2014-15 NHL Power Rankings: Flyers rise again

1. St. Louis Blues (Previous ranking: 1; 33-13-4, 70 points) – After losing two straight following Brian Elliott's return, the Blues have been on a tear. St. Louis has won 11 of 12 and earned points in all but one of its 15 games since New Year's. The Blues now own the league's best goal differential (plus-41). The only concern is the loss of All-Star Kevin Shattenkirk, second among defensemen with 40 points. He is going to need abdominal surgery and is week-to-week.

2. Nashville Predators (Previous: 2; 33-11-6, 72 points) – The Preds are 4-2-2 since Pekka Rinne went down and still lead the league in points. With Rinne back on the ice and nearing a return, it seems safe to say Nashville survived his loss about as well as it could have hoped.

3. Anaheim Ducks (Previous: 4; 33-12-6, 72 points) – The Ducks remain tied with Nashville for the most points in the NHL after splitting four games since the All-Star break. They've been buoyed by a 23-0-6 record in one-goal games.

4. Tampa Bay Lightning (Previous 8; 32-15-5, 69 points) – Cedric Paquette has scored six of his 11 goals in his last four games, including a hat trick last Thursday against Detroit. The Lightning are 5-1-1 in their last seven, but play Los Angeles twice, Anaheim twice, St. Louis, and San Jose over the next two weeks.

5. Detroit Red Wings (Previous: 10; 29-12-9, 67 points) – Despite the fact that the Red Wings are connected to every right-handed defenseman who could possibly be available at next month's trade deadline (Tyler Myers, Cody Franson, Mike Green, etc.), Detroit is doing just fine as is. The Wings have won seven of eight and are two points back of Tampa with two games in hand in the Atlantic Division.

6. Chicago Blackhawks (Previous: 5; 31-18-2, 64 points) – The Blackhawks are a lackluster 6-7-0 since the New Year, but they still have the league's third-best Corsi percentage according to war-on-ice.com and second-best goal differential (plus-37). No need to worry yet.

7. New York Islanders (Previous: 3; 32-17-1, 65 points) – After curb-stomping Metropolitan Division foes for six wins in less than three weeks, the Isles have struggled. They've lost three straight and, maybe more importantly, Kyle Okposo for two months with a detached retina.

8. New York Rangers (Previous: 7; 30-15-4, 64 points) – Rick Nash's shooting percentage this year is 17.5 percent. For his career, it's 12.7 percent. If you think he's going to maintain the league lead in goals, I recommend avoiding the state of Nevada.

9. Pittsburgh Penguins (Previous: 9; 29-14-8, 66 points) – The Penguins took the lead in the Metropolitan Division with three wins in five games since the All-Star Break, but lost 4-0 games to Washington and Nashville. With Pittsburgh and the Islanders coming back to earth, the Metro is quickly becoming a four-team race.

10. Montreal Canadiens (Previous: 6; 32-15-3, 67 points) – Carey Price has earned recent Hart Trophy consideration. Playing behind a mediocre Habs team, Price has a league-best .932 save percentage and Montreal is right in the thick of the Atlantic Division race.

11. Boston Bruins (Previous: 12; 27-17-7, 61 points) – The Bruins have earned at least a point in 18 of their last 22 games and have a seven-point lead for the last playoff spot in the East. Tuukka Rask had a .949 save percentage in January.

12. Washington Capitals (Previous: 13; 26-15-10, 62 points) – Alexander Ovechkin has 17 goals in his last 20 games and is second in the league with 31. With his first of two Sunday, he became the fifth player to net 30 in each of his first 10 seasons. Considering this low-scoring era and the strike-shortened season that didn't stop the streak, it seems likely Ovechkin will go down as one of the greatest goal scorers ever. I'm starting to think he could even be considered the best player of the generation. Sure, Sidney Crosby had more ability, but he has not been as durable and is starting to show signs that he's no longer head-and-heels better than the rest of the league.

13. San Jose Sharks (Previous: 14; 27-18-7, 61 points) – After three straight wins coming against the Kings, Ducks, and Blackhawks, the Sharks dropped a pair to the Oilers and Flames, missing an opportunity to separate from the playoff bubble.

14. Vancouver Canucks (Previous: 15; 28-18-3, 59 points) – The Canucks own a four-point edge for one of the last playoff spots, but they play San Jose, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Chicago, and Boston in their next five games.

15. Winnipeg Jets (Previous: 11; 26-18-9, 61 points) – Michael Hutchinson, the rookie who had led the league in save percentage for most of the season, gave up 13 goals in his last three outings, and the Jets have lost five straight. Oh, and the team is antagonizing Evander Kane again, but that's nothing out of the norm.

16. Calgary Flames (Previous: 17; 29-20-3, 61 points) – Now we reach the part of the season where the Flames go away. Wait a second. They've actually won eight of 10 and three straight. Calgary is probably overachieving, especially considering it's been a bottom-five Corsi team for much of the season, but the Flames still are in the playoff picture with 30 games to go.

17. Minnesota Wild (Previous: 21; 24-20-6, 54 points) – Just as Carey Price's excellence has carried Montreal, the Wild's lack of NHL-caliber goaltending sank the team's first half of the season. Since acquiring Devan Dubnyk from Arizona, Minnesota is 6-1-1. Unfortunately, the Wild are still five points out of a playoff spot and running out of time.

18. Dallas Stars (Previous: 18; 23-19-8, 54 points) – Rookie John Klingberg pretty much embodies everything I expect when watching the Stars and their breakneck pace. A forward-turned-defenseman, Klingberg has 24 points in 36 games and was Rookie of the Month in January.

19. Los Angeles Kings (Previous: 16; 21-17-12, 54 points) – So, will Mike Richards be invited to Flyers alumni events when he's done playing in two years?

20. Colorado Avalanche (Previous: 20; 22-18-11, 55 points) – Seven of Colorado's 22 wins have come via the shootout, including an 11-round victory against Dallas on Tuesday. The Avs are four points out of a playoff spot.

21. Florida Panthers (Previous: 19; 22-17-10, 54 points) – Before last Thursday, Florida hadn't beaten Columbus at home in 11 years, which probably explains where all of Columbus' road wins for the last 11 years came.

22. Flyers (Previous: 23; 22-22-7, 51 points) – Despite four straight wins, the Flyers have a slim chance of making the playoffs. The talk of tanking has come up recently, although it can't be looked at as much more than a jostling for a spot or two. The impact wouldn't be significant in landing the top pick. The Flyers are the ninth-worst team in the league. Even a tailspin couldn't get them past the fifth slot, and it's unlikely they improve in the standings. The difference between five and nine is a 3.5 percent better chance of getting Connor McDavid. With the new lottery format, ping-pong balls are much more evenly distributed among teams. The truth is, the Flyers aren't going to have great odds at a top pick unless they deal Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek.

23. New Jersey Devils (Previous: 24; 20-22-9, 49 points) – Martin Brodeur finally retired last week and will participate in a Devils 1995 Stanley Cup alumni game in March, when he'll likely face more and tougher shots than he did at any point for those trap-era Devils teams.

24. Ottawa Senators (Previous: 22; 20-20-9, 49 points) – The Sens are wasting a strong season from Craig Anderson. The 33-year-old has a .927 save percentage.

25. Columbus Blue Jackets (Previous: 26; 21-25-3, 45 points) – Aside from anyone who actually watched the All-Star Game, the biggest loser over that weekend had to be Columbus' stupid cannon that terrified Johnny Gaudreau and anyone within 500 feet of it. There's not a surer thing in the world than visiting beat writers complaining about it on Twitter.

26. Toronto Maple Leafs (Previous: 25; 22-26-4, 48 points) – Coach Peter Horachek is 1-10-1 since taking over for Randy Carlyle, and the Leafs have only 17 goals in that span.

27. Arizona Coyotes (Previous: 29; 19-26-6, 44 points) – I'm not sure whether I associate Keith Yandle more with the Coyotes or the rumor mill. Not surprisingly, Yandle's name has surfaced as a possibility to change teams at next month's trade deadline.

28. Carolina Hurricanes (Previous: 27; 17-26-7, 41 points) – Who could have seen Alexander Semin dogging it after he got that monster five-year, $35 million contract? This is probably the most exciting moment for Capitals fans since getting Alex Ovechkin. Semin, a former 40-goal scorer, has two goals and nine points in 28 games this season and has been a healthy scratch at times.

29. Edmonton Oilers (Previous: 28; 14-29-9, 37 points) – The Ben Scrivens/Viktor Fasth goalie controversy is essentially the NHL's version of the Houston Texans' quarterback battle last season. No one walks away a winner.

30. Buffalo Sabres (Previous: 30; 15-33-3, 33 points) – The Sabres have earned two points in 15 games since Dec. 27 and didn't win in January. Coach Ted Nolan even told the Buffalo News, "Maybe somebody will see you and want you," as motivation to play well. That sounds as if he's talking to a minor leaguer about getting called up, but leaving the Sabres for any other team is basically the same thing.