NHL Power Rankings: Blackhawks remain undefeated in 2016

34-8-3, 71 points: From top to bottom, the Capitals are still the team to beat. They're 15-2-1 in their last 18 games, and have built a 17-point lead in the Metropolitan Division and a 14-point cushion in the Eastern Conference.

31-13-4, 66 points: During their 11-game winning streak, the Blackhawks have outscored their opponents 43-21. Canadiens coach Michel Therrien on the defending Stanley Cup champions: "I believe they look better than last year."

28-13-3, 59 points: What a week it was for Anze Kopitar, who inked an eight-year, $80 million contract extension to stay in Los Angeles and was named the NHL's third star of the week after recording seven points in three games.

24-17-4, 52 points: Here they come. The Lightning have strung together five straight victories for the first time this season, and have pulled within reaching distance for the Atlantic Division lead.

26-14-5, 57 points: We're not going to drop the Panthers too far after following up a 12-game winning streak with a three-game losing streak simply because they may have needed some time to breathe after that sensational run. Let's see how they respond against upcoming home games vs. Edmonton, Chicago and Tampa Bay.

26-15-7, 59 points: Brian Elliott has done a solid job at filling in for Jake Allen, who's out with a knee injury. The 30-year-old netminder stopped 46 shots in a 4-3 win over Montreal on Saturday.

23-14-8, 54 points: The Red Wings are 5-1-1 in 2016 so far despite being outshot in each of those seven games. Credit that to Peter Mrazek, who owns a 1.31 goals against average and .957 save percentage in his last six starts.

24-15-6, 54 points: John Tavares has three goals in his last 19 games, yet the Islanders still hold the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan Division. They're finding ways to get it done when their captain isn't at his best.

21-16-7, 49 points: The Penguins have registered at least a point in eight of their last nine games. They're still on the outside of the playoffs, but they're only five points away from the second spot in their division with a game in hand on both the Islanders and Rangers.

29-12-5, 63 points: Not exactly where a team with the third-highest point total is expected to be, but the Stars are 2-5-2 in their last nine games, and have allowed 33 goals (an average of 3.67 goals against per game) during that span.

22-15-8, 52 points: The Wild have dropped their last four games, and it won't get any easier to dig out of as nine of their next 10 games are against teams currently in the playoffs.

24-16-5, 53 points: The Rangers haven't won back-to-back games since Nov. 19-21. But they also haven't lost back-to-back games since Dec. 18-20, indicating they're consistently picking up points as of late.

23-16-5, 51 points: David Krejci has been upgraded to "day-to-day," which means the Bruins may be getting back their No. 1 center for Tuesday's showdown in Montreal.

23-19-4, 50 points: The Canadiens have outshot their opponents by a combined 32 in their last four games, but have lost all four of them. They've been victims of tough puck luck lately, and ran into some hot goaltenders (Corey Crawford and Brian Elliott) last week.

23-18-2, 48 points: The Jekyll and Hyde season continues for the Sharks, who have put together five straight wins, two of them coming against Pacific Division opponents.

20-15-8, 48 points: The Flyers are currently on a six-game point streak, and have quietly pulled themselves within two points from the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

20-19-8, 48 points: Since Dec. 11, only Chicago (32), Washington (31) and Florida (25) have earned more points than the Hurricanes (24), according to Elias. They've picked up at least a point in eight of their last 10 games.

20-17-8, 48 points: When Ryan Johansen and James Neal are on the ice together, the Predators control 66.1 percent of even-strength shot attempts. That's the kind of impact Johansen was supposed to make in Columbus.

19-18-7, 45 points: The Ducks are 4-3-0 so far during their eight-game homestand. Not bad, but not great for a team still looking to break through. Good news: Ryan Getzlaf is on a five-game assist streak.

22-17-5, 49 points: The Coyotes are a bottom five puck possession team, yet they keep discovering ways to collect points with a win over Edmonton and overtime loss to Detroit last week.

22-19-5, 49 points: The Devils are 2-5-0 in their last seven games, and have scored only four goals in those five losses. Cory Schneider can only do so much.

21-18-6, 48 points: The Senators wrapped up the week with a nice 5-3 win in Los Angeles, but allowed 11 goals in the previous two games to Washington and Anaheim.

21-21-3, 45 points: The Jets picked up back-to-back wins against Central Division opponents Nashville and Minnesota, and will play their next six games at home, where they are 12-7-1 opposed to 9-14-2 on the road.

20-20-3, 43 points: Sam Bennett scored six goals in three games last week, including a dominant four-goal night against the Panthers on Wednesday. The Flames are currently in a stretch of playing five straight games on the road.

18-23-4, 40 points: After losing six in a row, the Sabres have won three of their last four games, including a 4-1 win over top-seed Washington on Saturday.

18-23-5, 41 points: The Oilers locked up goaltender Cam Talbot to a three-year contract extension, which is one less distraction for a young team on the rise.

17-25-4, 38 points: Seth Jones already has the third-most ice time on the team. It could get even better for the Blues Jackets if they land the first overall pick and select Auston Matthews, landing a No. 1 defenseman and franchise centerman in a span of half a year.

16-20-7, 39 points: James Reimer is back, but it didn't help much (if at all) as the Maple Leafs are 0-5-0 in their last five games and have been outscored 19-5 during that span.