Do the Florida Panthers have any weaknesses right now? They remain atop Jason Chen's NHL power rankings, while the Jets shoot up and the Maple Leafs slip out of the top 10.

The Florida Panthers retain the top spot on The Hockey News' NHL power rankings with an impressive 8-2-0 run in February, with both losses being one-goal games. 

The Panthers have no real weakness. They have one of the NHL’s best two-way centers, a cast of really high-end wingers, three defensemen who are capable of playing over 20 minutes a night and two goalies having excellent seasons.

There are still quite a few teams in playoff contention, and with roughly 25 more games to go, it’s still anyone’s call who’s going to make the playoffs. A week ago, five teams separated by five points were in the hunt for the final wild-card spot in the West. Entering Wednesday, the Predators now hold down the final wild-card spot, and they’re five points clear of the Flames.

Getting hot at the right time will be absolutely vital. One team that could make things interesting over the next week is the New Jersey Devils. They’re five points behind the Flyers for the final spot in the Metro and also five points behind the Lightning for the second wild-card spot, with one and two games in hand, respectively.

(All fancy stats are 5-on-5 and courtesy naturalstattrick.com. CF% stands for Corsi-for percentage and xGF% represents expected goals-for percentage.)

1. Florida Panthers (39-16-4, +52 goal differential. CF% league rank: 2, xGF% league rank: 3)

It’s been a dominant stretch, with their only losses coming from a rare Gustav Forsling turnover against the Flyers and a 45-save shutout performance by Pyotr Kochetkov against the Canes.

2. New York Rangers (39-17-3, +34. CF%: 20, xGF%: 24)

The Jackets snapped their 10-game winning streak, but the good news is Igor Shesterkin has looked more like his usual superhuman form lately. He’s 6-0-0 in February with a .951 SP and 1.84 GAA.

3. Winnipeg Jets (37-15-5, +41. CF%: 8, xGF%: 9)

The Jets deserved a little more respect in last week’s rankings after being ranked 10th, but did I overshoot? They needed overtime to scrape out wins against the Hawks and Yotes, but remember that nearly three-month stretch where they kept their opponents to three goals or less every game? It’s happening again.

4. Vancouver Canucks (38-16-7, +51. CF%: 15, xGF%: 11)

They stumbled with four straight losses but picked it up with a comeback win against the Bruins, their fourth game in six nights. They then blew a 2-0 lead against the Pens following a two-day break. The Canucks are holding at the top, but they’re going through their roughest stretch of the season right now.

5. Edmonton Oilers (34-20-2, +33. CF%: 3, xGF%: 1)

A stretch of three losses where they allowed 16 goals is a reminder that the Oilers are still very much a flawed team despite having arguably the league’s most talented group of top-six forwards.

6. Colorado Avalanche (36-19-5, +32. CF%: 9, xGF%: 13)

The return of Valeri Nichushkin could not have come at a better time with the Avs struggling to put consecutive wins together. Playing two of their next three games against the Hawks should at least help a little bit.

7. Boston Bruins (34-12-14, +37. CF%: 23, xGF%: 15)

Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman in February: 3-3-5, .904 save percentage, 2.91 goals-against average. Not the worst, but that’s not gonna get it done, either. They can take some solace in the fact that five of their past seven losses have come in extra time, but note three of those losses also came from blown leads.

8. Dallas Stars (35-17-9, +31. CF%: 6, xGF%: 5)

Logan Stankoven has provided a spark, but the Stars are now 1-3-3 in their last seven with their lone win coming against the Hurricanes. Sometimes, the Stars just don’t look like they’re ready to play.

9. Carolina Hurricanes (35-18-6, +29. CF%: 1, xGF%: 2)

Based on the Canes’ play in 2024, we can argue they're are getting disrespected a little bit. That’s fine; the real test will come in the playoffs, and we shall see if they can finally win a game in the conference final.

10. Vegas Golden Knights (33-19-7, +25. CF%: 24, xGF%: 17)

A 6-2 revenge win against the Leafs is nice, but they’ve still lost five of their last seven. They’ve been a wildly successful franchise, and you can’t help but think everyone’s still a little bitter, never giving them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to injuries and potential LTIR shenanigans.

11. Toronto Maple Leafs (33-17-8, +31. CF%: 16, xGF%: 14)

Just as Joseph Woll returns, Ilya Samsonov fades in a 6-2 loss to the Knights. With no back-to-backs until March 6 and 7, the big question now is when Woll will get his start.

12. Detroit Red Wings (33-20-6, +27. CF%: 29, xGF%: 29)

Guess who’s been the second-best team by points percentage since Jan. 1? After being ranked 21st in the final December edition of the NHL power rankings, the Wings are flying up the standings. Don’t be surprised if they’re in the top 10 very soon.

13. Philadelphia Flyers (31-22-7, +6. CF%: 11, xGF%: 8)

They’re 6-3-1 in February, but what’s been most impressive is only one of their losses was by more than one goal. They can also be a streaky bunch. On eight separate occasions this season, the Flyers have either won or lost three games in a row.

14. Tampa Bay Lightning (32-24-5, +1. CF%: 12, xGF%: 20)

They really just don’t scare anyone anymore, right? Captain Steven Stamkos is averaging slightly less than 17 minutes per game in February, during which he’s scored just three goals and four points in 11 games with a minus-8 rating. I feel like Stamkos’ impending free agent status isn’t being talked about enough.

15. Nashville Predators (33-25-2, even. CF%: 17, xGF%: 10)

This time last week, the Preds looked like they were out of it. But, suddenly, Juuse Saros has allowed two goals or fewer in four straight starts. Key divisional games against the Wild and Avs are coming up, and we’ll have a better idea of where the Preds are really at.

16. Calgary Flames (29-25-5, +1. CF%: 14, xGF%: 16)

The Flames are putting the Ewing Theory to the test, earning a .700 points percentage after trading Elias Lindholm. They’ve earned some tough wins lately, too, against key conference foes.

17. Los Angeles Kings (29-19-10, +18. CF%: 4, xGF%: 4)

The loss of Adrian Kempe could be massive – he’s headed back to L.A. amid a road trip to get an MRI. Interesting schedule quirk: Over the next month, the Kings play against Pacific Division teams just three times, and all of them are against the Canucks.

18. New Jersey Devils (30-25-4, -7. CF%: 5, xGF%: 6)

We knew a big win against the Sharks was coming, and the Devils could earn another easy two against the Ducks. The big test will be when they face the Panthers, Hurricanes and Rangers. The big second-half turnaround for Nico Hischier continues – since Jan. 1, he’s scored 12 goals and 26 points in 24 games while averaging 20 minutes per game.

19. Minnesota Wild (28-25-6, -8. CF%: 19, xGF%: 18)

The Wild are the biggest tease, right? First, you think they’re out, then they’re in again, going 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Well, if they make the playoffs, at least we can predict they’re getting bounced in the first round.

20. Buffalo Sabres (27-28-4, -7. CF%: 13, xGF%: 19)

The hype around Devon Levi was understandable, but we conveniently forgot that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is also a talented goalie. Since Feb. 1, per naturalstattrick.com, Luukkonen ranks second in 5-on-5 minutes played and fourth in goals saved above average.

21. Pittsburgh Penguins (27-21-8, +16. CF%: 7, xGF%: 7)

That’s now three straight wins for the Penguins, but is it too little, too late? For perhaps just the second time this season, the Pens can win their fourth straight game Thursday against the Kraken, whom they beat 3-0 the last time.

22. St. Louis Blues (30-26-2, -13. CF%: 30, xGF%: 30)

Their goaltending looked so good, but then they allowed 19 goals in four losses over the past two weeks. If and when Pavel Buchnevich is dealt, the Blues’ playoff hopes will be dashed.

23. Seattle Kraken (25-22-11, -6. CF%: 10, xGF%: 12)

It took three seasons for Philipp Grubauer to realize he’s the starter for the Kraken?!

24. New York Islanders (24-20-14, -27. CF%: 27, xGF%: 22)

If Patrick Roy was any more aggressive in pulling the goalie, he might play 6-on-5 for an entire period.

25. Washington Capitals (27-22-9, -33. CF%: 25, xGF%: 27)

The Caps are on pace for just 29 wins in regulation, which would be the fifth-lowest total in an 82-game schedule in the Alex Ovechkin era.

26. Ottawa Senators (25-29-3, -13. CF%: 18, xGF%: 21)

If I were a gambling man, I’d say Shane Pinto has been their best player lately.

27. Montreal Canadiens (23-28-8, -44. CF%: 28, xGF%: 26)

Nick Suzuki’s having an outstanding season that no one seems to be talking about. He’s scoring at close to a point-per-game pace, ranks 21st in total faceoff wins, 29th in faceoff win percentage (min. 500 faceoffs taken) and leads all Habs forwards in 5-on-5 SAT% (min. 50 games played).

28. Columbus Blue Jackets (19-28-10, -40. CF%: 22, xGF%: 25)

I actually didn’t think it could get any worse, but based on his current pace, Johnny Gaudreau will score just 11 goals this season. The Jackets will essentially be paying him $886,363 per goal. He’s the biggest bank robber in Ohio since John Dillinger.

29. Arizona Coyotes (23-30-5, -24. CF%: 21, xGF%: 23)

Look, as long as Ryan Smith doesn’t insist on changing the Coyotes’ colors to that garish highlighter yellow of the Utah Jazz, I’m cheering for him.

30. Anaheim Ducks (20-35-3, -56. CF%: 26, xGF%: 28)

The only reason the Ducks may not finish in the bottom two is because they had this crazy idea at the beginning of the season that they actually wanted to win games.

31. Chicago Blackhawks (15-39-5, -85. CF%: 31, xGF%: 31)

They have one win in regulation since Jan. 9, and they only won that game because Jason Dickinson buried a loose rebound with 1:52 remaining in the game. Of their 15 wins this season, only five (!) of them were by more than one goal.

32. San Jose Sharks (15-37-5, -102. CF%: 32, xGF%: 32)

Stop beating them –  they’re already dead.