NHL Power Rankings Have Capitals Muscling Their Way Into Top Spot

Another week, another No. 1 team proving unworthy of the crown.

The St. Louis Blues appeared to have everything going right for them a week ago. They were riding a seven-game winning streak and had knocked off the previously top-ranked Bruins to claim the No. 1 spot for themselves. So what happened?

The Blues ran into a buzzsaw in Columbus and were routed 8-1. That started a four-game tailspin to drop St. Louis out of contention for retaining the top spot. The Bruins threatened to plummet right along with the Blues, as Boston managed just one win in five games before shutting out the Devils on Monday.

So who was able to take advantage of St. Louis' stumble? And was Monday's win enough to halt Boston's slide down the rankings? Read on to find out in this week's edition of the NHL Power Rankings.

NHL Power Rankings

1
Last week: No. 3 Record: 14-4-1

Washington Capitals
The Caps are back to their dominant regular-season selves, as they're riding an eight-game point streak and are 9-1-1 since back-to-back losses to the Bruins last month. Washington leads the NHL with 27 points and 66 goals, and they're the latest team to make a claim to the top spot in the power rankings.

2
Last week: No. 6 Record: 12-5-2

Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers were on an even more impressive roll, going 9-0-1 over their last 10 games, including wins over Carolina, Florida and Ottawa by a combined 18-4 this week, before Carey Price and Montreal blanked them 3-0 on Tuesday.

3
Last week: No. 2 Record: 12-5

Los Angeles Kings
The Kings had no trouble beating Dallas and the Islanders to push their win streak to six games, but a 6-3 setback at San Jose thwarted their bid for the top spot.

4
Last week: No. 5 Record: 12-3-1

Detroit Redwings
The Red Wings just keep winning, not that this week's competition presented much of a challenge as Detroit easily handled Edmonton and Colorado.

5
Last week: No. 7 Record: 10-5-3

Vancouver Canucks
Only an overtime loss in Buffalo blemished the Canucks' roll through the Northeast Division, as Vancouver easily handled Ottawa and Toronto with 11 goals in two games in Ontario.

6
Last week: No. 9 Record: 12-5-1

Montreal Canadiens
The Habs have won four straight by a combined 15-3, as Carey Price remains red-hot, stopping 134 of 137 shots in that stretch.

7
Last week: No. 4 Record: 10-5-1

Boston Bruins
The Bruins salvaged their week and ended their recent skid as Tim Thomas posted his fourth shutout in 11 starts with a 28-save effort Monday against the Devils. That snapped a three-game losing streak at home and keeps the Bruins from falling further in the rankings.

8
Last week: No. 14 Record: 9-5-3

San Jose Sharks
The Sharks won all three games they played this week, including a huge Pacific Division showdown against the Kings, and now have points in five straight games.

9
Last week: No. 1 Record: 9-5-3

St. Louis Blues
It was a rough week for the Blues, who didn't take well to the top spot, losing 8-1 to Columbus in their first day as the top-ranked team and following that with losses to Nashville, Phoenix and Colorado.