Nine weeks into the NHL season, the playoff picture is far from clear. Several teams moved up and down in this week’s rankings, especially near the top of the board. Five teams had perfect records last week and moved up a combined 18 spots. On the flip side, two teams lost every game they played in regulation and moved down six combined spots in the process.
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 8 NHL Power Rankings
| Rank | Change | Team | Team Name | Last Week | Record | TWCScore |
| 1 | – |
 |
Los Angeles Kings | 2-1-1 | 16-5-4 | 629.4 |
| 2 | +3 |
 |
Vegas Golden Knights | 3-0-1 | 19-5-5 | 623.1 |
| 3 | – |
 |
Boston Bruins | 1-1-0 | 18-5-3 | 619.7 |
| 4 | -2 |
 |
New York Rangers | 1-2-0 | 19-6-1 | 610 |
| 5 | +2 |
 |
Florida Panthers | 3-0-0 | 17-8-2 | 608.8 |
| 6 | +4 |
 |
Toronto Maple Leafs | 2-0-0 | 14-6-4 | 586.2 |
| 7 | -3 |
 |
Dallas Stars | 1-3-0 | 15-8-3 | 582.2 |
| 8 | +1 |
 |
Vancouver Canucks | 2-1-0 | 18-9-1 | 578.2 |
| 9 | -1 |
 |
Colorado Avalanche | 1-2-0 | 16-9-2 | 574.9 |
| 10 | +2 |
 |
Winnipeg Jets | 3-0-0 | 16-8-2 | 570.5 |
| 11 | -5 |
 |
Carolina Hurricanes | 0-4-0 | 14-12-1 | 555.8 |
| 12 | +4 |
 |
Philadelphia Flyers | 3-0-0 | 15-10-2 | 555.4 |
| 13 | +1 |
 |
Washington Capitals | 2-1-1 | 14-8-3 | 551.8 |
| 14 | -3 |
 |
New Jersey Devils | 3-1-0 | 14-11-1 | 550.2 |
| 15 | -2 |
 |
Detroit Red Wings | 1-1-1 | 14-8-4 | 541.2 |
| 16 | +6 |
 |
Edmonton Oilers | 3-0-0 | 12-12-1 | 540.5 |
| 17 | +1 |
 |
Nashville Predators | 3-1-0 | 15-13-0 | 537.5 |
| 18 | -1 |
 |
Tampa Bay Lightning | 3-1-0 | 13-11-5 | 532.8 |
| 19 | +2 |
 |
New York Islanders | 2-0-1 | 12-7-7 | 532.1 |
| 20 | -5 |
 |
Pittsburgh Penguins | 0-2-1 | 11-12-3 | 520.4 |
| 21 | +4 |
 |
Ottawa Senators | 2-1-0 | 11-11-0 | 515.4 |
| 22 | -3 |
 |
Arizona Coyotes | 1-2-0 | 13-11-2 | 512 |
| 23 | +1 |
 |
Minnesota Wild | 2-2-0 | 10-12-4 | 505.4 |
| 24 | -4 |
 |
St Louis Blues | 1-3-0 | 13-13-1 | 500.6 |
| 25 | -2 |
 |
Calgary Flames | 1-2-0 | 11-13-3 | 499.8 |
| 26 | +1 |
 |
Montreal Canadiens | 2-2-0 | 12-13-3 | 487.9 |
| 27 | -1 |
 |
Seattle Kraken | 0-3-1 | 8-14-7 | 478.8 |
| 28 | – |
 |
Buffalo Sabres | 1-1-1 | 11-14-3 | 471.8 |
| 29 | +1 |
 |
Columbus Blue Jackets | 1-2-1 | 9-16-5 | 446.4 |
| 30 | -1 |
 |
Anaheim Ducks | 0-3-0 | 10-17-0 | 438.1 |
| 31 | – |
 |
Chicago Blackhawks | 2-1-1 | 9-17-1 | 420.2 |
| 32 | – |
 |
San Jose Sharks | 2-0-1 | 8-17-3 | 392.6 |
The Kings remain the top team on the TWC Power Rankings thanks to a sparkling record and even more sparkling underlying numbers. They are the best team in the league right now in the eyes of many, and are legit Stanley Cup contenders in the Pacific Division.
Pacific teams own the top two spots this week as the Golden Knights are second, up three spots from last week. They lost zero games in regulation despite losing their top defender in Shea Theodore and starting goalie in Adin Hill. The defending champs are still extremely good.
The top Canadian team is the Maple Leafs, up four spots to sixth overall this week. They went a perfect 2–0–0 despite losing goalie Joseph Woll, and Brad Treliving doing what he does best, just missing out on trading for a player; this time it was Nikita Zadorov.
The highest riser this week was the Oilers, deservedly so as they sport a seven-game winning streak and have climbed back to a .500 record. Moving up six spots to 16th overall, they are making a huge push back toward playoff territory, a welcome sight for Connor McDavid and co.
One of the Oilers’ victims last week was the biggest faller, the Hurricanes. A dreadful Western Canadian road trip saw them go 0–4–0 against the Jets, Oilers, Flames, and Canucks. They’re still 11th on our rankings. Last week’s stumble was likely just that, a good team in a rut. The underlying numbers say they’ll be just fine.
The bottom of the rankings looks fairly similar. The Sharks and Blackhawks are last and second last respectively once again, though the Ducks and Blue Jackets swapped spots in the third and fourth last positions.
Six of the top 10 teams are in the Western Conference, however, nine of the top 16 are in the Eastern Conference. This isn’t like last year where the Eastern Conference was so tilted that the playoff teams were almost completely decided a month into the season. This year’s playoff spots are much more up for grabs, so expect the power rankings to shift with a much higher frequency than in years past.
Check back next week to see how your team is doing!
Past 2023–24 Power Rankings
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8
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