NHL power rankings: Picking out potential pumpkins

Pumpkins are to October what pucks are to hockey.

OK, that’s a slight exaggeration, but the month begins with pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and ends with the gourds turning ghoulish, hollowed out and illuminated for Halloween.

Autumn vistas are dotted by pumpkins’ bright orange hue, making them a can’t-miss part of the entire season.

Of course, October is also the month the NHL gets off and running, and a number of players are out to can’t-miss starts themselves. For some, the strong play is an expected part of what should be another strong season.

In other cases — whether a player is popping off for the first time or greatly outstripping previous expectations — shooting out of the gate comes with questions about sustainability.

With the clock about to strike midnight on October, will any of these guys turn into pumpkins? We’re using this week’s power rankings to find one interesting case for all 32 squads.

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1. Carolina Hurricanes (10-2-2): Pyotr Kochetkov has had good runs in the league before, so it’s not like his current 8-0-0 record and .918 save percentage are totally shocking.

The hope in Carolina is obviously that Kochetkov’s concussion issues are a thing of the past and the 27-year-old can have a nice run of good health.

2. Boston Bruins (9-3-1): For a couple years, Bruins fans have felt like the team bought a lemon when it inked Elias Lindholm to a big free agent contact in summer 2024.

Lindholm, though, has rediscovered his offensive touch this year and — after failing to hit 50 points during his first two years in Boston — the veteran Swede is playing at a 70-point clip.

3. Minnesota Wild (9-3-2): Maxim Shabanov scored five goals in 44 outings during his first NHL season last year, so it’s thrilling for the Wild to see the 26-year-old winger bagging four — including a strike in each of his past two outings — through 13 contests this fall.

4. Edmonton Oilers (8-2-2): Seven years after being the 10th-overall pick in the 2019 draft, Vasily Podkolzin is thriving on Edmonton’s top line with eight goals in 13 games.

That’s the same number he deposited in 82 contests during his first year with the Oilers in 2024-25.

5. Vegas Golden Knights (9-4-1): Brett Howden had one heck of a coming out party last spring, when he led the playoffs with 14 goals.

While nobody expected that kind of production from him this season, the 28-year-old winger is entrenching himself as a valuable member of the Golden Knights by scoring at a 30-goal clip. Howden has one 20-goal showing on the books in eight NHL seasons and has scored more than 10 goals on just two occasions.

6. Tampa Bay Lightning (7-3-1): Just follow us on this one: last year, Tampa had an undrafted 29-year-old defenceman make a huge offensive leap when Darren Raddysh posted 70 points.

Now, undrafted 28-year-old defenceman Charle-Edouard D’Astous — who posted 29 points in his first NHL season last year — is playing at a 50-point pace after recording points in each of his past four outings. We won’t get carried away with the comparison, but there is certainly a notable precedent there.

7. Dallas Stars (7-4-1): Undrafted Arttu Hyry has three goals in 12 games, the same amount he scored in 20 NHL games last year.

The big Finn is playing over 14 minutes per night for Dallas in the middle of the third line. It’s not the most glamorous role, but significant nonetheless.

8. Colorado Avalanche (7-5-1): Artturi Lehkonen has always been a dependable goal-getter.

Right now, though, only two NHLers — Kirill Kaprizov and Leon Draisaitl — have more goals than his 10. By the way, Lehkonen — whose previous career high is 27 tallies — is eligible to become a UFA in July.

9. Montreal Canadiens (7-3-2): Jacob Fowler is the name on everyone’s mind in Montreal right now, but big things have always been expected from the young stopper.

On the other hand, Zack Bolduc — after a fairly miserable first year with the Canadiens — has been a dependable third-liner while kicking in five goals in 12 contests.

10. Washington Capitals (7-4-0): Look, everybody knows Alex Tuch is going to remain a fantastic player.

That’s why the Caps shelled out to sign him as a UFA in the first place. But nine goals in 11 games?

Could this be a 45-goal showing for Tuch in his Washington debut?

11. Utah Mammoth (8-5-0): Barrett Hayton had quite the off-season, inking an offer sheet with the New Jersey Devils that was ultimately matched by the Mammoth.

The fifth-overall pick from 2018 has eight points in 13 games from the third line, quality production from that spot.

12. New Jersey Devils (8-5-0): Second-year NHLer Arseny Gritsyuk has 10 points in 13 games while skating on the top line with Jack Hughes.

Is this a real breakout for the 25-year-old in his second NHL campaign or is there a pumpkin turn coming?

