NHL Power Rankings: Flyers flounder to start new season as Rick Tocchet searches for answers

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Avalanche The Avalanche are averaging seven goals per game out of the gates, and four players have at least two goals. That'll do the trick for a team that's deep on the blue line and solid in goal. -- 2-0-0 2

Golden Knights Jack Eichel has picked up right where he left off last season with seven assists already. He's evolved into one of the premier distributors in the world. 3 3-1-0 3

Lightning The power play, normally a key weapon for the Bolts, has gotten off to an ice cold start. Tampa is 0-for-13 on the man advantage so far, but it hasn't mattered much. The Lightning are winning anyway. 3 2-1-0 4

Wild Newsflash: Quinn Hughes is quite good. The superstar defenseman already has four points this season, and he's been all over the ice. He's poised for an all-time campaign in Minnesota. 3 2-0-1 5

Mammoth Utah's power play is operating at a 61.5% clip through four games. Dylan Guenther and Nick Schmaltz have been eating on the man advantage with a combined five goals. 3 3-1-0 6

Panthers It feels like deja vu all over again for the Panthers. Aleksander Barkov will likely miss at least six weeks with a leg injury, and Brad Marchand had to be helped off the ice with an apparent knee injury on Tuesday night. 4 2-0-2 7

Hurricanes I probably underestimated how much Seth Jarvis' absence would kneecap the offense. He tallied 32 goals last year, and Carolina could really use that scoring as its potted just five goals in three games. 4 2-1-1 8

Oilers The big three of McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard are rolling. The Oilers have scored 17 goals in three games. They've also allowed 14 goals. Surely, the lack of goaltending won't haunt them when it matters most. 3 2-0-1 9

Capitals Alex Ovechkin will officially retire at the end of the season. Can the Capitals send him off with a Cup? They made serious upgrades in the offseason, but they probably need to make a move at center. Dylan Larkin incoming. -- 1-1-0 10

Stars Everyone was wondering what was wrong with the Stars after an 0-2-0 start, and then they throttled the Sharks. That was a get-right opportunity, and Dallas didn't miss it. 6 1-2-0 11

Senators Linus Ullmark is off to a great start in goal, and that's a very encouraging sign for the Senators. Unfortunately, Ullmark is already banged up, but he should be back in the crease shortly. 2 2-1-0 12

Rangers The Rangers desperately needed a hot start after the disaster that was the 2026-27 season. They've gotten just that, and now it's about maintaining that momentum. 8 4-1-0 13

Penguins That beatdown of the Flyers on opening night had to feel good after the way Philadelphia completely shut down the Penguins last postseason. The offense has been clicking, and Evgeni Malkin is leading the way. 9 2-1-0 14

Canadiens The Canadiens didn't sign 35-year-old Chris Kreider for his sage wisdom. Kreider is getting run with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the team's top line. If it works, that will really improve the Habs' forward depth. 4 1-1-1 15

Sabres If the Sabres are going to repeat last year's success, the goaltending has to hold up. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is off to a shaky start in that regard. He's allowed eight goals on 37 shots across two starts. 1 2-1-0 16

Maple Leafs It was a tough start for Gavin McKenna through his first three NHL games, but he broke through with two points on Tuesday. That should ease some pressure on the No. 1 overall pick. 1 2-2-0 17

Devils As a team, the Devils are shooting 5.3% and have posted a save percentage of 85.4%. I highly doubt either of those numbers stick for very long. 5 1-2-0 18

Blue Jackets Matthew Knies has made himself right at home in Columbus. He tallied three points in his debut, and the Blue Jackets have to be thrilled with those early returns. 2 1-1-0 19

Ducks Much was expected of Leo Carlsson after he signed a massive contract in the offseason, and he's delivered so far with five points in just two games. 4 2-0-0 20

Sharks San Jose is going to be just as fun as I had hoped. The youngsters are flying around every night, and Igor Chernyshov already looks like he could be a must-watch player. 1 2-1-0 21

Bruins When the Bruins acquired JJ Perterka from the Mammoth, they were hoping for a bounce-back campaign. So far, so good. He scored in the season-opener and tallied the overtime winner against the Jets. 3 2-2-0 22

Jets No Connor Hellebuyck, no problem. Kyle Connor will just put the team on his back, which is probably what has to happen if Winnipeg is going to go anywhere. 4 2-0-1 23

Kings Rolling with Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg in goal was a risk, and it's cost L.A. so far. Those two have combined to allow 7.19 goals above average through two games. The Kings just don't have the scoring to overcome bad goaltending. 4 0-2-1 24

Predators Steven Stamkos just passed Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla on the all-time goals list the 626th and 627th tallies of his career. The Preds need him to have quite a few more if they're going to sniff the playoffs. 1 1-1-1 25

Blues Joel Hofer pitched a shutout in the Blues' season-opener against the Stars. Jordan Binnington allowed six goals against the Avs one night later. Just make it Hofer's net full-time already. 7 1-2-0 26

Islanders Ilya Sorokin is willing to drag the Islanders to relevance again this season. He's already up to 4.93 goals above average in two starts. 2 1-2-0 27

Kraken It's been a decent start for the Kraken... BUT... they've already played two games against the Flames. We'll know more about the team when it plays NHL-caliber opponents. 3 2-2-0 28

Red Wings Dylan Larkin turned boos in to cheers on Tuesday night as he notched two points in his season debut. I'm still not sure fences can be fully mended, but that was a good start. 1 1-2-0 29

Flyers Rick Tocchet said his team is making "disturbing" plays, and the numbers agree. Philadelphia has posted a ghastly 26.0% xG share at five-on-five. It's a small sample size, but that's a red flag. 12 0-2-2 30

Canucks Paul Cotter's one-year, $2.15 million contract is apparently the greatest deal in NHL history because he's already a Rocket Richard Trophy contender with four goals in two games. 2 2-2-0 31

Blackhawks This defense is going to be as big a problem as anticipated. Poor Spencer Knight will have to be Dominik Hasek for the Blackhawks to remain competitive on a nightly basis. 2 1-3-0 32

Flames Calgary has allowed 16 goals. It has scored just three. It has played the Kraken (twice) and the Canucks. Oof. 1 0-3-0