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The reigning NHL champions are from the Eastern Conference, but the elite teams in the West are making a substantial claim on preeminent status now that the regular season has turned into 2025.
Four of the top five teams in this week’s installment of our rankings reside in the West, led by the Vegas Golden Knights, who were a unanimous voting choice for the top spot after earning runners-up billing last week.
Coach Bruce Cassidy’s team supplanted the Winnipeg Jets, who dipped to third, while the Minnesota Wild jumped three spots from fifth to second. The Los Angeles Kings climbed one place from sixth to fifth to complete the Western quartet, one spot behind the Washington Capitals, who represent the East at No. 4.
In fact, only the Capitals and the No. 6 Toronto Maple Leafs held off a complete Western takeover, given the placements of the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche in positions 7, 8 and 9, respectively.
The New Jersey Devils had the week’s biggest tumble from fourth place to 10th. Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings were the biggest positive movers of the week, jumping five spots from 27th to 22nd.
Votes were cast that awarded 32 points for first place all the way down to a single point for No. 32. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.