NHL Power Rankings: Red-Hot Flames Crash Top 5; Avs Still at Top

Suddenly, there's a new powerhouse out West.

OK, the jury remains out on a consistently inconsistent Calgary Flames team, but Darryl Sutter's group is on the biggest of upticks lately, having won 10 straight games to move past the Vegas Golden Knights and into first place in the Pacific Division.

And that's not all. The streak has also carried the Flames into the top five of the B/R NHL Power Rankings for the first time this season, arriving at No. 5 and into a group that includes the Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning at spots one through four.

That quartet was in the top five last week as well. The Flames pushed out the Minnesota Wild, who dropped from fourth to eighth. Colorado retains its hold on No. 1, while Florida and Carolina swapped places and the Lightning jumped from fifth to fourth.

Calgary leaped all the way from ninth to fifth, but the bench boss isn't satisfied just yet

"I don't put a whole lot into 10 in a row unless they were 10 in a row in the playoffs," Sutter said.

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

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

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32. Montreal Canadiens (Last Week: 32nd)

The week that Canadiens fans have been waiting for all season finally arrived, with Montreal going 3-0 while scoring 11 goals and allowing just six—including a 5-2 rout of high-flying Toronto on Monday night. "To be a success in this league as a team and individually, you need a bit of swagger, and we're building a lot of swagger right now," interim coach Martin St. Louis said.

31. Arizona Coyotes (Last Week: 31st) 

It was one up, one down in a light week for the Coyotes heading into Wednesday night's 3-2 home loss to Los Angeles. Off the ice, GM Bill Armstrong got started changing the roster by acquiring forward Nick Ritchie and a draft pick from Toronto in exchange for two players. Ritchie, a first-round pick by Anaheim in 2014, had nine points in 33 games with the Maple Leafs in 2021-22.

30. Seattle Kraken (Last Week: 30th)

It was a particularly unproductive week for the Kraken, whose lingering loss from last week turned into a five-game skid thanks to consecutive defeats at Winnipeg, at Calgary, at Vancouver and home against the New York Islanders. Seattle scored just eight goals in the four games and had 10 across all five. "We didn't have a lot of energy early [against New York], and we needed to somehow give ourselves that injection of life with something early offensively," coach Dave Hakstol said. "And we couldn't find that."

29. Philadelphia Flyers (Last Week: 28th)

It's another extended skid for the Flyers, who have now dropped six in a row—two in overtime—since winning against Winnipeg on Feb. 1. Philadelphia has already had streaks of 13 and 10 losses this season, and the team is amid an eight-game homestand, which has started 0-2-1. "I think we're very frustrated," captain Claude Giroux said after Tuesday's 4-1 loss to St. Louis. "Played a good game tonight most of the time, some lines played very well, but again in the third we just couldn't get it done."

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

The Devils will get back on the ice Thursday after nine days without a game. They lost consecutive home contests to Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay in the final two games before the break, allowing 10 goals while scoring five. "It's frustrating. Like, we want to be in the mix. And we're not in the mix," forward Jack Hughes told the Speak of the Devils podcast.

27. Buffalo Sabres (Last Week: 26th)

A streak of two wins and an OT loss gave way to a less successful week with consecutive losses to Ottawa, Colorado and Columbus heading into Wednesday's shutout loss in Montreal. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin missed the game with the Blue Jackets after suffering an injury against the Avalanche. "Dahlin is big," coach Don Granato said. "It's 25 minutes plus in a game. That's a big one. That's different." Thankfully for the Sabres, he was back for the defeat to the Habs.

26. Chicago Blackhawks (Last Week: 25th)

Three games yielded three losses for the skidding Blackhawks, who are roughly as close to the bottom of the Western Conference as they are to a playoff spot. Off the ice, the franchise went public with the decision to no longer have former superstar Bobby Hull serve as a team ambassador. "When it comes to Bobby, specifically, we jointly agreed earlier this season that he will retire from any official team role," a statement said.

Nos. 25-21: Senators, Islanders, Sharks, Red Wings, Jets

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25. Ottawa Senators (Last Week: 27th)

It was a 2-2 week for the record, but the Senators finished it strong on Tuesday with a 4-3 defeat of the high-flying Minnesota Wild. Defenseman Thomas Chabot returned from a four-game stint on the shelf with injury, played in his 300th career game and chipped in with a pair of goals. "He's great. He changes the complexion of our team obviously," captain Brady Tkachuk said of Chabot. "We know how much he plays and how much he's out there, but yeah, he's a difference-maker.''