13. Florida Panthers (7-4-2): Seth Jones’ highest point total in the NHL was 57 points and that came nearly 10 years and two teams ago in 2017-18 with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Right now, Jones is on pace for 97 points.

14. Seattle Kraken (8-4-1): Could Kaapo Kakko — the second-overall selection in 2019 — be finding a new gear at 25 years old?

The Finnish winger has 10 points in 13 outings.

15. Ottawa Senators (8-5-0): Big Tyler Kleven is playing a vital 20:55 per night for the Sens, who’ve endured significant injuries on the back end this fall.

That’s three minutes per night more than Kleven was seeing last year.

16. Toronto Maple Leafs (7-6-2): The Leafs were hopeful Easton Cowan would take a second-season step, but 14 points in 15 games?

Pretty impressive stuff from the “Cowboy.”

17. Buffalo Sabres (5-4-3): Owen Power is levelling up in Year 5 with the Sabres.

The 2021 first-overall pick has 11 points in 12 games. His career high to this point is 40.

18. New York Islanders (6-4-2): Logan Stanley couldn’t find a team all summer, but the Isles swooped in right before the season and inked the big man to fill a void on the blue line.

Suddenly, Stanley is playing 20 minutes per night on the top pair with Matthew Schaefer.

19. Detroit Red Wings (5-4-3): It’s a small, four-game sample, but Daniil Tarasov has a .940 save percentage (thanks largely to a 30-save, 1-0 shootout loss in Montreal).

Still, the 27-year-old has had some buzz around him in the past, so perhaps he’ll find a new gear in the Motor City.

20. Nashville Predators (4-3-5): Ryan O’Reilly might be the least volatile player in the league, but this level of production is outrageous.

The veteran centre is up over a point-per-game with 13 in just a dozen contests. The 35-year-old has gone over 70 points twice in his 16-season career, though one of those times was last year with the Preds.

21. San Jose Sharks (6-6-1): To be fair, Alex Nedeljkovic’s save percentage tends to stay somewhere between .895 and .905, so it’s not surprising to see him at .903.

Still, it’s vital for this Sharks team that the veteran continue his steady play while Yaroslav Askarov figures out how to be a go-to goalie at the NHL level.

22. Columbus Blue Jackets (5-5-0): Kent Johnson had 57 points two years ago, the high point in what’s been a very up-and-down NHL career.

The fifth-overall pick from 2021 has been dangerous this season, though, recording 10 points in 10 games.

23. Pittsburgh Penguins (5-6-1): Six goals in 12 games is a nice start to his Pens career for Nick Robertson.

Let’s see how things go over the course of a full season.

24. New York Rangers (7-6-1): Rangers fans are likely trying to temper hopes, but the big Alexis Lafreniere breakout may finally be upon us.

The top pick in the 2020 draft has 16 points in 14 outings, including nine goals. He’s yet to record a 60-point season through six NHL campaigns.

25. St. Louis Blues (5-6-1): St. Louis spent two first-round picks to get Mason McTavish, so six goals in a dozen games with the Blues is a nice start in Missouri for 2021’s third-overall pick.

McTavish hit 20 goals just once in four tries with the Anaheim Ducks.

26. Anaheim Ducks (5-6-1): Jackson Lacombe is widely viewed as one of the best blueliners in the NHL.

Still, his point-per-game pace this year is a leap from the 58 he posted last year.

27. Los Angeles Kings (3-6-2): Alex Laferriere just keeps making progress every year, so it’s easy to believe he’s taking another step with nine points in 11 outings.

28. Winnipeg Jets (4-5-3): Has Cole Perfetti already pumpkin’d on us?

He had eight points in his first six outings, but his past six have brought just a single assist. To be fair, everything has gone to pot recently in Winnipeg, where the Jets have lost six straight.

29. Calgary Flames (5-7-0): Devin Cooley — the early-season story in Calgary — was forced out of Wednesday night’s loss to the Oilers with an injury.

The Flames still have to be encouraged by the 11 points 26-year-old winger Joel Farabee has put up in 11 contests.

30. Chicago Blackhawks (4-8-0): Not much has gone well in Chicago so far, but Roman Kantserov’s five goals in 12 games — including one in each of his past two showings — is a ray of light.

31. Philadelphia Flyers (3-8-4): Matvei Michkov is nearly halfway to his 20-goal total from last year with nine in 15 games this year.

In a miserable fall, Michkov’s production is a source of optimism for the Flyers.

32. Vancouver Canucks (3-10-1): Jonathan Lekkerimaki had two goals in his most recent outing to give him four in his past four games.

Production like that from 2022’s 15th-overall pick is the kind of thing that brings some hope to a rebuild.