NHL Power Rankings: 1-32 poll, points pace vs. expectation

Tim Kavanagh, ESPN.comNov 24, 2023, 08:00 AM ET

CloseTim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York.

The Boston Bruins, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks are blowing their preseason point total over/unders out of the water thus far. The Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames? Not so much.

But how do all 32 teams rate against their preseason expected points pace? That’s what’s on tap as part of this week’s rankings.

How we rank: A panel of ESPN hockey commentators, analysts, reporters and editors each send in a 1-32 poll based on the games through Wednesday, which generates our master list here.

Note: Previous ranking for each team refers to the previous edition, published Nov. 17. Points percentages are through the games of Nov. 22. Preseason point total over/unders courtesy of ESPN BET.

Previous ranking: 1
Points percentage: 86.11%
Next seven days: vs. DET (Nov. 24), @ NYR (Nov. 25), @ CBJ (Nov. 27), vs. SJ (Nov. 30)
Preseason O/U: 99.5
Points pace: 141

With the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, Boston’s preseason point total over/under was 10th in the league. Now, it appears the Bruins are aiming for the record books again. Led by superstar David Pastrnak up front, an elite blue-line group led by Charlie McAvoy and the NHL’s best goaltending tandem, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt here.

Previous ranking: 2
Points percentage: 75.00%
Next seven days: vs. ARI (Nov. 25), @ CGY (Nov. 27), @ EDM (Nov. 28), @ VAN (Nov. 30)
Preseason O/U: 103.5
Points pace: 123

Ho-hum, defending Stanley Cup champs, predicted to eclipse triple digits in points again, and they are blowing well past that level of expectation. One of the league’s true powerhouses, and with some iconic new Winter Classic jerseys to boot!

Previous ranking: 4
Points percentage: 67.50%
Next seven days: @ SEA (Nov. 24), @ SJ (Nov. 25), vs. ANA (Nov. 28), vs. VGK (Nov. 30)
Preseason O/U: 89.5
Points pace: 111

For those who predicted that a Canadian team would…

Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/38968585/nhl-power-rankings-2023-2024-best-teams-standings-pace

Author : Tim Kavanagh

Publish date : 2023-11-24 14:20:27

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