The Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes climb back into the top five of the NHL power rankings as the Eastern Conference is on a roll.
The Colorado Avalanche continue to lead the NHL power rankings, but after losing consecutive games – the sky is falling! – for the first time all season, changes seem to be afoot.
It's unfortunate the Dallas Stars are slumping when this would be an opportune time to close the gap and maybe – just maybe – avoid a first-round playoff matchup against the Minnesota Wild.
The more seismic shifts and interesting races are happening in the East, and they've completely unsettled the top five in this week's NHL power rankings.
The hard-charging Buffalo Sabres are quickly salvaging what appeared to be a lost season after changes were made in the front office, and the Toronto Maple Leafs' playoff hopes are somehow still very much alive.
The New Jersey Devils, meanwhile, are collapsing faster than a Jenga tower, and following an embarrassing 9-0 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday, now have a conference-worst minus-19 goal differential.
Here are this week's NHL power rankings.
1. Colorado Avalanche (31-4-7, +70. Previous Rank: 1)
After a historic run through the first half, the challenge now will be fending off the competition and avoiding a prolonged losing streak without Gabriel Landeskog, Devon Toews and Mackenzie Blackwood. If you're wondering, the 2022-23 record-setting Bruins also lost two regulation games in a row, but only once and not until March 12 and 14.
2. Tampa Bay Lightning (26-13-3, +34. PR: 5)
A 4-2 comeback win against the league's best team was definitely a statement game, and the Lightning extended their winning streak to eight games. There are a lot of deserving candidates, but Jon Cooper really deserves the Jack Adams for his entire body of work.
3. Minnesota Wild (25-11-8. +21. PR: 2)
Tough stretch following their seven-game winning streak, with only two regulation wins against the struggling Knights and Ducks. The good news is their goaltending continues to be quite excellent.
4. Montreal Canadiens (23-13-6, even. PR: 6)
There's no hurry to figure out the Canadiens' goaltending if all three are playing well and they're winning games, but you do wonder if it's contributed to the fact they've yet to win three in a row since late November.
5. Carolina Hurricanes (26-14-3, +16. PR: 7)
All aboard the Brandon Bussi train! It took Bussi just 18 games to win 15 games, the fastest in NHL history. It's worth reminding that 20 years ago, a rookie goalie took the Canes to the promised land…
6. Dallas Stars (25-10-8, +26. PR: 3)
It's slightly worrying that the Stars go through stretches where they're all out of sorts, and they're in the biggest funk of their season right now with an 0-3-3 slide. This would be an opportune time to try and catch the Avs, who have several injuries to key players, but it looks like they're on a collision course to face the Wild in Round 1 of the playoffs.
7. Detroit Red Wings (25-15-4, -5. PR: 4)
If Moritz Seider isn't a Norris finalist at the end of the season, we're evaluating defensemen wrong.
8. New York Islanders (24-15-4, +9. PR: 8)
Scratch Anthony Duclair for two straight games, and he'll respond with a hat trick. Noted.
9. Philadelphia Flyers (22-12-7, +11. PR: 10)
Flyers-Ducks, the rivalry nobody knew we needed. The best Battle of the Oranges this side of the Atlantic.
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10. Washington Capitals (22-15-6, +17. PR: 9)
The Caps banked so many points in November that it hasn't really been an issue, but the Caps are 7-6-4 and 22nd in points percentage since Dec. 1. More troubling is their power play, which continues to flail and now ranks 30th in the league. And they have Alex Ovechkin!
11. Pittsburgh Penguins (20-12-9, +4. PR: 17)
After an 0-4-4 stretch, the Penguins looked like they were falling back down to earth hard, and then they traded for Stuart Skinner, and then people thought they were definitely dead. Well, that's five wins in a row now and back in a playoff spot.
12. Buffalo Sabres (22-15-4, +1. PR: 18)
The fear is that the Sabres' 10-game winning streak was just a tease, and for a second, it looked like they were going to lose consecutive games after nearly blowing a 4-0 lead against the Canucks. Not so, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is looking more like his usual self again.
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The Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs will try to prove they can emerge from a difficult situation and take the right path forward.
13. Edmonton Oilers (21-16-6, even. PR: 11)
We're halfway through the list, and only now are we getting to the fifth-highest-ranked Western Conference team. It's a testament to how poor the West (and Pacific Division) has been this season, and the Oilers are indeed a little lucky to be where they are. How the Oilers have an even goal differential despite having two of the league's top five scorers boggles the mind.
14. Vegas Golden Knights (18-11-12, -1. PR: 13)
The Knights haven't won in regulation since Dec. 23 against the Sharks and keep letting crucial points slip through their fingers with losses against non-playoff teams such as the Flames, Preds and Blues. Despite a winning record, they've looked as vulnerable as they've ever been.
