The first three days of the NHL season are in the books, and now we sit back and see which teams will sustain their hot starts, and which ones will overcome sloppy beginnings. It's important to not always read too much into how the first few games play out.

Here are the early NHL power rankings as we enter play on Saturday.

31. Ottawa Senators (0-0-1)

The Senators were about to win their season opener, then defensive miscues and sloppy all-around play cost them against the Chicago Blackhawks, who took it in overtime. This should go down as the worst season in franchise history.

29. Arizona Coyotes (0-1)

The Coyotes didn't put up much of a fight against the Dallas Stars on Thursday. At least they got some chances and peppered Ben Bishop with 30 shots on goal. The results will come.

28. Buffalo Sabres (0-1)

Will this team ever put it together? Yikes, an ugly 4-0 home loss to the Boston Bruins. Worse yet, the fans were heavily booing this team in the first period. Sabres fans don't care about the playoffs now, but going from "terrible" to "mediocre" is long overdue.

27. New York Islanders (1-0) [caption id="attachment_727168" align="aligncenter" width="4465"] Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports[/caption] The post-John Tavares era is off to a good start in Brooklyn...for one game at least. They escaped with a 2-1 overtime victory against the Carolina Hurricanes. They have a big test Saturday vs. the Nashville Predators.

26. Montreal Canadiens (0-0-1)

Call it a moral loss. Montreal out-played the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, but Auston Matthews and co. escaped with a 3-2 overtime win. At least Max Domi and rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi looked sharp with their new teams.

RELATED: CANADIENS NAME SHEA WEBER NEW CAPTAIN EVEN THOUGH HE’LL MISS MOST OF SEASON

25. New York Rangers (0-1)

The Rangers' home opener (a 3-2 loss to Nashville) didn't even sell out. Looks like the good folks on Broadway aren't so enthusiastic about this rebuild.

24. Vancouver Canucks (1-0)

Who else? Elias Pettersson opened the scoring in Wednesday's 5-2 home opener against the Calgary Flames. Side note: Vancouver has won five straight regular season openers, the longest active streak in the NHL.

23. Chicago Blackhawks (1-0)

Those were the old Blackhawks the fans in Chicago know and love. They erased a late 3-2 deficit and took down the Ottawa Senators in overtime. Patrick Kane hasn't lost his touch, so that's an encouraging sign.

22. Carolina Hurricanes (1-0-1)

The Hurricanes followed up a 2-1 home overtime loss to the New York Islanders by soundly beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on the road Friday. Taking three of four points is nothing to be upset over.

21. New Jersey Devils (0-0)

The Devils will open up their season against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday in Gothenburg, Sweden. Good luck stopping a motivated Connor McDavid.

20. Los Angeles Kings (0-0-1)

The Kings picked up a point in their season opener loss to the San Jose Sharks on Friday. Can they show that 2017-18 wasn't pure luck, or are the Kings destined to regress this season?

19. Minnesota Wild (0-1)

If the Wild are going to extend their playoff streak to streak to seven straight years, they better avoid the sloppy play that took place in Colorado on Thursday. The Avalanche dominated Minnesota with a 4-1 victory. This Wild team really looks like they may have lost a step or two.

18. St. Louis Blues (0-1)

The Blues are a popular pick to get back in the postseason, but that was one awful effort vs. the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. A 5-1 defeat? Perhaps the Blues aren't on Winnipeg's level at this point now. Aim for a wild card spot, or the third seed in the Central.

17. Florida Panthers (0-0)

A 5-2 road win against the defending Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights? The Flyers looked legitimate, but we can't get too caught up in one road win yet. 14. Dallas Stars (1-0) Jim Montgomery couldn't have asked for a better head coaching debut. The Stars defeated the Arizona Coyotes 3-0. They have a big test Saturday vs. the Winnipeg Jets. 13. Colorado Avalanche (1-0) Colorado is trying to show that last season's playoff berth wasn't pure luck. A 4-1 victory over the rival Minnesota Wild is a nice start. Consider them a top-three team in the Central Division. 12. Columbus Blue Jackets (1-1) The Blue Jackets paid a visit to the Motor City on Thursday...and barely escaped with a 3-2 overtime win. That was followed by a lackluster effort at home Friday; a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

RELATED: NHL COACHES WHO NEED TO SUCCEED TO SAVE THEIR CAREERS

11. Anaheim Ducks (1-0) [caption id="attachment_727175" align="alignnone" width="4229"] Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports[/caption] No Corey Perry, no problem (yet). The Ducks went into San Jose and spoiled Erik Karlsson's debut with the Sharks, winning 5-2 on Wednesday. Efforts like this will be needed if they're to get by without their top goal scorer. 10. Calgary Flames (0-1) Yes, their 5-2 loss to the Canucks on Wednesday was a wretched effort all-around. But the Flames will compete for the Pacific Division title. They're notorious slow starters, so don't start counting them out. This team will be just fine.

9. Vegas Golden Knights (0-1) Well, the Flyers sure took it to the defending Western Conference champions. Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled after allowing five goals on 16 shots. Not the start the Golden Knights wanted, but they're better than this.

8. Boston Bruins (1-1) An ugly 7-0 road loss to the Washington Capitals was followed by a 4-0 victory in Buffalo. The Bruins are a top team in the Eastern Conference, but they also tend to wait until December to hit their stride. Be patient with this group. 7. Pittsburgh Penguins (1-0) That was quite the season opener in the Steel City. Pittsburgh blew a late 6-4 lead vs. Washington, but Kris Letang won it in overtime on a power play goal. On a side note, goalie Matt Murray and the defence must be better if this team wants to make another run. 6. San Jose Sharks (1-1) The Sharks defeated the rival Los Angeles Kings in overtime on Friday to pick up their first win of the young season. Newcomer Erik Karlsson picked up an assist on Kevin Labanc's overtime game-winner. It's going to be a fun year. 5. Washington Capitals (1-0-1) The Capitals had one epic banner raising night, hammering the Boston Bruins 7-0. They blew a couple of leads but stole a point against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. Three of four points vs. two great teams is something to be happy about.

RELATED: WASHINGTON CAPITALS' FORWARD TOM WILSON SUSPENDED 20 GAMES

4. Toronto Maple Leafs (1-0) John Tavares' first goal with the Maple Leafs was a beauty, and it's only fitting that Auston Matthews capped off the home opener with an overtime winner. It's going to be a great year in Toronto. 3. Tampa Bay Lightning (0-0) As mentioned above, the defending Atlantic Division champions welcome their Sunshine State rivals at Amalie Arena on Saturday. For now, we'll put them down at No. 3. 2. Nashville Predators (1-0) Nashville took care of the rebuilding New York Rangers at MSG with a 3-2 win on Thursday. They visit the new-look Islanders on Saturday, looking to sweep the New York road trip. 1. Winnipeg Jets (1-0) [caption id="attachment_727166" align="alignnone" width="3075"] Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports[/caption] The popular pick to win the Western Conference, and they sure looked like a championship contender. Winnipeg dominated the St. Louis Blues all over, winning 5-1 with relative ease. They visit the Stars on Saturday.

NEXT: ROMAN JOSI WILLING TO TAKE BIG DISCOUNT TO KEEP PREDATORS DEFENSE TOGETHER