Super 16: Golden Knights, Avalanche rewarded for strong starts to season

1. Vegas Golden Knights (5-0-2)

Total points: 234
Preseason: No. 1

"What's not going right for the Golden Knights? Pavel Dorofeyev has seven goals in seven games and he is, at best, their fourth-best forward behind Jack Eichel, who has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists), and new addition Mitch Marner with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) and plus-9 in seven games. Forward Mark Stone (13 points; two goals, 11 assists in six games) is week to week with an upper-body injury and No. 1 goalie Adin Hill is week to week with a lower-body injury. Top defenseman Noah Hanifin has played one game and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is expected to miss the entire season. Yet, they are allowing less than three goals a game (2.71) and have a plus-11 goal differential. It's no wonder they have yet to lose in regulation." -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

2. Colorado Avalanche (5-0-2)

Total points: 228
Preseason: No. 5

"Seven games into their season, the Avalanche have yet to lose a regulation game. Perhaps the two most impressive things about their hot start is Scott Wedgewood has carried the load in goal without the injured Mackenzie Blackwood and has a .927 save percentage; and Colorado continues to collect points despite a struggling power play (3-for-26, 11.5 percent). The likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Martin Necas are producing as expected, and once forwards Gabriel Landeskog and Brock Nelson get going, the Avalanche will only become that much better." -- Brian Compton, managing editor

3. Carolina Hurricanes (5-1-0)

Total points: 205
Preseason: No. 3

"Everyone expected Seth Jarvis to have a big season, and he's delivered so far, a big reason why the Hurricanes are off to a strong start. Jarvis has nine points (six goals, three assists) in those six games, including a point in each game and a three-point game (two goals, one assist) against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 16. His NHL career high is 67 points (each of the past two seasons) and he's on pace to shatter that mark, which is great news for the Hurricanes." -- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief

4. Winnipeg Jets (5-1-0)

Total points: 191
Preseason: No. 7

"No player in the NHL might be off to a better start than Mark Scheifele. The Jets center has opened the season with 10 points (seven goals, three assists) during a six-game point streak and has goals in five straight games. That includes one against the Nashville Predators on Oct. 18 that moved him past former teammate Blake Wheeler for the most points (812) in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history, a record he tied with two goals against the Philadelphia Flyers two nights earlier. Scheifele's linemate, Kyle Connor, has been just as good with nine points (three goals, six assists) during his season-opening six-game point streak." -- Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor

5. New Jersey Devils (6-1-0)

Total points: 180
Preseason: No. 10

"The Devils' big three of Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier have combined for 11 goals and 25 points in their past seven games, with Hughes getting six goals in three games going into Wednesday's 4-1 win against the Minnesota Wild. New Jersey's hot start can also be attributed to better 5-on-5 play and special teams. They are tied for third in 5-on-5 goals (16) -- they ranked 26th last season (149) -- and tied for third on the power play (30.0 percent), scoring at least one power-play goal in five straight, and third on the penalty kill (third; 96.0 percent) after 21 straight kills. New Jersey has won six straight, its longest winning streak since winning 13 in a row from Oct. 25-Nov. 21, 2022." -- Mike G. Morreale, senior draft writer

6. Detroit Red Wings (5-2-0)

Total points: 146
Preseason: Not ranked

"The Red Wings are off to a good start in their effort to end their nine-season playoff drought. After a 5-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in the season opener, coach Todd McLellan challenged the players, asking three or four veterans in particular, "Are we tired of this yet?" They responded with five straight wins against difficult opponents: the Toronto Maple Leafs (twice), Lightning, Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers before Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Center Dylan Larkin led the way with 11 points (five goals, six assists) in the first six games. Other storylines include goaltending, penalty killing and young players, but now the schedule stiffens with back-to-backs and a long road trip. Can they keep it up?" -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

7. Montreal Canadiens (6-2-0)

Total points: 132
Preseason: No. 14

"There are many reasons to hope in Montreal. The captain, Nick Suzuki is producing at more than a point per game, just like he was doing after the 4 Nations last season. Cole Caufield is scoring big goals. Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov are creating a bit of magic. At the blue line, Noah Dobson is adapting well to his new team, and he’s playing a key role with Mike Matheson. Jakub Dobes is also pulling the rope in the right direction with four wins in four starts after making 36 saves in Wednesday's 2-1 overtime win against the Calgary Flames." -- Jean-Francois Chaumont, journalist principal LNH.com

