Through Friday's games. Last week's rankings in parentheses.
1. Florida Panthers. No way Quenneville should have been coaching Wednesday. (1)
2. Carolina Hurricanes. Showdown at Florida next Saturday. (6)
3. Washington Capitals. Ovechkin up to 739 for career, two behind Brett Hull for fourth. (4)
4. Calgary Flames. Third team in NHL history to never trail while sweeping a five-game road trip. (23)
5. Edmonton Oilers. Even in first defeat (to Philly), McDavid has two-point night. (2)
6. St. Louis Blues. O'Reilly to miss at least two more games on Covid list. (5)
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7. New York Rangers. Open four-game Western roadie with first trip to Seattle on Sunday. (8)
The Sabres are 4-1-1 and entered Tuesday sitting second in the Atlantic Division.
8. Minnesota Wild. Offense struggling with six goals in three-game stretch. (7)
9. Philadelphia Flyers. Atkinson off to red-hot start for new team. (11)
10. Buffalo Sabres. Stellar goaltending of Anderson, Tokarski has set a perfect tone. (13)
11. Tampa Bay Lightning. Took out frustration of loss to Sabres on Pens the next night. (10)
12. Winnipeg Jets. Wiped out third-period deficits to win in both Anaheim and LA. (17)
13. Detroit Red Wings. Have to like the cadre of young talent Stevie Y is building. (18)
14. Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby closing in on his season debut. (9)
15. San Jose Sharks. Three-straight losses after 4-0 start. (3)
In a flat-cap time, there's just not many teams that can afford a $10 million contract for the next four years, and the Sabres aren't budging about retaining any salary, Mike Harrington says.
16. Columbus Blue Jackets. Alternated wins and losses for six straight games. (15)
17. Vegas Golden Knights. Seem like current leader in Eichel Derby, but how does the money work? (29)
18. Boston Bruins. After horrid preseason, Ullmark at 2.37/.920 in first three starts. (12)
19. New York Islanders. Parise, Chara pointless after six games. (24)
20. Toronto Maple Leafs. Rielly's new deal forces big forward to be traded before next season. (14)
21. Seattle Kraken. Sabres make Climate Pledge debut on Thursday. (27)
22. Vancouver Canucks. Lost first two games of seven-game homestand to Wild, Flyers. (20)
23. Colorado Avalanche. Finally a breakthrough with win in St. Louis. (25)
24. Dallas Stars. Five players tied for team goal lead ... with two. (16)
25. Anaheim Ducks. Erased three-goal deficits on consecutive nights to Sabres and Knights – and lost both games. (26)
26. New Jersey Devils. Bad news on Hughes: Shoulder will keep him out at least another five weeks. (19)
27. Nashville Predators. One of 10 teams to enter weekend with three wins. (28)
28. Ottawa Senators. Snapped three-game skid with win in Dallas. (22)
29. Montreal Canadiens. Entered weekend last in the East with just four points. (32)
30. Los Angeles Kings. It's already getting late early after 0-5-1 skid. (21)
31. Chicago Blackhawks. Morally bankrupt. Shameful. 2010 Cup tainted forever. And 0-6-2 in '21. (30)
32. Arizona Coyotes. Gave Caps fits but still winless at 0-7-1 (31)
