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The NHL keeps getting more interesting by the week. Room for error seems so small anymore in this league. There are a couple of surprising teams on this week's top 10 list.
10. Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes are not a bad team at all and they have more good nights than bad nights. Their record is 9-6-4 with 22 points. Despite being 6th in the Metropolitan Division, I think they are better than the Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders right now in that division. Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho are tearing it up offensively right now for Carolina. Scott Darling and Cam Ward is a solid goaltending duo. Last week's ranking: not ranked.
9. Nashville Predators: Despite a slow start to the season, the Predators are 11-6-2 with 24 points. They are starting to find their groove. Pekka Rinne has been steady between the pipes and his record is 10-3-2 with a .922 save percentage and a 2.45 GAA, along with one shutout. Kyle Turris has been a spark plug for the Predators ever since he came to Nashville. In four games with them, he has scored a goal and recorded two assists and his plus/minus is 2. Last week's ranking: not ranked.
8. Pittsburgh Penguins: Pittsburgh had a good week and there low light was once again losing the Chicago Blackhawks. It is mental when they play against them, but other than that they aren't mentally lost. Sidney Crosby broke his scoring drought against the Buffalo Sabres and Matt Murray kept making big save after big save this past week for the Penguins. Pittsburgh's record is 11-8-3 with 25 points. Last week's ranking: 8.
7. New Jersey Devils: Cory Schneider had an inconsisent week. He was amazing in a 1-0 loss in overtime against the Toronto Maple Leafs and he was shaky against the Winnipeg Jets. The Devils offense surprisingly sputtered this week. I think that is a fluke for them and they will bounce back strong this week. New Jersey's record is 11-5-3 with 25 points. Last week's ranking: 5.
6. Columbus Blue Jackets: Cam Atkinson recently signed a 7-year contract extension and that is good news for this franchise. He can provide instant offense along with Artemi Panarin, Sonny Milano, and a few others. Sergei Bobrovsky recorded a 36 save shutout on Friday Night against the New York Rangers. Columbus's record is 12-7-1 with 25 points. Last week's ranking: 7.
5. Los Angeles Kings: Getting smacked to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday Night was a little bit of a surprise. Darcy Kuemper was sensational for the Kings this past weekend. He had a 24 save shutout against the Florida Panthers and Kuemper stopped all 30 shots in relief against the Golden Knights. The offense is coming back to earth a little bit, but they will be fine. The Kings record is 12-7-2 with 26 points. Last week's ranking: 3.
4. Toronto Maple Leafs: The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to score from every witch way and they have scored 79 goals this season which is the second most in the NHL. The Maple Leafs embarrassed the Montreal Canadiens 6-0 on Saturday Night. Toronto did not give up a goal this past week. Frederik Andersen recorded a 42 save shutout against New Jersey and a 33 save shutout against Montreal. It is good that Auston Matthews has returned from his injury. Toronto's record is 14-7 with 28 points. Last week's ranking: 4.
3.Winnipeg Jets: The Jets made the biggest jump in this week's rankings. Last week I thought they were just good and this past week the Jets took their game to another level. They went 3-0 and the Jets continue to frustrate opponents. Connor Hellebuyck continues to give the Jets solid goaltending and Blake Wheeler continues to lead by example. The Jets record this season is 12-4-3 with 27 points and they are no joke out west. Last week's ranking: 10.
2. St. Louis Blues: The Blues can feel the heat coming by the Winnipeg Jets in the Central Division, but the Blues continue to take care of business. After giving up seven goals against the Calgary Flames last Monday, the Blues bounced back with wins against the Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks. St. Louis's record is 15-5-1 with 31 points. Last week's ranking: 2.
1.Tampa Bay Lightning: The Lightning continue to score goals. They continue to lead the league in goals scored with 80. Andrei Vasilevskiy is one of the most underrated goalies in the NHL. His record is 14-2-1 with a .928 save percentage and a 2.34 GAA, along with one shutout. Last week's ranking: 1.
