Canadian teams stay in top tier in this week's NHL Power Ranking

A decisive loss Sunday night to the New York Rangers has ended the Los Angeles Kings' two-week reign atop our Power Rankings list.

The Kings still rank first in goal and expected goal differential, but it’s their divisional rival, the Vegas Golden Knights, who are back in the top spot. Vegas has won three straight games and has just one regulation loss in the past 10 games.

The Vancouver Canucks won two of three games last week and stand pat in fifth place on our list.

The score was a lot closer than it should have been in Vancouver’s most recent win, 4-3 against the Hurricanes. The Canucks looked dominant for much of the game against a perennial top regular-season team. While Vancouver’s record is probably a touch better than it should be, there is no doubt the team is a legitimate threat to make noise in the Western Conference.

The Edmonton Oilers continue to rocket up our list. Thanks to a seven-game winning streak, the Oilers jump six spots from 12th to sixth. You may think 12th in our Power Rankings is high for a .500 team, but we are willing to bet the Oilers win a lot more games than they lose the rest of the way.

With competent goaltending, the Oilers were the biggest regression candidate in the NHL and positive regression has hit in a big way. Edmonton has the second best expected goal differential in the league and even with the seven straight wins, sits 17th in goal differential.

The next time the Winnipeg Jets lose in December will be the first. Winnipeg has won four straight games and moves up five spots into eighth on our list.

Their most recent win, however, came at a cost as star winger Kyle Connor left the game after taking a knee-on-knee hit from Ducks forward Ryan Strome. Winnipeg is winning thanks to a stifling defence, which has allowed just six goals during the four-game win streak. The Jets rank in the top 10 this season in shots against, slot shots against, cycle chances against, expected goals against and goals against per game.

A fourth Canadian team also cracks the top 10 as the Toronto Maple Leafs are up seven spots, from 16th to ninth.

It was a light week for the Leafs who won both of their games, beating the Senators and Predators. The underlying numbers are still nothing to write home about as Toronto ranks 15th in goal differential and 16th in expected goal differential per game. That said, the team keeps winning and earns credit for doing so.

The Ottawa Senators' busy month continues with four games this week. Ottawa’s underlying numbers continue to be strong, ranking 10th in goal differential and eighth in expected goal differential per game. Ottawa will need to get the kind of goaltending it had in its most recent win against the Red Wings in order to string some wins together. The Sens face the Hurricanes, Blues, Stars, and Golden Knights this week.

Speaking of teams with tough upcoming schedules, the Calgary Flames are down to 24th on our list following a 1-2-0 week. Dustin Wolf is doing his best to hold things down in goal with Jacob Markstrom out of the lineup.

Scoring continues to be a challenge for the Flames who rank 23rd in goals per game. Calgary sits 26th in slot shots, 28th in cycle chances and 23rd in rebound chances per game. The Flames have scored more than three goals in a game just once in their past seven games. Calgary is on the road in Colorado, Vegas and Minnesota before returning home for a Saturday night tilt against the Lightning.

Up two spots into 26th, the Montreal Canadiens continue to hover right around .500. Strong goaltending continues to lead the way as the Canadiens rank seventh in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes.

Offensively, don’t be surprised if Cole Caufield starts filling the net sooner than later. Caufield has been stuck on seven goals for six games now. Based on the quality and quantity of his shot attempts this year, he should have around 13 goals as his expected goal total sits at 12.8. That differential of 5.8 is the third largest out of 727 players. Only Rickard Rakell and Josh Anderson have been unluckier.