NHL Power Rankings: Calgary Flames Top the List After Red-Hot Start

Aaaannnnnd...we're back.

The NHL's 2022-23 regular season is officially underway for all 32 teams after the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks got a head start with a pair of games in Europe.

Some teams had played as many as five times through Tuesday night while others were still stuck on one or two games, but the small sample size hasn't stopped fans and other observers from going all-in or getting all-out on the future prospects for their favorites.

The B/R hockey staff isn't above such silliness, though we attempted to maintain our analytical personas in giving a first Power Rankings treatment to the league now that pucks have been dropped across the entire standings map.

Three writers ranked the teams from 1 to 32 before Wednesday night's games, and points were awarded in reverse order—32 points for No. 1, one for No. 32—to compile the list from bottom to top. Both the movement from last week's rankings and the collection of votes are listed with each team.

Click through to see where your favorite squad wound up, and feel free to drop a thought or two of your own in the comments section.

32. San Jose Sharks (Move: -5 / Votes: 32, 32, 32)

The Sharks started 0-5 for the first time in franchise history, and the immediate irrelevance didn't rub new arrival Nico Sturm the right way after he won a Stanley Cup in Colorado last summer. "We all know how to play the game," he said following Tuesday's loss to the Islanders. "Obviously, there's not a lot of confidence right now."

31. Minnesota Wild (Move: -22 / Votes: 31, 31, 31)

Twenty goals allowed in three games, all losses, has prompted concern. Marc-Andre Fleury has allowed 11 on 49 shots, and Filip Gustavsson surrendered nine on 57. "Goals against is a concern," coach Dean Evason said after a 6-3 defeat to the Avalanche on Monday. "It's not on the goalie. It's on the goalie. It's on the defense. It's on the forwards."

30. Vancouver Canucks (Move: -12 / Votes: 30, 30, 30)

The Canucks established some ugly history when they became the first team to surrender multigoal leads in four straight games, which prompted an early call for self-reflection. “When you start the season like this, you have to really take a look in the mirror," defenseman Tyler Myers said Monday after a crushing OT loss to the Blue Jackets.

29. Anaheim Ducks (Move: -4 / Votes: 28, 29, 28)

No team allowed more than the 21 goals the Ducks surrendered across four games through Tuesday, and only Minnesota had a higher goals-against average than Anaheim's 5.25. Following a 5-4 OT win over the Kraken in their opener, the Ducks have been outscored 17-7 against the Devils, Islanders and Rangers.

28. Columbus Blue Jackets (Move: -5 / Votes: 27, 28, 27)

The Blue Jackets were an offseason winner after luring Johnny Gaudreau via free agency, but it hasn't translated through losses in three of four games. Gaudreau has scored two of the team's nine goals, but linemate Patrik Laine hasn't played since leaving the season opener with an elbow injury.

27. Chicago Blackhawks (Move: +4 / Votes: 29, 27, 26)

The search for offense was a top priority in the first two games as the Blackhawks scored just twice in consecutive losses at Colorado and Vegas, but it was at least temporarily located in a 5-2 victory at San Jose. Centers Sam Lafferty and Jonathan Toews have accounted for two goals apiece out of the seven scored.

26. Arizona Coyotes (Move: +4 / Votes: 26, 26, 29)

Defenseman Jakob Chychrun, subject of perpetual trade rumors, is nearing a return to the ice as he recovers from a wrist injury that's kept him out of Arizona's first three games. Fellow blueliner Shayne Gostisbehere is the team's leading scorer through three games, with two goals and five points.

25. New Jersey Devils (Move: -1 / Votes: 25, 25, 25)

The Devils looked lost in allowing 10 goals while beginning their season with a pair of losses. However, offseason arrival Ondrej Palat scored his first goal, and coach Lindy Ruff moved into fifth on the league's all-time wins list in a 4-2 defeat of visiting Anaheim on Tuesday.

24. Ottawa Senators (Move: -3 / Votes: 24, 24, 24)

It was an electric night in Ottawa for Tuesday's home opener against Boston, with former star Daniel Alfredsson dropping the first puck and offseason free-agent pickup Claude Giroux scoring the first goal in what turned out to be a 7-5 victory. The crowd of 19,811 was the largest at Canadian Tire Centre since Alfredsson's number was retired in 2016.

23. Winnipeg Jets (Move: -4 / Votes: 23, 22, 23)

The Jets allowed four goals in a season-opening win over the New York Rangers and then allowed four in a subsequent loss to the Dallas Stars. The trend continued Wednesday when they again got to four, and again won, in extra time against Colorado. Mark Scheifele is off to a hot start with three goals in three games.

22. Seattle Kraken (Move: +6 / Votes: 22, 23, 22)

The lack of offense that bamboozled Kraken in their first year is showing signs of holding over into Year 2. Seattle reached four goals twice while splitting its first two games on the road but has since found the net just six more times in losing three straight at home against Vegas, Carolina and St. Louis.

21. Montréal Canadiens (Move: +8 / Votes: 21, 19, 19)

The Canadiens scored just eight goals while splitting their first four games, but five of them came from the hot sticks of Nick Suzuki (two) and Cole Caufield (three). Caufield, still just 21, had 20 goals in his last 34 games last season and was ninth in voting for the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie.

20. Edmonton Oilers (Move: -13 / Votes: 20, 21, 17)

It's early-onset trauma in Northern Alberta as the Oilers have surrendered the first goal in three straight home games and dropped two of them. Jack Campbell was pulled from Saturday's loss to Calgary after allowing four goals on 11 shots. He has a 5.98 goals-against average and a .851 save percentage in two starts.

19. Tampa Bay Lightning (Move: -14 / Votes: 19, 20, 16)

The Lightning went 1-2 on a road trip to begin the season and then returned home and frittered away a two-goal lead in a loss to visiting Philadelphia. In off-ice news, the team reinstated defenseman Ian Cole after the league found "no evidence" to substantiate accusations of sexual assault and grooming made by an anonymous Twitter user.

18. Washington Capitals (Move: -3 / Votes: 16, 17, 18)

The Capitals have already made news for myriad reasons. Record-chaser Alex Ovechkin has a pair of goals and five points in four games, but winger Connor Brown will miss extended time with a lower-body injury he suffered on Monday's 6-4 win over Vancouver. Meanwhile, Evgeny Kuznetsov was suspended a game for a high-sticking call in that same game.

17. Buffalo Sabres (Move: +9 / Votes: 14, 15, 21)

The Sabres immediately headed west after splitting a pair of home games to open the season, then passed their initial road test with a 4-2 win at Edmonton. Visits to Calgary, Vancouver and Seattle follow before Buffalo is back in friendly surroundings for an Oct. 27 meeting with Montreal.

16. Toronto Maple Leafs (Move: -13 / Votes: 17, 18, 12)

Two-time Cup champion Matt Murray arrived as the latest stopper in the Toronto net, but he's already on the shelf after suffering an adductor injury. Coach Sheldon Keefe is also in turmoil after calling out his team's "elite players" after a 4-2 loss to Arizona on Monday.

15. Nashville Predators (Move: +1 / Votes: 13, 12, 20)

It hasn't been a particularly welcoming return to the U.S. for the Predators, who opened the schedule with consecutive Global Series wins over San Jose in the Czech Republic. They have gone 0-2-1 while scoring just five goals and allowing 13 in losses to Dallas (twice) and Los Angeles.

14. New York Islanders (Move: +6 / Votes: 18, 13, 13)

It's been a prolific start to the Lane Lambert era for the Islanders, who were limited to one goal in a loss to Florida in their opener before scoring 12 times in defeats of visiting Anaheim and San Jose. Defensemen Noah Dobson, Robin Salo and Scott Mayfield each have two goals in three games.

13. St. Louis Blues (Move: -3 / Votes: 12, 16, 15)

It's a challenging start for the Blues, who opened with a 5-2 defeat of visiting Columbus before immediately heading west for a three-game swing that'll take them to Seattle, Edmonton and Winnipeg before they return to St. Louis for a date with the Oilers on Oct. 26.

