NHL Power Rankings: Jets Soar Back into Top Spot

Some things change. Some things don't.

There was a bit of both in this week's B/R Power Rankings, where the Winnipeg Jets took over the top spot while the San Jose Sharks held serve on the opposite end.

The Jets led the league in wins (38), points (79), and goal differential (+67) through Tuesday's games, while the Sharks were correspondingly last in all three measures.

Thus, Winnipeg vaulted past Washington by winning 60 percent of the first-place ballots. San Jose, meanwhile, was again a unanimous choice for No. 32. The B/R hockey staff awarded 32 points for a first-place vote down to a single point for last.

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, Feb. 5.

Previous Ranking: 32

Overall Record: 15-34-6

The circumstances are veering from pedestrian to excruciating for the Sharks, who gave up a late short-handed goal in a Tuesday home loss to Montreal, their second defeat in a row and eighth in nine games.

The good news: Macklin Celebrini is a bona fide stud. The 18-year-old has seven points in his last six games, and 39 in his first 43 games in the NHL.

Previous Ranking: 31

Overall Record: 16-31-5

Statistically speaking, it was no surprise the Blackhawks struggled through a three-game trip to Tampa Bay, Carolina and Florida, during which they managed two of a possible six points.

Chicago's six road wins entering Wednesday were tied for last in the league.

Previous Ranking: 29

Overall Record: 18-27-7

Just when a five-game win streak made it safe to start feeling optimistic about the Predators again, they followed it with a five-game skid in which they scored just eight goals.

Nashville's 2.60 goals per game were 30th in the league after Monday's games.

Previous Ranking: 28

Overall Record: 23-28-4

The Kraken scored twice in the third period to force overtime against red-hot Detroit, but they wound up dropping a 5-4 shootout decision for their fourth loss in five games (1-3-1).

"Shows a lot about our character as a team," forward Shane Wright said. "It's obviously not a great end result, but I'm really proud of the way we fought there in the third."

Previous Ranking: 30

Overall Record: 22-26-5

Tage Thompson has been a bright spot in an otherwise desultory season for the Sabres, but he missed Tuesday's win over Columbus with an undisclosed injury and is day to day.

Thompson, who leads the team with 48 points, had four goals and eight points in three games last week but was injured late in Sunday's win over New Jersey.

Previous Ranking: 23

Overall Record: 23-25-7

It's been a rough stretch lately for the Flyers, who dealt away a pair of players to Calgary and have been fighting the injury bug amid what's become a four-game losing streak.

Philadelphia was shut out three times in succession by New Jersey, New York (Islanders) and Colorado before losing a 3-2 overtime decision to Utah on Tuesday.

Previous Ranking: 27

Overall Record: 22-24-9

Sidney Crosby has done Sidney Crosby things for the Penguins this season, but there's a smidge of concern at the moment after he missed Wednesday's practice and is being evaluated for an upper-body injury.

The 37-year-old was favoring his left arm after a collision with two New Jersey players during Tuesday night's game, though he returned to the ice after missing several minutes.

"He means so much to this team in so many ways," coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's the heartbeat of the group."

Previous Ranking: 26

Overall Record: 23-24-6

It was a rare lockdown-type victory for the Ducks on Tuesday against Dallas, whom they beat 2-1 behind a 26-save effort from goalie John Gibson in his 500th NHL game.

Anaheim, whose 2.51 goals per game were last in the league through Tuesday, has won just twice in 30 games this season (2-24-4) when it has scored two goals or fewer.

Previous Ranking: 25

Overall Record: 24-25-5

The Blues led Edmonton into the final three minutes on Tuesday before giving up a game-tying goal and losing in overtime to fall to 1-4-1 in their past six games.

On the good side, defenseman Nick Leddy played 15:27 in his first game since returning from a lower-body injury that had kept him sidelined since October.

Previous Ranking: 24

Overall Record: 22-22-9

Forward Dylan Guenther was clearly ready for a Tuesday night return after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury.

The 21-year-old, picked ninth overall in 2021, scored a pair of goals and added an assist to establish a single-season career high in points with 37 in 41 games.

Guenther had 50 points in 78 games across his first two NHL seasons.

Previous Ranking: 22

Overall Record: 25-23-4

J.T. Miller had two goals and four points in his first two games since arriving from Vancouver, and he may be a long-term cure for an ailing Rangers power play.

Miller was 10th in the league in power-play points over the last four seasons, while New York's 21.3 percent success rate through 52 games in 2024-25 was 19th in the league.

Previous Ranking: 20

Overall Record: 25-23-5

It took a little drama for the Canadiens to end a five-game skid (0-4-1), and Joel Armia provided it in the form of a late short-handed goal that beat host San Jose on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old had goals in games one and two of a trip that also included visits to Anaheim and Los Angeles. Montreal returns home for a Saturday game with Tampa Bay before the 4 Nations Face-Off hiatus.

Previous Ranking: 21

Overall Record: 25-21-7

It's another day at the adversity office for the resilient Islanders, who placed Mathew Barzal on injured reserve with a lower-body issue on Monday and then scored in the third period to defeat Vegas on Tuesday for their eighth win in nine games.

Barzal was hit in the left kneecap with a shot against Tampa Bay on Saturday and didn't play against the Golden Knights. He has 20 points in 30 games this season.

Previous Ranking: 17

Overall Record: 27-22-6

He's barely recognizable on a team with several high-profile players, but center Matthew Poitras drew attention with seven points in his first 10 games after a mid-January call-up from the AHL.

The 20-year-old was a second-round pick in the 2022 draft and has six goals and 26 points in 57 NHL games across parts of two seasons.

Previous Ranking: 19

Overall Record: 24-18-11

It's an uptick in the recovery process for goalie Thatcher Demko, who missed the first two months recovering from a knee injury and struggled to find form upon returning but has won two of his last three starts while posting a .943 save percentage.

A 3-0 shutout of Colorado on Tuesday was his first of the season and ninth of his career.

Previous Ranking: 15

Overall Record: 26-20-7

They've got a full 29 games left to go in the season, but it's no time for a prolonged slide for the Flames, who've now dropped four of six after a Tuesday loss to visiting Toronto.

Calgary entered Wednesday's games in a flat-footed tie for the final Western playoff spot with Vancouver, each with 59 points in 53 games.

Previous Ranking: 16

Overall Record: 26-21-7

Losing a 3-2 decision to Buffalo on Tuesday was bad enough, but it's even more concerning given top-unit defensemen Zach Werenski and Dante Fabbro were absent due to injury.

Werenski left Sunday's game at Dallas before returning, but he did not participate in a Tuesday morning skate and didn't play against the Sabres.

Fabbro left Sunday's game with an upper-body injury and also missed Tuesday.

Previous Ranking: 13

Overall Record: 28-20-4

Facing a Vezina-level goalie after dropping three of four games didn't seem like a good recipe for the Lightning, but they made it work in a 4-3 defeat of Ottawa on Tuesday.

"That was a grind," coach Jon Cooper said. "If we want to get ourselves back to where we were to be, these are the games you have to win."

Previous Ranking: 18

Overall Record: 28-21-5

It's all going right these days for the Red Wings, who went 4-0-0 in a western road trip to stretch their overall win streak to seven games.

Detroit also won seven straight from Dec. 29 through Jan. 12, so it's the first time the team has had two such streaks in a season since 2011-12.

Coach Todd McLellan is a league-best 15-4-1 in 20 games since taking over for Derek Lalonde in late-December.

Previous Ranking: 14

Overall Record: 29-21-4

Tuesday's loss at Tampa Bay wasn't what anyone wanted, but the fact that the Senators had won five straight and seven of nine–and welcomed Linus Ullmark back after 18 games out with a back problem–made it tolerable in Canada's capital city.

Ullmark, who'd not played since a pre-Christmas visit to Edmonton, stopped 34 of 37 shots against the Lightning.

Previous Ranking: 12

Overall Record: 31-22-2

Colorado's chase for its first three-game win streak since the start of the new year was snuffed out by a 3-0 Tuesday loss at Vancouver, leaving the team 7-7-2 in 16 games since Jan. 4 and coach Jared Bednar questioning mettle.

"I just didn't like the way we competed in order to win the game," he said. "We played a smart hockey game for the most part. We did some good things, but like in the trenches, we weren't hard enough."

