NHL Power Rankings: A new No. 1, and a Christmas wish for every team

It’s the holiday season here at Power Rankings HQ and it’s time to get festive.

Santa Claus is coming to town, flying his reindeer from rink to rink, but not without checking his list twice. Every team has sent in their wishlist early and our North Pole sources have provided The Rankings Boys with the tea on what each team has asked for. And it’s clear some franchises took the exercise more seriously than others.

We don’t know which teams are naughty or nice, but we do know what they want for Christmas. Here’s one thing each team is hoping to find under their tree.

Last week: 2
Sean’s ranking: 1
Dom’s ranking: 1

A home-cooked meal

The Kings won an NHL record 11th straight road game to start the season, a byproduct of being an absolute wagon and our new No. 1. They’re firing on all cylinders. Still, we’re hoping the home fans can get some wins of their own under the tree over the rest of the season. The Kings are only 5-4-3 in their own barn.

Last week: 1
Sean’s ranking: 2
Dom’s ranking: 2

A bottle of Alexis’ secret stuff for Kaapo Kakko

We’ve seen one of their blue-chip forwards start to make the leap. Lafrenière is working toward a 30-goal season playing alongside Artemi Panarin and generally has begun to look like the guy the Rangers thought they were getting. That wasn’t the case for Kakko, though, even before his recent lower-body injury. Three points in 20 games is abysmal, no matter how unsustainably low his shooting percentage may be. He was generating expected goals at about half Lafrenière’s rate.

Last week: 7
Sean’s ranking: 3
Dom’s ranking: 3

A contract-year reminder for Chandler Stephenson

Stephenson has spent the last four seasons on one of the league’s most team-friendly deals, giving Vegas top-six production (particularly alongside Mark Stone) for a $2.75 million cap hit. This was supposed to be his cash-in opportunity, and so far, his five-on-five point production has dipped from around 2.5 per 60 minutes to 1.71 with some rough underlyings to match. Vegas needs more from him, regardless of the price.

Last week: 5
Sean’s ranking: 4
Dom’s ranking: 4

Protective armor for Cale Makar

The Avs are probably just fine without Cale Makar, thank you very much. But we want to make sure Makar misses as little time as possible for another reason: a potential bid for the Hart trophy. No player has been more dominant this season and that puts him on a path to become the first defenseman in 23 years to win MVP (or even be nominated). He’s good enough to get there … if he plays a full season. Any time missed makes it tricky.

Last week: 3
Sean’s ranking: 6
Dom’s ranking: 5

Patrice Bergeron’s unretirement

This isn’t meant as that much of a knock on the Bruins’ current crop of centers; Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha are first and third on the team in five-on-five scoring. Matthew Poitras looks like the real deal, Thursday’s night off from Jim Montgomery aside. Bergeron’s absence is also old news. But…