Through Friday's games. Last week's rankings in parentheses.
1. Boston Bruins. After Leafs make big move, do they follow suit? (1)
2. Carolina Hurricanes. Major moment to finally host an outdoor game in 25th season in Raleigh. (2)
3. Toronto Maple Leafs. Low bar for O'Reilly: Just get them out of the first round. (4)
4. New Jersey Devils. Absurd playoff format alert: NJ-NYR and Toronto-Tampa Bay first-round series looming. (3)
5. New York Rangers. The Cup contender that's not getting enough notice: Are 8-1-1 with seven straight wins. (7)
6. Tampa Bay Lightning. Are 21-4-2 at home, so catching Leafs for second in Atlantic matters. (5)
People are also reading…
7. Dallas Stars. Last 10 games: 4-1 in regulation, 0-5 in OT/shootouts. (6)
8. Vegas Golden Knights. Won four straight as Eichel went 2-3-5/plus-4. (10)
9. Los Angeles Kings. Copley a revelation in goal with 17-3-1 record. (13)
10. Edmonton Oilers. Even with McDavid and Draisaitl, are an NHL-worst 0-4 in shootouts. Bizarre. (8)
11. Winnipeg Jets. Scheifele up to 32 goals. (9)
12. Seattle Kraken. Slipped to third in Pacific but still comfortably in playoff spot. (12)
13. Colorado Avalanche. Climbed to third in Central and would be rugged first-rounder for Jets or Stars. (14)
14. Pittsburgh Penguins. Next three at home are Isles, Oilers, Lightning. (11)
15. Florida Panthers. Three days off before Friday's visit by Sabres, who will be on back-to-back with travel. (17)
16. Minnesota Wild. At 12 straight games and counting with three goals or less. (18)
17. Detroit Red Wings. Won five straight, swept Western Canada trip to pass Sabres. (23)
18. New York Islanders. Big comeback from trio of two-goal deficits to upend Pens. (21)
19. Washington Capitals. Dropped three straight heading into Saturday's outdoor game at Carolina. (15)
20. Calgary Flames. Went 1-2-2 out of break, with only win in Buffalo. (19)
21. Buffalo Sabres. Brutal week ahead: Leafs, Lightning, Panthers. (16)
22. Nashville Predators. For Sale sign close to going up after 5-0 loss to Bruins. (20)
23. Ottawa Senators. Blew two-goal lead at home to Hawks, lost in OT. (22)
24. St. Louis Blues. Trades of Tarasenko, O'Reilly end championship window. (25)
25. Philadelphia Flyers. Out of break at 1-3-1 and heading to Calgary and Edmonton. (24)
26. Arizona Coyotes. Mullett magic: Are 12-8-2 at home, just 7-20-6 on the road. (29)
27. Montreal Canadiens. That minus-50 goal differential says they'll keep dropping. (27)
28. Vancouver Canucks. Tocchet questions team's conditioning. Tough to fix that in February. (26)
29. San Jose Sharks. GM/Ex-Sabre Grier has quite a reset to handle with Meier, Karlsson (28)
30. Chicago Blackhawks. With Toronto and New York out, seems like Dallas or Colorado would work for Kane. (30)
31. Anaheim Ducks. Sabres torched them for 13 goals in two meetings. (31)
32. Columbus Blue Jackets. Still have 17 road games left and are only 5-17-2. (32)
