The San Jose Sharks top the TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings for the second week in a row, adding some stability to a chart that still has plenty of movement beyond the first spot.
"I feel very confident in saying when you go to San Jose, you know you're playing one of the best teams in the league," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma told the San Francisco Chronicle -- before getting drilled 5-0 at the Shark Tank Saturday night.
It's a balanced approach in San Jose, as the team has the league's third-best plus-minus, third-best power play and third-best penalty killing, so they can play in any situation and getting second-line centre Joe Pavelski back from injury only makes them better.
Behind the Sharks, the Colorado Avalanche continue to ride the exceptional goaltending of Craig Anderson to the league's most surprising start and the Philadelphia Flyers continue to climb with big margin victories.
Strong goaltending also helped the Flames and Devils make nice jumps in the rankings this week, to sixth and seventh, respectively.
Going the other way, the Penguins continue to suffer as injuries mount and the other shoe may have dropped on the Phoenix Coyotes' hot start.
Injuries and a 12-game winless slide landed the Carolina Hurricanes in the basement, a long fall for a team in last year's Eastern Conference Final.
The Hurricanes' drop also came at a time when the previous inhabitants of the basement, the Toronto Maple Leafs, started to build a little momentum, going 3-0-5 in their last eight games. After a 0-7 start, that's progress.
Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@ctv.ca