How far did the St. Louis Blues surge in the latest Central Division Power Ranking?
The St. Louis Blues look like a better team than we gave them credit for in the season’s early going, so how far did they surge in our most recent power ranking?
Following yet another thrilling win last night, the St. Louis Blues have earned the right to surge up in our Central Division Power Ranking at least a little. So, where did they end up, and which other teams also surged through the rankings?
Bad starts from a pair of favorites to contend helped the Blues, and they’re slowly starting to show us why projections don’t hold as much water as some of us may like to believe. Anyway, whether the trend will continue remains a mystery, so let’s enjoy this while it lasts, regardless of how long it lasts.
8 - Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche won’t be going anywhere unless they find a viable goaltender, but that might take some time. Until then, Nathan MacKinnon and Company must find a way to generate a lot of offense.
7 - Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators may have built what looks like an elite team on paper, but it’s also an old group. This squad would have contended for a Stanley Cup at one time, but they may have signed everyone at the back end of, if not past, their respective primes.
6 - Chicago Blackhawks
With so many new faces on such a young team, we knew the Blackhawks were probably going to struggle early. They haven’t been a good team, but even in the early stages of the season, the Hawks have at least taken a small step forward, and they’ll keep trending in the right direction.
5 - Utah Hockey Club
You might scoff at this one, but right now, the Utah Hockey Club looks like a team that will need to score four goals (or more) per game just to keep up its winning ways. Overall, this isn’t a formula that will bring consistent success.
4 - St. Louis Blues
The Blues have allowed more goals than they’ve scored, but this team has shown a lot of grit early and that the present retooling is working. I won’t get bold and proclaim that they’ll keep this up, but right now, I’ll keep saying that they’re going to be a fun team to watch.
3 - Minnesota Wild
I had no faith in the Minnesota Wild a few weeks back, but wow, what a surprise so far. As with the Blues, the Wild are winning games or at least getting loser points on strong, defensive play, with just 10 goals allowed in four games.
2 - Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are, predictably, once again off to a hot start and took a narrow loss on the eve of this article. But if they keep losing close matchups while mostly winning, they’ll be neck-and-neck with the top team on this list.
1 - Winnipeg Jets
So far, the Winnipeg Jets have played in just three games, but they’ve scored 10 times already while allowing just two goals. Should they keep this up, Connor Hellebuyck will contend for more than just the Vezina Trophy this season.
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