NHL Power Rankings Week 5: Rangers rise, Canucks are terrible

The rise and fall of the Vancouver Canucks happened even quicker than that of the Roman Empire. Their 4-0-0 start to the season seems so long ago. Since winning their first four games, they have lost nine straight. What’s worse is they have scored an NHL low 20 goals in their first 12 games. Loui Eriksson has been a disaster with just four points entering Week 5. Jannik Hansen is out for a while, so things probably aren’t getting much better. Many believe the Canucks have hit rock bottom, but it’s very possible they haven’t. Willie Desjardins shouldn’t get the blame for this because he has a terrible roster, but he might be general manager Jim Benning’s scape goat.

While the Coyotes are still a poor team, at least they can rest knowing the Canucks are even worse. They’re coming off a strong week which saw them win games against the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators. Defense continues to be a huge issue for them, as their 42 goals allowed are the third most in the NHL. However, their offense has been at least somewhat encouraging with 31 goals in 11 games. Arizona has an exciting team, but they still have a ways to go before they contend.