NHL standings show early surprises across all four divisions
Key takeaways
- Carolina leads the Metro with 13 points, according to StatMuse, while Boston and Ottawa share the Atlantic lead with 10 points each.
- The Rangers and Capitals look far stronger than last season. Sportsnet notes their fast early starts.
- Calgary, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles sit at the bottom. StatMuse reports their winless or near-winless starts.
The NHL standings already look different from preseason picks. Carolina, Boston, Utah, and Vegas lead their divisions. StatMuse lists them on top as of October 14, 2026. A few slow teams sit at the bottom after rough starts.
What happened
How to read the standings
"Standings" means a ranked list of teams. Each team sits in a division. A division is a group of eight teams.
Teams earn points from games. Wins add two points. Overtime or shootout losses add one point.
More points mean a higher spot in the list. The top teams reach the playoffs. Playoffs are the end-of-season knockout rounds.
They decide the Stanley Cup champion. This points setup shows up in the StatMuse standings table.
These numbers cover games through October 13, according to StatMuse. The table will change again after the next game night.
Atlantic Division
Boston and Ottawa share the Atlantic lead. StatMuse lists them on top as of October 14, 2026. Each team has 10 points from seven games. Tampa Bay sits third with 8 points.
Florida also has 8 points. Montreal, Toronto, and Buffalo each have 7 points. Detroit sits last with 4 points.
Montreal beat Buffalo 4-3 in a shootout on October 13, according to StatMuse.
Metropolitan Division
Carolina leads the Metro with 13 points, according to StatMuse. The Hurricanes have six wins in eight games. The New York Rangers sit second with 12 points.
Pittsburgh has 7 points. The Islanders, Capitals, and Devils each have 6 points. Columbus has 4 points.
Philadelphia sits last with 3 points. Carolina is the defending champion, according to Olympics.com.
The Hurricanes beat Vegas in six games in June, according to Olympics.com. That title was their first in 20 years, according to Olympics.
com.
Central Division
Utah leads the Central with 10 points, according to StatMuse. Winnipeg and Minnesota each have 9 points. Colorado has 8 points.
St Louis has 7 points. Nashville has 6 points. Dallas has 5 points.
Chicago sits last with 4 points. Colorado beat Dallas 3-2 on October 13, according to StatMuse.
Pacific Division
Vegas leads the Pacific with 12 points, according to StatMuse. Edmonton has 11 points. Seattle has 10 points.
Anaheim has 8 points. San Jose has 6 points. Vancouver has 4 points.
Los Angeles and Calgary each have 2 points.
Why it matters
Fast risers
Washington looks much stronger than last season, according to Sportsnet. The Capitals missed the playoffs by four points last year, according to Sportsnet. Sportsnet now calls them a Cup favourite.
Their goalie Logan Thompson has played at a top level, according to Sportsnet. The Rangers also look fresh, according to Sportsnet. They finished last in the Eastern Conference last year, according to Sportsnet.
Sportsnet reported a 4-1-0 start and a plus-eight goal gap for New York. That start came after five games, according to Sportsnet. Winnipeg also holds a strong spot, according to Sportsnet.
The Metro looks tough from top to bottom, according to Sportsnet.
The Atlantic looks weaker than expected, according to Sportsnet. Last year five Atlantic teams reached 99 points, according to Sportsnet. This year the division looks middling so far, according to Sportsnet.
Montreal started slow after an opening win, according to Sportsnet. Detroit has struggled badly, according to Sportsnet. Florida lost two key players to injury, according to Sportsnet.
Early stars
Vancouver forward Elias Pettersson has bounced back, according to Sportsnet. He had eight points in five games, according to Sportsnet. That total tied for fifth in the league, according to Sportsnet.
He also had 20 hits, according to Sportsnet. That hit total ranked second in the league, according to Sportsnet. Montreal fans also watch young players like David Reinbacher.
Slow starts
Calgary started 0-3-0, according to Bleacher Report. The Flames scored three goals and allowed 16, according to Bleacher Report. They later won their first game, according to StatMuse.
Calgary beat Anaheim 4-2 on October 13, according to StatMuse. Philadelphia has zero wins in eight games, according to StatMuse. The Flyers have 3 points from three overtime losses, according to StatMuse.
Los Angeles has zero wins in five games, according to StatMuse. The Kings have 2 points from two overtime losses, according to StatMuse.
Detroit faces off-ice drama too, according to Bleacher Report. Former captain Dylan Larkin asked for a trade, according to Bleacher Report. He is back on the ice after an upper-body injury, according to Bleacher Report.
Winnipeg has a goalie standoff, according to Bleacher Report. Star goalie Connor Hellebuyck waits for a trade, according to Bleacher Report. The Jets play on with Stuart Skinner and Clay Stevenson, according to Bleacher Report.
Florida has injury trouble, according to Bleacher Report. Aleksander Barkov will miss 6 to 8 weeks, according to Bleacher Report. Brad Marchand has a lower-body injury, according to Bleacher Report.
His return date is still unknown, according to Bleacher Report.
What happens next
Two games sit on the October 14 schedule, according to StatMuse. Montreal visits Washington at 7:30 PM ET, according to StatMuse. Dallas visits Colorado at 8:30 PM ET, according to StatMuse.
Every result can shuffle the early table. All 32 teams played on October 13, according to Olympics.com.
The Frozen Frenzy night put all 32 teams on the ice, according to Olympics.com.
The season is much longer than these first games, according to Olympics.com. Each team will play 84 games this season, according to Olympics.
com. That total is up from 82 games, according to Olympics.com.
The season started on September 29, according to Olympics.com. That early start is rare in league history, according to Olympics.
com. The regular season ends on April 10, 2027, according to Olympics.com.
The playoffs should start on April 12, 2027, according to Olympics.com. Two big dates come soon, according to Olympics.
com. Montreal visits Winnipeg outdoors on October 25, according to Olympics.com.
Carolina and Seattle play in Helsinki on November 12 and 14, according to Olympics.com.
Fans should check the table again after each game night. Early spots can change fast. One hot week can lift a team up the list.
One cold week can drop a team down the list.
The next few weeks will test every early story. The Rangers and Capitals must show their starts are real. The Flyers and Kings must find their first wins.
The standings will keep moving, and each game night will bring a new order.
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