The 7-Eleven Power Rankings - Lightning strikes thrice

Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL with 14 goals; playmaker Steven Stamkos (named the first star of the month for October) leads with 18 assists and 25 points and the Lightning lead the NHL with 24 points.

Brayden Schenn has proved to be a welcome addition, earning four assists in a 6-4 win over Toronto  and averaging a career best point-a-game. Jake Allen has been solid with a .923 save percentage.

Strong penalty killing is a big part of their success this season. They’ve allowed just four goals and are first in the league in penalty-killing percentage at 91.8. John Stevens is earning his paycheque.

It’s a credit to the Blue Jackets that they’ve played so well despite a toothless power play which ranks dead last. Sergei Bobrovsky is 8-2 with a .927 save percentage and 2.23 goals-against average.

The Devils ranked 28th last season with an average of 2.20 goals per game. This year they’re tied for fourth at 3.62 goals per game. And No. 1 overall pick Nico Hischier has 10 points in 13 games.

The franchise in the desert is just 13 games old and already they have wins from four different goaltenders - Marc-Andre Fleury, Malcolm Subban, Oscar Dansk and Maxime Legace. 

The Jets haven’t been good at OT (losing all three) but they’ve been excellent tallying points, currently on a seven-game streak. That's a long way since Week 2 of the rankings where they sat in last. 

A 4-2 victory over Pittsburgh was a feature game for Brock Boeser, who had three goals and an assist for 13 points in 10 games. The young guns in Vancouver are getting the job done.

John Tavares has led the league with 15 points (10-5-15) in seven games since Oct. 21. Linemate Josh Bailey is second with 14 and his other linemate Anders Lee is third with 12. 

The Senators got their man in the offensively dynamic Matt Duchene, but gave up a lot to get him in two-way centre Kyle Turris, although he was in the final year of his contract. 

A sign of defensive improvement is that Ken Hitchcock’s Stars have allowed a goal or less five times in their first 14 games. Last year they managed that just once in their first 21. 

Goal scoring has become a problem. In their first eight games of the season, they scored 29 and had a 5-2-1 record. In their last eight games, they’ve scored 13 goals and are 3-4-1. 

The Predators effectively replaced Mike Fisher by acquiring one of the league’s best two-way centres in Kyle Turris and then promptly signed him to a six-year contract. 

A light schedule this week should give them more time to work on their sputtering power play. The Caps haven’t scored with the extra man for six straight games, going 0-for-15.

Four consecutive wins for the Sharks, as well as six consecutive games in which they haven’t allowed more than two goals. They have now averaged 2.31 per game, second only to the Kings. 

After a promising start (6-1), the Leafs have gone the other way (2-6), including their last three of four on the road. Since their 6-3 loss in Ottawa, they’ve allowed an NHL-worst 33 goals in eight games.

The Flames ended a stretch of seven straight games of scoring two or fewer goals by putting in four in a shootout win over New Jersey. Calgary ranks 30th in goals for per game at 2.36. 

Consecutive shutouts by Corey Crawford improved his GAA to a league-leading 1.77 and a league-leading .945 SV%. But Chicago's descent continues, going from No. 1 four weeks ago to 18th. 

After a horrendous 1-6-1 start, the Canadiens are showing signs of life, winning four of their last five with Shea Weber leading the way (two goals and seven assists). Charlie Lindgren earned his first shutout.

It hasn’t taken long for Ivan Provorov to prove his worth. Three times in his career the defenceman has reached the 28-minute mark in ice time and all three have come in the last four games. 

Their current three-game winning streak includes two OT wins and four goals each from Michael Grabner and Pavel Buchnevich. They combined for two goals prior to this week. 

A curious six-game homestand - they won three and lost three. They scored six goals twice and were shut out twice and they scored just one power play goal, but allowed just two.

Petr Mrazek made his first start in seven games in Edmonton and made 36 saves in a 4-0 shutout victory. It was the fifth time the Red Wings have scored at least four goals in a game this season. 

Andrew Cogliano became the fourth player in NHL history to reach 800 consecutive games played, and is just the second (Doug Jarvis) to do it from the start of their career. But they've lost three straight.

The Bruins, who were ranked 14th four weeks ago, have not generated any momentum this season. Their longest winning streak is just one game and David Backes is now on IR after having colon surgery.

An average of 40 shots per game over their last four – including a 60-shot effort against Colorado – hasn’t translated to any wins for a team that started 3-1-1. They are 0-2-2 over that span. 

The Oilers, losers of five of their last seven, exploded for a season-high six goals in a win over New Jersey. But a shutout loss to Detroit Sunday dropped to a league-worst 2.31 goals for per game. 

It wasn’t a bad week in terms of goal scoring for the Panthers, with 12 goals in three games. It was, however, a bad week defensively, with 20 goals against in those same three. 

The offensively challenged Sabres return home this week where they have one win in five tries, and captain Jack Eichel (despite his 13 points in 14 games) is minus-6 this season.

They finally entered the win column in OT against Philadelphia and with a 2-1 shootout win over Carolina. Calder candidate Clayton Keller, rookie of the month in October, has 16 points in 15 games.