November is inching closer, and that means the 2018-19 NHL season is starting to heat up as teams separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

The defending Presidents' Trophy winners, the Nashville Predators, are again at the top of the NHL standings, losing just one game so far. The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in an early battle of two of the league's top teams. The Tampa Bay Lightning, Winnipeg Jets and Anaheim Ducks continue to cruise.

On the other side, the Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes and others continue to struggle.

Here are NJ Advance Media's NHL power rankings entering the week of Oct. 15. Last week's rankings can be found here. Records reflect games played through Sunday, Oct. 21.

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31-Detroit Red WIngs

Record: 1-5-2 (4 points)

Last week: 31

It took eight games for the Red Wings to pick up their first victory, and they needed overtime to do so against the Florida Panthers. It's going to be a long season in Detroit.

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John Woods | The Canadian Press via AP

30-Arizona Coyotes

Record: 2-5-0 (4 points)

Last week: 30

A 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks gave the Coyotes their first regulation victory of 2018-19. In their five losses, the Coyotes have been outscored 14-4.

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29-New York Rangers

Record: 2-5-1 (5 points)

Last week: 29

The Rangers are still without a regulation win. A shootout win over the Colorado Avalanche was followed by a road loss to the Washington Capitals and a home loss to the Calgary Flames.

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Wilfredo Lee | AP Photo

28-Florida Panthers

Record: 1-2-3 (5 points)

Last week: 28

All eight games the Panthers have played have been decided by one goal. Unfortunately for Florida, it has been on the losing side of seven of them.

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27-Los Angeles Kings

Record: 2-2-1 (5 points)

Last week: 17

The early going hasn't been pretty for the Kings. They have lost four straight games, all in regulation, while getting outscored 21-4 in that stretch.

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26-New York Islanders

Record: 3-4-0 (6 points)

Last week: 24

All things considered, the Islanders aren't in bad position at 3-4-0 following a long West Coast trip early in the season. They return home this week.

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25-Edmonton Oilers

Record: 3-3-0 (6 points)

Last week: 26

Following their Sweden trip and another road trip to start the season in North America, the Oilers are finally back home. Connor McDavid continues to be the focal point of everything for Edmonton.

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24-Ottawa Senators

Record: 4-2-1 (9 points)

Last week: 25

The floor hasn't collapsed on the Senators yet, with a 4-2-1 start surprising many. They have some tough tests coming against the Bruins, Avalanche and Golden Knights this week.

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Chris Ryan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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23-St. Louis Blues

Record: 2-3-2 (6 points)

Last week: 23

A win against the Leafs ended a three-game losing streak for the Blues, who have been slow out of the gate.

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Mark J. Terrill | AP Photo

22-Buffalo Sabres

Record: 5-4-0 (10 points)

Last week: 20

The Sabres ended a five-game West Coast swing at 3-2-0, with wins of the Kings, Ducks and Coyotes.

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21-Carolina Hurricanes

Record: 4-3-1 (9 points)

Last week: 16

The Hurricanes came back to earth a bit after their red-hot start, losing three straight in regulation to the Winnipeg Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche.

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20-Dallas Stars

Record: 3-4-0 (6 points)

Last week: 7

The Stars stumbled after a good start the season, losing three straight games to the Senators, Devils and Wild. They scored just two goals in that stretch.

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19-Montreal Canadiens

Record: 4-1-2 (10 points)

Last week: 22

The Canadiens continue to pick up wins early in the season. Aside from a 4-3 overtime loss to the Senators, they topped the Blues and Red Wings last week.

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18-Vancouver Canucks

Record: 3-2-0 (6 points)

Last week: 18

Losing Elias Pettersson to a concussion put a damper on what has been a surprising start to the season for Vancouver. The Canucks earned surprising overtime wins over the Penguins and Bruins last week.

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Matt Marton | AP Photo

17-Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 4-2-2 (8 points)

Last week: 15

Getting Corey Crawford back in goal helps the Blackhawks gain some needed stability in net. Now Chicago just needs to see what type of workload he can handle.

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16-Vegas Golden Knights

Record: 4-4-0 (8 points)

Last week: 21

Returning home helped the Golden Knights bounce back into the win column. Following a 1-0 road win over the Flyers, they won two straight against the Sabres and Ducks.

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15-Minnesota Wild

Record: 4-2-2 (10 points)

Last week: 27

After a slow start to the season, the Wild rattled off three straight wins last week, beating the Coyotes and Stars in regulation before toppling the Lightning in overtime.

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Second straight loss leaves Devils searching for answers

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14-Philadelphia Flyers

Record: 4-4-0 (4 points)

Last week: 19

The Flyers have been hit or miss so far this season. They pulled away from the Devils for a 5-2 win, but they struggled in losses to the Sharks and Golden Knights.

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13-Columbus Blue Jackets

Record: 4-3-0 (8 points)

Last week: 11

Following a big win over the Flyers, the Blue Jackets suffered a regulation loss to the Blackhawks at home.

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12-Washington Capitals

Record: 3-2-2 (8 points)

Last week: 10

A strange shootout loss to the Panthers capped off last week for the Capitals, who did pick up a win against the Rangers.

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11-New Jersey Devils

Record: 4-2-0 (8 points)

Last week: 9

The Devils beat the Stars to improve to 4-0-0, but two straight losses against the Avalanche and Flyers cooled off their hot start.

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10-Boston Bruins

Record: 4-2-2 (10 points)

Last week: 5

The Bruins were swept on their road trip through Western Canada, though they did add a couple points in a pair of overtime losses.

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9-Calgary Flames

Record: 5-3-0 (10 points)

Last week: 13

A loss the Predators aside, the Flames picked up wins over the Bruins and Rangers last week.

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8-San Jose Sharks

Record: 4-3-1 (9 points)

Last week: 12

Following a slow start to the season, the Sharks appear to be back on track after wins over the Sabres and Islanders. San Jose gets a big challenge this week against the Predators and Ducks.

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7-Anaheim Ducks

Record: 5-3-1 (11 points)

Last week: 8

Goalie John Gibson is the main reason the Ducks have a winning record. He has a 1.91 GAA and a .949 save percentage so far this season.

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6-Colorado Avalanche

Record: 5-1-2 (12 points)

Last week: 14

The Avalanche are tied for second in the league in points after winning games over the Devils and Hurricanes last week.

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5-Toronto Maple Leafs

Record: 6-3-0 (10 points)

Last week: 1

The goals continued to flow in Toronto until the Pittsburgh Penguins handed the Leafs a 3-0 home loss, and the St. Louis Blues followed that with a 4-1 road win over Toronto.

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4-Winnipeg Jets

Record: 5-2-1 (6 points)

Last week: 4

After an overtime loss to Edmonton, the Jets won two straight, beating the Canucks and Coyotes.

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3-Tampa Bay Lightning

Record: 5-1-1 (11 points)

Last week: 3

Outside of an overtime loss to the Wild, the Lightning have been nearly unstoppable so far this season. They added a road win over the Blackhawks to end their week.

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Claus Andersen | Getty Images

2-Pittsburgh Penguins

Record: 3-1-2 (7 points)

Last week: 6

A 3-0 shutout against the Leafs served as a good reminder that while Sidney Crosby and company are around, the Penguins can beat anyone.

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1-Nashville Predators

Record: 7-1-0 (14 points)

Last week: 2

The defending Presidents' Trophy winners continue to chug along, allowing a league-best 1.9 goals per game.

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MORE DEVILS COVERAGE

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WHERE TO REACH ME

Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook.