Blackhawks surge to the top of 7-Eleven Power Rankings
Chicago Blackhawks Celebrate
, The Canadian Press
How the mighty have fallen. Already.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lighting fell from co-No. 1 seeds in the 7-Eleven Power Rankings into the double digits in the space of five days: Pittsburgh fell all the way to No. 13 and Tampa Bay to No. 10.
Meanwhile, No. 1 Chicago (up from No. 4 in the preseason rankings), No. 2 Washington and No. 3 Toronto moved to the top of consensus rankings formulated by the TSN Power Ranking panel of Ray Ferraro, Jeff O'Neill, Jamie McLennan, Craig Button and Darren Dreger.
No. 4 Los Angeles and No. 5 St. Louis also made big strides, but the biggest surprise of all in week one was Vegas; the undefeated Golden Knights are the first expansion team since 1967 – fully 50 years ago – to record wins in their first two games.
The Golden Knights’ reward? Rocketing from No. 31 to No. 11 in the 7-Eleven Power Rankings.
The new No. 31 is none other than the Winnipeg Jets after the team allowed 13 goals in consecutive losses to Edmonton and Calgary.
*records entering play October 9th
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2017-18
2-0-0
-
TEAM SV%
.968
-
LAST WEEK
4
After blitzing the defending champions 10-1 thanks to a hat trick from Brandon Saad, the Blackhawks secured their place at the top of the power rankings with a 5-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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2017-18
2-0-0
-
TEAM SV%
.930
-
LAST WEEK
5
Alexander Ovechkin has come out of the gate hot to start the season with seven goals, leading the Capitals to wins over the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens.
-
2017-18
2-0-0
-
TEAM SV%
.903
-
LAST WEEK
10
The Maple Leafs have spread the offence around and there has been a lot to share. Toronto scored seven goals in a win against the Jets, then netted eight in a high-scoring victory over the Rangers.
-
2017-18
2-0-0
-
TEAM SV%
.983
-
LAST WEEK
19
Jonathan Quick earned an opening-night shutout over the Flyers, then Anze Kopitar backed him with two goals in a 4-1 victory over the Sharks to end the week.
-
2017-18
2-0-0
-
TEAM SV%
.918
-
LAST WEEK
20
Alex Pietrangelo got the Blues off to a winning start on the road with a two-goal performance against the Penguins. They carried that momentum home, scoring three early goals to topple the Stars 4-2.
-
2017-18
1-1-0
-
TEAM SV%
.942
-
LAST WEEK
3
Connor McDavid fired home a hat trick as the Oilers opened the season with a victory over the Flames, but they fell to the Canucks 3-2 in their second game.
-
2017-18
1-1-0
-
TEAM SV%
.914
-
LAST WEEK
6
It was worth the wait for the Blue Jackets who opened their season on Friday with a 5-0 victory over the Islanders. They were not as lucky the next night, as the red-hot Blackhawks beat them 5-1.
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2017-18
1-0-1
-
TEAM SV%
.896
-
LAST WEEK
8
Two one-goal games for the Ducks: Corey Perry’s two-goal performance led them to victory over the Coyotes before they fell in overtime to the Flyers.
-
2017-18
2-1-0
-
TEAM SV%
.918
-
LAST WEEK
24
Wayne Simmonds is off to a nice start, with four opening-week goals helping the Flyers earn wins over the Sharks and Ducks.
-
2017-18
1-1-0
-
TEAM SV%
.905
-
LAST WEEK
1
After starting the season as a co-No.1 in these rankings, the Lightning split a home and home with the Panthers, surrendering five goals in the loss.
-
2017-18
2-0-0
-
TEAM SV%
.973
-
LAST WEEK
31
James Neal will be the answer to trivia questions as he scored both the first and second goals in Golden Knights’ history, leading them to a 2-1 victory in their first game. They proved that was no fluke with a 2-1, overtime win over the Coyotes in their second game.
-
2017-18
2-0-0
-
TEAM SV%
.961
-
LAST WEEK
28
Two wins to open the season for the Red Wings. They opened their new barn with a 4-2 victory over the Wild before going on the road and beating the Senators in a shootout.
