NHL Power Rankings: A new No. 1, and the game(s) of the month for all 32 teams
The second calendar month of the 2024-25 NHL season is here. But which games are the most tantalizing in the next 30 days?
For this edition of the Power Rankings, we’ve identified the game (or games) of the month for all 32 teams, whether it’s a rivalry matchup, a reunion with an old teammate or a key early season clash between top Stanley Cup contenders.
How we rank: A panel of ESPN hockey commentators, analysts, reporters and editors sends 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 Oct. 25. Points percentages are through Thursday’s games.
Previous ranking: 2
Points percentage: 90.00%
Nov. 7 vs. the Avalanche. The Jets’ promising 2024 playoff entry ended pretty quickly at the hands of the Avalanche this past spring. A single game in November will not be sufficient for vengeance, but as the Jets continue to prove themselves as a top contender, beating other top-tier teams is a requirement.
Next seven days: @ CBJ (Nov. 1), vs. TB (Nov. 3), vs. UTA (Nov. 5), vs. COL (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 3
Points percentage: 77.78%
Nov. 1, 2 vs. the Panthers. It’s another round of the NHL Global Series. Though the Devils-Sabres series in Prague proved one-sided, this pairing of Finn-loaded contenders will be a delight to the thousands in the building in Tampere.
Next seven days: vs. FLA (Nov. 1), vs. FLA (Nov. 2), vs. CHI (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 1
Points percentage: 72.22%
Nov. 23 at the Oilers. Not only is this the “Mark Messier matchup” — and one that would’ve made a great Stanley Cup Final this past spring — but these two teams have the shortest Cup-winner odds in their respective conferences, per ESPN BET. Perhaps we’ll get these two iconic franchises in the Cup Final this season?
Next seven days: vs. OTT (Nov. 1), vs. NYI (Nov. 3), vs. BUF (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 4
Points percentage: 77.78%
Nov. 19 at the Blues. The Wild and Blues fell just shy of the playoffs last season, and given the strength of the Central Division, one imagines there won’t be room for both of them in the 2025 postseason. Can the Wild get revenge for the Blues’ 4-1 win back on Oct. 15?
Next seven days: vs. TB (Nov. 1), vs. TOR (Nov. 3), vs. LA (Nov. 5), @ SJ (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 8
Points percentage: 68.18%
Nov. 17 vs. the Capitals. It’s not often that a player gets traded on the same day he’s scheduled to do a meet-and-greet with fans. But such was the case for goaltender Logan Thompson. He’ll make his return to Vegas with his new teammates for this one, after stopping 24 of 26 shots to beat his old team 4-2 on Oct. 15 in D.C.
Next seven days: vs. UTA (Nov. 2), @ EDM (Nov. 6)
Previous ranking: 10
Points percentage: 77.78%
Nov. 8 vs. the Penguins. Although Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby are on the proverbial back-nine of their careers, both are still performing at a high level; that makes any Capitals-Penguins game a must-see (even if Sid’s Penguins are seriously lagging behind Ovi’s Capitals in the standings).
Next seven days: vs. CBJ (Nov. 2), @ CAR (Nov. 3), vs. NSH (Nov. 6)
Previous ranking: 6
Points percentage: 70.00%
Nov. 27 vs. the Capitals. Long live the Southeast Division. The Lightning and Capitals are both in playoff position as of this writing — and might well be at the end of the month when this game takes place, too. An important game for each club as they hope to remain in the postseason mix by season’s end.
Next seven days: @ MIN (Nov. 1), @ WPG (Nov. 3), @ STL (Nov. 5), vs. PHI (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 12
Points percentage: 77.78%
Nov. 27 vs. the Rangers. The Hurricanes’ playoff run this past spring was terminated by the Blueshirts, and this will be their first showdown with their divisional foes.
Next seven days: vs. WSH (Nov. 3), vs. PHI (Nov. 5), vs. PIT (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 11
Points percentage: 68.18%
Nov. 16, 19 against the Jets. November is a quirky month in the Panthers’ schedule: They have four occurrences of consecutive games against the same opponent. We’ll highlight occurrence No. 3 for this spot, as the Jets look every bit as awesome as their NFL namesakes do not. A potential Stanley Cup Final matchup.
