NHL Power Rankings Week One: Capitals, Lightning, Predators, And Ducks Are Favorites

Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

NHL Power Rankings: #10 – New York Islanders

Coming in at #10 in our NHL power rankings are the New York Islanders. They’re coming off a playoff birth.

STRENGTHS: The Islanders have an elite center in John Tavares. They have an impressive core of forwards that should help the Islanders score a lot of goals. Ryan Strome is a breakout candidate. Kyle Okposo is very good when he’s healthy. Frans Nielsen and Anders Lee are both very underrated. Mikhail Grabovski is a talented possession forward, but he needs to have a bounce back year. He also needs to stay healthy.

WEAKNESSES: Their blue line is a little questionable once you get past Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy. Calvin de Haan is a good second pairing defenseman. They don’t really have another good second pairing defenseman. Travis Hamonic, Thomas Hickey, Brian Strait, and Marek Zidlicky will have to prove that they can be legitimate NHL defensemen.

OUTLOOK: They’ll definitely contend. Their blue line issues need to be fixed if they want to win the Stanley Cup.

Next: #9