8. Washington Capitals (5-2-0)

Total points: 128
Preseason: No. 11

"The Capitals have started well by following a similar formula for success to what helped them finish first in the Eastern Conference last season. They've played well defensively 5-on-5 (seven goals against) and received strong goaltending from Logan Thompson (4-1-0, 1.60 goals-against average, .927 save percentage) and Charlie Lindgren (1-1-0, 2.04 GAA, .932 save percentage). Offensively, Tom Wilson (four goals, six assists), Dylan Strome (two goals, seven assists), Aliaksei Protas (four goals, four assists) and Jakob Chychrun (three goals, three assists) have picked up where they left off last season, but others, including Alex Ovechkin (one goal, four assists), have yet to hit their stride." -- Tom Gulitti, senior writer

9. Utah Mammoth (5-2-0)

Total points: 100
Preseason: Not ranked

"The Mammoth are doing the most important thing any team with playoff aspirations has to do -- win on home ice. They've won their first four games at the revamped-for-hockey Delta Center, including 4-3 in overtime against the Avalanche on Tuesday. They started on the road, winning one of their first three games, but they're making Delta Center a true home-ice advantage, which is an absolute must. Clayton Keller has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past three games. Dylan Guenther has scored the game-winner in each of the past two, including in OT against Colorado. Goalie Karel Vejmelka has been solid (4-1-0, 2.20 GAA, .911 save percentage). Utah has limited opponents to 23.4 shots on goal per game. The Mammoth have to get their power play (14.8 percent) going to improve their offensive game, but overall it's been a positive start, particularly on home ice." -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

10. Florida Panthers (4-4-0)

Total points: 82
Preseason: No. 6

"Ignore the Panthers at your peril. While they came into their game Tuesday on a four-game losing streak, after winning their first three of the season, they righted themselves in an emotional game against the Boston Bruins when Brad Marchand returned to TD Garden. Ultimately, all that matters for the Panthers in the start to their campaign to threepeat is where they are at the end of the regular season, which almost certainly will be the playoffs. They have been dealt some blows with the losses of Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Dmitry Kulikov, but they're treading water for now and will eventually get back at least Tkachuk and Kulikov. To me, the start barely matters for the Panthers, like they proved last season. It's the finish, and no one in the League is better at that than them right now." -- Amalie Benjamin, senior writer

11. Pittsburgh Penguins (5-2-0)

Total points: 72
Preseason: Not ranked

"New coach Dan Muse has pushed all the right buttons early on in the season. The Penguins got off to a fast start with wins against the Rangers and New York Islanders before dropping their next two. But they've won three straight, outscoring opponents 12-3. Last season, they didn't win their fourth game until their 12th game. Evgeni Malkin, 39, has found the fountain of youth with 10 points in seven games, Sidney Crosby has eight points in seven games and Justin Brazeau has been a nice free agent signing with five goals." -- David Satriano, staff writer

12. Dallas Stars (3-3-0)

Total points: 71
Preseason: No. 2

"The Stars started out exactly as I figured they would, but I'm surprised to see their struggles over the past three games. Is it temporary? Probably, but the strong, clean game they usually play has been absent recently. Several players have talked about their issues with breakouts. It doesn't help that they've been without captain Jamie Benn (collapsed lung) through the first six games. Forward Matt Duchene (upper body), their leading scorer last season, has missed two games. Getting off to a strong start is important, especially in the competitive Central Division. Let's see how the Stars go from here." -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

13. Toronto Maple Leafs (3-3-1)

Total points: 57
Preseason: No. 9

"The stage was set for the Maple Leafs to come out of the gates flying. Six of their first seven games were to be held in the friendly confines of Scotiabank Arena, Toronto's home digs where the Maple Leafs went 27-13-1 last season. So much for that plan. They have instead begun 3-2-1 at home. In the process, there are reasons for concern. Consider the fact, for example, that their top three offseason additions -- forwards Nicolas Roy, Matias Maccelli and Dakota Joshua -- have combined for just five points (two goals, three assists). Toronto's listless play finally led to goalie Anthony Stolarz to publicly question the team's work ethic, a troubling early narrative especially in the first month of the season. Is it rust? Or a realistic look at what's in store? The jury is still out. Stay tuned." -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

