NHL Power Rankings: Where Every Team Stands at the All-Star Break

It's another marker on the NHL calendar.

The league went silent following Wednesday's games and will remain in All-Star mode until Monday night when the regular season resumes with games in New York and Toronto.

So, the extended time away gives players a chance to rest and coaches and executives an opportunity to assess what they have and where they're going as they approach one of the next milestones of the campaign: the NHL trade deadline on March 8.

Among the teams eyeing the deadline in a good way are those occupying the top five slots in the B/R Power Rankings. The names there remain the same this week, but there has been some jockeying in positions.

The Vancouver Canucks snagged three of five first-place votes to leapfrog the Boston Bruins and into the top spot, leaving the Bruins and their single first-place vote at No. 2. Taking the remaining first-place vote were the scalding-hot Edmonton Oilers, whose 16-game win streak heading into the break is one off the league record.

Edmonton jumped from fifth to third this week, hopping past the No. 4 Colorado Avalanche and swapping spots with the Winnipeg Jets, who dropped from third to 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, Jan. 31.

Previous Ranking: 31

Overall Record: 14-34-2

The Blackhawks are immersed in two distinct counts at this point: How many games until Connor Bedard returns from his broken jaw (probably early March) and how many days until they get a surefire premium pick (unless it's traded) at the NHL draft on June 28.

Previous Ranking: 32

Overall Record: 14-32-4

The up-and-down Sharks experienced another uptick (relatively speaking) before the break, going 5-4-1 in their last 10 games to climb past the Blackhawks and out of the overall cellar.

Their next target is four points away, but, for context, the playoff line is still 22 points off.

Previous Ranking: 30

Overall Record: 17-30-2

It's not a good competitive sign when the stories out there are about the most attractive trade targets on your roster, but that's where the 30th-place Ducks find themselves.

And they've been rankled by suggestions Trevor Zegras is the NHL's most overrated player.

Previous Ranking: 29

Overall Record: 16-24-10

Fleeting hopes the Columbus faithful might have had for a mid- and late-season playoff run took a big hit when prized rookie Adam Fantilli was injured by a skate blade on Sunday against Seattle and will be on the shelf for eight weeks with a calf laceration.

Previous Ranking: 28

Overall Record: 20-25-2

A rally from three goals down in the first period to a 4-3 win against Nashville was a welcome port in a stormy season for the Senators, who'd gone 5-3-2 across 10 games prior to Wednesday's pre-break finale against Detroit. Still, it's well below preseason expectations.

Previous Ranking: 26

Overall Record: 20-21-8

The Canadiens are the first team on the list within 10 points of the current playoff cutline in their conference, sitting 10 points behind Detroit's current second wild-card total of 58. Their 175 goals allowed, however, are second-worst in the East and fourth highest out of 32 teams.

Previous Ranking: 25

Overall Record: 21-23-5

Two straight losses heading into the break, both in games in which they held third-period leads, were a particularly difficult result for the Wild. They could have narrowed the gap between them and St. Louis for the second West wild card but instead sit seven points out.

Previous Ranking: 27

Overall Record: 22-23-4

It's lost in the narrative of a disappointing season, but the Sabres have been quietly creeping up the respectability ladder. They're 9-7-1 in their last 17 games and 6-4 in their last 10, and a 2.31 goals-against average since December 30 is third-best in the league.

Previous Ranking: 21

Overall Record: 22-22-5

The Flames had a single player representing them at the festivities in Toronto...until Wednesday night. Calgary's lone All-Star, Elias Lindholm, will return from the break with a new address after he was dealt to Vancouver for three players and two draft picks.

Previous Ranking: 22

Overall Record: 20-17-12

It's so far, so meh for the Patrick Roy era behind the bench for the Islanders, who beat Dallas in the Hall of Fame player's coaching debut but followed with three straight one-goal losses while garnering one of a possible six points and falling five points off the playoff pace.

Previous Ranking: 17

Overall Record: 23-22-3

All things considered, the Coyotes have been a pleasant pre-break surprise, though they started leaking oil with three straight losses and nine in their last 13 games. Any hope for a playoff run will require an uptick from a scoring output (2.94 per game) that is 22nd overall.

Previous Ranking: 24

Overall Record: 21-19-10

The Kraken's final game before the break, a 2-0 loss at lowly San Jose in which they outshot the Sharks by a 32-22 margin, was particularly frustrating because a win would have allowed Seattle to vault into a tie for what's now the final Western Conference playoff spot.

Previous Ranking: 19

Overall Record: 22-18-7

A four-game road trip that yields four straight losses while your team is being outscored by a 19-9 clip is hard to swallow, particularly in the middle of a jumbled playoff race.

"We're going to put in the work and get back in," head coach Spencer Carbery said.

Previous Ranking: 16

Overall Record: 24-20-3

The Devils went 3-6-1 in their final 10 games before the break, and the skid leaves them six points off the playoff pace

Captain Nico Hischier said: "If we want to be a playoff team, we got to figure something out."

Previous Ranking: 20

Overall Record: 26-23-2

Nashville is again in what seems like permanent residence on the Western Conference playoff bubble and the lack of upward progress has some suggesting the time has come to listen to offers for goalie Juuse Saros, with this season and next left on a $20 million deal.

