November 9, 2023 by Bob Schmidt

Now that each NHL team has played 10 games, I have assembled my first power rankings chart for the 2023-24 season. I created this chart based only on each team’s first 10 games, their overall record in those games, the strength of each team’s schedule, and how they fared against the stronger, mid tier, and weaker teams.

1. Vegas Golden Knights – The Golden Knights shot out of the gate with seven straight wins, most notably the 3-2 shootout win against the Dallas Stars, who are favoured to be one of the powerhouse teams in the league, on October 17. Starting the season 9-0-1 has them looking down at everyone in the Western Conference with their only blemish being a 4-3 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on October 27, a game which would be considered an upset win by the Hawks as they are not projected to be a playoff team this season.
2. New York Rangers – After alternating wins and losses over the first four games to start the season, the Rangers finished off their 10-game segment with six straight wins to go 8-2-0. Riding the goaltending tandem of 2021-22 Vezina winner Igor Shesterkin and three-time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Quick (who I have listed at the top of my monthly goaltender power rankings), the Rangers sit second overall in least goals against. The Broadway Blueshirts made a statement when they shutout the highly touted offense of the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 26, with Quick making 29 saves for the 3-0 win.
3. Boston Bruins – The Bruins racked up six straight wins to start the season before an upset overtime loss against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 26. They bounced back from that loss to win the next three games and finish their 10 game segment at 9-0-1. The November 2 contest between the Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs was arguably one of the best matchups in the first month of the season with both team combining for 75 shots on net over 65 minutes of hockey with the Bruins ultimately winning 3-2 after a shootout. With perennial Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy contender, David Pastrnak, and arguably the NHL’s best goaltending duo of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman leading the way, the Bruins have made an early statement that they are not easily relinquishing the President’s Trophy just yet.
4. Dallas Stars – The Stars put together two three game winning streaks to go 7-2-1 in their first ten games. Their biggest tests seem to come from their trip through Alberta on Nov. 1-2, where the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers combined to outshoot the Stars 95-57 but the Stars walked away with 4-3 wins in both games. Although Dallas finished their ten game segment with a 2-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Noember. 4, this Texas team has found its stride early on and they should only get more dangerous once their young offensive star, Jason Robertson, breaks out of his slow start.
5. Vancouver Canucks – Head coach, Rick Tocchet, had his team prepared to make an early statement to start the season and they did just that when they shocked the hockey world by dominating one of the early Stanley Cup favourites, the Edmonton Oilers, 8-1 on October 11. Three nights later, they beat the Oilers again. After losing their next two, the Canucks won five of their next six games to finish with a 7-2-1 record after ten games. With newly appointed captain, Quinn Hughes, and early season points leader, Elias Pettersson, leading the charge, the Canucks lead the NHL in goals for and are second in the league in least goals against.
6. Colorado Avalanche – The Avalanche came out of the gate strong and won their first six games which included a noteworthy East versus West battle with the Carolina Hurricanes on October 21. The Avs and the Canes are each projected to be two of the top teams in their respective conferences so this matchup would be a good measuring stick for each team to see where they were at early on. Ultimately, it was Artturi Lehkonen’s four point performance that led Colorado to the 6-4 victory. Colorado could not have finished their ten game segment much worse than they did, losing three of their last four games. All three losses were shutout losses. It is definitely on the strength of their early winning streak and finishing with a 7-3 record after ten games, that I have them sitting this high in the power rankings. It looks very plausible, if the recent results continue, that they fall out of the top ten.
7. Los Angeles Kings – This team had question marks all over it before the season began. General Manager, Rob Blake, made a lot of waves this past off season that left many scratching their heads. The big three for one trade with the Winnipeg Jets to obtain Pierre-Luc Dubois and the seemingly “guess I’ll take what’s left” signing of Cam Talbot to fill the net, had many wondering what this season’s team would have as an identity. Well, apparently, it’s depth scoring. 16 Kings’ skaters have scored a goal already to start the season and helped propel this team to a 6-2-2 start. Notable wins of 7-3 against the Minnesota Wild on October 19 and 4-1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 31 were significant factors in making it onto this list.
8. Detroit Red Wings – The Wings went 6-3-1 to start the season. After losing their first game of the season, the Wings rebounded with a five game winning streak, including an impressive 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 18, led by three point nights from Alex DeBrincat and captain Dylan Larkin. The addition of DeBrincat during the off season has really boosted the overall team offense. His team leading nine goals has helped propel Detroit to fourth overall in the league in goals for.
9. New Jersey Devils – The Devils were looking to build off their 112-point season of 2022-23 and after losing two of their first three games, they found their stride and won five of the next six.  It’s been New Jersey’s offense that has been carrying them on to start the season, led by their young superstar, Jack Hughes, who is averaging two points a game, and seven-year Devils vet, Jesper Bratt, who is coming off a 32-goal season and back-to-back 73-point seasons. Although the Devils finished 6-3-1 after their first ten games, things are looking a little bleaker for the immediate future with Hughes going down with an injury and the team still looking for some stability in net.
10. Anaheim Ducks – The Ducks, to me, have been the breakout team early this season. It was a slow start for Anaheim losing four of their first five games, but then rookie head coach, Greg Cronin, found the recipe to cook up some wins and his team finished their ten game stretch on a five game winning streak to go 6-4. The Ducks turned heads across the league when they handed the Boston Bruins their first loss on October 26, winning 4-3 in overtime in Boston. Frank Vatrano has led the charge with two hat tricks already and rookie defenceman, Pavel Mintyukov, has made a seemingly smooth transition to the NHL game early on and leads his team in plus/minus and is second in hits, while another rookie, Lukas Dostal, has outplayed franchise goaltender, John Gibson, so far and is challenging for that number one spot. Anaheim is one of the youngest teams in the NHL and are expected to have their share of ups and downs this season, but for a franchise that hasn’t seen the playoffs in five seasons now, this is an encouraging start to 2023-24.