The Tampa Bay Lightning start the season on top of the TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and defending-champion Chicago Blackhawks.
While the Lightning didn't make many changes in the offseason, they bring back a team that took the Blackhawks to Game Six of the Stanley Cup Final. Improvement from second-year winger Jonathan Drouin might be all the Lightning need to get over the hump.
The Montreal Canadiens, at 12, are the top-ranked Canadian team, followed by the Winnipeg Jets (15) and Ottawa Senators (18). A couple of Canadian playoff teams from last season start lower in the rankings: the Calgary Flames, at 19, and Vancouver Canucks, at 20. The Edmonton Oilers (25) and Toronto Maple Leafs (28) round out the Canadian contingent.
Some non-playoff teams that are ranked higher this season include the Dallas Stars, opening at five (!), the Los Angeles Kings, at 10, and San Jose Sharks, at 14.
Washington Capitals
This Week: 13 Last Week: -
-
GPG
2.89
-
GAPG
2.43
-
S.A. CORSI%
52.0%
-
PP%
25.3%
-
PK%
81.2%
Expectations are high for the Capitals this season, after two sharp off-season acquisitions -- signing free agent Justin Williams and trading for T.J. Oshie -- upgraded their right side. Not only that, but Williams has a reputation for coming up big in the postseason (and Game Sevens, specifically), which has long been a problem for the Capitals. Oh, and they still have the league's only 50-goal scorer from last season, Alex Ovechkin, but it looks like he'll be without his regular centre to start the year, as Nicklas Backstrom works his way back from offseason hip surgery.
Key Injuries: C Nicklas Backstrom (hip).
Boston Bruins
This Week: 16 Last Week: -
-
GPG
2.55
-
GAPG
2.45
-
S.A. CORSI%
52.3%
-
PP%
17.8%
-
PK%
82.0%
After dropping out of the playoffs for the first time since 2007, the Bruins start this season with more questions, especially on the blueline, where there have been big changes and mainstay Zdeno Chara was hurt in the preseason. If the Bruins are going to bounce back, they will need some young defencemen to emerge, but they can also look to skilled promising young forwards David Pastrnak, Ryan Spooner and offseason additions Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes to add some offensive punch.
Key Injuries: D Zdeno Chara (upper body), D Dennis Seidenberg (back).
Columbus Blue Jackets
This Week: 21 Last Week: -
-
GPG
2.77
-
GAPG
3.02
-
S.A. CORSI%
46.9%
-
PP%
21.7%
-
PK%
80.2%
Last season was virtually a write-off for the Blue Jackets, because they had a ridiculous run of injuries early and, while they persisted and were competitive in the second half, the early hole was too big to escape. Adding Brandon Saad from Chicago, to go with a forward group that includes Ryan Johansen, Nick Foligno (coming off a career year), Scott Hartnell, Brandon Dubinsky and Boone Jenner allows the Blackhawks to mix skill and physical play at the top of the depth chart. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is a good one, too, so that leaves the defence as Columbus' question mark coming into the season. A healthy Ryan Murray, if there is such a thing, would go a long way to stabilizing the Columbus D.
Key Injuries: None.
Philadelphia Flyers
This Week: 23 Last Week: -
-
GPG
2.58
-
GAPG
2.72
-
S.A. CORSI%
49.2%
-
PP%
23.4%
-
PK%
77.1%
The Flyers have some good talent -- Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn -- on the roster, most of their talent is up front and they still have a complicated situation at the bottom half of the forward depth chart, with Sam Gagner and Vincent Lecavalier looking like high-priced extras to start the year. The defence has undergone an overhaul, which included waiving Andrew MacDonald, but if Yevgeny Medvedev, Radgo Gudas and Brandon Manning can change the look on the blueline, then maybe the Flyers can surprise.
Key Injuries: None.
Colorado Avalanche
This Week: 24 Last Week: -
-
GPG
2.55
-
GAPG
2.72
-
S.A. CORSI%
43.2%
-
PP%
15.0%
-
PK%
84.6%
The Avalanche regressed even harder than expected last season, so they could have been considered a decent bounceback option this year, but the offseason wasn't ideal. For all the trouble that the Avalanche had with Ryan O'Reilly at contract time, he played a big role and that won't simply be replaced, though the Avalanche will try with Mikhail Grigorenko, Carl Soderberg, Blake Comeau and rookie Mikko Rantanen added up front. The blueline brought in experience with Francois Beauchemin and prospect Brandon Gormley, who couldn't fit in Arizona. If everything breaks right and, say, Nathan MacKinnon explodes, the Avs could be back in the playoff mix, but it appears to be an uphill climb.
Key Injuries: None.
Buffalo Sabres
This Week: 27 Last Week: 30
-
GPG
1.87
-
GAPG
3.28
-
S.A. CORSI%
36.2%
-
PP%
13.4%
-
PK%
75.1%
After a miserable 2014-2015 season, the Sabres are starting the long road back to respectability, and made some definite strides in the right direction this summer. Beyond drafting Jack Eichel with the second overall pick, the Sabres traded to acquire Ryan O'Reilly from Colorado and will finally get to see left winger Evander Kane, acquired from Winnipeg last spring. The forward group looks pretty good, as a result, but there are question marks on defence, especially with Zach Bogosian injured to start the year, and Buffalo is counting on unproven Robin Lehner to take charge in goal, so even if the Sabres are more competitive this season, there remains room to improve.
Key Injuries: D Zach Bogosian (undisclosed), D Josh Gorges (lower body).
Toronto Maple Leafs
This Week: 28 Last Week: -
-
GPG
2.51
-
GAPG
3.13
-
S.A. CORSI%
45.2%
-
PP%
15.9%
-
PK%
80.4%
Toronto crashed to the finish last year and that prompted major organizational change, hiring new head coach Mike Babcock, general manager Lou Lamoriello and traded their best player, right winger Phil Kessel. The offseason was spent making low-term investments on free agents like Shawn Matthias, Daniel Winnik, P.A. Parenteau, and, eventually, Brad Boyes. Add in trade acquisitions Nick Spaling and Michael Grabner and the Maple Leafs added a lot of new faces, none of whom is signed beyond next season. They've tried to make some changes on defence, signing Matt Hunwick and acquiring Martin Marincin and Scott Harrington in separate trades, but this looks like a year of growing (with the accompanying pain) for younger Leafs that could be part of the club's long-term future.
Key Injuries: None.
New Jersey Devils
This Week: 29 Last Week: -
-
GPG
2.15
-
GAPG
2.55
-
S.A. CORSI%
46.8%
-
PP%
19.3%
-
PK%
80.6%
While the Devils have some pieces in place, including a goaltender (Cory Schneider) and promising young defencemen (Adam Larsson, Damon Severson, Jon Merrill, Eric Gelinas), they are woefully thin up front and, barring some big surprises, it appears that they won't be able to score enough to be competitive. Worse, aside from sixth overall pick Pavel Zacha, the Devils don't have great offensive prospects in the pipeline, so this could take some time.
Key Injuries: LW Patrik Elias (knee).
Notes: While all injuries are taken into account, those listed as key injuries include top nine forwards, top four defencemen and starting goaltenders.
GPG - Goals Per Game, GAPG - Goals Against Per Game
S.A. CORSI% - Score-Adjusted Corsi Percentage. The percentage of shot attempts, during 5-on-5 play, relative to the opposition, adjusted for game-score.
PP% - Power Play%
PK% - Penalty Kill%
Much of the data included comes from great modern stats sites www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, and www.naturalstattrick.com
Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca