NHL Power Rankings: Wild Rise Behind Kirill Kaprizov; Penguins and Predators Drop

Kirill Kaprizov is in the penultimate season of his contract with Minnesota, and Wild general manager Bill Guerin said last summer that winning would be the easiest way to convince the 27-year-old Russian winger to make the "State of Hockey" his long-term home.

Well, you can't say it's not working out so far.

The Wild are third overall in the league standings, and the former fifth-round pick is off to his best personal start, too, producing at a pace through 15 games that'd leave him with career highs in goals (49), assists (104) and points (153) if he maintains it.

The early-season spike has kept Minnesota near the top of the B/R Power Rankings for a couple of weeks, and they took two steps closer to the penthouse recently, moving from fifth to third after staff-wide voting that closed Wednesday afternoon.

It's a heady rise for a franchise that missed the playoffs in 2023-24 and hasn't won a series since 2015, when Kaprizov was a teenage phenom in the Kontinental Hockey League.

But it's not all sunshine and happiness across the league these days.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators were among the biggest rankings droppers this week, with the Penguins skidding from 25th to 28th and the Predators falling perilously close to the bottom of the barrel with a dip from 29th to 31st.

Votes were cast that awarded 32 points for first place all the way down to a single point for No. 32. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.

*Votes were tallied after games played on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

Previous Ranking: 30

Overall Record: 5-9-2

The Canadiens scored just 12 goals in a six-game skid that saw them muster a single OT point, but they broke out a bit with seven in a win at Buffalo. "I think the group had had enough," coach Martin St. Louis said. "We weren't perfect, but we played good hockey."

Previous Ranking: 29

Overall Record: 5-9-2

The expectations were high after a busy summer in Nashville, but it's not translated to the ice and the woes have continued for the Predators with four losses in five games. The latest skid dropped the offseason champions into a tie for the league basement with Montreal.

Previous Ranking: 31

Overall Record: 5-9-3

A four-game Eastern trip began with a back-to-back for the Sharks, who won at New Jersey on Sunday before losing in Philadelphia the next night. San Jose will visit the New York Rangers on Thursday and finish at Pittsburgh on Saturday before returning home on Monday.

Previous Ranking: 19

Overall Record: 5-8-2

It's been a particularly rough November for the NHL's representatives of middle Ohio, who opened the month with a 6-2 home loss to front-running Winnipeg before a five-game trip that yielded an 0-4-1 record and an ugly 23-9 goal differential. They're back home Friday.

Previous Ranking: 25

Overall Record: 6-9-2

It's not often a loss generates an apology from a veteran like Evgeni Malkin to fans, but that's what happened after Pittsburgh laid a 7-1 egg at home against Dallas on Monday. The team entered Wednesday tied for last in leaguewide goal differential with a minus-21.

Previous Ranking: 26

Overall Record: 6-9-1

A western trip is no picnic but the Blackhawks got off in style with an OT win over red-hot Minnesota on Sunday. Chicago visits Seattle and Vancouver before returning home on Tuesday. Still, the team's 2.5 goals per game were tied for 26th in the NHL through Monday.

Previous Ranking: 28

Overall Record: 5-7-2

The injury bug has begun biting the Ducks in recent days, forcing trips to IR for both defenseman Cam Fowler and forward Robby Fabbri. Fowler will have missed three games before he's eligible to return Friday, and Fabbri left Sunday's win against Columbus.

Previous Ranking: 32

Overall Record: 6-8-2

Never count on John Tortorella to make the conventional move. The veteran coach sat rookie phenom Matvei Michkov for two games as a healthy scratch then smiled as he returned with a goal and an assist on Monday, his fourth multi-point game of the season.

Previous Ranking: 15

Overall Record: 7-9-0

A season-long five-game homestand that started off so well ended wretchedly for the Blues, who gave up three third-period goals in a loss to Boston. St. Louis lost the final three games at Enterprise Center to Utah, Washington and the Bruins by a combined 15-5 score. Yuck.

Previous Ranking: 22

Overall Record: 6-7-1

A 3-1 loss to Toronto on Saturday became a 4-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday in which Detroit had 37 shots and gave Derek Lalonde a new level of angst. "I don't know if I've been in a more frustrating hockey game," he said, "and I've been coaching for 30 years."

Previous Ranking: 27

Overall Record: 7-8-1

There's no place like home for the Kraken, who returned to Seattle to win two straight (against Vegas and Columbus) after dropping the final four games of a five-game Eastern trip. Interestingly, they've scored four goals in a period four times this season—best in the league.

Previous Ranking: 23

Overall Record: 7-8-1

As if giving up seven in a home loss to the skidding Canadiens wasn't bad enough, the Sabres find themselves in limbo now waiting on the status of Tage Thompson. The 27-year-old exited with a lower-body injury and will be a big loss, having scored 11 goals in 16 games.

Previous Ranking: 24

Overall Record: 6-6-4

It's been an OK month so far for the Islanders, who are 3-1-2 in six games after rallying to reach OT before losing a 4-3 decision at Edmonton. "There are nights you're going home and say, 'OK, we stole a point,'" coach Patrick Roy said. "And (Tuesday), that was the case."

Previous Ranking: 17

Overall Record: 6-6-3

A four-game road trip wasn't much fun for the artists formerly known as the Coyotes, who were shut out twice and lost in OT alongside a win in St. Louis. Utah is an inglorious 22nd in the league in scoring (2.73 goals per game) and an even worse 25th in goals against (3.40).

Previous Ranking: 21

Overall Record: 8-7-2

If the Bruins get going on a prolonged win streak, look back at Tuesday night in St. Louis where they scored three times in the third period to beat the Blues. It was the first time in eight tries this season that Boston won a game in which it trailed after two periods.

Previous Ranking: 20

Overall Record: 8-8-0

An assist in a win over Nashville got Nathan MacKinnon to 30 points in 16 games, making him the first player in the league to get there this season. He's one of four active NHL players to reach the number in 16 or fewer games and is tied for third-fastest in franchise history.

Previous Ranking: 16

Overall Record: 8-7-1

And suddenly, Connor McDavid and the Oilers may be back. He's produced seven points in Edmonton's last two games and the team is 6-3-1 in its last 10 after a desultory start. A single point separates No. 97 from becoming the fourth-fastest player in history to reach 1,000.

Previous Ranking: 13

Overall Record: 8-6-3

Fatigue is a thing for the Flames as they head home following a stretch of five games in five cities in just eight days. They'd gone 2-0-2 in the first four before a 3-1 loss at Vancouver on Tuesday. "That's no excuse," forward Justin Kirkland said. "We know what we're getting into."

Previous Ranking: 18

Overall Record: 8-7-0

Has the emergence of Linus Ullmark finally begun in Ottawa? It appears that way lately at least, given two straight wins in which he's allowed two goals on 43 shots—a .953 save percentage—including a 2-0 win at Toronto for his first shutout in a Senators uniform.

Previous Ranking: 14

Overall Record: 7-6-1

It'll be a long time between wins (or even tries at wins) for the Lightning, who lost to Philadelphia in a shootout last Thursday and won't play again until this Thursday against Winnipeg. They've lost four straight since beating Colorado in Denver on October 30.

Previous Ranking: 12

Overall Record: 9-6-2

It doesn't seem logical given his obvious star power, but the Maple Leafs have actually fared well without Auston Matthews in the past. Toronto is 38-20-2 in games Matthews has missed since reaching the NHL in 2016 and was 3-1-0 in the first four without him this season.

Previous Ranking: 8

Overall Record: 9-5-3

It's the first sign of wobbling for the Kings, who lost three times in regulation in their first 14 games before dropping two of three from Thursday to Monday. Los Angeles scored three total goals in losses to Vancouver and Calgary and is 0-5-1 when it scores less than three times.

Previous Ranking: 11

Overall Record: 11-6-2

There's no better way to build confidence than heading to the home of the streaking defending champions and laying a beating—in this case, by a 4-1 margin—on them. And it's just another step in a recent run for the Devils, who've won six of their last eight.

Previous Ranking: 10

Overall Record: 9-5-0

There were records aplenty from the Stars' Monday visit to Pittsburgh, where they shook off a 1-3-0 stretch with six first-period goals and won 7-1. It was the seventh six-goal period in franchise history and the second since it relocated from Minnesota to Dallas in 1993.

Previous Ranking: 7

Overall Record: 9-4-2

The Golden Knights became the last team in the league to lose at home when they fell to Carolina after winning eight straight at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas' 27 home wins in 2023-24 were tied for fourth behind Colorado (31), the New York Rangers (30) and Edmonton (28).

Previous Ranking: 4

Overall Record: 9-4-1

There's no hotter hockey story in New York than the contract status of goaltender Igor Shesterkin, and there's a chance the distraction is legit. The former Vezina winner has allowed 10 goals on his last 42 shots and four or more in four of 11 starts this season.

Previous Ranking: 9

Overall Record: 8-3-3

A four-goal loss to one division rival (Edmonton) on Saturday was enough to get the Canucks ready for another, and they responded with a 3-1 defeat of Calgary. It was Vancouver's fourth win in five games and got it into third place in the Pacific behind Los Angeles and Vegas.

Previous Ranking: 6

Overall Record: 10-4-0

Alex Ovechkin has been getting most of the goal-scoring chase publicity but at least a share is warranted by veteran center Dylan Strome, who assisted on the "Great 8's" first 10 goals this season and has fueled the veteran's resurgence with linemate Aliaksei Protas.

Previous Ranking: 3

Overall Record: 11-4-1

There can only be one "hottest team in hockey" tag each week, and the Panthers lost a claim on it when their seven-game win streak ended at home against New Jersey. The 4-1 loss kept them from matching the 2021-22 team as the franchise's fastest to 25 points.

Previous Ranking: 5

Overall Record: 10-2-3

It ended with an OT loss, but Minnesota coach John Hynes was still pleased with his team going 2-0-1 across a three-games-in-four-nights road trip. "That's how you have to find ways to (win) games, get points in games," he said. "Just really proud of the mental toughness."

Previous Ranking: 2

Overall Record: 11-3-0

The Hurricanes have gotten mileage out of myriad recent goalies but few have approached the run assembled by Pyotr Kochetkov, who entered Wednesday with an 8-1 record on the heels of seven straight wins. His 2.45 goals-against average is eighth in the league.

Previous Ranking: 1

Overall Record: 15-1-0

Yes, it's been less than 20 percent of the season, but it's still getting difficult to come up with weekly superlatives about the streaking Jets, who became the fastest team in league history to reach 15 wins (in 16 games) on Tuesday, beating a mark (17) held by five teams.