The St. Louis Blues are getting oh-so close to the top.
Led by high-scoring forwards Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz (26 points apiece), the Blues (31 points in the NHL standings) remain at No. 2 for a fourth straight week, just one place behind the No. 1-ranked Tampa Bay Lightning, in TSN’s 7-Eleven Power Rankings, according to consensus rankings formulated by the TSN Power Ranking panel of Ray Ferraro, Jeff O’Neill, Jamie McLennan, Craig Button and Darren Dreger.
The Blues, who rallied from a 3-1 second-period deficit to beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 in overtime Saturday, lead the Winnipeg Jets (No. 3) by four points in the Western Conference standings (the Jets have played two fewer games). The high-scoring Toronto Maple Leafs, winners of six straight, move up to No. 4 from No. 8 last week, while the New Jersey Devils, who were ranked No. 26 just prior to the start of the regular season, sit at No. 5 and have remained in the top five for a fourth straight week.
The Los Angeles Kings, who have slipped from No. 1 to No. 3 to No. 5 and now to No. 9 over the past four weeks, have just one win in their last six games to fall out of the top-five rankings.
With four straight wins, the Jets remain the best team in Canada, followed by the Leafs, who have both Auston Matthews back in the lineup and superb goaltending from Frederik Andersen (two consecutive shutouts). The Calgary Flames (No 12, moving up from No. 17 last week) and the struggling Ottawa Senators, who drop to No. 13, down from No. 7 a week ago, round out the top-four Canadian teams. The Edmonton Oilers (No. 28, falling from No. 25 last week) and the No. 27 Montreal Canadiens, who plummet nine spots from No. 18 in last week’s rankings, are the country’s worst teams. The No. 24 Canucks drop two spots from No. 22 overall last week.
The Arizona Coyotes, who have won two straight, climb all the way to No. 30 after five weeks at No. 31, while the Buffalo Sabres – winless in their last five – drop into last place overall. The Florida Panthers (No. 29), the low-scoring Oilers in the No. 28 spot and the Canadiens (No. 27) make up the bottom-five teams.
Check out TSN Hockey's full list below.