Through Friday's games. Preseason rankings in parentheses.
1. Boston Bruins. First 11 games: A 10-1 record and plus-22 goal differential. (10)
2. Vegas Golden Knights. Best start, best team of Eichel's career. (17)
3. Carolina Hurricanes. Sabres saw East's deepest squad. (2)
4. Dallas Stars. Fast start could be derailed by Oettinger injury. (16)
5. New Jersey Devils. Lindy's analytics darlings now getting the saves they need, too. (23)
6. Colorado Avalanche. Team bonding in Finland will surely help snap champs' Cup hangover. (1)
7. Edmonton Oilers. McDavid off to fast start in pursuit of his first Rocket Richard Trophy. (3)
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8. Tampa Bay Lightning. They often struggle in October. Patience. (4)
9. New York Rangers. Shesterkin is 6-1-2 but has pedestrian .916 save percentage. (8)
10. Florida Panthers. Tkachuk makes them a completely different team to play against. (6)
11. Buffalo Sabres. Dahlin becoming a superstar before our eyes. (21)
A member of the ice crew picks up hats thrown onto the ice as Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho (20) celebrates with teammates after his third goal of the game against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, in Raleigh, N.C.
12. New York Islanders. Good start under new coach Lambert. (20)
13. Calgary Flames. Markstrom struggling to stay over .900. (7)
14. Toronto Maple Leafs. Heat is on Keefe. Will players save him or sink him? (5)
15. Pittsburgh Penguins. Sid and crew looked old here Wednesday. (9)
16. Los Angeles Kings. Eden's Iafallo on IR with lower-body injury. (13)
17. Washington Capitals. Ovechkin ties Howe for single-team goal record. More history coming. (14)
18. Seattle Kraken. Beniers is early favorite for Calder Trophy. (27)
19. Detroit Red Wings. A mostly terrible showing here Monday vs. Sabres. (22)
20. Winnipeg Jets. Still can't believe they let Comrie walk by not playing him enough. (25)
21. Philadelphia Flyers. Tortorella has them overachieving. No surprise. (30)
22. Minnesota Wild. Evason has them underachieving. Big surprise. (15)
23. Ottawa Senators. Wonder how much of a distraction pending sale will become. (18)
24. Nashville Predators. Saros yet another No. 1 goalie who is seriously struggling. (11)
25. Montreal Canadiens. St. Louis doing the job behind the bench but ruining the tank. (31)
26. Chicago Blackhawks. Same for Richardson. Team and coaching too good. (32)
27. Vancouver Canucks. Are 3-1 after 0-5-2 start. (24)
28. San Jose Sharks. The new all teal uniforms are a sharp look. The hockey is not. (28)
29. St. Louis Blues. Major crisis mode: Started 3-0, have now dropped six straight. (12)
30. Anaheim Ducks. Drysdale out months with shoulder injury. (26)
31. Arizona Coyotes. The arena looks fun. The hockey does not. (29)
32. Columbus Blue Jackets. They're a disaster even with Johnny Hockey. (19)
