NHL Power Rankings: Vancouver Canucks Red Hot, New Jersey Devils Up to No. 6

By next week's power rankings, Rick Nash will most likely have a new home, causing a massive shakeup in the weekly hierarchy of teams.

Until that happens, the Detroit Red Wings still hold the No. 1 spot. Their incredible home streak is still intact, and it's going to be awfully difficult to knock them off in the playoffs. 

Other teams that have improved in the rankings are the New Jersey Devils, who are now No. 6. Also, the Winnipeg Jets find themselves tied for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, and because of that, they take a huge jump to the No. 20 spot. 

Here are the rest of the rankings:

1. Detroit Red Wings (Last week: No. 1)

The Detroit Red Wings home streak is now at 23, and they lead the NHL with 84 points. 

That's the good news.

The bad news is that Pavel Datsyuk is gone for the next two weeks because of a minor knee surgery. It won't be a surprise if the Wings finally lose with their best player gone. 

However, if they can get through this minor tribulation, it's only going to make the team mentally stronger heading into the playoffs.

2. Vancouver Canucks (Last week: No. 3)

The Vancouver Canucks had an impressive 10-0-3 run before losing to the Nashville Predators on the road on Tuesday.

Things get tougher for the Canucks, as they're in the middle of a six-game road trip to close out February. However, once the road trip ends, they only have five more road games to play during the regular season. 

The favorable home schedule that the Canucks have in front of them will benefit the mightily. They haven't lost a regulation home game since Jan. 15. So don't be surprised if they make a run for the Presidents' Trophy again. 

3. New York Rangers (Last week: No. 2)

They're still the best team in the Eastern Conference by a large margin, but losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks are the reason why the Rangers fall to No. 3. 

It'll be interesting to see if the Rangers make a pursuit for Rick Nash next week. There's no doubt that he'll improve the team's dismal power play. 

4. St. Louis Blues (Last week: No. 4)

The St. Louis Blues have about $10 million in cap space and can acquire an annualized cap hit of $46 million on the trading deadline.

In laymen's terms, they have some room to make an acquisition for a scoring forward on the trading deadline. They have some goaltending prospects that are expendable because of their fortunate situation in net.

5. Boston Bruins (Last week: No. 5)

Don't mind their struggles. The Bruins will be fine come playoff time. They still lead the league in goal differential and have an elite netminder. 

They also have over $12 million of annualized cap hit they can acquire for the deadline, so expect them to make a few changes come next week.

6. New Jersey Devils (Last week: No. 9)

The New Jersey Devils are hot as hell right now. They're 9-1-1 ever since the All-Star break and haven't lost on the road yet. They have a major test against the Vancouver Canucks this Friday, which will be a great litmus test for the team.

Ilya Kovalchuk's 19 second-half points have been a large part of the Devils' success. If you can remember, the team caught fire last year around this time too, but they had already dug themselves in a deep hole and couldn't make the playoffs.

7. Pittsburgh Penguins (Last week: No. 6)

It was a good week to be a Penguins fan. James Neal signed a six-year extension worth $30 million, and the Black and Gold won two huge divisional games against the Flyers and Rangers.

That being said, the emergence of the Devils makes the Penguins drop a spot, but that can change quickly if the Pens can pull off a little win streak here. They have a pretty favorable schedule in late February and early March against teams like Tampa, Columbus, Dallas and Colorado. 

8. Nashville Predators (Last week: No. 7)

The Predators had a rough start to the second half, but it seems like they're turning things around. They've won three of their last four, but they still lost a spot in the rankings because of the Devils emergence.

9. Chicago Blackhawks (Last week: No. 12)

After falling out of the top 10 last week, the Hawks are back in it with huge wins against the Rangers, Blues and Red Wings. 

The Hawks could still use some goaltending help for the final push. It's hard to see Corey Crawford lead the team to a title. Perhaps a move for Jonathan Bernier, Evgeni Nabokov or Josh Harding will solve that problem.

10. Philadelphia Flyers (Last week: No. 8)

The Flyers have had five divisional games in the month of February, and they haven't won a single one. They lost to the Penguins over the weekend and allowed a 3-on-5 shorthanded goal. They've also lost twice to the Rangers and once to the Islanders and Devils.

That's definitely not a recipe for success, and it all goes back to their goaltending situation. Bryzgalov needs to step up. 

The acquisitions of Nicklas Grossman and Pavel Kubina should make the job easier on him, but at the end of the day, Bryz needs to stop some pucks. 

11. San Jose Sharks (Last week: No. 10)

The Sharks have a little rut. Is a move for Rick Nash now imminent? 

Imagine how lethal the Nash-Thornton combination will be. From all of the teams fighting for Nash, the Sharks might be the ones that need him the most to become a Stanley Cup contender.

It'll also be a symbolic move to the fans of San Jose that will show the fanbase that they want to end years of lackluster postseason appearances and finally win. 

12. Phoenix Coyotes (Last week: No. 14)

The Phoenix Coyotes are 16-4-2 in their last two Februaries. They're now in the playoff picture after pulling off yet another late-season run.