Next seven days: vs. DAL (Nov. 1), vs. DAL (Nov. 2), vs. NSH (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 9
Points percentage: 61.54%
Nov. 12, 14 at the Panthers. The Panthers represent the standard to which all top Eastern Conference contenders are comparing themselves. So this pair of games in Sunrise will be critical for the Devils, a team that wants to count itself in that cohort.
Next seven days: @ CGY (Nov. 1), @ EDM (Nov. 4), vs. MTL (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 7
Points percentage: 59.09%
Nov. 5 vs. the Bruins. No matter which team is higher in the standings — or favored in the playoff series — the Maple Leafs have had major trouble beating the Bruins in recent seasons. As the Bruins’ season is off to a tepid start, it could be time for a statement victory for the Leafs.
Next seven days: @ STL (Nov. 2), @ MIN (Nov. 3), vs. BOS (Nov. 5)
Previous ranking: 16
Points percentage: 61.11%
Nov. 9 vs. the Oilers. There’s nothing like a heated playoff series to throw more fuel on a rivalry’s fire. So after the players (and fans) got after one another in the second round this past spring, what can we expect in the opening clash between these Pacific contenders?
Next seven days: @ SJ (Nov. 2), @ ANA (Nov. 5), @ LA (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 14
Points percentage: 63.64%
Nov. 29 at the Ducks. This SoCal rivalry isn’t as heated as it was when both teams were contenders, but there is always a little extra juice when they match up. And, with two of this season’s best uniform redesigns, it will be aesthetically pleasing, too.
Next seven days: vs. CHI (Nov. 2), @ NSH (Nov. 4), @ MIN (Nov. 5), vs. VAN (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 5
Points percentage: 55.00%
Nov. 3 vs. the Oilers. Few rivalries in professional sports are as consistently nasty as the Battle of Alberta. The Flames had to watch their cross-province antagonists get to within a game of a Stanley Cup this past spring. Will they continue their pursuit of derailing another Edmonton playoff run by taking another W from them, as they did back on Oct. 13?
Next seven days: vs. NJ (Nov. 1), vs. EDM (Nov. 3), @ MTL (Nov. 5), @ BOS (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 15
Points percentage: 55.56%
Nov. 12 at the Maple Leafs. The Battle of Ontario is another excellent NHL rivalry — the most recent flare-up occurring in February when Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly took umbrage to Ridly Greig‘s enthusiastic empty-net goal. Will this next bout feature similar fireworks?
Next seven days: @ NYR (Nov. 1), vs. SEA (Nov. 2), @ BUF (Nov. 5), vs. NYI (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 18
Points percentage: 50.00%
Nov. 20 vs. the Predators. It was quite a low-scoring affair on Oct. 15 as the Seahawks beat the Titans 7-3 … oh wait, it was a hockey game. As it turns out, the total of 10 goals in that game has been matched twice since in Kraken games, both of which Seattle has won. Will it be another offensive onslaught in this return match against the Preds?
Next seven days: @ OTT (Nov. 2), @ BOS (Nov. 3), @ COL (Nov. 5)
Previous ranking: 13
Points percentage: 54.55%
Nov. 2, 15, 30 against the Golden Knights. The Golden Knights set the benchmark for early success as an expansion team, getting all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. The Utah Hockey Club isn’t technically an expansion team, but as the NHL’s newest club, they hope to chart a similar path of early success. A win (or three) against Vegas in November would signify they’re well on their way.
Next seven days: @ VGK (Nov. 2), @ WPG (Nov. 5), @ STL (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 27
Points percentage: 61.11%
Nov. 5-12, against the Sharks, Kings, Ducks, Kraken. To the surprise of some, the Blue Jackets remain on the (early) playoff bubble in the Eastern Conference. An extended West Coast trip can help bring a team together, and grabbing some Ws doesn’t hurt either.
Next seven days: vs. WPG (Nov. 1), @ WSH (Nov. 2), @ SJ (Nov. 5)
Previous ranking: 19
Points percentage: 45.45%
Nov. 29 at the Stars. Enjoy watching elite puck-moving defensemen? Circle this game on your calendar, as Colorado’s Cale Makar will visit Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen.
Next seven days: @ NSH (Nov. 2), vs. SEA (Nov. 5), @ WPG (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 20
Points percentage: 45.45%
Nov. 12, 16 against the Bruins. Goalie goals are a thing of beauty. Goalie fights are a thing of beauty … in another way. Jordan Binnington has been on the verge of one for years — and nearly got in one against the Senators this week — while Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman also has the fighting spirit, as one might say.
Next seven days: vs. TOR (Nov. 2), vs. TB (Nov. 5), vs. UTA (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 17
Points percentage: 40.91%
Nov. 9 vs. the Senators. It’s Linus Ullmark-Jeremy Swayman reunion night! Though Ullmark didn’t play for the B’s as long as Steven Stamkos did for the Lightning, he did win the Vezina Trophy for a team that set an NHL record for regular-season dominance. What will the reception be like at TD Garden?
Next seven days: @ PHI (Nov. 2), vs. SEA (Nov. 3), @ TOR (Nov. 5), vs. CGY (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 24
Points percentage: 45.00%
Nov. 2, 5 against Red Wings, Senators. For the past few seasons, we’ve been waiting for one of these three rising Atlantic Division teams to take the next step and qualify for the playoffs. Is this the season? These two games for the Sabres will be a good barometer of where they stand in particular.
Next seven days: vs. NYI (Nov. 1), @ DET (Nov. 2), vs. OTT (Nov. 5), @ NYR (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 21
Points percentage: 50.00%
Nov. 30 at the Avalanche. The Oilers and Avalanche are not exactly where many predicted they’d be in the standings. And the loss of Connor McDavid for the next two to three weeks doesn’t help matters for Edmonton. But with McDavid back in time (hopefully) for this matchup, this should be a good measuring stick for both clubs.
Next seven days: @ CGY (Nov. 3), vs. NJ (Nov. 4), vs. VGK (Nov. 6)
Previous ranking: 26
Points percentage: 45.00%
Nov. 9 vs. the Rangers. At some point, the Red Wings have to turn a corner back toward contention. Will this Original Six matchup be that turning point, following two losses to the Blueshirts in October?
Next seven days: vs. BUF (Nov. 2), @ CHI (Nov. 6)
Previous ranking: 25
Points percentage: 50.00%
Nov. 3, 19 against the Blackhawks. There was no uncertainty about who should be the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL draft; and sure enough, Connor Bedard was selected by the Blackhawks. However, the Ducks’ selection of Leo Carlsson at No. 2 raised some eyebrows at the time. Not anymore, as the Swede is second on his team in scoring this season. This pair of matchups will be a showcase for two of the league’s brightest young stars.
Next seven days: vs. CHI (Nov. 3), vs. VAN (Nov. 5)
Previous ranking: 22
Points percentage: 40.00%
Nov. 3 at the Rangers. Perhaps this Sunday matinee against their archrivals will stir something in the Isles, who haven’t gotten off to the best start in the first full season with Patrick Roy behind the bench.
Next seven days: @ BUF (Nov. 1), @ NYR (Nov. 3), vs. PIT (Nov. 5), @ OTT (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 28
Points percentage: 35.00%
Nov. 2, 11 against the Avalanche. The truth is, we could list all 15 games in November here; high preseason expectations have led to underwhelming early results, making every game count from here. But we’ll pick this pair against the Avalanche, as Nathan MacKinnon & Co. have been in that upper tier of contention (to which the Preds aspire) for the past handful of seasons.
Next seven days: vs. COL (Nov. 2), vs. LA (Nov. 4), @ WSH (Nov. 6), @ FLA (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 30
Points percentage: 40.91%
Nov. 26 vs. the UHC. At the 2022 NHL draft in Montreal, the Canadiens shocked many of their fans in attendance by selecting Juraj Slafkovsky first overall. Two picks later, the Coyotes took Logan Cooley. Much has happened since then — including the Coyotes transforming into the Utah Hockey Club — but this game will another showcase for two rising stars from that class.
Next seven days: @ PIT (Nov. 2), vs. CGY (Nov. 5), @ NJ (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 29
Points percentage: 31.82%
Nov. 6 vs. the Red Wings. Two iconic franchises. One of the most aesthetically pleasing uniform matchups in pro sports. No, they’re not exactly on top of the standings as they once were, but there’s something special about this old-school Norris Division showdown.
