NHL Power Rankings: Wild Break into Top 5; Predators Take Big Fall

This just in: The NHL is not hurting for elites in 2021-22.

In fact, seven teams maintained a points percentage of 70 or better heading into Wednesday's games, and eight teams were within nine standings points of the league's No. 1 overall spot.

Nevertheless, the Colorado Avalanche remain the resident ice-skating juggernaut from week to week, as indicated by their fifth consecutive berth on the top floor of B/R's NHL Power Rankings.

Coach Jared Bednar's team swept the first-place ballots to maintain its standing and was followed in spots two through five by the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Wild were the lone new addition to the powerhouse quintet, rising two spots from No. 6 as the Toronto Maple Leafs made a similar tumble from fourth to sixth.

Minnesota's Kevin Fiala staked his team's claim to the high-profile position after a Saturday defeat of the Hurricanes, suggesting, "If they're contenders, so are we. That's what we feel like."

Read on to see how the remaining spots were filled, and feel free to drop a note or two in the comment section to let our puck heads know where we got it right or not.

Nos. 32-26: Canadiens, Coyotes, Kraken, Devils, Flyers, Senators, Sabres

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32. Montreal Canadiens (Last Week: 32nd)

It's 0-of-3 by a combined 12-6 score for new coach Martin St. Louis, who took over on an interim basis when Dominique Ducharme was axed last week. The rebuild began with forward Tyler Toffoli, who was dealt to Calgary for two players and two picks.

             

31. Arizona Coyotes (Last Week: 31st)

The Coyotes split a pair during a light week, winning in Seattle before returning home to lose a one-goal decision to Tampa Bay. Looking forward, the team provided a preview of the multipurpose arena at Arizona State University that the franchise will call home for the next three seasons.

             

30. Seattle Kraken (Last Week: 30th)

A road win in Anaheim was a nice uptick for the Kraken, who otherwise lost a pair of home games to Arizona and Toronto by a combined 11-4 count. On the historic side, the tandem of Everett Fitzhugh and analyst JT Brown will become the first all-Black TV broadcast crew to call an NHL game on Thursday.

             

29. New Jersey Devils (Last Week: 28th)

A two-game win streak in which the Devils scored 14 goals crashed and burned in the form of a two-game losing skid in which they netted five. The second loss was a 6-3 decision against Tampa Bay, in which New Jersey had led 3-1. "We just kind of gave up once they tied the game, and we were not playing the same way as we did in the first half of the game," forward Tomas Tatar said.

             

28. Philadelphia Flyers (Last Week: 27th)

Three games yielded three losses and a single standings point for the Flyers, who were on the short end of Sidney Crosby's 500th career goal. Elsewhere, Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now reported that captain Claude Giroux wants to be traded to Colorado but would also accept Minnesota or St. Louis as a landing spot.

                

27. Ottawa Senators (Last Week: 25th)

Scoring was the primary issue for the Senators during a four-game week in which they won once and netted just six goals—including shutout losses to Pittsburgh and Boston. In other not-so-good news, goalie Matt Murray left in the third period Tuesday's loss to St. Louis with an apparent injury after a collision with a Blues player in front of the net.

             

26. Buffalo Sabres (Last Week: 29th)

It was one of the more successful weeks in a difficult season for the Sabres, who bagged five of a possible six standings points with wins against Montreal and the New York Islanders and an OT loss to Columbus. "You know what? Fun is winning, and winning is fun," forward Alex Tuch said.

Nos. 25-21: Blackhawks, Islanders, Red Wings, Blue Jackets, Canucks

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25. Chicago Blackhawks (Last Week: 26th)

Two up and one down from the week for the Blackhawks, whose 4-1 win in Edmonton led to the toppling of Oilers coach Dave Tippett the following day. The road trip continued with a loss in St. Louis before wrapping up with a 3-1 win at Winnipeg. "We obviously came out a lot stronger and stuck with it for most of the 60," forward Alex DeBrincat said. "So overall, I thought it was a good game."

             

24. New York Islanders (Last Week: 24th)

A trip out West started well enough with a three-goal victory in Vancouver but soon devolved into consecutive losses in Edmonton, Calgary and Buffalo while surrendering 14 goals. "These are games that we have to have," captain Anders Lee said after the loss to the Sabres. "There are moments that we have to start being successful in, and that's how we're going to be able to dig out of this.

          

23. Detroit Red Wings (Last Week: 23rd)

A pair of wins in a home-and-home against Philadelphia were a good start to the week before the Red Wings allowed seven goals in a visit to Minnesota on Monday. "We're going to play a whole group of teams here that are some of the upper-echelon teams in the league, and if you want to win, you have to be close to your A-games as close as possible," coach Jeff Blashill said following their loss to the Wild.

          

22. Columbus Blue Jackets (Last Week: 22nd)

The Blue Jackets won in Buffalo and Montreal to extend a road win streak to three games before the bubble burst with a 6-2 loss in Calgary. "They're a powerhouse team,'' Columbus coach Brad Larsen said to reporters about the Flames. "They're big, they're strong, they've got a good balance of veteran guys. It's a pretty deep team. We can't have anybody not on board in that game, not one, to stay with them for 60."

              

21. Vancouver Canucks (Last Week: 21st)

Just two games for the week and a big contrast in results for the Canucks, who dropped a decision to the visiting New York Islanders before beating powerhouse Toronto. Goalie Thatcher Demko made a career-high 51 saves in the defeat of the Maple Leafs, who topped the mark of 49 by former teammate Jacob Markstrom. The Swede commented on Demko's Instagram post, saying, "You had to one-up me with 50+ saves didn't you."

Nos. 20-16: Sharks, Jets, Ducks, Kings, Stars

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20. San Jose Sharks (Last Week: 20th)

The Sharks are experiencing a particularly prolonged losing streak after not playing between Feb. 1 and 14. Those dates yielded losses to Tampa Bay and Edmonton after two games in late January ended in defeats against Florida and Carolina. San Jose hasn't won since beating Washington on Jan. 26. "I think that you can see there wasn't a lot of sharpness to our game [against the Oilers], and that's the worry after being on a break that long," coach Bob Boughner said.

          

19. Winnipeg Jets (Last Week: 19th)

It was a break-even week for the Jets, who went 1-1-1 while scoring and allowing nine goals heading into Wednesday night's 6-3 win over the Wild. A 3-1 defeat against Chicago on Monday opened a four-game homestand and featured 31 saves by Marc-Andre Fleury. "[Fleury] made a couple of big saves, especially in the third period, but I think that we as a team needed to do a better job of getting to him," defenseman Nate Schmidt said after the defeat.

              

18. Anaheim Ducks (Last Week: 16th)

Like San Jose before them, the Ducks struggled on either side of a long break. They lost in OT at Detroit on Jan. 31 and were off until a 4-3 home loss to Seattle on Friday. Wednesday's 6-2 defeat to Calgary means they haven't won since Jan. 29. "The question becomes, who is equipped to handle this now and who's not?" coach Dallas Eakins said.

              

17. Los Angeles Kings (Last Week: 15th)

The Kings won two straight bridging late January and early February but returned on Tuesday with a desultory 5-2 loss to Edmonton. "We looked rested. I was concerned we'd be a little bit slow or sluggish, and I don't think we were that. Mentally, I don't think we were as sharp as we have been," coach Todd McLellan said.

             

16. Dallas Stars (Last Week: 17th)

Three wins in four games marked a successful and busy week for the Stars, who beat Nashville and Winnipeg at home before splitting a home-and-home with Colorado, winning in Denver and losing in Dallas. The Stars handed the Avalanche their first defeat in regulation since mid-December and first at home since late October. "They're a heck of a team. They've got a lot of great players over there. You need a big team effort," forward Joe Pavelski said.

Nos. 15-11: Oilers, Predators, Golden Knights, Bruins, Capitals

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15. Edmonton Oilers (Last Week: 18th)

Coach Dave Tippett was fired following an ugly loss to Chicago last week, and the team has responded with three straight wins—against the New York Islanders, San Jose and Anaheim—while scoring 11 goals and allowing just three for new coach Jay Woodcroft. "Woody has come in and upped the detail level with our players. And the players have bought in and decided that it's now or never," goalie Mike Smith said.

            

14. Nashville Predators (Last Week: 9th)

Nashville entered the week having won four of five but suddenly skidded, losing consecutive decisions to Dallas, Winnipeg and Washington while scoring just six goals. "Part of winning regularly in the league is there has to be a lot of consistency," coach John Hynes said. "And when your game is consistent, it gives you the chance to win."

               

13. Vegas Golden Knights (Last Week: 11th)

A shutout win at Edmonton was followed by back-to-back shutout losses to Calgary and Colorado for the Golden Knights, who welcomed high-profile trade acquisition Jack Eichel into the fold during Wednesday's game with the Avalanche. "I just feel like I'm back at that point where I'm ready to play," Eichel said. That's a dangerous sign for the rest of the Western Conference moving forward. 

