NHL Power Rankings: Where Every Team Stands After the Christmas Break

It's beginning to look a lot like 1994.

The New York Rangers are off to the sort of start that makes fans believe they have a chance to hoist a first banner since Mark Messier & Co. won the Stanley Cup three decades ago.

Voters for the B/R Power Rankings clearly believe it, too, giving the residents of Madison Square Garden their second straight spot atop the list as the league comes out of its annual holiday break and resumes play with a full slate of Wednesday games.

The Rangers took first on all but one ballot, finishing second only to the surging Vancouver Canucks, who've not lost in regulation across their past nine games and reached Christmas week atop the overall standings with 49 points.

Ironically, it was the Canucks whom the Rangers beat to win the Cup in 1994.

The mid-1990s rivals were joined on this week's list by the Los Angeles Kings in third, the Dallas Stars in fourth, and the Winnipeg Jets and Boston Bruins tied for fifth.

Scroll through to see where your favorite team wound up and drop a thought of your own in the comments.

NOTE: Votes were tallied before games on Wednesday, Dec. 27.

Previous Ranking: 32

Overall Record: 9-22-3

An up-and-down season is teetering straight down for the holidays for the Sharks, whose pre-Christmas loss at Vancouver on Saturday was their fifth in a row in regulation. San Jose has scored 10 goals in the skid and its 2.15 goals per game ranks last in the league.

Previous Ranking: 31

Overall Record: 10-22-1

The Connor Bedard highlight reel is getting longer by the day thanks to his latest exploit, a "Michigan" lacrosse-style goal against St. Louis. However, it's not translating to wins for the Blackhawks, who reached the break with six losses in seven games.

Previous Ranking: 29

Overall Record: 12-21-0

Trevor Zegras returned from a 20-game absence because of a lower-body injury and scored a "Michigan" goal in a loss to Seattle, but the Ducks managed just one other goal on 34 overall shots and have won just three times in their past 18 games after a 9-6 start.

Previous Ranking: 28

Overall Record: 11-18-6

A 4-1 loss to visiting Toronto was the last pre-break game for the Blue Jackets, who fell for the fourth consecutive time at Nationwide Arena. Columbus is just 2-5 on home ice in December, and its 4-8-3 home record is 29th-best in the league.

Previous Ranking: 30

Overall Record: 12-17-0

It took three games, but the Senators finally got a win in coach Jacques Martin's second stint behind the bench with a Saturday defeat of Pittsburgh. Ottawa had lost two in a row since D.J. Smith was fired and six straight overall while getting outscored 29-17.

Previous Ranking: 27

Overall Record: 14-17-4

The Sabres lost a final pre-Christmas outing against the New York Rangers to fall for the eighth time in December. "The last couple of games have been much, much better," coach Don Granato said, "and I feel very confident that this group is headed [in] the right direction."

Previous Ranking: 26

Overall Record: 12-14-9

It's still nowhere near their 100-point pace of last season, but the Kraken's win against Anaheim on Saturday ran its point streak to six games (4-0-2). Joey Daccord stopped 32 shots and has allowed two or fewer goals in seven of his past eight starts in December.

Previous Ranking: 25

Overall Record: 14-15-5

The Flames dropped a 5-3 decision at Los Angeles in their last game before the break to end a five-game point streak (3-0-2). Calgary had won just once in its first seven games of the month and will finish December with home games against Seattle and Philadelphia.

Previous Ranking: 18

Overall Record: 16-14-4

The Red Wings won just once in their final six games before Christmas and stumbled to the break with goaltending issues thanks to injuries to Ville Husso and Alex Lyon. Journeyman Michael Hutchinson signed as a free agent and stopped 33 shots in a loss to New Jersey.

Previous Ranking: 24

Overall Record: 15-15-1

The Oilers dropped the first game of a three-game eastern road swing on Long Island before rallying with defeats of New Jersey and the New York Rangers. They've won 10 of their past 13 games and are 12-6 since Kris Knoblauch replaced Jay Woodcroft on November 12.

Previous Ranking: 21

Overall Record: 15-13-5

The Canadiens broke for Christmas in the midst of a prolonged seven-game road trip that'll touch five states and one province across parts of two months (and years). Montreal won two of its first three on the voyage and will return Thursday at Carolina.

Previous Ranking: 23

Overall Record: 17-15-1

The vibe is certainly different for the Blues under new coach Drew Bannister, who's 4-1 behind the bench since replacing the fired Craig Berube in mid-December. Forwards Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou have combined for seven goals and 11 assists in those games.

Previous Ranking: 20

Overall Record: 15-13-4

The Penguins had won two straight before a Saturday loss at Ottawa, where they riddled the Senators with 23 shots in the third period—a franchise record for a third period in a road game. Pittsburgh's power play was 1-for-7 and is 27th in the league at 13.7 percent.

Previous Ranking: 22

Overall Record: 15-13-4

Kirill Kaprizov was one of the league's hottest scorers leading into the holiday season with four goals and three assists in a four-game point streak. The Wild have been red-hot, too, going 10-3 since John Hynes replaced Dean Evason on November 27.