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

It was a two-up, one-down week for the Islanders, who did manage to get the second win at the start of a trip out West that will take them to San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim and Colorado. New York opened with a 5-2 triumph at Seattle, where Zach Parise scored twice to register his first multigoal game in more than two years. "His numbers aren't staggering the last couple of years, but it's the other parts of his game that are so valuable," coach Barry Trotz said.

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

It's suddenly been seven games without a victory for the Sharks, who have managed three overtime points but have not won a game since January 26 in Washington. A shootout loss in Anaheim on Tuesday was No. 7 and left San Jose seventh in the Pacific Division heading into Wednesday, nine points away from the nearest playoff spot and pondering trade deadline changes. "It's natural when you get to this point, if you're on the outside looking in, you start to think about the deadline," forward Logan Couture said. "[Coach Bob] Boughner told us to let it go and just play."

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

The Red Wings had a light week, comparatively speaking, defeating the Rangers in New York before losing to Colorado at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday. The win at Madison Square Garden was their third in four games. "It's important in this league not to get on a bad stretch, and that's easier said than done," coach Jeff Blashill said. "We've got a tough stretch ahead of us still, but it's important to follow up losses with wins."

21. Winnipeg Jets (Last Week: 19th)

The week started successfully enough with home wins over Minnesota and Seattle but crumbled from there with a loss to visiting Edmonton and a road defeat at Calgary heading into Wednesday's trip to Dallas. The road voyage will continue in Colorado and Arizona before Winnipeg returns home next week. "There's pressure to win every night, regardless of what date is coming up," interim coach Dave Lowry said.

Nos. 20-16: Canucks, Blue Jackets, Stars, Ducks, Oilers

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20. Vancouver Canucks (Last Week: 21st)

The Canucks scored 14 goals in a prolific week and managed to win two of three games, netting five apiece in defeats of San Jose and Seattle and dropping a 7-4 decision to Anaheim. It was quite the outburst for a team that's tied for 25th in the league in goals per game with 2.63. "When we're playing with confidence and we're rolling, it's nice," forward Tyler Motte said.

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

Three games meant three wins and 18 goals scored for the Blue Jackets, who netted seven apiece against Chicago and Buffalo and another four in an OT victory over Toronto on Tuesday. "They believe they can win, and that goes a long way," coach Brad Larsen said. "There is not a magic formula. They are good players, and they are dangerous."

18. Dallas Stars (Last Week: 16th)

The Stars won in a 1-0 shootout in Chicago before scoring just once in a loss at Arizona two nights later. They headed home for a 3-2 overtime win over Winnipeg on Wednesday night and will visit Nashville on Thursday. Meanwhile, captain Jamie Benn was fined $5,000 for squirting a Blackhawks player with a water bottle as he skated past the Stars bench.

17. Anaheim Ducks (Last Week: 18th)

The Ducks responded to four straight losses in credible style, scoring 11 goals while winning in Vancouver and defeating visiting San Jose in a shootout. Rickard Rakell scored twice against the Sharks and netted the shootout winner with a high backhand. "I don't think I've done that before," he said. "I've done it a lot in practice. It wasn't really what I had in mind."

16. Edmonton Oilers (Last Week: 15th)

Edmonton pushed its win streak to five under new coach Jay Woodcroft before losing a home date to Minnesota on Sunday on the eve of a trip East that began Wednesday with a 5-3 loss at Tampa Bay and will include other stops at Florida, Carolina, Philadelphia and Chicago. "It's going to be a tough road trip. It is a long one against really good hockey teams in this league," forward Leon Draisaitl said. "But we are a really good team, too."

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

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

The Kings rebounded from a home loss to Edmonton with wins at Vegas and Arizona before a second road win over the Coyotes on Wednesday. Los Angeles trailed by two goals in each of the first two victories before rallying. "That's one of the reasons why we're in the spot we are; we have guys that just don't give up," defenseman Drew Doughty said. "That's something be very proud of."

14. Nashville Predators (Last Week: 14th)

The unpredictable Predators had lost four in a row heading into Tuesday night, so of course that meant they went into suburban Miami and handed the Panthers a 6-4 loss, becoming just the fourth team to win there all season. "We don't want to get too high or too low," forward Tanner Jeannot said. "When the games weren't going our way these past few games, we didn't get too low. We played hard and got the win."

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

It was a 1-1-1 week for the Golden Knights, who were blanked in a showdown with Colorado before losing in OT to Los Angeles and defeating San Jose. High-profile trade acquisition Jack Eichel recorded a point against the Kings before scoring his first goal for his new team against the Sharks. "It's a good feeling," he said. "It's just part of my game. Obviously, I want to try to chip in offensively."