Next seven days: @ LA (Nov. 2), @ ANA (Nov. 3), vs. DET (Nov. 6), @ DAL (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 31
Points percentage: 40.91%
Nov. 7 at the Lightning. Matvei Michkov, the Flyers’ first-round pick in 2023, has taken the NHL by storm, with nine points through 10 games. In this matchup, he’ll be sharing the ice with two of the best Russian players in recent history, winger Nikita Kucherov and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Next seven days: vs. BOS (Nov. 2), @ CAR (Nov. 5), @ TB (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 23
Points percentage: 37.50%
Nov. 19 vs. the Lightning. Jake Guentzel lost his first game as a non-Penguin in Pittsburgh (with the Hurricanes, after last season’s trade deadline). Will his second trip back to the visitors locker room go any better — and how will fans greet him?
Next seven days: vs. MTL (Nov. 2), @ NYI (Nov. 5), @ CAR (Nov. 7)
Previous ranking: 32
Points percentage: 33.33%
Nov. 16 at the Penguins. In 2016, these two teams met in the Stanley Cup Final. This season, they’re meeting in the basement of the standings — with one of their appearances more shocking than the other’s. Can the Sharks punctuate this mini East Coast trip with a win against Sidney Crosby & Co.?
Next seven days: vs. VAN (Nov. 2), vs. CBJ (Nov. 5), vs. MIN (Nov. 7)
The San Francisco Giants are acquiring All-Star slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday evening.
The Giants are sending starter Jordan Hicks and 23-year-old lefty Kyle Harrison, among others, to Boston in exchange, sources said.
Devers, 28, is in just the second season of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed to stay in Boston in January 2023, however his relationship with the team suffered a significant blow after the star third baseman was reportedly blindsided by a move to designated hitter in the spring.
Tensions flared again last month after Devers refused an offer from the team to move him to first base after starting first baseman Triston Casas was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.
It reached a point where Red Sox owner John Henry met with the disgruntled star, making a rare trip to meet the team on the road and smooth things over after Devers’ pointed comments about the request to switch positions again.
Hicks and Harrison give a pitching-starved Red Sox team more depth on their staff while Devers provides a huge boost to a middling Giants offense.
Devers has more than 200 career home runs to his name and has a .894 OPS for Boston this season.
The deal was first reported by Fansided.
-
Alden Gonzalez
Shohei Ohtani‘s pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers might be quickly approaching.
Manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday that Ohtani would throw another simulated game in the coming days that could “potentially” be his last one, and a source told ESPN’s Buster Olney that Ohtani should join the Dodgers’ rotation “sooner rather than later,” potentially within the week.
Ohtani took a big step forward during his most recent simulated game at Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three innings against a couple of lower-level minor league players. Ohtani’s fastball reached the mid- to upper-90s, and he exhibited good command of his off-speed pitches in what amounted to his third time facing hitters. Afterward, Roberts said there was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could join the rotation before the All-Star break.
Because of his two-way designation, the Dodgers can carry Ohtani as an extra pitcher, which means he can throw two to three innings and have someone pitch after him as a piggyback starter. At this point, it seems that is the Dodgers’ plan.
The Dodgers’ pitching staff has again been plagued by injury, with 14 pitchers on the injured list, including four starting pitchers the team was heavily counting on for 2025 — Blake Snell, Tony Gonsolin, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow.
If Ohtani returns in July — the likely outcome at this point — he will be 22 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament.
The update isn’t as optimistic for Sasaki. He paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff. Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 and is not part of the team’s long-term pitching plans this season.
“I think that’s what the mindset should be,” Roberts said. “Being thrust into this environment certainly was a big undertaking for him, and now you layer in the health part and the fact he’s a starting pitcher, knowing what the build-up [required to return] entails … I think that’s the prudent way to go about it.”
Sasaki, 23, went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts after joining the Dodgers from the Pacific League’s Chuba Lotte Marines, averaging less than 4⅓ innings per start. He walked 22 and struck out 24 in 34⅓ innings, and his fastball averaged 95.7 mph, down 3-4 mph from his average in Japan.
Roberts said Sasaki was pain free when he resumed throwing in early June, but the pitcher was shut down after feeling discomfort this past week. Sasaki recently received a cortisone injection in the shoulder; Roberts said no further scans are planned.
“I don’t think it’s pain,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if it’s discomfort, if it’s tightness, if he’s just not feeling strong, whatever the adjective you want to use. That’s more of a question for Roki, as far as the sensation he’s feeling.
“He’s just not feeling like he can ramp it up, and we’re not going to push him to do something he doesn’t feel good about right now.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut