2014-15 NHL Power Rankings

1. St. Louis Blues (Last Week: 2; 29-13-4, 62 points) – Martin Brodeur is entering the second week of his leave of absence, but he hasn't distracted the Blues, who have won eight of nine.

2. Nashville Predators (LW: 1; 30-10-5, 65 points) – The Preds still lead the Central Division, but they will be without Pekka Rinne for three to five weeks because of a knee injury.

3. New York Islanders (LW: 5; 31-14-1, 63 points) – The first-place Islanders made a statement with three-goal wins against the Penguins and Rangers last week. Kyle Okposo has seven points in his last three games, including a four-goal game against Pittsburgh. The Islanders have won five of six.

4. Anaheim Ducks (LW: 4; 31-10-6, 68 points) – The Ducks won their fifth straight game overall and 20th in a row over Calgary on Wednesday.

5. Chicago Blackhawks (LW: 3; 30-15-2, 62 points) – The Blackhawks have split their 10 games in January and go into the All-Star break third in the Central Division. That said, the term "break" is relative. Five Blackhawks will play in Sunday's All-Star Game.

6. Montreal Canadiens (LW: 8; 29-13-3, 61 points) – The Habs picked up back-to-back wins over the Islanders and Predators. Montreal has the best point percentage in the Atlantic Division.

7. New York Rangers (LW: 6; 27-13-4, 58 points) – After failing to score in back-to-back games against the Islanders and Bruins, the Rangers got back on track with three straight wins. The Blueshirts also locked up Marc Staal to a six-year deal over the weekend.

8. Tampa Bay Lightning (LW 9; 30-14-4, 64 points) – The Lightning lost Matt Carle for up to two months, but took care of business against Edmonton, Colorado, and Vancouver to go into the All-Star break in first place.

9. Pittsburgh Penguins (LW: 7; 26-12-8, 60 points) – Pittsburgh lost its last four and its head, again, against the Flyers. One of the few bright spots for Pittsburgh recently has been trade acquisition David Perron, who has five goals and seven points in eight games with the Pens.

10. Detroit Red Wings (LW: 11; 27-11-9, 63 points) – Detroit might be a solid sleeper candidate come playoff time. The Wings are tied for third in the NHL in team Corsi percentage according to war-on-ice.com and have been dragged down by a 2-7 shootout record. Detroit's record is starting to reflect its level of play, as five straight wins have moved the Wings into second place in the Atlantic.

11. Winnipeg Jets (LW: 13; 26-14-8, 60 points) – The Jets have won five straight and got Jacob Trouba back Wednesday, meaning the Jets could finally have a fully healthy lineup after the break. Winnipeg has the fifth-best record in the West and owns the top wild-card spot.

12. Boston Bruins (LW: 12; 25-16-7, 57 points) – Boston has earned points in 11 of its last 12 games and owns a seven-point edge for the last playoff spot.

13. Washington Capitals (LW: 10; 24-13-9, 57 points) – Alexander Ovechkin has scored in nine of his last 11 games (11 goals) and, with 27 goals this season, he's one behind Tyler Seguin and Rick Nash for the league lead. This seems to happen every year. Everyone talks about how poor parts of Ovechkin's game are before he goes on some tear, the Caps make a run, and he ends up with the Hart Trophy.

14. San Jose Sharks (LW: 15; 25-17-6, 56 points) – The Sharks sought and destroyed the rival Kings on Wednesday night on Metallica Night at the SAP Center. Sorry, I had to.

15. Vancouver Canucks (LW: 16; 26-16-3, 55 points) – Ryan Miller ran a shutout streak to 200 minutes, 45 seconds last week for what might have been his first positive headlines since those two weeks he was an American hero.

16. Los Angeles Kings (LW: 14; 20-15-12, 52 points) – The Kings are 1-7 in the shootout and have a league-high 12 overtime losses this year.

17. Calgary Flames (LW: 18; 25-19-3, 53 points) – Rookie goalie Joni Ortio has carried the Flames for the last five games. Even with the four goals he gave up in a loss in Anaheim on Wednesday, Ortio is 4-1 with a .931 save percentage since getting his first start less than two weeks ago.

18. Dallas Stars (LW: 17; 21-18-7, 49 points) – Dallas lost to Boston on Tuesday, but who cares. Tyler Seguin will be in the Stars lineup for a long time.

19. Florida Panthers (LW: 19; 20-14-10, 50 points) – The Panthers have lost four straight, including home losses to Colorado and Edmonton. Florida is seven points out of a playoff spot and fading.

20. Colorado Avalanche (LW: 21; 20-18-10, 50 points) – The best news the Avs have received all season is that they'll finally get an outdoor game next year. Bob McKenzie reported that the team will host Detroit in a Stadium Series game.

21. Minnesota Wild (LW: 24; 20-20-6, 46 points) – Ditto for Minnesota, which reportedly will host Chicago in another outdoor game.

22. Ottawa Senators (LW: 25; 19-18-9, 47 points) – Erik Karlsson has scored four of his 11 goals in his last four games. He's a good candidate for a second-half breakout, as he is tied for third in the league with 176 shots.

23. Flyers (LW: 26; 19-22-7, 45 points) – The Flyers go into the break after an overtime win over Pittsburgh. They'll be represented by Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek in the All-Star Game and, it got me thinking, who's a more valuable player? Both have led the team in even-strength points per 60 minutes twice over the last four seasons, and Voracek generally has stronger possession stats, but it's pretty hard to overlook Giroux's impact on the power play. He and Ovechkin might be the only two guys who can single-handedly promise you a top-10 power play.

24. New Jersey Devils (LW: 23; 17-22-8, 42 points) – New Jersey took two of three on a California trip and netted five goals against both Los Angeles and San Jose in a pair of wins.

25. Toronto Maple Leafs (LW: 20; 22-23-3, 47 points) – Maybe the Leafs can't beat any other teams, but at least they can take down their fans. Two fans who threw jerseys on the ice in Monday night's loss were charged with public mischief. Meanwhile, Toronto has scored five goals over its six-game losing streak.

26. Columbus Blue Jackets (LW: 22; 20-22-3, 43 points) – Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky left the team's loss in Winnipeg with an injury early in Wednesday's matchup.

27. Carolina Hurricanes (LW: 27; 16-25-5, 37 points) – The Canes have stayed hot, winning three of four, but the real news is the retirement of Ray Whitney. Whitney finished with 1,064 points over 1,330 games in 22 seasons and a Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2005-06.

28. Edmonton Oilers (LW: 29; 12-26-9, 33 points) – Edmonton is a shockingly competent 4-4-1 over the last month and no longer has the fewest points in the league.

29. Arizona Coyotes (LW: 28; 16-25-5, 37 points) – The Coyotes have lost six straight, and their leading goal scorer (Mikkel Boedker) had his spleen removed and will miss four to six weeks.

30. Buffalo Sabres (LW: 30; 14-30-3, 31 points) – Buffalo has lost 11 in a row, including nine by multiple goals.