With most teams entering the 10 game mark of the young season, franchises around the league are beginning to find out where they stand in relation to the rest of the league. Some are surprised with their hot starts (St. Louis), while others are severely disappointed and have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to move up the standings board (Buffalo and New Jersey). For those in Tampa, Los Angeles, or those with Center Ice, Thursday night’s game between Lightning and Kings will be must-see hockey as top teams in power rankings square off.
Here are this week’s rankings entering the month of November.
| Rank | Team | Last Week | Team Notes |
| 1 | TB | 6 | Only loss in last five was against Nashville who was unbeaten at the time. Thursday’s game at Los Angeles should be exciting to watch. |
| 2 | LA | 4 | Posted 3-1 record last week, with three of those games coming on the road. Getting hot on the road is key to moving up standings. |
| 3 | STL | 5 | Only regulation loss this season was against Nashville six games ago. Addition of Jaroslav Halak has worked out very well. |
| 4 | MTL | NR | Had four game win streak ended Saturday against Florida. Any team would take six out of eight points when playing four games in six nights. |
| 5 | CHI | NR | They have played more games than anyone in the league, and 15 points in 13 games looks more inflated than it seems. Needs to improve on 4-4 home record. |
| 6 | WSH | NR | Six goals in a period against anyone in the NHL is pretty impressive. Let’s see that offense at home this week against Toronto and Boston. |
| 7 | DET | 2 | Saturday’s win against Nashville was big confidence booster for Chris Osgood. This week’s northwest Canada road trip will help keep them in tight and competitive division race, where a slump by anyone will put them behind the pack. |
| 8 | PHI | NR | Impressive start to the season, considering they haven’t played division foe New Jersey and won’t play them until Nov. 27 in Newark. Will Michael Leighton have a starting spot when he returns from IR? |
| 9 | NSH | 1 | They got off to a hot start but lost last two games. Schedule doesn’t get easier as they have next four games on the road. |
| 10 | PIT | 3 | Plays three road games in four nights later this week. Strong 4-1-1 road record works in their favor. |
| 11 | COL | NR | John-Michael Liles set an NHL record by defensemen for earning an assist for the ninth game to start a season Tuesday night against Vancouver. |
| 12 | BOS | NR | After Buffalo Wednesday night, Bruins have tough back-to-back games this weekend when they are at Washington Friday night and Saturday home vs St. Louis. |
| 13 | DAL | NR | 2-4 last six games. Those wins were vs. Florida and Buffalo. They need to beat good teams to move up rankings. They can do that this week vs Pittsburgh and Colorado. |
| 14 | CBJ | NR | If season ended today, Central teams would occupy five of top seven playoff positions including Blue Jackets. Has worse goal-differential among teams with 12 or more points. |
| 15 | CGY | NR | Let’s hope that second period against Washington where they allowed six goals is odd and not the norm. |
| 16 | ATL | NR | Earning points in four of last five games is how you are only three points out of division lead instead of larger deficit. Thursday’s home game vs Columbus should be good as both teams are close in power rankings. |
| 17 | SJ | NR | Has 3-1 record on the road this season. Two road games at Minnesota and St. Louis will work in their favor. |
| 18 | NYR | NR | Schedule works in their favor for them to make move in standings. six of next 9 are at home and furthest road game is in Pittsburgh in two weeks. |
| 19 | VAN | NR | Only three points behind Colorado, they will sink or swim with six games in four nights this week with game in Denver between the off days. |
| 20 | TOR | NR | After starting season with four straight wins, they have gone 1-4-1 since. Could bounce back this week if they beat Ottawa and Buffalo at home. |
| 21 | MIN | NR | Beating Washington and earning point against Chicago could be the jolt this team needs to get on a roll. |
| 22 | CAR | NR | Has a better road record than home. Got shutout in last two home games, but can rebound with home game vs. Islanders Wednesday night. |
| 23 | NYI | NR | Lost last four consecutive games. Three were on road including 6-1 defeat against Philadelphia. |
| 24 | PHX | 26 | They wish they can play every game on Thursday nights. 2-0 on Thursday games, 1-4-3 in the rest of their games with only non-Thursday win coming in first game of season. |
| 25 | FLA | 25 | Only team with 10 worse records with more goals scored than allowed. What gives? |
| 26 | OTT | 29 | Over last two weeks, when they score they win. When they don’t score they lose. Easier said than done right? |
| 27 | ANA | 27 | Losing at home to New Jersey was pretty rough. Can redeem themselves with home games against Pittsburgh and Tampa this week. |
| 28 | EDM | 30 | Went 1-0-2 in road trip and earned four points in three games last week. Most impressive was scoring seven goals at Chicago. |
| 29 | BUF | NR | Only win in last five games was against New Jersey. Schedule doesn’t get easier with Boston, Toronto and Montreal on tap this week. |
| 30 | NJ | 28 | Devils are quickly losing around on the rest of the division and conference. To make matters worse Zach Parise was sent home from west coast with injury over weekend. |
