Power Rankings: No Seguin, no problem for soaring Stars

Hard to believe there are only three weeks until the NHL playoffs begin. Three teams are in, and one division champion has been crowned. Here we go.

1. Washington Capitals
(Last Week: 1)

Despite Braden Holtby's assessment that the Capitals have "kind of hit that bottom," they're still far and away the top dogs, and they have 10 games left to kick things back into high gear before enjoying home-ice advantage.

2. Los Angeles Kings
(Last Week: 2)

Sure, they lost to both of the potential Western Conference wild-card teams, the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild, but it was on a road back-to-back.

The Kings became the first Western Conference team to clinch a playoff berth with a win Saturday over the Boston Bruins, and rallied to stun the New York Rangers in overtime two days before that.

3. Dallas Stars ▲
(Last Week: 11)

The Stars beat three likely playoff teams, the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, and Chicago Blackhawks (again), with the latter two coming without Tyler Seguin.

If they're still playing this well when he comes back, look out.

4. St. Louis Blues ▲
(Last Week: 5)

The Blues shot up from 10th to fifth last week, and they're still climbing thanks to Brian Elliott, who nailed down two consecutive shutouts after returning from injury over the weekend.

5. San Jose Sharks ▼
(Last Week: 3)

A decisive win over the Rangers is nice, but splitting a pair of games against the Arizona Coyotes and being shut out by the Blues drops the Sharks down a couple of pegs.

6. Anaheim Ducks ▼
(Last Week: 4)

The Ducks can't be losing to lowly teams like the Montreal Canadiens, but Anaheim has a chance to get back on track with six of its next seven games coming against the other Canadian clubs.

7. Nashville Predators ▲
(Last Week: 10)

Pekka Rinne has rediscovered his form, and so have the rest of the Predators, who are suddenly four points behind the Blackhawks with a game in hand.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins ▲
(Last Week: 13)

Much like the Stars' success without Seguin, the Penguins have been rolling without Evgeni Malkin. Pittsburgh extended its win streak to six with victories over the Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, and Capitals since our last edition.

9. Florida Panthers ▼
(Last Week: 6)

The Panthers couldn't win one for Kevin Spacey when he showed up Saturday, and they got doubled up by the Rangers two nights later.

Florida's final seven regular-season games are against non-playoff teams, but a divisional clash with the Bruins and a meeting with the interstate rival Lightning await before that soft stretch.

10. Tampa Bay Lightning ▲
(Last Week: 12)

Speaking of the Lightning, they played well in a loss to the Stars last Thursday, shut out the Coyotes on Saturday, and dismantled the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.

11. Boston Bruins ▼
(Last Week: 8)

A three-game California road trip is tough enough these days, but facing Anaheim and L.A. on a back-to-back? Forget about it.

That's what the Bruins will hope to do after losing to the Sharks, Ducks, and Kings in a span of five days.

12. Colorado Avalanche ▲
(Last Week: 16)

The Avalanche needed to take advantage of their Western Canadian road trip, and winning three out of four will do the trick. That's three straight and five of the last six.

13. Minnesota Wild ▲
(Last Week: 17)

The Wild matched the Avalanche by winning three out of four games since our last edition. Minnesota remained undefeated against the Blackhawks this season, and also beat the Kings.

The race for the second wild-card spot in the West is getting good, and it'll be appointment viewing Saturday when the Avalanche host the Wild.

14. New York Rangers ▲
(Last Week: 15)

The Rangers keep hanging around but haven't been overly impressive, even in wins over the Panthers and Ducks. Throw in losses to the Sharks and Kings and you get another inconsistent week for the Blueshirts.

15. New York Islanders ▼
(Last Week: 7)

The Islanders were ranked fourth here two weeks ago, but that was before losing to the rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York has now dropped six of their last seven games.

16. Chicago Blackhawks ▼
(Last Week: 9)

Five losses in six games. Is it time to start panicking in the Windy City?

No, but the Blackhawks aren't driving possession like they used to, and that's definitely cause for concern.

17. Philadelphia Flyers ▼
(Last Week: 14)

That late collapse against the Columbus Blue Jackets was brutal, but wins against the Blackhawks and Islanders have Philadelphia ahead of the Red Wings in the second wild-card spot with a game in hand on Detroit.

18. Detroit Red Wings
(Last Week: 18)

The Red Wings haven't budged from this position in a couple weeks, and with good reason. They're not really doing enough to warrant a higher spot.

Tuesday's 6-2 loss to the Lightning kept Detroit on the outside of the playoff picture, albeit by the slimmest of margins.

19. New Jersey Devils ▲
(Last Week: 21)

Devante Smith-Pelly looks like a completely different player since the trade that jettisoned him from the Montreal Canadiens.

20. Montreal Canadiens ▲
(Last Week: 22)

Smith-Pelly's old team picked up a big, unexpected victory Tuesday over the Ducks, but the Canadiens' play has been pretty forgettable since Carey Price went down.

21. Columbus Blue Jackets ▲
(Last Week: 23)

Columbus did what it could to damage the Flyers' quest for a playoff spot with a come-from-behind win over Philadelphia on Tuesday. All the Blue Jackets can do at this point is play spoiler.

22. Ottawa Senators ▼
(Last Week: 19)

When asked about changes amid a disappointing season, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk said, "nobody is safe."

Nobody? Did Erik Karlsson hear this?

23. Arizona Coyotes ▲
(Last Week: 25)

Mike Smith, the 34-year-old goalie with the lifetime 2.68 GAA, has allowed only five goals in his last four games. Bye bye, Auston Matthews.

24. Carolina Hurricanes ▼
(Last Week: 20)

Losing five straight games is bad, particularly when two of those come against the Buffalo Sabres.

25. Buffalo Sabres ▼
(Last Week: 24)

At least the Sabres have three keepers in Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and Evander Kane.

26. Calgary Flames ▲
(Last Week: 27)

Niklas Backstrom played an NHL game for the first time in over a year and won. That's what this Flames' season has come to.

27. Toronto Maple Leafs ▲
(Last Week: 29)

The Leafs are still terrible, but William Nylander is giving the fanbase hope - something it hasn't had in ages.

28. Winnipeg Jets ▼
(Last Week: 26)

The Jets are very bad now, but they're going to be very good soon.

29. Edmonton Oilers ▲
(Last Week: 30)

A wild win over the Blues last week probably says more about St. Louis' goaltending issues before Elliott's return, but the Oilers will take it.

30. Vancouver Canucks ▼
(Last Week: 28)

The Canucks have lost five straight games, and they've somehow been shut out in each of their last three, by the Oilers, Blues, and Jets, respectively.

That's bad.