              

12. Boston Bruins (Last Week: 12th)

The week got off to an ugly start with a 6-0 home loss to Carolina but settled down with a shutout win at Ottawa and a standings point from a nine-round shootout loss at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers. The defeat came without the services of Brad Marchand, who's serving a suspension, and Patrice Bergeron, who's injured and expected back Thursday.

           

11. Washington Capitals (Last Week: 14th)

A two-game losing streak heading into the week was erased by two wins in three games. The victories came on the road in Montreal and Nashville. "The win was really good for our team," coach Peter Laviolette said to reporters following their victory against the Predators. "It's been a bit of a roller coaster."

Nos. 10-6: Blues, Flames, Rangers, Penguins, Maple Leafs

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10. St. Louis Blues (Last Week: 10th)

The Blues returned from their own extended break—Jan. 29 to Feb. 10—with a loss to New Jersey but rebounded to defeat of Chicago and Ottawa, scoring 10 goals and allowing three. St. Louis enters Thursday seventh in the league in team goals against (2.74) after finishing 19th in that statistic (2.98) last season.

                

9. Calgary Flames (Last Week: 13th)

There is no team in the league hotter than the Flames, who have won eight straight following Wednesday's win over Anaheim to climb into first place in the Pacific Division. Forward Tyler Toffoli came over via a trade with Montreal and scored in his Calgary debut Tuesday against Columbus. "Obviously, coming to a really good team playing really good hockey right now, I was excited," he said.

                

8. New York Rangers (Last Week: 7th)

Unlike other teams, the Rangers have done well on both sides of their hiatus, winning on Jan. 30 and Feb. 1 and then making it three straight with a shootout win over Boston on Tuesday. "Throughout the first half of the season, we've put ourselves in a great position," forward Barclay Goodrow said. "I think we've done a lot better than what everyone may have thought we were going to do coming into the season."

             

7. Pittsburgh Penguins (Last Week: 8th)

It's an embarrassment of riches for the Penguins, who rolled through the week on a four-game win streak and also saw captain Sidney Crosby net goal No. 500 on Tuesday. He's the 18th player to score all 500 with one franchise. "To sustain a certain level of play for as long as he has and continue to sustain an elite level of play I just think is an indication of his competitiveness and his will to win," coach Mike Sullivan said.

           

6. Toronto Maple Leafs (Last Week: 4th)

A six-game win streak ended with losses at Calgary and Vancouver before the Maple Leafs regained their mojo with a 6-2 win at Seattle. "It's great to end this road trip off of the way," forward Alexander Kerfoot said. "Obviously [it] didn't go the way we wanted to, but it was a good response."

Nos. 5-1: Lightning, Wild, Hurricanes, Panthers, Avalanche

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5. Tampa Bay Lightning (Last Week: 5th)

A one-goal loss at fellow powerhouse Colorado gave way to wins at Arizona and New Jersey for the Lightning, who will be off until a February 23 visit from Edmonton. "I think we want as many days off as possible," forward Alex Killorn said. "Short-term, it may not be the greatest thing, but when you're looking long-term in terms of playoffs and stuff, we've played a lot of hockey over the past couple of years, so we'll take as many days as we can."

          

4. Minnesota Wild (Last Week: 6th)

Two home games meant two wins for the Wild, who scored 10 goals in defeats of Carolina and Detroit heading into Wednesday night's road loss to Winnipeg. Rookie Matt Boldy scored three times against the Red Wings for his first career hat trick. "It was obviously really cool,'' he said. "The fans were going crazy, and I just had teammates' support from everyone. Everyone kind of clapped my back and stuff like that. It's awesome.''

             

3. Carolina Hurricanes (Last Week: 3rd)

It's a rare hiccup for the Hurricanes, who headed into Wednesday's 3-2 home defeat to Florida having lost three of four games to fall behind Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division. "The outcomes are not acceptable, but there's a lot of good that went on," coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "At the end of the day, you gotta win the games, got to find a way."

          

2. Florida Panthers (Last Week: 2nd)

The Panthers won four of five through Feb. 1 and then sat for better than two weeks before Wednesday's win in Carolina. "It's hard to manage everybody's expectations and everybody's desires to want to play," interim coach Andrew Brunette said. "We're going to have to ask guys to be a little selfless in the near picture of our group and where we're heading."

             

1. Colorado Avalanche (Last Week: 1st)

The home loss to Dallas on Tuesday ended a pair of long point streaks for the Avalanche. However, there wasn't a lot of panic or concern as the team prepared for Wednesday night's shutout win in Vegas. "The [losses] all sting, but I can't sit here and say that we played poorly," coach Jared Bednar said. "It's a fine line between winning and losing every night."