NHL Power Rankings: Bruins make big jump with success against top competition

With little over a month remaining in the regular season, the Washington Capitals are without question the team to beat, while the Toronto Maple Leafs seem well on their way to a last-place finish.

Everything in between is anyone's guess.

Here's a look at this week's power rankings.

1. Washington Capitals ▲
(Last week: 2)

A win over the Ducks in Anaheim and a 14-point lead in the Presidents' Trophy race lifts the Capitals back into the top spot.

Since the inception of that award prior to the 1985-86 season, only eight of the 29 winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup. Anything short of an appearance in the final will be a disappointment for Washington.

2. Anaheim Ducks ▼
(Last week: 1)

The shootout loss to Washington dropped the Ducks' record to 17-1-2 over their past 20 games. The patience displayed by general manager Bob Murray during an October to forget is to be commended.

3. Tampa Bay Lightning
(Last week: 3)

Despite a loss to Boston on Tuesday, the Lightning remain in first place in the Atlantic Division after going 8-1-1 in their past 10 games. The possible return of Jonathan Drouin to the lineup could be a win-win for both parties, as Steve Yzerman's squad looks to make good in their quest for the Stanley Cup while the young forward seeks to prove his whining about playing time was justified.

4. New York Islanders ▲
(Last week: 8)

An 8-1-1 run and a third-ranked plus-27 goal differential propels the Islanders up the rankings this week. It wasn't too long ago that this team was down in the depths of the NHL standings, and now the hockey world seems to be taking their success for granted.

5. New York Rangers ▲
(Last week: 6)

Over the past week, the Rangers followed up losses to Pittsburgh and the Islanders with wins over Washington and Buffalo, demonstrating the kind of resilience that should serve them well in the playoffs.

6. Boston Bruins ▲
(Last week: 14)

Any team that takes seven of eight points from a stretch of games against Washington, Chicago, Florida, and Tampa Bay deserves a big jump in the rankings. After a 1-0 overtime win over the Lightning on Tuesday, the Bruins' 83 points are good for a share of the Atlantic Division lead.

On top of that, Boston has scored more goals than any team other than Dallas and Washington, and their plus-24 goal differential is good for sixth.

Nobody saw this coming.

7. Chicago Blackhawks ▼
(Last week: 5)

Patrick Kane has already set a new career high with 89 points, but it's Corey Crawford who deserves the love in Chicago these days. On pace for 45 wins with a save percentage of .929, he'd be a lock for the Vezina Trophy were it not for the play of Braden Holtby in Washington.

8. Nashville Predators ▲
(Last week: 10)

The Predators are on a serious roll:

On Tuesday, Ryan Johansen scored his first goal in over a month; he must have really been jonesing for that one.

9. Los Angeles Kings ▲
(Last week: 13)

The Kings' past two losses have come at the hands of the Ducks, and their reign atop the Pacific Division appears to be coming to an end.

10. St. Louis Blues ▼
(Last week: 4)

The Blues sit within three points of Dallas for the Central Division lead, but their plus-six goal differential is the worst among all current Western Conference playoff teams.

11. Dallas Stars
(Last week: 11)

The Stars lead the league in scoring with 218 goals for, but a 25th-ranked team save percentage (.902) is very much cause for concern. To have any chance of playoff success, Dallas simply can't be Lehtonen this many goals.

12. San Jose Sharks ▼
(Last week: 7)

James Reimer posted a shutout over Edmonton for his first win as a Shark. San Jose has moved to within two points of Los Angeles in the Pacific, but their past six games - of which they have won five - have come against Canadian teams, so tap the brakes on the optimism here.

13. Florida Panthers ▼
(Last week: 9)

It was a big week for Jaromir Jagr, who rose to third on the NHL's all-time points list. Three straight losses for Florida, however, dropped the Panthers to third in the Atlantic.

14. Philadelphia Flyers ▲
(Last week: 17)

This is Shayne Gostisbehere's world, and we're just living in it.

