NHL Power Rankings: Maple Leafs Surging, a Rangers Revival and Canucks Collapse

Some things change. Some things don't.

The latest win streak by the Washington Capitals assures the latter point is true, as Alex Ovechkin and Co. remained atop both the NHL's overall standings and another edition of B/R's Power Rankings–sweeping the first-place ballots for a second straight week.

Meanwhile, there's upheaval on the other end of the league where the San Jose Sharks have made an unenviable plunge into the basement, both in the standings and the rankings.

The B/R hockey gang assessed them all from top to bottom, awarding 32 points for a first-place vote all the way down to a single point for No. 32. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.

Votes were tallied after games played on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Previous Ranking: 31

Overall Record: 14-30-6

Four straight losses and a 3-7-0 record in their last 10 games add to a new residence in the cellar for the Sharks, who are even with Chicago with 34 points but have played three more games.

San Jose has scored just 130 goals in 50 games while allowing a league-high 182, yielding a -52 goals differential that's worst in the league by 13.

Previous Ranking: 32

Overall Record: 15-28-4

The positive bar is set low in Chicago these days and the Blackhawks at least symbolically hopped over it by getting points in all three games this week.

They scored just eight goals while giving up 10 in their 1-0-2 run, but both Tyler Bertuzzi and Seth Jones had five points apiece, with Bertuzzi scoring three times and Jones assisting on four.

Previous Ranking: 29

Overall Record: 18-24-5

A little tough love from coach Lindy Ruff paid dividends for the skidding Sabres on Tuesday, when they rallied to win in Vancouver a few hours after an intense morning skate.

"It was one of those situations we didn't really deserve a day off," forward Tage Thompson said. "So, it was good to get the work boots on early and kind of get the mind right."

Previous Ranking: 27

Overall Record: 18-23-6

There aren't a lot of positives these days for the Ducks, who've won just once in their last eight games (1-5-2) and will be without forward Brock McGinn for the rest of the season after surgery to repair an ACL tear.

Anaheim lost 5-2 to Florida on Tuesday and fell to 1-23-4 in games where it scored two or fewer goals. The team is 17-0-2 when netting at least three goals.

Previous Ranking: 30

Overall Record: 17-22-7

The Predators are on a roll and they're making some history along the way.

A 7-5 win over visiting San Jose on Tuesday was not only their fourth straight but also marked the first time in franchise history they rallied to win from a four-goal deficit. Nashville trailed, 5-1, five minutes into the second period.

Previous Ranking: 28

Overall Record: 21-24-3

Two wins in three games made for a successful stretch for the Kraken, who scored 11 goals for the week while allowing just eight. If you're looking to nitpick, however, Seattle's penalty-killers make an easy target after surrendering three goals on seven opportunities.

The Kraken are 23rd in the league for the season with a 76.4 percent success rate.

Previous Ranking: 26

Overall Record: 19-20-7

The lip-readers suggest Mathew Barzal was on the bench calling out the team's fans for not showing up for Monday's game against Columbus, but the forward had a good week on the ice anyway.

He scored twice and assisted on two others in New York's 2-1-0 run, sharing the team scoring lead with Bo Horvat.

Previous Ranking: 25

Overall Record: 20-21-8

It's all well and good that the Penguins won two of three to start what'll be a seven-game road trip, but the buzz surrounding the team comes in two contrasting forms.

First, Alex Nedeljkovic became the first NHL goalie to score a goal and pick up an assist in the same game–against Buffalo on Friday. Second, GM Kyle Dubas is rumored to be in fire-sale mode as the trade deadline approaches, with Erik Karlsson possibly up for grabs.

Previous Ranking: 20

Overall Record: 21-21-5

It's life on the other side these days for the Red Wings, who'd won seven straight before a recent stretch that's left them 1-3-1 in their last five games.

Still, the team is 8-4-1 since the arrival of coach Todd McLellan in late December and they're within five points of the playoff cut line in the East with an eye on ending an eight-season postseason drought.

Previous Ranking: 23

Overall Record: 20-19-7

It's the halfway point of their first season at the Delta Center but perhaps the home-ice advantage is beginning to kick in for the ex-Coyotes, who won consecutive games in Salt Lake City for the first time since mid-November.

