Current NHL Power Rankings: No topping Central

By Scott Burnside (posted Feb. 16, 2015)

Week:

Well, this is a bit of a trend, no? Once again, the Predators from Nashville have earned the top spot in the Power Rankings, as they remain red hot and got better with Sunday's acquisition of Mike Santorelli and Cody Franson. Minnesota and Los Angeles are surging, while the Bruins are fading. Just two weeks remain until the trade deadline, so there will be no shortage of drama ahead. Read on, faithful follower.

2014-2015 Power Rankings: Week 19
RANK	TEAM / RECORD	TRENDING	COMMENTS
1	Nashville 38-12-6	-- Last Week: 1	The Preds have won five in a row and continue to assert themselves as the best team in the NHL. They got Colin Wilson back after a brief absence, and Pekka Rinne continues his assault on the Vezina and possibly the Hart trophies. Nashville repatriated Cody Franson to an already impressive blue line, and Mike Santorelli should be a welcome addition to the top nine up front.
2	St. Louis 37-15-4	3 Last Week: 5	The Blues have been, likewise, piping hot, with just two regulation losses in their past 18 games, but they can't close the gap on the Predators atop the Central Division standings.
3	Montreal 36-15-4	3 Last Week: 6	The Canadiens would like to add some depth before the trade deadline. Maybe they don't need to, as they have won nine of 12 and are tied with Tampa Bay atop the Atlantic Division with three games in hand.
4	New York 37-18-1	4 Last Week: 8	The Islanders are rolling with four straight wins and currently reside atop the Metropolitan Division standings. How good has Anders Lee been?
5	Chicago 35-18-4	2 Last Week: 7	Chicago is still rolling along. Marian Hossa is on fire after a lackluster -- for him -- first half of the season in terms of offensive production. And Patrick Kane is now the league's leading point producer.
6	Detroit 31-13-10	4 Last Week: 2	The Red Wings were clipped by the Jets in a shootout Saturday as Jimmy Howard returned from injury showing some expected rust. Detroit is inexplicably 2-8 in the skills competition.
7	Anaheim 35-15-7	3 Last Week: 4	The Ducks are not quite right, although that might be a function of having been unworldly good in close games for so much of the season. John Gibson, who took the loss Sunday against Washington, will get a chance to show what he learned in the AHL with Frederik Andersen still recovering from injury.
8	Tampa Bay 35-17-6	5 Last Week: 3	The Lightning are just 13-11-5 away from their sunny Florida home, but they got a nice road win over San Jose on Sunday night.
9	Pittsburgh 32-15-9	1 Last Week: 10	The Penguins are still within hailing distance of the Islanders atop the Metropolitan Division. Marc-Andre Fleury has been solid of late and leads the league with eight shutouts. Good to see Blake Comeau back in the Pens' lineup.
10	New York 33-16-5	1 Last Week: 11	The Rangers have won three in a row and have shown they are greater than the sum of their parts as they make do without Henrik Lundqvist, who is sidelined with a freak vascular injury.
11	Minnesota 28-20-7	5 Last Week: 16	The Wild -- behind Devan Dubnyk -- have just one regulation loss in their past 13 outings, as they continue their dogged pursuit of a playoff berth.
12	Los Angeles 25-18-12	6 Last Week: 18	Is there room for both Minnesota and Los Angeles in the postseason? Maybe. Maybe not. The Kings are back in beast mode, though, with four straight wins. But they still need to correct their woeful road record.
13	Calgary 31-22-3	1 Last Week: 14	The Flames continue to collect pivotal points over Western Conference rivals, as witnessed by their 3-2 win over Vancouver on Saturday.
14	Washington 30-17-10	2 Last Week: 12	The Caps came up with a huge win in Anaheim less than 24 hours after a disappointing performance in Los Angeles. Washington won two of three on its West Coast trip and now heads to Pittsburgh.
15	Winnipeg 29-19-10	2 Last Week: 17	Big shootout win over Detroit on Saturday courtesy of newcomer Drew Stafford, and the Jets continue to hold down the top wild-card spot in the West after a tumultuous week that saw Evander Kane dealt to Buffalo.
16	San Jose 29-21-8	3 Last Week: 13	The Sharks remain a team that looks playoff bound one night and destined for the junk heap the next. Sunday was junk night as they were beaten 5-2 by Tampa Bay.
17	Vancouver 31-21-3	2 Last Week: 15	The Canucks are in the same boat as the Sharks, and unless Vancouver finds more consistency, it's hard to see it staying in the top eight.
18	Boston 28-20-7	9 Last Week: 9	The Bruins have lost three in a row and keep faint playoff hopes alive for Florida and Philadelphia with their sideways play.
19	Philadelphia 24-22-10	2 Last Week: 21	The Flyers need more from their top line but are gamely hanging around the fringes of the Eastern Conference playoff discussion with points in nine straight (6-0-3).
20	Dallas 26-22-8	1 Last Week: 19	The loss of Tyler Seguin is a monumental blow for the Stars, who were a long shot to make the playoffs even with Seguin in the lineup.
21	Florida 24-19-12	1 Last Week: 22	Quite simply, the Panthers need to string some wins together to take advantage of the slumbering Bruins. They got a losers' point Sunday, but that's not going to cut it.
22	Colorado 23-22-11	2 Last Week: 20	The Avs are spinning their wheels, which is no way to make up the ground needed to remain in the playoff discussion in the Western Conference.
23	Ottawa 22-22-10	3 Last Week: 26	The Senators whipped the Oilers to give fans at least an afternoon of happiness Saturday. Otherwise, this has been a most forgettable season in the Canadian capital.
24	Carolina 19-28-7	-- Last Week: 24	Although they have lost two in a row, the Hurricanes managed to collect points in seven of their past 10 games. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing vis a vis the Connor McDavid sweepstakes.
25	Columbus 24-27-3	-- Last Week: 25	Kudos to Blue Jacket Scott Hartnell on his 1,000th game. OK, that's all we've got for Columbus.
26	New Jersey 21-26-9	3 Last Week: 23	The Devils are in a free fall with four straight losses. Zero offense from a Devils team that ranks 28th in goals per game.
27	Arizona 20-30-7	-- Last Week: 27	The Coyotes are doing their best to stay in the draft lottery hunt with three straight losses. Their minus-60 goal differential is tied for second-worst in the NHL with Edmonton.
28	Edmonton 16-32-9	-- Last Week: 28	The Oilers have actually played better of late, but an embarrassing loss to Ottawa on Saturday was a reminder of just how far the team is from being competitive.
29	Toronto 23-29-5	-- Last Week: 29	The Leafs' fire sale began Sunday with the dealing of Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli to Nashville. Is that just an appetizer before the main course of their deconstruction?
30	Buffalo 16-37-3	-- Last Week: 30	The Sabres continue to distinguish themselves with cringe-worthy play on an almost nightly basis. They boast a minus-89 goal differential. Impressive in their awfulness.
Biggest Jump: 6 Biggest Drop: 9