Previous Ranking: 16

Overall Record: 17-14-2

It's been the streakiest of streaky months for the Coyotes, who opened with two wins before losing four straight and then winning four straight. Arizona lost a 4-1 decision at Colorado in its final pre-break game. Connor Ingram is 3-4 with a .903 save percentage in December.

Previous Ranking: 13

Overall Record: 17-13-4

The Hurricanes lost four of six on an extended road trip early in the month and haven't exactly found their groove back home, dropping three of the past four at PNC Arena. "We're in a tough spot," coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Right now, it's a little disappointing."

Previous Ranking: 19

Overall Record: 17-13-5

It's been a good December for the Lightning, who reached the break with three straight wins and seven in 11 games during the month. "We've had to gut some of these games out," coach Jon Cooper said. "We've beat some good teams here in this little run we're on."

Previous Ranking: 14

Overall Record: 19-15-0

A little blip or a sign of coming trouble? That'll be up to coach Andrew Brunette to decide for his Predators, who went 13-3 across 16 games before a pre-Christmas skid of two losses in three. "The more you talk about it," Brunette said, "sometimes I wonder the less they listen."

Previous Ranking: 16

Overall Record: 17-13-2

The Devils managed to reach Christmas merrily after a 3-2 win over visiting Detroit on Saturday ended a three-game skid. New Jersey won five of its first seven games in December and sits three points off the current Eastern Conference playoff pace.

Previous Ranking: 11

Overall Record: 19-12-2

It didn't yield a parade, but the Panthers did get some revenge Saturday with a 4-2 defeat of Vegas in a Stanley Cup rematch. Florida had lost two in a row and four of five. "It was an emotional game," forward Carter Verhaeghe said, "but we wanted to get right back on track."

Previous Ranking: 9

Overall Record: 18-11-4

The Flyers kicked off a two-segment road trip in their final game before the break, rallying from a 5-1 deficit to ultimately get a point in a shootout against Detroit. Philadelphia will return to action this week with visits to Vancouver, Seattle, Calgary and Edmonton.

Previous Ranking: 12

Overall Record: 16-8-9

It's going from "nice start" to "strong season" for the Islanders, who've gone 11-2-6 in their past 19 games, including a road win at Carolina to kick-start the break. Anders Lee had three goals and two assists in the team's final three games before Christmas.

Previous Ranking: 15

Overall Record: 17-9-5

The Capitals lost a shootout to visiting Tampa Bay on Saturday, but it was still the eighth game out of nine in which they managed at least a point (5-1-3). They'd won three straight in extra time before losing to the Lightning. "I like where we're at," coach Spencer Carbery said.

Previous Ranking: 8

Overall Record: 17-8-6

Auston Matthews and William Nylander reached Christmas in the midst of significant personal streaks. Matthews scored twice against Columbus on Saturday to make it seven straight games with a goal, and Nylander's three points made it 11 straight with a point.

Previous Ranking: 10

Overall Record: 21-11-2

The Avalanche spent much of their pre-Christmas time on home ice, appearing there eight times in 12 games and winning six times. Nathan MacKinnon had an assist against Arizona on Saturday to stretch a point streak to 18 games, the league's longest so far this season.

Previous Ranking: 3

Overall Record: 21-9-5

The mid-December stumbles continued for the defending champs, including a loss at Florida in the second start for goalie Jiri Patera, who replaced the injured Logan Thompson. A sixth-round pick from 2017, Patera has gone 3-2 in five starts across parts of two seasons with Vegas.

Previous Ranking: 3

Overall Record: 19-7-6

Maintaining focus needs to be an after-Christmas priority for the Bruins, who lost at Minnesota on Saturday to fall to 0-2-1 in their past three and 2-2-3 in the past seven. "We just need more concerted effort," coach Jim Montgomery said. "People (have) got to stay in the moment."

Previous Ranking: 7

Overall Record: 20-9-3

There's no team in the league any hotter in its past 10 games than the Jets, whose 8-1-1 run since the start of December has gotten them within a point of first place in the Central Division. "We believe in ourselves," coach Rick Bowness said, "and that's all that matters."

Previous Ranking: 6

Overall Record: 20-8-4

There was nothing like some holiday drama for the Stars, who rallied for two goals in the last 15 seconds to defeat Nashville in their final game before Christmas. The win extended their point streak to six (5-0-1) and was their fifth multi-goal comeback of the season.

Previous Ranking: 2

Overall Record: 19-7-4

The beat goes on for the high-flying Kings, who defeated Calgary two days before Christmas for a third win in four games. Los Angeles won its first three games of the month and then lost three straight before the most recent streak moved them to third in the Pacific Division.

Previous Ranking: 5

Overall Record: 23-9-3

The Canucks arrived to the holiday break atop the NHL's overall standings with 49 points, thanks to a nine-game pre-Christmas point streak in which they went 7-0-2. Their 3.86 goals per game are tops in the league after 35 games.

Previous Ranking: 1

Overall Record: 23-8-1

Chris Kreider's OT winner against visiting Buffalo on Saturday gave the Rangers their fifth win in seven games. It was the 41st game-winner of the 32-year-old's career, equaling Mark Messier for the fourth-most in franchise history and 11 behind leader Rod Gilbert's 52.