12. Florida Panthers (Move: -4 / Votes: 15, 14, 9)

Another season, another stint on the shelf for defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who’ll miss at least a few weeks with a groin injury suffered in Monday’s loss at Boston. “It's not a season-ending thing,” GM Bill Zito said. “There's no reason to believe he won't be back at anything other than 100 percent."

11. Detroit Red Wings (Move: +11 / Votes: 9, 10, 14)

The optimism of a 2-0-1 start has been tempered somewhat by the disclosure that forward Tyler Bertuzzi will miss 4-6 weeks with an undisclosed upper-body injury. He had one point in the Red Wings' first two games after establishing career highs of 30 goals and 62 points last season.

10. Colorado Avalanche (Move: -9 / Votes: 11, 11, 7)

Defending champions always have a higher bar to clear when it comes to rankings, particularly in the early going, but the Avalanche have been particularly uneven through four games—splitting two at home and two on the road. New starting goalie Alex Georgiev has won twice, but an .893 save percentage isn't a long-term highlight.

9. Los Angeles Kings (Move: +2 / Votes: 8, 9, 11)

The Kings got a taste of prosperity with a playoff berth and a near upset of Edmonton last spring, and they seem determined to remain relevant with three wins in the season's first five games. An early concern, though, is their 4.20 goals-against average and sub-.900 save percentage.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins (Move: +4 / Votes: 7, 7, 10)

Score one for keeping the championship window open by holding on to veterans. Evgeni Malkin had three goals and four points in his first four games, and Kris Letang added three assists in three games for the Penguins, who are also rumored to be in the running for Chicago mainstay Patrick Kane.

7. Vegas Golden Knights (Move: +10 / Votes: 6, 8, 8)

Injuries. Depth issues. Huge question marks in goal. All seemed forgotten early on as the Golden Knights surged to three wins in their first four games. The non-household duo of Logan Thompson and Adin Hill allowed eight goals on 130 shots, and 10 players scored at least one goal.

6. Philadelphia Flyers (Move: +26 / Votes: 10, 4, 5)

Votes for the Jack Adams Trophy aren't compiled after the season's first week, but it's a fair bet John Tortorella would get a few if they were. The Flyers trailed in each of their first three games but came out 3-0, with goalie Carter Hart allowing just six goals on 105 shots.

5. Boston Bruins (Move: +9 / Votes: 5, 6, 6)

There's no guarantee the Bruins will be a serious contender over 82 games, but the numbers they're putting up ought to ease concerns for the short term. David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and low-profile free-agent signee A.J. Greer each scored three times in Boston's first four games, fueling a 3-1 start.

4. New York Rangers (Move: +2 / Votes: 4, 5, 3)

It was easy to be bullish on the Rangers thanks to the presence of Vezina-winning goalie Igor Shesterkin, but it'll make even more sense if young wingers Alexis Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko—picked respectively first overall in 2020 and second overall in 2019—maintain their early-season production.

3. Dallas Stars (Move: +10 / Votes: 3, 3, 4)

It's looking like the stellar numbers put up by goalie Jake Oettinger last season were just a prelude. The 23-year-old allowed precisely three goals in his first three games, stopping 84 shots for a .966 save percentage. Add in the 13 goals scored by Dallas players thus far, and it's easy to explain a 3-0 start.

2. Carolina Hurricanes (Move: 0 / Votes: 1, 2, 2)

It's all systems go to begin what's expected to be a banner season in Carolina, thanks to a three-game start in which the Hurricanes scored 11 goals and allowed three. Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas each had five points in the hot start, and Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta stopped 71 of 74 shots.

1. Calgary Flames (Move: +3 / Votes: 2, 1, 1)

It's a good time to be a hockey fan in Southern Alberta and a better time to be Flames general manager Brad Treliving, whose offseason roster makeover is paying immediate dividends. The new-guy trio of Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar has combined for 10 points in three games.