NHL Power Rankings: Preds still lead the pack, Blackhawks in free fall

This is the fourth edition of theScore's 2018-19 NHL Power Rankings, which will be published every two weeks during the regular season. It was compiled by editors Josh Gold-Smith, Craig Hagerman, and Josh Wegman.

1. Nashville Predators (13-3-0)

The Predators are still at the top of the NHL food chain, riding a five-game win streak and recording eight victories in their last 10. Nashville boasts the league's best record along with the best goal differential (plus-21), and, remarkably, they're undefeated in eight road contests so far this season. -- Gold-Smith

Previously: 1st

2. Tampa Bay Lightning (12-4-1)

The Lightning are 5-2-0 since our last edition of these rankings, and reigning Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman picked up where he left off in his return from injury Saturday, scoring a beautiful end-to-end goal. Tampa Bay lost that game to the Ottawa Senators, but it's clear the Lightning are still one of the NHL's most dominant clubs. -- Gold-Smith

Previously: 2nd

3. Minnesota Wild (11-4-2) a-^2

Minnesota's recent rise hasn't gotten enough attention, as a resurgent Devan Dubnyk and a stellar penalty kill have helped the team ascend in the standings. The Wild have won 10 of their last 12 games and went 5-2-0 on a seven-game road trip, proving they're a deep and dangerous outfit from top to bottom. -- Gold-Smith

Previously: 8th

4. Toronto Maple Leafs (11-6-0) a-1/4

The Maple Leafs are tied for the third-best goal differential in the NHL and boast the fourth-best record, impressive accomplishments considering they're without the injured Auston Matthews and holdout William Nylander. Toronto didn't look good in Saturday's 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, but on the whole, the Leafs have shown they can be more than competitive without two significant pieces, and that bodes well for them. -- Gold-Smith

Previously: 3rd

5. Calgary Flames (10-7-1) a-^2

The Flames have won five of their previous seven games, beating the Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, and the Colorado Avalanche in addition to the lowly Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings.

David Rittich has been perhaps the biggest reason for Calgary's success of late. If he continues to provide the Flames with elite goaltending, they should have no trouble contending for a playoff spot. -- Gold-Smith

Previously: 19th

6. Winnipeg Jets (10-5-1)Darcy Finley / National Hockey League / Getty

Winnipeg has given no reason to doubt that they remain one of the NHL's elite clubs despite having played fewer games than some of their counterparts. The Jets' power play is the most efficient in the league at this point, and they have one of the NHL's deepest rosters. -- Gold-Smith

Previously: 6th

7. Boston Bruins (10-5-2) a-^2

Jaroslav Halak's strong play in the crease has helped the Bruins immensely, and they've proven to be resilient in a variety of ways early on. Despite a slew of injuries, Boston remains in the hunt in the Atlantic Division. -- Gold-Smith

Previously: 10th

8. Vancouver Canucks (10-6-2) a-^2

There's no denying the Canucks have obliterated expectations early on. Elias Pettersson has been unreal, and although the club is now without Brock Boeser again, Vancouver is a team that opponents need to take seriously. -- Gold-Smith

Previously: 22nd

9. Montreal Canadiens (9-5-3)

Another team that's far exceeded expectations is the Canadiens. There's a long way to go, but no one would've predicted Montreal would lead the entire league in 5-on-5 goals at this point. Trade acquisitions Max Domi and Tomas Tatar are making major contributions, and even though Carey Price has been bad lately, the Canadiens are one of the NHL's biggest early-season surprises. -- Gold-Smith

Previously: 9th

10. Buffalo Sabres (9-6-2) a-^2Sara Schmidle / National Hockey League / Getty

The Sabres have been one of the most fun teams in the league to watch so far, pulling off a late-game comeback to stun the Canucks on Saturday. Jeff Skinner has excelled in his new surroundings, and Rasmus Dahlin is looking more comfortable at the NHL level with each passing game. -- Gold-Smith

Previously: 15th

11. Philadelphia Flyers (9-7-1) a-^2

The Flyers have been nearly perfect over the last two weeks, going 5-0-1 in six games. Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier have been driving the bus, with Giroux posting 11 points and Couturier chipping in eight in that span.

Brian Elliott, meanwhile, is having a bit of a resurrection, having gone perfect in four games while posting a .960 save percentage and a 1.12 goals-against average. -- Hagerman

Previously: 27th

12. Dallas Stars (9-6-2) a-^2

Dallas has been solid in its last six games, going 4-1-2 with wins over the Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Capitals, and Sharks. The Stars haven't quite blown the doors off, rocking a plus-one goal differential in those games, but they've been without top forward Alexander Radulov.

Now, with Radulov appearing ready to return, the club is about to endure a stretch of at least a month without John Klingberg. It'll be interesting to see how Dallas responds without its top defender. -- Hagerman

Previously: 18th

13. New York Rangers (8-7-2) a-^2

They may not be in the playoff conversation, but there's no getting around the fact that the Rangers have been red hot of late. The team has rattled off five wins in its last six contests.

New York is getting contributions throughout its lineup, including from budding defenseman Neal Pionk, who scored his first three goals of the season in consecutive games from Nov. 4 to Nov. 9. Of course, it's also worth noting that Kevin Hayes, Jimmy Vesey, and Mika Zibanejad have all combined for 20 points in six games. -- Hagerman

Previously: 29th

14. Columbus Blue Jackets (9-6-2) a-1/4

The Blue Jackets' last two weeks have been a mixed bag, with big wins over the Sharks and Stars combined with deflating losses to the Red Wings and Kings. Sergei Bobrovsky looks to be returning to his Vezina-caliber form, having allowed just one goal against in four of his past five games. Then there's Seth Jones, who hasn't missed a beat since returning from injury, posting eight points in 10 games. -- Hagerman

Previously: 11th

15. San Jose Sharks (9-6-3) a-1/4Brandon Magnus / National Hockey League / Getty

It seems the Sharks haven't quite hit their stride yet. The team sits in the middle of the pack in the NHL in goals for, in the bottom third in goals against, and Erik Karlsson has yet to score a goal with his new club.