Previous Ranking: 10

Overall Record: 27-17-6

Veteran defenseman Drew Doughty finally returned from a broken ankle for the final three games of the Kings' five-game road trip and had a single point and six shots on goal while averaging better than 25 minutes per game.

"It's exactly like making a big trade because he's going to be coming in," team president Luc Robitaille said, "helping our group."

Previous Ranking: 11

Overall Record: 30-19-6

Jack Hughes is hot again and so are the Devils, who got two goals from their former No. 1 overall pick in a Tuesday win at Pittsburgh that was their fourth in six games.

The 23-year-old has 23 goals in 55 games, including five in his last five games alongside a total of eight points in his last six.

Previous Ranking: 8

Overall Record: 31-19-4

Offensive punch has taken an ill-timed vacation for the Wild, who were shut out at Ottawa on Saturday and followed it with a 3-0 loss at Boston on Tuesday.

It's the first back-to-back goose eggs of the season for Minnesota, which has been blanked four times in 54 games and entered Wednesday's games tied for 20th in the league with 2.83 goals per game.

Previous Ranking: 6

Overall Record: 31-17-6

It's limp-toward-the-break time for the skidding Golden Knights, whose loss to the Islanders on Tuesday was their fourth in a row and came in a game in which New York managed only 14 shots but won, 2-1.

Vegas has just seven goals across the four losses and will play at New Jersey and Boston before the two-week hiatus for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Previous Ranking: 9

Overall Record: 32-20-3

It's a good sign for both the Panthers and the U.S. team at the 4 Nations Face-Off that Matthew Tkachuk is riding a recent hot streak.

He has four goals and three assists across his last four games, during which Florida has gone 3-1-0. He's on pace to score 29 for the season after netting 42, 40 and 26 across the last three.

Previous Ranking: 7

Overall Record: 32-19-2

The best tonic for the Maple Leafs after a three-game skid at home has been a trip out west.

Toronto has already won at Edmonton and Calgary in a jaunt that will also include stops in Seattle and Vancouver before the 4 Nations break. The team won't play another game at home until entertaining Carolina on Feb. 22.

Previous Ranking: 5

Overall Record: 32-18-4

Surrendering two power-play goals was the downfall for the Hurricanes in a Tuesday loss at Winnipeg, their second in a row after a seven-game point streak (6-0-1).

It was an unusual slip for Carolina, whose 85.4 percent penalty kill rate is best in the league. Its 19.9 percent success rate on the power play, however, is only 21st among 32 teams.

Previous Ranking: 4

Overall Record: 34-18-1

It had to end sometime for goalie Jake Oettinger when it came to games against Anaheim, whom he'd beaten eight straight times while compiling a .930 save percentage.

He made 26 saves in a 2-1 loss to the Ducks on Tuesday, which ended the team's five-game win streak. He'd won his previous three starts while allowing nine goals on 78 shots.

Previous Ranking: 3

Overall Record: 33-16-4

The 101st goal of Connor Brown's career came at an opportune moment for the Oilers, who lost a Tuesday lead at St. Louis before rallying to force an extra session and winning on the 31-year-old's first OT winner in 572 games with Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Washington.

The Oilers had lost two straight (0-1-1) for the seventh time this season but just the third time since Dec. 1.

Edmonton's .724 points percentage from Dec. 1 through Tuesday night's game is the best in the Western Conference and tied for first overall with the Capitals.

Previous Ranking: 1

Overall Record: 35-11-7

It wasn't a power-play snipe or an off-wing one-timer, but Alex Ovechkin did get within 17 goals of the league's all-time record with an empty-netter that crossed the line in the final second of Washington's defeat of Florida on Tuesday.

The Capitals went 3-1-1 on a road trip and have three of four possible points across two games since returning home.

Provided the 39-year-old stays healthy (he's missed 13 games this season) and on pace, the guess here is that the milestone goal comes April 10 against visiting Carolina.

Previous Ranking: 2

Overall Record: 38-14-3

This winning thing is getting to be routine for the streaking Jets, whose defeat of Carolina on Tuesday was their seventh straight, marking the third time this season they've had a run of seven wins or more.

Winnipeg is the fourth team in the last 20 years to have at least three seven-game streaks, following Boston (5) in 2022-23, St. Louis (3) in 2019-20 and Tampa Bay (4) in 2018-19.

None of those three teams won the Stanley Cup that season, though.