NHL Power Rankings: A new No. 1, and the game(s) of the month for all 32 teams

The Jets ' promising 2024 playoff entry ended pretty quickly at the hands of the Avalanche this past spring .

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 them in the 2025 postseason.

The Lightning and Capitals are both in playoff position as of this writing -- and might well be at the end of the month .

The Jets have four consecutive games against the same opponent in November .

The Maple Leafs have had major trouble beating the Bruins in recent seasons .

The Calgary Flames had to watch their cross-province antagonists get to within a game of a Stanley Cup this past spring .

The Golden Knights set the benchmark for early success as an expansion team getting all the way to the Stanley Cup Final .

The Blue Jackets are on the (early) playoff bubble in the Eastern Conference .

The Oilers and Avalanche are not exactly where many predicted they'd be in the standings.

The Ducks' selection of Leo Carlsson at No. 2 in the 2023 NHL draft raised some eyebrows at the time.