-
2017-18
1-1-1
-
TEAM SV%
.856
-
LAST WEEK
1
A tough start to the season has the defending champions sliding down the rankings. After falling to the Blues on opening night, they had a nightmare 10-1 loss to the Blackhawks the following night. A 4-0 victory over the Predators got things heading in the right direction to close out the week.
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2017-18
1-0-0
-
TEAM SV%
.897
-
LAST WEEK
17
Jake DeBrusk and Charlie McAvoy both scored their first NHL goals as the Bruins dropped the Predators in their opener.
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2017-18
1-1-0
-
TEAM SV%
.918
-
LAST WEEK
11
After falling to McDavid and the Oilers in the opener, T.J. Brodie scored twice as the Flames earned their first win over the season over the Jets.
-
2017-18
1-0-0
-
TEAM SV%
.852
-
LAST WEEK
16
Jaccob Slavin’s shootout winner grabbed an extra point for the Hurricanes in their only opening week game against the Minnesota Wild.
-
2017-18
1-0-0
-
TEAM SV%
.976
-
LAST WEEK
26
Defenceman Will Butcher made an impression in his NHL debut, tallying three assists as the Devils beat the Avalanche.
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2017-18
1-1-0
-
TEAM SV%
.836
-
LAST WEEK
22
After dropping their opener to the Lightning, the Panthers returned the favour, picking up the back half of a season-opening home and home.
-
2017-18
1-0-0
-
TEAM SV%
.943
-
LAST WEEK
29
Bo Horvat scored twice in the Canucks opener, leading them to a 3-2 victory over the Oilers.
-
2017-18
0-0-2
-
TEAM SV%
.914
-
LAST WEEK
12
Two home shootout losses in the opening week for the Senators as they picked up a point against the Capitals and Red Wings.
-
2017-18
0-1-1
-
TEAM SV%
.890
-
LAST WEEK
13
Two third-period goals sunk the Wild against the Red Wings, while it was a shootout goal that sent them to defeat against the Hurricanes.
-
2017-18
1-2-0
-
TEAM SV%
.881
-
LAST WEEK
18
Rough start to the season for Henrik Lundqvist, losing to Colorado and then being pulled against Toronto. He returned to form with a 2-0 shutout over the Canadiens on Sunday.
-
2017-18
1-2-0
-
TEAM SV%
.892
-
LAST WEEK
14
Two points from three games is not an ideal start for the Canadiens. After opening with a shootout win over the Sabres, the Habs fell to the Capitals and Rangers to close out the week.
-
2017-18
0-2-0
-
TEAM SV%
.882
-
LAST WEEK
9
Tough start for the Stars, losing to the expansion Golden Knights and then the Blues in their opening two contests. Three of their next four are at home to try to get the season on track.
-
2017-18
1-1-0
-
TEAM SV%
.879
-
LAST WEEK
23
After failing to score in their opener against the Blue Jackets, John Tavares and Casey Cizikas both found the net twice as they topped the Sabres 6-3.
-
2017-18
1-1-0
-
TEAM SV%
.923
-
LAST WEEK
30
Matt Duchene is still in Colorado and still contributing, scoring a goal and an assist to lead the Avalanche over the Rangers in their opener.
-
2017-18
0-2-0
-
TEAM SV%
.879
-
LAST WEEK
7
Predators are still looking for their first win of the season as they were bested by the Bruins and then the Penguins in their Stanley Cup Final rematch.
-
2017-18
0-1-1
-
TEAM SV%
.890
-
LAST WEEK
25
Jason Pominville made a successful return to Buffalo with two goals in his first game, but the Sabres opened with two losses, one by shootout.
-
2017-18
0-2-0
-
TEAM SV%
.870
-
LAST WEEK
21
A stumble out of the gate for the Sharks as they were beaten by the Flyers and Kings. Kevin Leblanc has a couple markers for the Sharks to start the season.
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2016-17 RECORD
0-1-1
-
TEAM SV%
.916
-
LAST WEEK
27
The Ducks and Golden Knights both earned one-goal victories over the Coyotes to open the season. The loss to the expansion team was in overtime, earning the Desert Dogs a point.
-
2017-18
0-2-0
-
TEAM SV%
.829
-
LAST WEEK
15
A tough start defensively for the Jets: seven goals surrendered in a loss to the Maple Leafs and then six goals against in a loss to the Calgary Flames.