronto Maple Leafs (11) – It went from looking like the Maple Leafs could finally play defense to them looking like they can’t do anything right. This time, however, even the explosive offense of the past looks non-existent.

17. Seattle Kraken (12) – It was only a matter of time before the Kraken came falling back to earth. They’ve lost three straight and haven’t looked good in any of them.

16. Ottawa Senators (17) – They withstood the Linus Ullmark injury, now it’s time to see if Ullmark can get into a rhythm with his new team.

15. Colorado Avalanche (30) – Colorado looks like a completely new team after winning four straight. We knew it was only a matter of time before they started dominating opponents, and it’s coming.

14. St. Louis Blues (13) – The “Craig Berube Revenge Game” against Toronto was a blowout in favor of the Blues who continue to play better than expected to start the year.

13. Tampa Bay Lightning (8) – Nikita Kucherov is still incredible to watch, and Anthony Cirelli has had a nice start in a season where Tampa is looking for someone to step up on offense.

12. Washington Capitals (10) – It’s only been seven games, but Pierre-Luc Dubois looks more comfortable with Washington than at any point with Los Angeles.

11. Vancouver Canucks (16) – If people were worried about Vancouver taking a step back this week, don’t be. The Canucks have won four straight, and have been pretty impressive in most of them.

10. Calgary Flames (7) – Calgary stumbled a bit last week, but the goaltending looks like it could carry the Flames to a surprise season.

9. New Jersey Devils (4) – The Devils needed to figure out their goaltending this year, but it’s been just about the same as what they had last year. That’s not getting New Jersey to the playoffs.

8. Los Angeles Kings (18) – The Kings survived the season-opening seven-game road trip, came home, and kept winning. They have the fourth-ranked penalty kill, and it’s a big reason for their strong start.

7. Carolina Hurricanes (20) – Carolina has the best special teams unit in the NHL, and that will help them keep pace with the Rangers as the season progresses.

6. Vegas Golden Knights (14) – What a turn around for Vegas after a slump last week. They lead the NHL in goals per game, and have the two highest-scoring players in the league in Mark Stone and Jack Eichel.

5. Minnesota Wild (9) – They just lost their first game in regulation on Saturday, but the Wild look for real early on.

4. Florida Panthers (5) – The Panthers coasted and still won without Sasha Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk. Now Barkov is set to return, and the Panthers will get even better.

3. Dallas Stars (2) – It’s amazing how a 7-2 start to the season isn’t enough to be in first place early on this year. The Central is the group of death in the NHL this year.

2. New York Rangers (3) – The Rangers look like the most complete team in the NHL

1. Winnipeg Jets (1) – Until the Jets lose, they deserve to remain at number one. Whether its leading the whole way or pulling off a comeback, Winnipeg keeps finding ways to win.