Previous Ranking: 23

Overall Record: 26-21-2

And just like that, it's playoff season in St. Louis again. The Blues are the first team on our list to be in a playoff position heading into the break after a 6-3-1 run in their most recent 10 games. They had won five straight before losing 1-0 to Columbus on Tuesday.

Previous Ranking: 14

Overall Record: 25-19-6

Three Flyers are on TSN's initial Trade Bait board of 2024, including defenseman Sean Walker at No. 4 on the 40-player list. The 29-year-old, signed by Los Angeles as an undrafted free agent in 2018, is averaging a career-high 19:36 of ice time through 50 games.

Previous Ranking: 18

Overall Record: 22-17-7

The Penguins reeled in a 14th-place tie thanks to voter support in spite of their current spot on the outside of the Eastern playoffs looking in.

Pittsburgh earned 11 of a possible 20 points in its last 10 games and has a decision to make about imminent UFA Jake Guentzel.

Previous Ranking: 11

Overall Record: 22-15-10

Two wins in 16 games from December 28 through January 30 did nothing for the playoff chances as the Kings plummeted from the West elite to a three-way tie for two wild-card spots. Could it mean Todd McLellan's job is in jeopardy to provide a jolt?

Previous Ranking: 15

Overall Record: 26-18-5

While the Kings were stumbling, the Red Wings were flying high into the break with two straight wins and a 7-2-1 mark in their last 10 before Wednesday's date with Ottawa.

Veteran Patrick Kane, who arrived in December, suggests they'll be a "tough out" come playoff time.

Previous Ranking: 13

Overall Record: 27-18-5

Three straight wins and eight in their last 10? Must be the beginning of "drive toward the playoffs" time in Tampa.

The Lightning have reached the postseason six straight times and gone 13-4 in postseason series during that stretch, including two championships.

Previous Ranking: 12

Overall Record: 25-14-8

The Maple Leafs won three straight heading into the All-Star weekend in their backyard and are tied with the Lightning for third place in the Atlantic Division and the first Eastern wild-card position.

Auston Matthews scored in each win to get to 40 for the season in just 46 games.

Previous Ranking: 10

Overall Record: 28-15-5

Goalie Frederik Andersen was 4-1 in six starts before being shelved in November with a blood-clotting issue.

The Hurricanes announced Wednesday he'd been cleared to resume on-ice activities.

"I am thrilled that I'm a step closer to joining my teammates and competing on the ice," he said.

Previous Ranking: 9

Overall Record: 30-16-3

It's another mid-winter in New York so the pressure is ratcheting up on general manager Chris Drury to assemble a roster that can contend for the franchise's first title since 1994.

TSN's Darren Dreger told Insider Trading that multiple sources said Drury is "taking calls" on Kaapo Kakko, who was picked second overall in 2019.

Previous Ranking: 8

Overall Record: 29-15-6

It's a tough life in the Pacific for the defending champs, who were a respectable 6-3-1 in their last 10 before the break but fell five points farther behind the first-place Vancouver Canucks (8-0-2) and saw the third-place Edmonton Oilers (10-0-0) move seven points closer.

Previous Ranking: 6

Overall Record: 30-13-6

Goaltender Jake Oettinger missed 12 games between mid-December and mid-January with a lower-body injury. He's been successful if not transcendent since, going 5-2 in seven starts while posting an .897 save percentage that's well off his career .913 mark.

Previous Ranking: 7

Overall Record: 31-14-4

The Panthers were on a significant roll heading into the break, scoring 16 goals and allowing just eight while beating Nashville, Arizona, Pittsburgh and the Islanders.

Florida converted 40 percent of its power plays in the streak while killing off 90.5 percent of its penalties.

Previous Ranking: 3

Overall Record: 30-12-5

It was a rare bit of pre-break adversity for the Jets, who dropped three straight games (one in overtime) while both Colorado and Dallas were winning three in a row to pass them in the Central Division.

Winnipeg is 2-3-1 since Mark Scheifele was sidelined with a groin injury.

Previous Ranking: 4

Overall Record: 32-14-3

The Avalanche have come a long way since a pedestrian (for them) 19-11-2 start, going 13-3-1 and climbing to first place in the Central.

Their 4.22 goals per game are tops in the league since December 20, and their power-play conversion rate (34.9 percent) is second.

Previous Ranking: 5

Overall Record: 29-15-1

It's getting harder and harder to remember the 3-9-1 start that got Jay Woodcroft fired and Jack Campbell demoted.

The Oilers haven't lost since December 19 and can tie the league-record streak of 17 straight when they return to visit playoff nemesis Vegas on Tuesday.

Previous Ranking: 1

Overall Record: 31-9-9

Win two straight and go 7-1-2 in your last 10 and still fall from first to second in the rankings? That's the story for the streaking Bruins, who had points in eight straight games from center Charlie Coyle.

The 31-year-old is on pace for career highs in both goals (30) and points (70).

Previous Ranking: 2

Overall Record: 33-11-5

It's no surprise to anyone paying attention this season, but Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin confirmed he's in it to win it when it comes to the trade deadline with a Wednesday deal that brought Elias Lindholm from Calgary for three players and two draft picks.

It's a steep price to pay for an imminent UFA, but Allvin, who signed a three-year contract extension earlier Wednesday, suggested team president Jim Rutherford's approach will permeate in any moves.

"If it makes sense for us," he said, "as we've shown and Jim has shown in history, we're not going to just sit and wait."