13. Ottawa Senators (Last week: No. 16)

The best way to snap out of a seven-game losing streak is to record points in five consecutive games. That's just what the Senators have done. They've won four out of their last five, and they should take advantage of the trade deadline by grabbing some defensive help or a goalie. 

14. Florida Panthers (Last week: No. 11)

Just how bad is this division?

Well, if the Panthers were in the Western Conference, they wouldn't hold a playoff spot right now.

Welcome to the AFC West of the NHL.

15. Los Angeles Kings (Last week: No. 13)

The Los Angeles Kings need scoring help. But you knew that.

They didn't score a goal in two games against the Coyotes and Flames at home, and both games resulted in 0-1 losses.

Then, they scored four goals at Phoenix, but ended up blowing the lead.

Think they don't need a guy named Rick Nash?

16. Calgary Flames (Last week: 17)

The Flames may have had a listless performance against Edmonton on Tuesday, but they've been playing better hockey as of late. They were 5-0-3 before last night's loss in the month of February. 

It'll be interesting to see if the Flames become sellers next week with Olli Jokinen's contract expiring this summer. The Flames are the ninth seed right now, but even if they make it to the playoffs, the chances of them pulling off a run and winning the Cup are slim.

17. Washington Capitals (Last week: 15)

The Washington Capitals just have three wins in the second half. If the Capitals are faced with another early exit this year, George McPhee and Ted Leonsis may need to consider blowing up the team and trading some pieces. 

18. Anaheim Ducks (Last week: No. 20)

How is a team that's 13th in the Western Conference ranked 18th in the power rankings?

The Ducks are 4-1-2 in their current seven-game road trip and are 15-3-4 since January 6. They've been hot for a long time now and only find themselves six points out of a playoff spot. 

With guys like Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Teemu Selanne and Jonas Hiller, the Ducks are more than capable of making the playoffs.

Their recent success on their road trip also should give them confidence to continue the momentum throughout the rest of the season. 

19. Toronto Maple Leafs  (Last week: No. 18)

The Maple Leafs don't need Rick Nash. Putting pucks in the back of the net is not a problem for this team.

They need defense, and they face the danger of not making the playoffs if they don't something about it during the trade deadline.

20. Winnipeg Jets (Last week: No. 24)

The Jets are exactly where they want to be. They're on an eight-game homestand and are 2-0-1 in the first three games. One of their wins came against the Boston Bruins.

Because of the Panthers' and Capitals' struggles, the Jets now find themselves tied for the highest point total in the Southeast Division. It's true that they've played four more games than the Panthers, but the notion of the Jets hosting a playoff series this spring being a possibility is mind-boggling.

21. Dallas Stars (Last week: No. 21)

The win-one, lose-one season continues for the Stars. They're desperate for a big win streak to propel them to the playoffs.

22. Colorado Avalanche (Last week: No. 19)

Chuck Kobasew, Gabriel Landeskog, Paul Stastny, Jan Hejda and Ryan O'Byrne are the only Avs under contract for next season. 

23. Tampa Bay Lightning (Last week: No. 27)

The Bolts may only be five points out of a playoff spot, but by trading Pavel Kubina and Steve Downie, they pretty much told everyone they're sellers. 

That said, the team is pretty much one goaltender away from becoming one of the best teams in a watered down Eastern Conference. So maybe they should go after an Evgeni Nabokov or Jonathan Bernier and try to make one last push.

24. Carolina Hurricanes (Last week: No. 26)

The Hurricanes are 5-1-2 in February. They're playing their best hockey right now and recently inked Tuomo Ruutu to a new four-year extension.

25. Montreal Canadiens (Last week: No. 22)

For awhile there, it seemed like the Habs were going to make a decent push to the playoffs, but two straight home losses to the Devils and Stars have dug them in a deep hole. 

They really need to put together a string of wins if they want to make up that seven-point deficit.

26. Buffalo Sabres (Last week: No. 29)

The Sabres showed some life this week with two big ones, including a 6-2 rout of the Penguins. They're still within striking distance like every other team in the East, but they'll need an unbelievable March from Ryan Miller.

27. New York Islanders (Last week: 23)

Does anyone really care about this team in New York? They're buried behind Linsanity, Lundsanity and the New York Giants Super Bowl victory. Oh yeah, and spring training is just around the corner, too.

So as the Isles waste away another season, they should just be glad that no one noticed again.

28. Minnesota Wild (Last week: No. 25)

Seriously, what happened to this team?

They just snapped another long losing streak, this one of the seven-game variety. What a waste of a great start to a season. 

29. Edmonton Oilers (Last week: No. 28)

Will we see another emotional press conference from Ryan Smyth if he gets traded? 

30. Columbus Blue Jackets (Last week: No. 30)

All eyes for the next two weeks will be on the team's star player. 

Power Rankings History: Dec 13-19 | Dec 20-26 | Dec 27-Jan 4 | Jan 5-11 | Jan 12-18 | Jan 19-26 | Jan 31-Feb 14