12. Washington Capitals (Last Week: 11th)

It's a prolonged win streak for the Capitals, who won two straight on February 15 and 17 before a hiatus that will end Thursday night with a visit to the New York Rangers. The team's practice on Monday featured its full lineup on the ice for the first time all season. "All year it's been guys in and out of the lineup, and we haven't played with our full lineup this year, so it is nice to see," center Nicklas Backstrom said. "It's fun to see those guys out there."

11. Boston Bruins (Last Week: 12th)

The Bruins were outscored 6-2 in losses to the Islanders and Rangers in New York but recovered quickly with an OT win at Ottawa and an impressive 5-1 defeat of visiting Colorado on Monday. "I think it was the best of the year if you're talking a full game, 60 minutes," forward David Pastrnak said. "We just stayed in the moment. We were energized, and it was a great win for us. A big two points."

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

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

Two wins in three games made it four of five overall for the Blues, who won in Toronto and Philadelphia after a loss at Montreal. They will return home Friday to entertain Buffalo. Tuesday marked goalie Jordan Binnington's first game at Philadelphia since January 2019, when he made his NHL debut with a shutout. "I think the boys were happy, happy for me," he said. "Everyone's excited. That's a great road trip. That's seven out of eight points and we had a lot of fun just being on the road together."

9. Pittsburgh Penguins (Last Week: 7th)

The Penguins' 4-0-1 stretch ended abruptly with a loss in Toronto that was followed three days later by a loss to Carolina in a game that started a three-game homestand. "That's a really good hockey team. They've won a lot of games this year. They're in first place for a reason," coach Mike Sullivan said. "It was everything that we thought it would be. It was a hard game that had a playoff feel to it."

8. Minnesota Wild (Last Week: 4th)

The Wild were the toast of the league with six straight victories heading into the first week of February, but they have been uneven since. A 5-0 win in Chicago was the last of that run on February 2, and the seven games since have yielded a 3-4 mark after Tuesday's 4-3 loss in Ottawa. That preceded visits to Toronto on Thursday and Calgary on Saturday. "Anyone can beat anyone any night, and [Ottawa] came out outworking us in the first period, and that's just not acceptable," defenseman Jon Merrill said.

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

A week that opened with a win over red-hot Pittsburgh devolved into three straight losses to visiting St. Louis and on the road at Montreal and Columbus, with the Maple Leafs being scored upon 15 times. In his past 14 games, goalie Jack Campbell has an .892 save percentage. In his first 23, the number was a league-best .937. "I know I'll be better next one," he said following the loss to the Blue Jackets.

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

It's four victories in five games for the Rangers heading into Thursday's game with Washington at Madison Square Garden. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 29 saves in Sunday's win over Ottawa and nearly scored into an empty net at the end of the game, missing by inches. Nashville legend Pekka Rinne was the most recent goalie to score on January 9, 2020.

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

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5. Calgary Flames (Last Week: 9th)

There's no team hotter than the Flames, who have strung together 10 straight wins to climb to first in the Pacific Division and into a tie for eighth overall in the league after an uneven start. The streak ties a franchise record first set in 1978 and equaled in 2017. "Ten in a row—that's good," forward Elias Lindholm said. "We were struggling a little bit there before we started the streak."

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

The Lightning started a road trip with a loss at Colorado but finished it with wins in Arizona and New Jersey and returned home Wednesday to defeat Edmonton. Tampa Bay heads to Nashville on Saturday for the first outdoor game in franchise history at Nissan Stadium. "We've been hungry for a game like that for a long time here, and it kind of felt like we were never going to get that opportunity," captain Steven Stamkos said.

3. Florida Panthers (Last Week: 2nd)

The Panthers went 4-1 on a road trip prolonged by the All-Star break and returned home to drop a 6-4 decision to Nashville, just their fourth home defeat of the season. That started a five-game homestand. Thereafter, 17 of Florida's final 27 games will be on the road. "We do want to win them all, and we feel like we can," forward Sam Bennett said.

2. Carolina Hurricanes (Last Week: 3rd)

Four games have yielded seven of a possible eight points for the Hurricanes, who dropped an OT decision to Florida before beating Nashville, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. They will host Columbus and Edmonton on Friday and Sunday, respectively, before returning to the road. "You're not going to always have your best in an 82-game season, but good teams find ways to win," defenseman Brett Pesce said.

1. Colorado Avalanche (Last Week: 1st)

The Avalanche won two-goal decisions in Vegas and Buffalo before falling at Boston on Monday and wrapping the four-game trip with a 5-2 victory in Detroit on Wednesday. The loss to the Bruins ended a seven-game road win streak and was the first in regulation for goalie Darcy Kuemper in 19 games. "When you've got one team that plays the best they've got and one team that doesn't, then it's going to end up lopsided," captain Gabriel Landeskog said.