The NHL's Central Division has cooled off and now the Atlantic Division is heating up.
The Colorado Avalanche have four regulation losses in their 10 games after having only two through Dec. 4. They still have a big lead in the Presidents' Trophy race, but with 79 points in 50 games, they're on pace for 129 points, short of the record held by the 2022-23 Boston Bruins (135).
The Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild also have slowed with just four wins each in their last 10 games, though the Utah Mammoth are charging.
In the Atlantic, the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and the Buffalo Sabres continue their turnaround with an 18-3-1 surge that puts them in better position to end a 14-season playoff drought. The Bruins are on a 8-2 run to move into a wild-card spot.
Here are the latest USA TODAY NHL power rankings:
NHL power rankings
Statistics are through Jan. 25. Number in parentheses indicates a change from two weeks ago.
Forward Brock Nelson had a hat trick as the Avalanche defeated the Maple Leafs 4-1 to end a 1-2-2 slide. The U.S. Olympian ranks second on Colorado with 27 goals.
The Lightning's 15-game point streak ended as they fell 8-5 to the Blue Jackets despite a four-point game by Nikita Kucherov. He had 32 points during the team's point streak.
Struggling Jesperi Kotkaniemi has been mentioned in trade rumors. He has averaged a little more than 11 minutes a game and has two goals in 31 games while carrying a $4.82 million cap hit.
Patrick Kane is one point away from tying Hall of Famer Mike Modano for most points by a U.S.-born scorer. He could have tied in his last game, but one of his assists was taken away.
Swedish defenseman Jonas Brodin had surgery for a lower-body injury and will miss the Olympics. But fellow Olympians Matt Boldy (USA) and Joel Eriksson Ek (Sweden) appear good to go after returning from injuries.
Two Stars non-Olympians are putting up big numbers. Jason Robertson leads U.S. scorers with 30 goals. Wyatt Johnston (Canada) leads all NHL players with 17 power-play goals.
The Sabres have surged from outside the playoff picture to third in the Atlantic Division since changing general managers. Jarmo Kekalainen made his first major move by giving Josh Doan a seven-year extension.
8. Vegas Golden Knights (0)
Goaltender Adin Hill is 2-2 since returning from a long injury absence, but he has a .848 save percentage. He lost 7-1 to the Senators on Jan. 25.
The Penguins went 4-0 in their western Canada trip, their first sweep there since 2018. British Columbia native Ben Kindel scored twice in a Jan. 25 win in Vancouver
The Canadiens have lost two in a row and dropped to a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
11. Boston Bruins (+5)
Forward David Pastrnak has six goals and 17 assists in his last 12 games. He has been held off the scoreboard once in that stretch, in which the Bruins have gone 10-2.
12. New York Islanders (-3)
Bo Horvat, the Islanders' lone Olympian (Canada), returned on Jan. 24 from an injury that kept him out for nine games.
13. Florida Panthers (+5)
Matthew Tkachuk played his first game of the season on Jan. 19, but his appearance was overshadowed by the first NHL goalie fight in six years. Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky charged down the ice to take on San Jose's Alex Nedeljkovic, who had entered a scrum behind his net. The Panthers are 3-1 since Tkachuk returned.
Goalie Karel Vejmelka, named to the Czech Olympic team, is 9-1 with 2.19 goals-against average and .916 save percentage in January.
15. Edmonton Oilers (-1)
Connor McDavid has been averaging two points a game since the start of December to move into the league's scoring lead. He had five points, including an overtime win, against the Capitals on Jan. 24. Defenseman Evan Bouchard had three goals and three assists in that game.
16. Philadelphia Flyers (-5)
Forward Rodrigo Abols will miss the Olympics because of an ankle injury. He had been named to Team Latvia as one of the first six. Two of the Flyers' other Olympians, Czechia's Dan Vladar and Finland's Rasmus Ristolainen, are on the injured list. They were at practice on Jan. 26.
17. Anaheim Ducks (+10)
The Ducks have won seven in a row after a nine-game winless streak. Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe is heading to the Olympics, replacing injured Panthers defenseman Seth Jones. Sweden's Leo Carlsson had a procedure for a laceration and could miss the Games.
18. San Jose Sharks (+2)
Forward Kiefer Sherwood, acquired from the Canucks, is second in the league with 210 hits. The top Sharks player this season is Ryan Reaves with 133.
19. Los Angeles Kings (0)
The Kings caught a break when goalie Darcy Kuemper didn't miss any games in an injury scare. He left a game after his arm went numb following a collision, but he started the Kings' next game.
The Kraken, who dropped out of a playoff spot in a 2-5-2 slide, pulled even in points with the Sharks and Kings for the second wild card spot. They remain out of a position because they have played one more game.
Injured Mitch Marner apologized on social media for making an obscene gesture while on camera. "sorry about my moment of frustration today!" he posted on Jan. 25. "didn't mean to upset anyone. looking forward to being back on ice and not in the stands."
The Blue Jackets have gone 5-1 since firing coach Dean Evason and hiring Rick Bowness as a replacement.
23. New Jersey Devils (0)
Dougie Hamilton has a goal and eight assists in seven games since he sat out as a healthy scratch. The veteran's production has risen with Luke Hughes out with an injury.
24. Washington Capitals (-9)
The Capitals have one win in their last six games, a stretch that included a regulation loss to the last-place Canucks. But by picking up a point in an overtime loss to the Oilers, they sit two points out of third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Goaltender Linus Ullmark returned from his leave of absence on Jan. 25 as a backup. He told TSN he took the leave for mental health reasons and blasted the rumors that started. "People wonder why hockey players, professional athletes are not talking, why we're not showing any sort of emotions, what mental health in men and women are a stigma," he said. "It took them less than 24 hours from my absence of leave to try to find reasons to why I'm gone, saying that I'm a homewrecker, a person that no one likes on the team."
26. Nashville Predators (-4)
Steven Stamkos' bounce-back season continues. He picked up his second hat trick of the season and has 25 goals in 51 games, two shy of his 2024-25 total in 82 games.
27. Chicago Blackhawks (-1)
Connor Bedard has been limited to one goal, four points and a minus 6 rating in eight games since he returned from a shoulder injury.
The Jets have been up and down this season as they try to avoid missing the playoffs one season after winning the Presidents' Trophy. They put together a four-game winning streak after ending an 11-game winless streak. But now they lost four of their last five games.
29. New York Rangers (-4)
General manager Chris Drury sent fans a letter indicating the team will retool. They won't offer pending UFA Artemi Panarin a contract, per reports, meaning they have to work with him to waive his no-movement clause so they don't lose him for nothing. Vincent Trocheck has been mentioned as a trade possibility.
The Flames dealt pending UFA defenseman Rasmus Andersson to the Golden Knights. Along with draft picks, they received defenseman Zach Whitecloud, who's signed through 2028.
31. St. Louis Blues (-1)
Canadian Olympic team goalie Jordan Binnington has lost four in a row since a Jan. 23 shutout, giving up 18 goals.
Forward Kiefer Sherwood, the subject of much trade speculation, was shipped to the Sharks for two second-round picks and American Hockey League defenseman Cole Clayton.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL power rankings: Atlantic Division soaring while Central slows
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