Second-year forward Logan Cooley is red hot individually, with goals in four straight games to put him on pace for 27 for the season after he netted 20 as a rookie.

Previous Ranking: 24

Overall Record: 22-20-6

There's nothing like a little drama to keep a streak going and the Flyers got some Tuesday when a goal with 26 seconds left in OT against Detroit made it three wins in a row and points in six straight (5-0-1).

Winger Joel Farabee has a goal and three assists in three games since coach John Tortorella made him a healthy scratch. He had three points in 13 games before he sat out.

Previous Ranking: 19

Overall Record: 23-19-6

Forward Mark Kastelic was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed issue after leaving Monday's game with San Jose following a hit by Macklin Celebrini.

Kastelic missed two games last week while in concussion protocol and returned to record an assist on Saturday in Ottawa. He's in his first season with the Bruins after coming over from the Senators in the summertime trade that sent Linus Ullmark to Canada's capital city.

Previous Ranking: 15

Overall Record: 20-16-10

Inconsistency has been the only constant of late for the Canucks, who were beaten by visiting Buffalo on Tuesday and again failed to win consecutive games for the first time since early December.

Vancouver has gone 7-9-7 since then while scoring just 2.35 goals per game (third-lowest in the league) and falling a point below the West's playoff cut line after winning the Pacific Division last season.

Previous Ranking: 21

Overall Record: 23-21-4

Winning three times in four games, including a shootout triumph at Vegas, is helping coach Jim Montgomery convince his team that it's good enough to play on a high level.

"When we play the right way and our habits and details are really good, and combine that with really good effort and execution, we can play with elite teams in the league," he said.

Previous Ranking: 22

Overall Record: 23-20-4

It took awhile, but the mix may be finally correct for the Rangers, who defeated Ottawa on Tuesday to stretch their point streak to nine in a row (6-0-3).

Thirteen of New York's 18 skaters had at least a point and goalie Igor Shesterkin's shutout streak across eight-plus periods is the second-longest of his career. He's one of three goalies in franchise history with five sets of back-to-back shutouts.

Previous Ranking: 16

Overall Record: 22-18-7

A seven-game point streak (6-0-1) for the Blue Jackets finally ended on Monday in New York when the Islanders earned a 3-1 triumph, but the positive is that Columbus is becoming one of those teams that opponents are motivated to play against.

"Teams are going to be playing extra hard against us now that we've been rolling recently," forward Adam Fantilli said. "They've really been tightening it up."

Previous Ranking: 14

Overall Record: 22-16-7

It was a slow week for the Flames, who played just twice and had four days off while preparing to host Buffalo on Thursday.

Goalie Dustin Wolf stopped 38 of 39 shots in Saturday's defeat of high-flying Winnipeg and his .917 save percentage through 25 starts was sixth-best in the league through Monday.

Previous Ranking: 17

Overall Record: 24-19-4

The Senators have been playing respectable enough hockey lately with a 6-6-2 record across their last 14 games, but it'd be a lot better with some more reliable offense.

Ottawa has scored two or fewer goals in 11 of those games and has been shut out four times, including Tuesday's 5-0 loss against the Rangers. Its 1.93 goals per game across that stretch is the lowest output in the league.

Previous Ranking: 18

Overall Record: 24-19-4

Add another log onto Lane Hutson's Calder Trophy fire after the defenseman extended his latest point streak to nine games in Tuesday's defeat of Tampa Bay.

The 20-year-old's current point-per-game run is tied for the second-longest by a rookie in franchise history, trailing only Joe Malone's 14-gamer in 1917-18.

Previous Ranking: 13

Overall Record: 25-18-3

The Canadian portion of a four-game road trip didn't go so well for the Lightning, who lost a 5-3 decision in Toronto and a 3-2 verdict in Montreal on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

They'll continue with dates in Chicago and Detroit before returning home to face the Blackhawks on Tuesday.

Previous Ranking: 12

Overall Record: 26-17-6

The Devils entered Wednesday's game in the throes of a 2-6-3 skid during which they've scored just 20 goals and coach Sheldon Keefe made a big move in Tuesday's practice when he put fourth-liner Nathan Bastian on the top unit with Ondrej Palat and Jack Hughes.

"He is out there doing his thing," Keefe said. "Other guys maybe start to overthink things a bit, he is not. So, I want to see what kind of effect that can have."

