If time permits, I will try to post weekly rankings on Mondays...
I break things down into 5 groups
Front Runners, Next Best, meddlers, suckers and lottery bound.
Pittsburgh - That Western Canada swing was dominating, Crosby backhands better than other guys' clappers.
Tampa - Whatever happens in Vegas, you pay for in Arizona
Toronto - Missing two thirds of their top line for a while but sharing minutes early helps them LT
Colorado - Best line in hockey and a mobile defense, last year wasn't a fluke.
Nashville - Businesslike, some ups and downs but expected without Rinne
San Jose - Road travel always takes it's toll, but early gelling will pay dividends down the road.
Edmonton - Slow start forgotten.
Winnipeg - Until they have to play the Leafs in the playoffs they'll be ok. The PP is clicking even without Laine going, that will change.
Washington - Ovy handing out sticks to kids like Santa, the monkey is off his back and surrounding cast having fun. And that PP is just nuts.
Boston - Thin blue line right now, will be ok LT. Bergeron line on fire and no suspensions or controversy for Marchand (so far)
Carolina - Keep on clapping, keep on flossing, but have you notice that they just keep on shooting? Bad pk, overs delight LT
New Jersey - Quiet confidence, very business like, just wait till the two headed goalie monster returns.
Chicago - Fun to watch but playoffs a pipe dream with their defensive and goaltending struggles
Minnesota - Concerned about their PP, they need that to click much better to be successful.
Montreal - Much better than expected, they can skate and take some pressure off price, but scoring is still light and they are undersized, should regress some.
Columbus - Lots of distractions, too much Korpisalo early in the season, smells like a Bobrovsky trade is coming and they are just setting up for the aftermath. Panarin in OT: Deadly!
Buffalo - Don't look now but change in goal giving them consistency and confidence, young D growing up fast and lots of talent on offense, plenty of upwards mobility.
Calgary - Mike Smith can't stop a beach ball right now, until they remedy that Flames in trouble in spite of some nice data in other departments.
Dallas - Top heavy, but when they are clicking they are dangerous. Missing the sandpaper of Roussel more than you think. Spezza still alive, coaching change resuscitated him.
Vegas - Early blows on D and teams actually caring about hockey when visiting Vegas make things a bit tougher, still adjusting to increased lineup depth.
Vancouver - Shocking start, a bit like Leafs last year, ahead of schedule but they don't generate a lot of scoring chances, the crazy shooting percentages won't hold up LT, will regress.
NY Islanders - Solid goaltending and a bit of depth scoring masking some big issues, coaching definitely helps, but this is not a team that will score consistently.
Florida - BobbyLou injury a massive blow early in the season and OT losses piling up but not yet concerned, better than stats would suggest, maybe trip to Finland will help them take off.
St Louis - Jake Allen. nuff said!
Anaheim - Bad team with injuries and little depth, 3 rookies in top lines not helping, only saving grade has been the goaltending of Gibson. Should regress short term.
Arizona - Don't look now but they are .500 and that's with a Coyote Ugly 10.3% pp so far, Galchenyuk's return should help elevate that.
Ottawa - Smoke and mirrors, this early season semi success won't last long, especially on the road without last change.
Philadelphia - Worst pk in the league and PP not clicking. Might have to get Gritty in the lineup to light a fuse under their collective asses.
NY Rangers - Future might be bright but it's not gonna help them much this season. Lack of speed and a bad PK, even Lundy can't cover much of those problems.
Los Angeles - Old, slow, injured, lacking depth. Blow it up, take your lumps, should have done it last year instead of trying to lipstick the pig. Stevens chalk to be first coach fired.
Detroit - Bad product on the ice, empty building, great move to keep Zedina as far away from this train wreck for the time being.