One month into this season-long journey, we're starting to know which teams are thriving and which teams are troubled. But even the most successful winning machines have a gear or two they'd like to tighten, while the least successful teams are just hoping the wheels don't completely fall off in the first weeks. For this week's Power Rankings -- voted, as always, by ESPN's panel of experts -- we look at the most troubling trends for all 31 teams, through Wednesday night's games.
How we rank: We use a panel of voters, and these rankings reflect which teams voters think would win head-to-head matchups. Higher-ranked teams are favored over lower-ranked teams. A run of wins doesn't guarantee a jump, and a couple of losses doesn't guarantee a fall.
Previous rankings: Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3
1. St. Louis Blues
Record: 10-2-1
Week 3 ranking: No. 6
The Blues reach the top spot in our rankings despite an average power play (20th, 16.3 percent) and an even more pedestrian penalty kill (26th, 76.6 percent), all coming with the 13th highest time on the PK (76:37).
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
Record: 10-2-1
Week 3 ranking: No. 2
The pairing of Dan Girardi and Braydon Coburn has plenty of experience, and allows plenty of shot attempts to opponents: They're a combined minus-42 in Corsi, some of that as a pairing and some of that playing with others at 5-on-5.
3. Los Angeles Kings
Record: 9-2-1
Week 3 ranking: No. 3
Granted, not having Jeff Carter is a rather solid excuse, but the Kings are tied for third-fewest power-play goals this season with six and are 23rd in power-play attempts.
4. New Jersey Devils
Record: 9-2-0
Week 3 ranking: No. 7
The Devils have been outshot in nine of their 11 games and are fourth in average shots allowed, at 34.5 per game.
5. Columbus Blue Jackets
Record: 8-4-0
Week 3 ranking: No. 9
Brandon Dubinsky had his alternate captaincy stripped away and hasn't scored a goal in 12 games this season. He also has just two assists, despite seeing time with Boone Jenner and Cam Atkinson.
6. New York Islanders
Record: 7-4-1
Week 3 ranking: No. 18
Regress-to-the-mean alert! The Islanders lead the NHL with a 104.6 PDO, with a 10.75 shooting percentage and a .933 save percentage at 5-on-5. That's not going to last.
7. Toronto Maple Leafs
Record: 8-5-0
Week 3 ranking: No. 4
Frederik Andersen has faced more high-danger shots (58) than any goalie in the league, giving up 11 goals.
8. Dallas Stars
Record: 7-5-0
Week 3 ranking: No. 13
Jason Spezza had five assists but zero goals in 12 games last month, while Martin Hanzal had one goal in 11 games.
9. Winnipeg Jets
Record: 6-3-2
Week 3 ranking: No. 17
The Jets have the second-worst possession numbers in the league, with a 45.74 Corsi percentage that's down from last season (49.28).
10. Pittsburgh Penguins
Record: 8-5-1
Week 3 ranking: No. 8
The Penguins are the runaway leader in scoring chances against with 338, the only team with more than 300, according to Natural Stat Trick.
11. Vegas Golden Knights
Record: 8-3-0
Week 3 ranking: No. 1
The Golden Knights have been brutal in the third period since hitting the road after their seven-game homestand, getting outscored 7-1 by the Islanders and Rangers.
12. Ottawa Senators
Record: 5-2-5
Week 3 ranking: No. 10
As you might have gleaned from their record, the Senators have five overtime or shootout losses, most in the NHL this season.
13. Chicago Blackhawks
Record: 6-5-2
Week 3 ranking: No. 5
The Blackhawks only have two defensemen with a positive Corsi plus/minus this season in Duncan Keith (plus-2) and Jan Rutta (plus-1). Gustav Forsling? He's a minus-30.
14. San Jose Sharks
Record: 7-5-0
Week 3 ranking: No. 16
At this point last season, defenseman Brent Burns already had four goals. After 12 games this season, he's still looking for his first, although he does have seven assists.