15. San Jose Sharks (21-18-3, -16. PR: 14)
There's always a lot of discussion about whether the league MVP should be on a playoff team, but should we really discount Macklin Celebrini's impact if the Sharks miss the cut? The answer should be an emphatic 'no,' even if it's shaping up to be Nathan MacKinnon's award to lose.
16. Toronto Maple Leafs (20-15-7, +2. PR: 16)
Since the calendar flipped, Auston Matthews leads the league with six goals in three games, and the Leafs have captured at least a point in seven straight games after entering the holiday break on a low note. There are still plenty of issues to be addressed, but a win against the Panthers has to feel really good.
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With Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies picking up their games in a big way, the Toronto Maple Leafs look more like what they're expected to be.
17. Florida Panthers (22-17-3, -4. PR: 12)
The defending champs have been really uneven lately, going 2-2-1 during their five-game homestand, including a 5-1 loss in front of their home crowd at the Winter Classic. Hard to gauge this team, though, until Matthew Tkachuk comes back, and keep in mind they've been without their captain and No. 1 center all season.
18. Ottawa Senators (20-16-5, +2. PR: 22)
The Sens are part of the big mushy middle, where an extended winning streak can help you pull away from the competition. That's going to be hard to do without any good goaltending, even though the Sens defense grades out as above average.
19. Los Angeles Kings (18-14-9, -2. PR: 24)
Darcy Kuemper is back to save the day, and consecutive wins against the Wild were certainly impressive, especially at home, where they've struggled. There was a time when Jim Hiller's job didn't seem to look very safe, but he's bought a little more time, though it still feels like it's on a knife's edge.
20. Seattle Kraken (20-14-7, -5. PR: 28)
And from the depths rise the Kraken, who are suddenly 8-0-1 in their past nine and back in playoff contention after a horrific 1-9-1 stretch. The wildest part? Philipp Grubauer is playing well and winning games.
21. Boston Bruins (22-19-2, -3. PR: 19)
We shouldn't hang everything on Jeremy Swayman, but he's had six games where he's allowed at least five goals and eight games where he's allowed just one. There's no team streakier and more difficult to understand than the Bruins.
22. Anaheim Ducks (21-19-3, -13. PR: 15)
Since the Ducks' slide began on Dec. 11, they're 2-9-2 and averaging just 2.62 goals per game. Only the Jets have been worse. Chalk it up to a young team that's prone to poor stretches of play and unable to win games when the goals don't come easily, but a second-half collapse that costs them a playoff spot would be such a sour end to such a promising start.
23. New Jersey Devils (22-19-2, -19. PR: 20)
Based on sentiment, the Devils don't seem to be ranked low enough.
24. Columbus Blue Jackets (18-17-7, -13. PR: 21)
New year, same old Jackets. No team is easier to bet against when holding a lead after the second period. Somehow, some way, the Jackets will still manage to lose in overtime.
25. Nashville Predators (19-19-4, -22. PR: 25)
There was a little excitement when the Preds started to score, but this is about as good as they'll probably be this season. Honestly, considering their woeful start and how poorly their roster was built, going .500 the rest of the way isn't a bad result. It does, however, land you in hockey purgatory where you're too good to be bad, but also too bad to be good.
26. Utah Mammoth (20-20-3, +6. PR: 27)
Losing Logan Cooley was significant, but at some point, something's got to give, and the Mammoth need a jolt to realize their massive potential. They're still far too inconsistent despite a talented, young roster, alternating wins and losses.
27. Calgary Flames (18-20-4, -14. PR: 23)
The Flames are 12th in points percentage at home but last on the road. Their next five games are on the road. Good luck.
28. New York Rangers (20-18-6, -4. PR: 26)
We totally get it now. If the Rangers played every game outdoors and on the road, they'd be the best hockey team in the universe. As a side note, their slim playoff hopes will be basically zero if Igor Shesterkin misses an extended period of time.
29. St. Louis Blues (17-18-8, -39. PR: 29)
The irony that Jordan Binnington is being hailed as a big-game goalie even though his team has desperately needed quality goaltending to keep their playoff hopes alive seems to be lost on everyone.
30. Chicago Blackhawks (17-18-7, -16. PR: 31)
There's no Ewing Theory at work here because the Hawks are clearly better when Connor Bedard is in the lineup, but consecutive wins against the Stars, Caps and Knights in indeed pretty impressive.
31. Vancouver Canucks (16-21-5, -28. PR: 30)
It's absolutely bonkers the Canucks can't seem to commit to building a new foundation. After getting a nice haul for Quinn Hughes, they're seriously contemplating a multi-year contract extension – probably with trade protection, too! – to a role player who very obviously should be trade bait instead.
32. Winnipeg Jets (15-21-5, -12. PR: 32)
"Watching the Jets play" is probably no longer one of the top five things to do in the winter in Winnipeg, which is pretty tragic considering I'm not sure there's even five things to do in the winter in Winnipeg.
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