14. Vancouver Canucks (4-3-0)

Total points: 43
Preseason: Not ranked

"The Canucks have opened the season with grit and confidence, stringing together three straight road wins in Dallas, Chicago, and Washington -- each with its own flavor of resilience -- before running out of steam in a 5-1 loss in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Thatcher Demko (3-1-0, 2.28 GAA, .922 save percentage) has been steady, and forward Conor Garland (two goals, five assists in seven games) has emerged as the unexpected offensive leader. What I like is that despite the numbers under the hood (17.4 percent power play, 75.0 percent penalty kill, minus-5.2 average shot differential, 42.9 percent on face-offs), that hasn't mattered much so far. The Canucks are finding ways to win tough games, showing faith in the system that their new coach Adam Foote is preaching." -- Paul Strizhevsky, NHL.com International staff writer

15. Edmonton Oilers (3-3-1)

Total points: 40
Preseason: No. 4

The Oilers may still be trying to gain traction on the season, but forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is off to a strong start. The 32-year-old forward has seven points (four goals, three assists) in seven games and has arguably been Edmonton's best player through the first two weeks. Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and two assists in a season-opening 4-3 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames on Oct. 8 and carried that momentum through the next six games of the season. The Oilers' longest-serving player is coming off a down season by his standards: 49 points (20 goals, 29 assists) in 78 games. He had 104 points (37 goals, 67 assists) in 80 games in 2022-23. Nugent-Hopkins is second on the Oilers in scoring after seven games, one point behind Connor McDavid (one goal, seven assists) and one ahead of Leon Draisaitl (four goals, two assists). -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

16. St. Louis Blues (3-2-1)

Total points: 38
Preseason: Not ranked

"The Blues start to their season is a theme for what they've been so far: hit and miss, hot and cold, stop and start. Whichever you prefer, that's what they've been. Good at times, enough to defeat the Stars 3-1 on Saturday in what is arguably their best game of the season, and 5-2 against the Canucks on Oct. 13. Then there are games like the 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild in their season opener and 8-3 to the Blackhawks on Oct. 15. And then you have the weird one, a 2-1 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, a game that looked close on paper because the score said so, but also a game when the Blues were outshot 19-8 through 40 minutes. That was their start coming off the win against the Stars. So, they're in the Super 16 this week, but if consistency is going to be an issue, they'll be in and out of these rankings all season and bobbing up and down near the playoff line." -- Rosen

Dropped out from preseason Super 16: Lightning (No. 8), Kings (No. 12), Ottawa Senators (No. 13), Wild (No. 15), New York Rangers (No. 16)

Others receiving points: Wild 24, Seattle Kraken 17, Ducks 16, Flyers 13, Blackhawks 11, Rangers 3, Lightning 3, Columbus Blue Jackets 1

HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM

AMALIE BENJAMIN

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. Winnipeg Jets; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Detroit Red Wings; 7. Montreal Canadiens; 8. Florida Panthers; 9. Dallas Stars; 10. Washington Capitals; 11. Toronto Maple Leafs; 12. St. Louis Blues; 13. Minnesota Wild; 14. Anaheim Ducks; 15. Utah Mammoth; 16. Edmonton Oilers

JEAN-FRANCOIS CHAUMONT

1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. Florida Panthers; 7. Washington Capitals; 8. New Jersey Devils; 9. Montreal Canadiens; 10. Edmonton Oilers; 11. Utah Mammoth; 12. St. Louis Blues; 13. Minnesota Wild; 14. Toronto Maple Leafs; 15. Detroit Red Wings; 16. Columbus Blue Jackets

BRIAN COMPTON

1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. New Jersey Devils; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. Detroit Red Wings; 7. Washington Capitals; 8. Pittsburgh Penguins; 9. Montreal Canadiens; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. Utah Mammoth; 12. Philadelphia Flyers; 13. Vancouver Canucks; 14. Florida Panthers; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Seattle Kraken

NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA

1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. New Jersey Devils; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. Detroit Red Wings; 7. Washington Capitals; 8. Montreal Canadiens; 9. Utah Mammoth; 10. Pittsburgh Penguins; 11. St. Louis Blues; 12. Anaheim Ducks; 13. Philadelphia Flyers; 14. Vancouver Canucks; 15. Seattle Kraken; 16. Chicago Blackhawks

TOM GULITTI

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. Winnipeg Jets; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. Detroit Red Wings; 8. Montreal Canadiens; 9. Utah Mammoth; 10. Edmonton Oilers; 11. Florida Panthers; 12. Pittsburgh Penguins; 13. Dallas Stars; 14. St. Louis Blues; 15. Toronto Maple Leafs; 16. Vancouver Canucks

ADAM KIMELMAN

1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Winnipeg Jets; 4. New Jersey Devils; 5. Carolina Hurricanes; 6. Utah Mammoth; 7. Montreal Canadiens; 8. Detroit Red Wings; 9. Washington Capitals; 10. Florida Panthers; 11. Toronto Maple Leafs; 12. Edmonton Oilers; 13. Anaheim Ducks; 14. St. Louis Blues; 15. Philadelphia Flyers; 16. Chicago Blackhawks

MIKE G. MORREALE

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. New Jersey Devils; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. Toronto Maple Leafs; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. Dallas Stars; 9. Utah Mammoth; 10. Washington Capitals; 11. Edmonton Oilers; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Montreal Canadiens; 14. Tampa Bay Lightning; 15. Pittsburgh Penguins; 16. Detroit Red Wings

TRACEY MYERS

1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Winnipeg Jets; 4. Detroit Red Wings; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. Utah Mammoth; 8. Montreal Canadiens; 9. Pittsburgh Penguins; 10. Washington Capitals; 11. Florida Panthers; 12. Toronto Maple Leafs; 13. Vancouver Canucks; 14. Edmonton Oilers; 15. Philadelphia Flyers; 16. Dallas Stars

BILL PRICE

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. Winnipeg Jets; 5. Detroit Red Wings; 6. New Jersey Devils; 7. Montreal Canadiens; 8. Utah Mammoth; 9. Vancouver Canucks; 10. Seattle Kraken; 11. Toronto Maple Leafs; 12. Washington Capitals; 13. Dallas Stars; 14. Minnesota Wild; 15. Florida Panthers; 16. New York Rangers

SHAWN P. ROARKE

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. Winnipeg Jets; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Dallas Stars; 7. Detroit Red Wings; 8. Washington Capitals; 9. Florida Panthers; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. St. Louis Blues; 12. Montreal Canadiens; 13. Minnesota Wild; 14. Utah Mammoth; 15. New York Rangers; 16. Pittsburgh Penguins

DAN ROSEN

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. Winnipeg Jets; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Detroit Red Wings; 7. Montreal Canadiens; 8. Utah Mammoth; 9. Pittsburgh Penguins; 10. Washington Capitals; 11. Florida Panthers; 12. Vancouver Canucks; 13. Edmonton Oilers; 14. St. Louis Blues; 15. Chicago Blackhawks; 16. Dallas Stars

DAVID SATRIANO

1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Winnipeg Jets; 4. Carolina Hurricanes; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Detroit Red Wings; 7. Pittsburgh Penguins; 8. Washington Capitals; 9. Montreal Canadiens; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. Florida Panthers; 12. Vancouver Canucks; 13. Edmonton Oilers; 14. Toronto Maple Leafs; 15. Utah Mammoth; 16. Chicago Blackhawks

PAUL STRIZHEVSKY

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Carolina Hurricanes; 4. Winnipeg Jets; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. Montreal Canadiens; 8. Detroit Red Wings; 9. Pittsburgh Penguins; 10. Vancouver Canucks; 11. Florida Panthers; 12. St. Louis Blues; 13. Toronto Maple Leafs; 14. Minnesota Wild; 15. Seattle Kraken; 16. Utah Mammoth

DEREK VAN DIEST

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. Winnipeg Jets; 5. Detroit Red Wings; 6. Montreal Canadiens; 7. New Jersey Devils; 8. Washington Capitals; 9. Utah Mammoth; 10. Pittsburgh Penguins; 11. Vancouver Canucks; 12. Seattle Kraken; 13. Toronto Maple Leafs; 14. Chicago Blackhawks; 15. St. Louis Blues; 16. Minnesota Wild

MIKE ZEISBERGER

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. New Jersey Devils; 4. Detroit Red Wings; 5. Carolina Hurricanes; 6. Montreal Canadiens; 7. Winnipeg Jets; 8. Utah Mammoth; 9. Washington Capitals; 10. Pittsburgh Penguins; 11. Dallas Stars; 12. Vancouver Canucks; 13. Anaheim Ducks; 14. Chicago Blackhawks; 15. Florida Panthers; 16. Edmonton Oilers