The Sharks have too much talent for things not to straighten out, but for now, they're playing like an average hockey club. -- Hagerman

Previously: 12th

16. Washington Capitals (7-6-3) a-1/4

There's a lot to like about the Capitals early on, as they have the second-best power play and Alex Ovechkin is still scoring in bunches. However, they're struggling to keep the puck out of the net.

Washington now has a minus-two goal differential thanks to a 4-1 loss to the Coyotes on Sunday, its penalty kill is among the worst in the league, and Braden Holtby possesses a measly .900 save percentage. That's not good. -- Hagerman

Previously: 14th

17. Pittsburgh Penguins (7-5-3) a-1/4

The Penguins' offense had dried up prior to a 4-0 win over the Coyotes on Saturday, managing to find the back of the net just seven times in five games. One golden nugget for Pittsburgh is that Sidney Crosby is back doing his thing, having put up three goals and five points in six games. -- Hagerman

Previously: 4th

18. St. Louis Blues (6-6-3) a-^2

The Blues are playing marginally better after goaltender Jake Allen suggested the team had hit rock bottom last week. The team has won three of its last five contests, spearheaded by Ryan O'Reilly, who's recorded points in 10 straight games. -- Hagerman

Previously: 21st

19. Carolina Hurricanes (7-7-3) a-1/4

The Hurricanes have hit a bump in the road after a blistering start, having lost five of their past six games while averaging just over two goals for per game.

Sebastian Aho has gone goalless in his last 12 games, and no Hurricanes player has managed more than two goals over the past two weeks. On the bright side, the club is still firing the puck at a ridiculous rate, averaging over 42 shots per game over its last six contests. -- Hagerman

Previously: 7th

20. Edmonton Oilers (8-8-1) a-1/4

Stop me if you've heard this one before: The Oilers are struggling to produce offense outside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

In Edmonton's last four games, all losses, the two have combined to score four of the team's six goals, with Draisaitl alone scoring three times. The club is 2-5-0 in its past seven, but it's not time to panic yet. -- Hagerman

Previously 13th

21. Colorado Avalanche (8-6-3) a-1/4Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / Getty

The top-line reliant Avalanche will ride the highs and lows of their dynamic trio. Colorado is 1-4-1 in its last six games, and Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog have combined for five goals in that span. Considering the Avs count on their top line for over 50 percent of their offense, that's clearly not enough. -- Wegman

Previously 5th

22. Detroit Red Wings (7-8-2) a-^2

The Red Wings have bounced back from a 1-7-2 start, winning six of their last seven games. Jimmy Howard has been stellar between the pipes, Dylan Larkin has carried the offense, and Dennis Cholowski has played himself into the Calder conversation, non-Pettersson division. -- Wegman

Previously 31st

23. Florida Panthers (6-5-3) a-^2

It's amazing how a competent goaltender can ignite a club. The Panthers have won four straight games since Roberto Luongo returned from injury, and the 39-year-old netminder is off to one of the best starts of his career, sporting a .952 save percentage and a 1.42 goals-against average in limited action. -- Wegman

Previously 28th

24. Ottawa Senators (7-8-3) a-^2

The Sens pulled off an impressive win against the Lightning on Saturday, but responded with an ugly defeat at the hands of the Panthers on Sunday. It'll be a season of peaks and valleys in Ottawa, but probably more of the latter. -- Wegman

Previously 25th

25. New York Islanders (8-6-2) a-1/4Andy Marlin / National Hockey League / Getty

Barry Trotz has done a nice job implementing some much-needed structure into the Islanders, but the lack of overall talent is starting to show, as they've dropped three straight games. -- Wegman

Previously 23rd

26. Arizona Coyotes (8-7-1) a-1/4

Arizona is 6-2-1 since Alex Galchenyuk made his Coyotes debut, but is just 1-2-1 since Antti Raanta went down with an injury. Aside from Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Galchenyuk and Raanta are easily the club's two most important pieces. The Coyotes could compete for a playoff spot in the wide-open Pacific Divison, but - perhaps more so than other teams - they'll need good health in order to do so. -- Wegman

Previously 20th

27. Vegas Golden Knights (7-10-1) a-1/4

During Vegas' miraculous inaugural season, pundits predicted it'd only be a matter of time before the Golden Knights began to look like a true expansion team. They may have been a year off. -- Wegman

Previously 24th

28. Anaheim Ducks (7-8-3) a-1/4

The Ducks get out shot by an average of 37-25 per game. It doesn't take an expert to point out that's not a winning recipe. If Anaheim makes the playoffs, it'll be because John Gibson is in the Hart Trophy conversation. -- Wegman

Previously 26th

29. New Jersey Devils (6-8-1) a-1/4

Despite a surprising playoff appearance a year ago, the Devils are beginning to look like a squad that lacks any game-breaking talent outside of Taylor Hall, which is exactly what they are. -- Wegman

Previously 16th

30. Chicago Blackhawks (6-8-3) a-1/4

Joel Quenneville's firing hasn't yielded the results Stan Bowman had hoped for, as the Blackhawks are 0-2-0 with Jeremy Colliton behind the bench. Regardless, a coaching change was never going to make up for the team's total lack of depth. -- Wegman

Previously 17th

31. Los Angeles Kings (5-10-1) a-1/4

A coaching change hasn't made the Kings any younger or faster. Shocking! -- Wegman

Previously 30th

Copyright (C) 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.