15. Anaheim Ducks
Record: 6-5-1
Week 3 ranking: No. 12
The Ducks have spent 28:41 more killing penalties than on the power play, the largest disparity in the NHL this season.
16. Calgary Flames
Record: 6-6-0
Week 3 ranking: No. 24
The Flames are averaging 2.25 goals per game, second fewest in the NHL. But more than the Oilers, so there's that.
17. Vancouver Canucks
Record: 6-4-2
Week 3 ranking: No. 20
Erik Gudbranson doesn't have a point in 11 games, has been suspended for a game and has a Corsi plus/minus of minus-46. That's quite a start.
18. Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 6-6-1
Week 3 ranking: No. 14
The Flyers are 22nd on the penalty kill at 75.0 percent, giving up a goal to the Blackhawks' struggling power play Wednesday.
19. Nashville Predators
Record: 5-5-2
Week 3 ranking: No. 15
The Predators are last in the NHL in even-strength goals, with 12. The somewhat silver lining is that they've only given up 17.
20. Washington Capitals
Record: 5-6-1
Week 3 ranking: No. 11
The Capitals have allowed the first goal in a game an NHL-high nine times, going 3-6-0 in those games.
21. Carolina Hurricanes
Record: 4-4-2
Week 3 ranking: No. 25
Scott Darling, the goalie acquired to fix the Hurricanes' issues between the pipes, has an .896 even-strength save percentage in eight games.
22. Boston Bruins
Record: 4-3-3
Week 3 ranking: No. 21
David Backes is undergoing surgery to remove a portion of his colon and will miss about eight weeks. After that, perhaps he can finally score a goal this season and get back on track.
23. Colorado Avalanche
Record: 6-5-0
Week 3 ranking: No. 19
At .907, the Avs have the worst team save percentage in the NHL at even strength, including a .902 from Semyon Varlamov.
24. Detroit Red Wings
Record: 6-6-1
Week 3 ranking: No. 23
The Red Wings are 5-1-1 when they score first, and 1-5-0 when they don't. So, word of advice: Score first.
25. Minnesota Wild
Record: 4-4-2
Week 3 ranking: No. 22
Take your pick on lousy possession numbers for the Wild, but we'll go with Jonas Brodin, his epic minus-44 in Corsi this season and his 42.57 Corsi percentage. He's making Matt Dumba look like Nick Lidstrom by comparison.
26. Florida Panthers
Record: 4-6-1
Week 3 ranking: No. 27
The Panthers are surrendering 36.5 shots per game, the highest average in the NHL this season. Yes, Gerard Gallant's expansion team is giving up fewer shots (33.6) than his former team.
27. New York Rangers
Record: 4-7-2
Week 3 ranking: No. 29
The Rangers have been outscored 20-13 in the first period, which is the kind of thing that leads to speculation about your coach being fired.
28. Edmonton Oilers
Record: 3-7-1
Week 3 ranking: No. 28
Connor McDavid (13 points) is currently being outscored by the following players: Evgenii Dadonov, Josh Bailey and Brayden Point.
29. Montreal Canadiens
Record: 4-7-1
Week 3 ranking: No. 30
As The Great Jonathan Drouin Center Experiment continues, he's taken 195 faceoffs and has a 43.6 winning percentage. Which is what you'd expect from a winger forced to take faceoffs.
30. Buffalo Sabres
Record: 3-7-2
Week 3 ranking: No. 26
The Sabres are averaging 2.42 goals per game this season, which is about what they averaged all of last season, which is the kind of news that probably makes Jack Eichel want to snap another stick over his leg.
31. Arizona Coyotes
Record: 1-11-1
Week 3 ranking: No. 31
Some really discouraging news for the Coyotes: Turns out the NHL has something called a "draft lottery" that doesn't guarantee the last-place team the first-overall pick in the draft. Uh-oh.