Previous Ranking: 9

Overall Record: 28-19-1

The Avalanche were sixth in the league in scoring (3.31 goals per game) through Monday but they were inconsistent offensively across their first 10 games of 2025.

Colorado went 5-4-1 in that stretch with a per-game clip of 3.00 goals, which was tied for 14th with the non-elite likes of Chicago and Philadelphia. Among the primary culprits? A power play unit that's converted just 10 percent of its chances, down from a season-long 20.7.

Previous Ranking: 7

Overall Record: 25-14-5

It's been a trying time in Southern California for real-life reasons, and the Kings are having issues on the ice as well, having dropped four of five prior to Wednesday's visit from Florida.

A 5-1 loss to visiting Pittsburgh on Monday ended a nine-game win streak at Crypto.com Arena and coach Jim Hiller suggested afterward it was one of just a handful of times he's been "disappointed" in his team.

Previous Ranking: 10

Overall Record: 28-17-3

A Tuesday win in Anaheim marked the first time the defending champs have strung together victories since they'd won four in a row in mid-December.

Florida was 6-6-1 in its last 13 games heading into Wednesday and had scored just 2.31 goals per game in that stretch, good for just 26th-best in the league.

Previous Ranking: 5

Overall Record: 29-17-1

A seven-game win streak that bridged December into January is a fading memory for the Stars, whose loss to visiting Carolina on Tuesday was their fourth in six games.

Dallas was down, 1-0, to the Hurricanes after two periods and lost a 2-1 decision, falling to 0-13-0 in games where it's been behind after 40 minutes.

Previous Ranking: 6

Overall Record: 28-15-4

A 3-1 win at Colorado enabled the Wild to end a three-game skid and bookend an otherwise desultory five-game road trip with victories.

The team put Kirill Kaprizov on long-term injured reserve retroactive to December 23 to allow some roster flexibility in his absence. However, he's already missed the requisite 10 games/24 days and is eligible to return from the lower-body problem whenever he's ready.

Minnesota is 7-5-0 in 12 games since Kaprizov's injury.

Previous Ranking: 8

Overall Record: 29-16-3

Make it three straight wins for the surging Hurricanes, who swept both ends of a back-to-back road trip at Chicago and Dallas.

Tuesday's win over the Stars came in Rod Brind'Amour's 500th game behind an NHL bench and his 307 wins in that stretch are the most for any coach.

Previous Ranking: 3

Overall Record: 29-14-4

The Golden Knights started January with three straight victories but have encountered some turbulence since while going 1-5-1 in their last seven and losing their Pacific Division cushion.

"Some of these teams now are playing catch-up. Their urgency level is higher than ours right now," coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We're addressing that, but it's not a magic switch."

Previous Ranking: 4

Overall Record: 29-15-3

The Oilers experienced life without Connor McDavid against Washington on Tuesday, when the superstar forward served the first of a three-game suspension for cross-checking Conor Garland on Saturday.

McDavid missed three games earlier this season with an ankle injury and Edmonton went 2-1-0, winning at Nashville and Calgary and losing at home to New Jersey. The team hosts Vancouver on Thursday and Buffalo on Saturday before he's eligible to return.

Previous Ranking: 11

Overall Record: 30-16-2

Don't look now, but Auston Matthews is starting to play like, well...Auston Matthews.

He'd scored in four straight entering Wednesday's game with Columbus, and he's netted eight in nine games since returning from an upper-body injury that shelved him for six. Matthews missed 15 of the team's first 48 games but is still on pace for 39 goals.

Previous Ranking: 2

Overall Record: 31-14-3

A 4-4-2 stretch heading into Wednesday's visit to Colorado had coach Scott Arniel as frustrated as he's been all season, particularly after a 5-2 loss in Utah on Monday in which the Jets trailed 4-0 early in the third period.

"I've got to be the one that has to hold these guys accountable and make sure we're better," he said. "That was embarrassing."

Previous Ranking: 1

Overall Record: 32-10-5

The Capitals, again, are showing they belong among the league's elites with an 11-game point streak (8-0-3) that's included wins in their last five.

Washington started a five-game road trip in Edmonton on Tuesday and emerged with a 3-2 victory backstopped by Logan Thompson, who's gone 10-0-1 in his last 11 appearances.