A recent 7-2-1 run has greatly increased the Flyers' chances of qualifying for the playoffs, something that seemed like a pipe dream as the calendar turned to 2016. Much of the credit goes to the 22-year-old defenseman, who sits behind only Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Brent Burns, and John Klingberg in average points per game among defensemen.

15. Pittsburgh Penguins ▲
(Last week: 16)

With a loss Tuesday to the Islanders, the Penguins are officially incapable of doing anything twice in a row as of late.

16. Minnesota Wild ▼
(Last week: 15)

Devan Dubnyk was pulled from his last start after posting a .900 save percentage in 10 appearances in February. With the Wild trying to fight off Colorado for the final wild card spot out West, it's a very bad time for the 2015 Vezina Finalist to regress.

17. Colorado Avalanche ▲
(Last week: 19)

Patrick Roy said it's time for Semyon Varlamov to step up his game, and he did just that by making 37 saves in win over Arizona on Monday. The Avalanche will need more of the same in order to overtake the Wild for a playoff berth.

18. Detroit Red Wings ▼
(Last week: 12)

A 3-5-2 stretch over the past 10 games has the Red Wings sitting only two points ahead of Philadelphia for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with one more game played. As it stands, they're the only team in a playoff spot with a negative goal differential (minus-10).

19. Carolina Hurricanes ▲
(Last week: 19)

Jeff Skinner, who's on pace for his third 30-goal season, sure has a flair for dramatics when playing Ottawa.

20. Ottawa Senators ▼
(Last week: 18)

Mike Hoffman sits in a tie for 12th among all NHL players with 30 points during five-on-five play this season, but was recently benched by head coach Dace Cameron and placed on the fourth line after being placed back in the lineup.

Bold strategy, Senators. Let's see if it pays off.

21. Montreal Canadiens ▲
(Last week: 22)

It only took head coach Michel Therrien five months to figure it out, but it seems as though the Canadiens would be best served by leaving Alex Galchenyuk at the center position.

22. Columbus Blue Jackets ▼
(Last week: 21)

Columbus has gone 28-24-8 under head coach John Tortorella, greatly diminishing the Blue Jackets' chances of drafting Auston Matthews come June.

What a waste of an 0-8-0 start to the season.

23. New Jersey Devils
(Last week: 23)

Trading away leading scorer Lee Stempniak prior to the deadline and an injury to star goalie Cory Schneider seems to have killed whatever faint hope existed in New Jersey.

24. Buffalo Sabres
(Last week: 24)

The trio of Evander Kane, Jack Eichel, and Sam Reinhart is pretty hot right now, but we'll forgive you if 9-15-23 is confused for something else.

25. Arizona Coyotes
(Last week: 25)

Alex Tanguay became the first player in franchise history (including the Winnipeg Jets era) to record three or more points in his first game with the club. That performance came in a win over Florida, and helped the Coyotes snap a seven-game losing streak. They promptly lost their next game.

26. Vancouver Canucks ▲
(Last week: 28)

Team president Trevor Linden seems to have more faith in his club than possibly any living person.

27. Winnipeg Jets ▼
(Last Week: 26)

The Jets have turned back to Ondrej Pavelec as their starting goalie in eight of the past 12 games, a sure sign that they've given up on this season.

28. Calgary Flames ▼
(Last week: 27)

The Flames have gone 2-9-2 over their past 13 games, and Sidney Crosby called out his Penguins after being one of the two teams to fall to Calgary in that span.

At least they're freezing season ticket prices.

29. Edmonton Oilers
(Last week: 29)

Not even Connor McDavid is safe from becoming a punchline in Edmonton.

30. Toronto Maple Leafs
(Last week: 30)

Last-place Toronto is six points below Edmonton, with a league-worst minus-39 goal differential, and recently blew a two-goal lead to Buffalo on home ice en route to a shootout loss.

All according to plan for the rebuilding Maple Leafs.