NHL Betting Power Rankings – Oct 14th

After the first week of NHL betting action, things are already sorting themselves out a bit. Some teams are living up to their promise, while some are still sputtering along. Let’s take a look at some early rankings.

#30 New Jersey Devils

The Devils did start with a rough patch, facing Washington and Winnipeg, which have high-powered offenses. However, this serves as a good test to show them how far they have to improve.  

#29 Carolina Hurricanes

Rookie Noah Hanifin is going to be spectacular, but this will be a growth year for sure.

#28 Toronto Maple Leafs

The Leafs have started the Babcock era with three losses in a row. Their play has been OK so far, but there is definite room for improvement.  

#27 Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers open with a stretch of eight games out of 10 against playoff qualifiers from last year, and their scoring has suffered as a result.  

#26 Buffalo Sabres

The good news: Jack Eichel is terrific. The bad news: Robin Lehner, the starting goalie, is already on the shelf with an injury.

#25 Columbus Blue Jackets

An 0-3-0 start is not promising. However, they still should turn out better than last season.  

#24 Boston Bruins

The porous defense lacks skill and depth. Goalie Tuukka Rask hasn’t been playing well either.

#23 Philadelphia Flyers

The Panthers destroyed the Flyers by a 7-1 margin. Hopefully, Philly will shore up their defense a bit.  

#22 Los Angeles Kings

The Kings are off to an 0-2-0 start, giving up nine goals combined.  

#21 Colorado Avalanche

Two games, two wildly different results. Will this be another tumultuous season for the Avs?  

#20 Florida Panthers

The aging Jaromir Jagr still looks sharp, leading this young, hungry team to big things early.  

#19 Dallas Stars

The Stars opened by shutting out Pittsburgh and then answered that by going into the third period up 3-1 over Colorado…only to fall 6-3. This schizophrenic start mirrors what happened last year.

#18 Calgary Flames

Opening night was a disastrous loss to Vancouver, but then they finished the home-and-home with an overtime win over those same Canucks.  

#17 Arizona Coyotes

They have started 2-0-0, smacking the Kings and holding on against Pittsburgh. Can the rookies keep playing this sharp?  

#16 Pittsburgh Penguins

This is a high ranking to give to an 0-2-0 team, but they will not keep scuffing on offense like this.  

#15 Vancouver Canucks

The 2-0-1 start here has been impressive, but the star has been Ryan Miller, who has 92 saves on 97 shots.  

#14 St. Louis Blues

They should be 2-0, but they forgot how to play hockey for 21 seconds against Minnesota.  

#13 Ottawa Senators

The 2-1-0 start is a nice opening. The lack of defensive depth will start to wear on Senators fans, though.  

#12 Winnipeg Jets

The top six for the Jets are salty to watch, as they showed in blowing out Boston on opening night.  

#11 New York Islanders

The Isles had to play the Blackhawks with a backup goalie. However, beating the Jets showed that the Islanders will be tough this year.  

#10 San Jose Sharks

These Sharks look relaxed despite an awful finish to last season. Martin Jones looks like a terrific goalie.  

#9 Minnesota Wild

Zach Parise? Four goals in two games. However, Devan Dubnyk could be a bit shaky.  

#8 Detroit Red Wings

Teemu Pulkkinen and Dylan Larkin have been pleasant, young surprises for the Wings’ offense so far.

#7 Nashville Predators

The defense is off to a great start, as is goalie Pekka Rinne.  

#6 Anaheim Ducks

Yes, they started 0-1-1, but this is a team that will contend at the end.  

#5 Montreal Canadiens

The Habs are scoring in bunches, thanks to the play of Alex Galchenyuk. Carey Price is still a stone wall in goal.  

#4 Washington Capitals

Alex Ovechkin has already added a highlight goal to his lengthy reel.  

#3 Chicago Blackhawks

The Hawks lost a ton of players in the offseason to get under the salary cap, but their offense is still dangerous.  

#2 New York Rangers

The Rangers have 12 goals in three games, led by rookie Oscar Lindberg, who has four tallies of his own.  

#1 Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning have outscored their foes 13-6 in a 3-0-0 start and look ready to lead the league in goals once again.