The Calgary Flames jumped into second place in the overall rankings and while they are not pushing the Tampa Bay Lightning just yet, they are the best team in the West.
San Jose also made a big move upwards while Toronto dropped out of the top-five as they are sitting sixth.
Carolina also made a move up the rankings and Buffalo continued its descent downwards.
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1. Tampa Bay
Record: 35-9-2 (3-1-0)
Last Week 1
The Lightning beat Columbus and Carolina at home and then defeated Buffalo before losing to the New York Islanders. This week they take on Dallas on the road before returning home to play Toronto and San Jose. Victor Hedman was injured Sunday and did not return. Consider him day-to-day. Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL in points with 75. Brayden Point continues to have an outstanding season as he has 61 points in 46 games including 12 power play goals.
2. Calgary
Record: 30-13-4 (3-0-0)
Last Week 5
The Flames knocked off Colorado, Florida and Arizona and finish their five-game home stand with games against Buffalo and Detroit. Calgary finish the week at Edmonton. Mark Giordano was the first star of the week as he had three goals and eight points in four games. He is second in the NHL among defensemen with 47 points. Five Flames are averaging over a point a game including Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm and Giordano. Giordano leads the NHL with a plus-36 while defense partner T.J. Brodie is second at plus-32.
3. Winnipeg
Record: 29-14-2 (3-1-0)
Last Week 4
The Jets defeated Colorado, Detroit and Anaheim this week and lost to Minnesota in not exactly the toughest NHL schedule of the week. This week the Jets are home to Vegas before taking on Nashville and Dallas on the road. Bryan Little is getting hot as he is on a five-game points streak including four goals and seven points. Patrik Laine scored Sunday to give him 25 this season, one better than Mark Scheifele.
4. Washington
Record: 27-13-5 (2-1-1)
Last Week 3
The Capitals lost to St. Louis for the second week in a row but defeated Philadelphia and Boston while losing in overtime to Columbus. They play Nashville and Chicago on the road while facing the New York Islanders at home this week. Braden Holtby suffered an eye injury Saturday but was well enough on Monday to be the backup goalie. Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 33rd goal Monday. Jakub Vrana is second on the team with 15 goals.
5. San Jose
Record: 27-13-7 (3-0-0)
Last Week 9
The Sharks beat Edmonton, Vegas and Ottawa this week to go a perfect 3-0 for the second week in a row. San Jose are home to Pittsburgh and then go on the road to play Arizona, Tampa Bay and Florida. Erik Karlsson has not had a point in his last two games but had a 14-game points streak before that. He has only three goals but has 38 assists. Martin Jones has a 21-8-4 record but his peripherals are not great as he has a 2.74 GAA and a .903 save percentage. You have to wonder if the Sharks are going to get themselves another goaltender for a deep playoff run.
6. Toronto
Record: 28-15-2 (1-2-0)
Last Week 2
The Maple Leafs defeated New Jersey on the road and then were beaten at home by Boston and Colorado. The Maple Leafs are in Tampa Bay and Florida and then return home to play Arizona. Toronto is a different team at home where they are 13-10-1 than on the road where their record is a gaudy 15-5-1. Auston Matthews has only one goal in his last 10 games. Mitch Marner has 59 points in 45 games to lead the Maple Leafs. They have seven players with double digits in goals this season.
7. Vegas
Record: 28-16-4 (2-1-0)
Last Week 6
The Golden Knights sandwiched wins against the Rangers and Chicago around a loss to San Jose. Vegas is in Winnipeg to begin the week and then return home to face Pittsburgh and Minnesota. William Carrier, the NHL leader in hits, has not played in the last week and a half due to an illness. Brandon Pirri played his 10th game in the NHL this season and that means he will remain with the Golden Knights as they will not want to lose him to waivers. He has seven goals and 12 points for a team in need of scoring.
8. Pittsburgh
Record: 25-14-6 (2-1-0)
Last Week 7
The Penguins did not have the toughest of schedules and were victorious over Florida and Anaheim before losing to Los Angeles. They finish their five-game road trip this week as they are in San Jose, Arizona and Vegas. Jake Guentzel was the third star of the week as he had five goals and six points in three games including a hat trick. Zach Aston-Reese is out of action with a broken hand. Sidney Crosby leads the Penguins with 55 points and is a plus-21 whereas teammate Evgeni Malkin has 50 points but is a minus-13.
9. Nashville
Record: 27-16-4 (1-1-1)
Last Week 8
The Predators continue to struggle at times as they were 1-1-1 this past week, beating Chicago in overtime, losing to Columbus in overtime and then losing outright to Carolina. All three games were on the road. The Predators are home to Washington, Winnipeg and Florida this week and go to Colorado to finish the week. Nashville put Phil Di Giuseppe on waivers. Filip Forsberg returned to action four games ago and already has a pair of two goal games. Pekka Rinne has given up 12 goals in his last two-and-a-half games after shutting out Toronto last week.
10. Boston
Record: 26-15-5 (2-1-1)
Last Week 10
The Bruins defeated Minnesota and Toronto, lost in overtime to Montreal and lost to Washington. Boston is in Philadelphia this week and then return home to play St. Louis and the New York Rangers. Tuukka Rask saw his five-game winning streak come to an end Monday with an overtime loss to Montreal. He has regained the net from Jaroslav Halak as he has been outstanding of late, giving up 10 goals on 176 shots in his last six games. Jake DeBrusk has 14 goals but only three assists.
