NHL Power Rankings: A player from each team still waiting to find twine

Whether youâ€re a stick-flexing sniper or a third-pair defender, nobody wants to wait long for the weight to come off.

Bagging your first goal of a new season is always a delight.

Last year, every player who skated in 65 or more NHL games managed to find the net at least one time, and only two players — defencemen Adam Pelech and Josh Mahura — who suited up in at least 55 contests failed to score a goal.

Only four NHL teams have played five games so far, so unless you entered the year with legit Rocket Richard hopes, itâ€s not exactly time to panic if youâ€ve failed to get off the goal-scoring schneid.

That said, grips get tight quickly when you canâ€t get one to fall.

With that in mind, weâ€ve decided to use this weekâ€s power rankings as a way to highlight a player or two from each team whoâ€s probably only thinking about one thing when his head hits the pillow: “When is that first goal gonna come?â€

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1. Dallas Stars (3-0-0): Knee surgery wiped out February, March, April and half of May for Miro Heiskanen last year. The Stars†No. 1 defenceman hasnâ€t scored a regular-season goal since Jan. 9, so you know heâ€s itching to get one.

2. Carolina Hurricanes (3-0-0): Nikolaj Ehlers hasnâ€t potted one yet for his new team, but the Dane has 13 shots on goal in three outings. Something should fall soon.

3. Colorado Avalanche (3-0-1) Gabriel Landeskogâ€s most recent regular-season tally came three-and-a-half years ago on March 1, 2022. Itâ€s going to be quite a fist pump when he buries his next one.

4. Edmonton Oilers (2-0-1): Connor McDavid talked about wanting to score more coming into the season, but No. 97 has yet to hit the back of the net so far.

5. Washington Capitals (3-1-0): Alex Ovechkin will move to within two goals of career tally No. 900 when he breaks through for the first time this fall.

6. Winnipeg Jets (2-1-0): Jonathan Toews actually scored in his final game with the Chicago Blackhawks on April 13, 2023. Heâ€s already picked up his first apple with the Jets; all thatâ€s left to do now is bend that twine.

7. Vegas Golden Knights (2-0-2): Nine of Vegas†14 goals this year have come courtesy of Pavel Dorofeyev (five) and Jack Eichel (four). That means there are a few guys on this club whoâ€d like to find the range, including newcomer Mitch Marner.

8. Florida Panthers (3-2-0): Ten Panthers already have a goal this season, but Seth Jones is not one of them.

9. Toronto Maple Leafs (2-2-0): You know Nick Robertson wanted to find one quickly this season, but it hasnâ€t happened yet in four games. Only three forwards — Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann — have more shots on goal this year than Robertsonâ€s eight.

10. New Jersey Devils (2-1-0): Neither Jack Hughes nor Luke Hughes has lit the lamp this season. You know Luke — after signing that massive new contract — is dying to slip one home.

11. Montreal Canadiens (3-1-0): Nick Suzuki leads the team with six points, but theyâ€re all assists. Suzuki has hit the 30-goal barrier each of the past two seasons.

12. Minnesota Wild (2-2-0): Newcomer Vladimir Tarasenko has been seeing over 16 minutes per night so far, but that has yet to result in his first score as a Wild.

13. Los Angeles Kings (1-2-1): Every goal will be a special one for Anze Kopitar in this, his final NHL campaign. Heâ€s still trying to break the goose egg in his 20th season.

14. Tampa Bay Lightning (1-2-1): Brandon Hagel registered a career-high 35 goals last season, so you know heâ€d like to get the ball rolling on this year very soon.

15. Detroit Red Wings (3-1-0): Alex DeBrincat has a half-dozen apples so far, but the 39-goal scorer from last year has not been the finisher on a play yet.

16. St. Louis Blues (2-2-0): Jordan Kyrou scored 104 goals for St. Louis in three seasons from 2022-23 through 2024-25. The next highest Blue in that time is Pavel Buchnevich with 73. Kyrou needs to get going soon.

17. New York Rangers (2-3-0): Well, we know absolutely every Ranger is looking to break through at home, where New York has mind-blowingly failed to find the net in three outings at Madison Square Garden. Pending-UFA Artemi Panarin has just two points in five games this year, and neither of them are goals.

18. Utah Mammoth (2-2-0): Just one point and zero goals through four games is not how captain Clayton Keller wanted to begin the Mammoth chapter of his career.

19. Boston Bruins (3-1-0): Viktor Arvidsson is getting a chance to show heâ€s still got some scoring touch in Boston. As such, heâ€d surely like to get his first as a Bruin before too long.

20. Seattle Kraken (2-0-1): Shane Wright came within a single tally of scoring 20 goals last year. The fourth-overall pick from 2022 is still looking for his first goal of this campaign, while also trying to show he can be a real top-six offensive presence in the NHL.

21. Anaheim Ducks (2-1-0): Two guys who inked big deals with Anaheim in the off-season — Mikael Granlund, who came over as a UFA, and Mason McTavish, who re-upped as an RFA — have yet to celebrate with a tally.

22. Columbus Blue Jackets (1-2-0): Kent Johnson had a nice 24-goal breakout last year, so you can bet the talented winger is dying to get one soon.

23. Nashville Predators (2-1-1): Year 1 in Nashville was a bit of a nightmare all around for Steven Stamkos, so itâ€s got to be killing him to be 0-for after four outings this season.

24. Vancouver Canucks (1-2-0): First off, only one Canuck — Jonathan Lekkerimaki — has exactly one goal this year. Kiefer Sherwood (3), Brock Boeser (2) and Filip Chytil (2) all have more than one, and everybody else is sitting on zero. Youâ€ve got to think the guy who would most like to move off zero immediately is Elias Pettersson.

25. Ottawa Senators (1-3-0): Really, the big concern here is how long it will be before Brady Tkachuk has a chance to pop his first of the year. The hand injury he sustained in Ottawaâ€s home opener is going to keep him out “a significant amount of time,†according to coach Travis Green, and thatâ€s awful news for the Sens.

26. Chicago Blackhawks (2-2-1): A league-high 12 Blackhawks have already hit paydirt this year, which is a great sign for the young squad. That certainly takes some pressure off 2024 second-overall pick Artyom Levshunov, who has not popped one yet and has been a healthy scratch.

27. Philadelphia Flyers (1-1-1): 0-0-0 is not the line sophomore Matvei Michkov wanted after three outings.

28. Pittsburgh Penguins (2-2-0): Evgeni Malkin may not have a goal yet, but his six assists are sure attention-catching in the big manâ€s 20th NHL season.

29. New York Islanders (0-3-0): The winless Islanders wonâ€t be going anywhere without some goals from Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal, both of whom have yet to break through this season.

30. Buffalo Sabres (1-3-0): Rasmus Dahlin is averaging over 26 minutes a night, so the Sabres need a goal out of him soon.

31. Calgary Flames (1-4-0): Yegor Sharangovichâ€s 31-goal showing two years ago — his first year in Calgary — is starting to feel like a distant memory. He had 17 last year and is stuck on zero so far through five contests this fall.

32. San Jose Sharks (0-1-2): Macklin Celebrini is averaging nearly 21 minutes per night — most of any Sharks player — but he hasnâ€t been able to find the range just yet.

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