NHL Top 10: Week of Jan. 15

Let's take a look at the hottest teams in the league right now and who cracks this week's top 10 teams in the NHL before we head into the All-Star break.

No. 10 Carolina Hurricanes

Recently the Hurricanes young star Jack Drury has been on an absolute heater for this team and up has scored eight goals, and has 17 points in 26 games since Nov. 22.

The Hurricanes are still searching for that backbone in the net after losing Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov. If the Canes can get a healthy netminder they will be a very dangerous team down the stretch of the season.

No. 9 Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers are currently one of the hottest teams in the NHL and their high-powered offense has been crucial to their success on their 11-game winning streak.

Their goalie Stuart Skinner has been very solid as well after struggling mightily at the beginning of the season.

No. 8 Dallas Stars

The Stars have been a very consistently good team so far this season and look to climb even more in the standings as they welcome back their star Netminder Jake Oettinger.

All this team is looking for is some more contribution from their third line led by their captain Jamie Benn who is playing alongside a youngster in Wyatt Johnston and veteran Evgenii Dadonov.

No. 7 New York Rangers

The Rangers have not been at their best over the last few weeks of the season and it's mainly due to the poor play by their former Vezna trophy winner Igor Shesterkin.

The Rangers have gotten a lot of solid gameplay from veteran netminder Jonathan Quick while Shesterkin is looking to find his game again.

No. 6 Boston Bruins

The Bruins have been a surprising team this season and are still buzzing and firing on all cylinders.

They have been led by their new captain Brad Marchand who has scored 19 goals in 43 games after He scored just 21 in 73 games last season.

No. 5 Vancouver Canucks

This high-scoring Vancouver Canucks team has been very good recently and has been led by their star Elias Pettersson who is arguably in the prime of his career.

In his last six games, Pettersson has found the back of the net eight times while adding five assists. The Canucks' superstar is now on pace for a 42-goal and 65-assist season in 2024.

No. 4 Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights have really struggled to score goals recently and have been saved by their outstanding goaltender play and defensive game.

The Golden Knights have scored a total of 33 goals since Dec. 16, which ranks 29th in the NHL and it will not be easy to break out of this slump with Jack Eichel out week-to-week.

No. 3 Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche continue to be one of the most fun teams to watch in the NHL and have found a key part of their success coming from their new acquisition Jonathan Drouin.

Drouin has 10 goals and 15 assists in 42 games which puts him on pace to have his best season since the 2018-2019 season.

No. 2 Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers have been one of the most complete teams so far this season and have played strong defense that has led to offense from the backend.

Florida's strength upfront this season has come from Sam Reinhart who has potted 33 goals and 23 assists already this season.

No. 1 Winnipeg Jets

This may come as a shock to some people, but the Jets have been on a roll so far this season and currently have the best record in the league with 62 points in 43 games.

They have been led recently by their trio consisting of Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Gabriel Vilardi while Kyle Connor has been out of the lineup.

Christian Holtzapple is a fourth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism, To contact him email cmh7064@psu.edu