The 7-Eleven Power Rankings - Kings of the hill

The Kings finally lost their first game of the season, but went right back to their winning ways with three in a row, thanks in part to Quick’s heroics in net and Anze Kopitar's play (13 points). 

The state of Florida is all that stands between the red-hot Blues and no regulation losses this season. They lost to both the Panthers and the Lightning in the Sunshine state, and that’s it. 

A 4-1 loss to Anaheim ended their NHL-best six-game home winning streak and 11-game point streaks by Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. Rookie Mikhail Sergachev (10 points) has played well.

Vegas has equalled the number of victories the Washington Capitals had in their expansion season in 1974-75 when they were 8-67-5. Oscar Dansk earned his first NHL shutout in his third game.

In a season of surprises for the Devils, add Brian Gibbons to the list. He didn’t have a goal since the 2013-14 season, but now has five, equaling his career total in 66 games prior to this year.

Five of six losses for the Senators have still earned the Senators a point. That includes four shootout losses. Ottawa were participants in five of the NHL’s first 11 shootouts this season.

The Canucks are on a four-game winning streak, outscoring opponents 15-5. Anders Nilsson is 3-1 with a .943 save percentage (1.89 GAA) – second-best in the league behind Jonathan Quick.

It’s not just losing, but losing ugly that's been the problem. They’ve lost three of their last four, and allowed 16 goals - giving up 40 in 11 games - in those three losses. Now on the road for four straight.

A 2-1 overtime win over Winnipeg this week gave Columbus 14 points after 10 games, the most they’ve had in franchise history at that mark. 

An ugly 8-3 loss this week at Florida was sandwiched between four wins. One of those wins included Ryan Miller’s season debut, after a wrist injury had kept him out, in a shootout victory at Carolina. 

John Tavares has been on a rampage the last four games. The Islanders won three of them and scored 20 goals. Tavares’s contribution - two hat tricks. Jordan Eberle scored his first two goals of the year.

The Pens have scored just one regulation goal in five straight games and lost two straight. The good: two 2-1 OT wins. The bad: two losses by a 7-1 score. And don't forget that Oct. 5 10-1 pounding.

The Jets exploded for a 7-1 win over Pittsburgh. Blake Wheeler had a hat trick after scoring once in his first nine. Connor Hellebuyck is 5-0 with a .937 save percentage.

A major area of improvement for the Stars is their PK. Last year, dead last at 73.9 per cent. This year, second at 92.1 per cent and haven’t allowed a power play goal in seven straight. 

The only win the Blackhawks have in their past six was over winless Arizona. The power play is also struggling, with just one goal in 21 chances in their last five games.

Goal scoring has been a recent problem for the Predators. They’ve gone five straight games (2-2-1) during which time they have failed to score more than two goals.

Sean Couturier's career-high in points is 39. But a spot on the top line has changed everything. This year he has 13 points in 11 games and is currently on pace for 97.

It’s difficult for the Wild to get in a rhythm with so many key injuries . Zach Parise, Mikael Granlund, Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle have all missed more than half of Minnesota’s games. 

A losing record is obviously not the start the reigning Presidents’ Trophy team was expecting. After their first 12 last year they were 8-3-1. Ovechkin had three assists in Saturday’s 5-2 win over the Oilers.

While they won two of their last five games, the Flames failed to score more than two goals in any of them. Mike Smith (.930 save percentage) has done his job, but the offence has not.

The Hurricanes have just one win to show for five home games, though they earned a point in two others. Off-season acquisition Scott Darling is just 3-3-0-2 with a .897 save percentage and 2.70 GAA.

Anton Khudobin has proven to be a reliable backup with a 3-0-1 record. But not much has gone right for Tuukka Rask (1-3, .894 SV%), who lost with one second remaining in OT Saturday. 

No problems scoring at home for the Avalanche, where they are tied for the league lead at 4.60 per game. The road is a different story where they average 1.83 per game, 28th in the league.

Two good things about their 3-2 shootout win over Florida - It ended a six-game winless streak and they established an all-time league record with their 12th-straight shootout win. 

The Sharks completed a five-game eastern trip with a decent 3-2 record, highlighted by five goals in five games from Logan Couture and a .968 save percentage by Martin Jones in three starts. 

The good news is that the Panthers are averaging 35.8 shots per game, fourth-best in the league. The bad news is that they’re allowing 36.4, worst in the league. 

What do the Canadiens and the Titanic have in common? They’re both at the bottom of the Atlantic. But Montreal is showing signs of life with two wins in their last three games. 

The Oilers are second in the league at 37.3 shots per game and second worst in goals per game at 2.20. Hockey analytics wisdom suggests more goals are going to come.

The Rangers got a treat just before Halloween when they called up Boo Nieves and he had three assists in a 5-2 win. They quickly reverted to their scary ways in a 5-4 loss to Montreal. 

Goal scoring remains a problem, especially at home where the Sabres (losers of two straight) have failed to score more than two goals in any game and have just one win (1-3-1) in five starts. 

How bad is it? The Coyotes have tied the record with three other teams for the second-longest winless streak to start the season. The all-time record is 15, set by the Rangers in 1943-44.