TWC NHL Power Rankings 2023–24: Week 2

After week two of the National Hockey League season, its time to update our TWC NHL power rankings. While we’re still in the early days of this season, each team has a few more games under their belt for the model to consider in its evaluation. Read on to see if your team is off to a strong start or a weak opening!

TWC Power Rankings explained

If you’re new to our power rankings, this is how it all works.

Here at TWC, we use a statistical model to effectively rank teams on a week to week basis. The model takes into effect winning percentages, CF%, SCF%, HDCF% as well as SV%. Each statistical category is weighed and scored differently, giving each team a unique TWC Score that determines their ranking after each week. The formula puts the highest emphasis on winning percentages over other statistics. All numbers are taken in all situations, to incorporate special teams into the fray.

We got some excellent feedback over the course of last season from our readers as to how we could improve this model moving forward. This year we have slightly altered the weightings of the statistical categories, but also re-worked the recency component to make sure that each week the teams that are riding hot streaks are more appropriately demonstrated in the rankings.

Don’t like where your team is ranked? Unfortunately, they will have to turn it around on the ice, as we take zero personal opinions into effect.

Have any suggestions for the TWC Power Rankings for next season? Leave us a comment and let us know. Without further ado, this week’s power rankings are below!

Week 1 NHL Power Rankings

Rank	Change	Team	Team Name	Last Week	Record	TWCScore
1	+4		Colorado Avalanche	3-0-0	5-0-0	736.1
2	+2		Boston Bruins	3-0-0	5-0-0	716.1
3	+3		Vegas Golden Knights	3-0-0	6-0-0	714.5
4	-3		Dallas Stars	2-0-1	3-0-1	689.9
5	+13		Detroit Red Wings	4-0-0	5-1-0	635.9
6	+11		Philadelphia Flyers	2-0-1	3-1-1	612.8
7	-4		Toronto Maple Leafs	1-2-0	3-2-0	589.7
8	+1		New Jersey Devils	1-1-0	2-1-1	589.3
9	+6		New York Rangers	2-1-0	3-2-0	576.6
10	+12		Los Angeles Kings	2-1-0	2-2-1	560.8
11	+2		Ottawa Senators	1-1-0	3-2-0	554.1
12	-10		New York Islanders	1-1-1	2-1-1	552.2
13	-6		Arizona Coyotes	2-2-0	3-2-0	550.3
14	-3		St Louis Blues	1-1-0	2-1-1	533.6
15	+6		Columbus Blue Jackets	2-1-0	3-2-0	532.8
16	-6		Montreal Canadiens	1-1-0	2-1-1	532.3
17	+6		Nashville Predators	2-1-0	3-3-0	530.2
18	-4		Carolina Hurricanes	1-2-0	3-3-0	529.8
19	-11		Vancouver Canucks	1-2-0	3-2-0	505.6
20	+6		Tampa Bay Lightning	1-0-2	2-2-2	502.8
21	-2		Calgary Flames	1-2-1	2-3-1	489.7
22	-6		Winnipeg Jets	1-2-0	2-3-0	483.7
23	-11		Pittsburgh Penguins	0-2-0	2-3-0	482.7
24	–		Minnesota Wild	1-1-1	2-2-1	478
25	+5		Florida Panthers	2-1-0	2-3-0	471.6
26	+5		Buffalo Sabres	2-1-0	2-3-0	463.4
27	+2		Edmonton Oilers	1-1-1	1-3-1	458.8
28	+4		Washington Capitals	1-1-1	1-2-1	450.3
29	-4		Chicago Blackhawks	1-2-0	2-4-0	411.8
30	-3		Seattle Kraken	1-2-0	1-4-1	409.6
31	-11		Anaheim Ducks	0-3-0	1-4-0	379
32	-4		San Jose Sharks	0-3-0	0-4-1	301.4

With week two in the rearview mirror, three teams remain undefeated. Unsurprisingly, these three teams—the Colorado Avalanche, Boston Bruins, and Vegas Golden Knights—top the TWC power rankings.

Just a few spots below these teams, the Detroit Red Wings slot into fifth place. They won all four games they played in week two, and could be on the verge of turning the corner on their rebuild. While their possession and scoring chance numbers are far from elite, the results speak for themselves, and Alex DeBrincat has been on a mission, with eight goals in six games.

Down in 11th place, the Wings’ divisional rival Ottawa Senators are also hoping to take a step toward contention this season. They’ve been about average in most categories considered by the model so far, with the exception of Corsi, in which they are in the top third of the league. If they can sustain these very early results, they should push for a playoff position.

Heading back out west, the Edmonton Oilers and Seattle Kraken are off to surprising starts. The Oilers have just one win so far but are a top-five team in Corsi, high-danger Corsi, and scoring chance share. They are in for a strong rebound in the coming weeks, but will have to weather the storm of playing hockey without Connor McDavid.

The Kraken, after a strong season in 2022–23, are also stuck on their first and only win. While their underlying numbers look competitive, a 0.883 team save percentage is holding them back.

Rounding out the bottom of the rankings are the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks. As expected, their seasons are off to rough starts. The rebuilding teams have just one win between them, belonging to the Ducks. The Ducks do have the stronger underlying numbers of the two, but regardless, it looks like both of these teams could be in for long seasons ahead.

Check back next week to see if your favourite team has improved!

Past 2023–24 Power Rankings

Week 1