Power Rankings: Devils Stay on Top -- NHL FanHouse

In this week's power rankings, the New Jersey Devils remain one of the hottest teams in the NHL, holding off the Detroit Red Wings for the top spot thanks to an historic week for goaltender Martin Brodeur.

Vancouver makes a big jump, while the Montreal Canadiens continue to fade at the absolute worst time of the season.

1. Devils (Last Week: 1)
The Devils have had the best record in the NHL during the second half of the season, and they continued their torrid pace this past week by winning two of three. It was a rather historic week for the Devils, as goaltender Martin Brodeur set a new standard for goalies, while Patrick Elias became the franchise's all-time leading scorer.
2. Red Wings (Last Week: 2)
The Wings stay at the No. 2 spot and were a toss-up for top billing in the power rankings. The Wings went 3-0 the past week, becoming the first team in NHL history to hit the 100-point mark in nine consecutive seasons.
3. Capitals (Last Week: 4)
Despite some concerns about their recent play, the Capitals had a strong week, winning three of four games. The only setback was a dismal performance in Atlanta, as Jose Theodore was chased after giving up four goals on just 19 shots. Alex Ovechkin highlighted the week by scoring his 50th goal of the season in Thursday's win over Tampa Bay.
4. Sharks (Last Week: 5)
San Jose moves up a spot by winning three of its four games this week, including Thursday's 3-2 shootout win over Nashville. The Sharks still have a legitimate shot to earn the No. 1 seed in the West, ending the week just one point behind Detroit.
5. Bruins (Last Week: 3)
The Bruins hit the 100-point mark for the first time since the lockout, but they're clearly not playing the type of hockey they were earlier this season. After sneaking past the Islanders this past Saturday, Boston dropped two in a row to Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. Marc Savard tried to get under Sidney Crosby's skin on Sunday, only to have it backfire.
6. Penguins (Last Week: 8)
Pittsburgh continues its rise up the rankings under Dan Bylsma, jumping up two spots thanks to wins over Boston and Atlanta. Evgeni Malkin is running away with the scoring race, earning his 100th point in a five-point performance against the Thrashers on Tuesday.
7. Canucks (Last Week: 14)
Perhaps the hottest team in the NHL right now, the Canucks jump seven spots in this week's rankings. Vancouver has won three in a row and 15 of its past 19, as it currently holds the No. 4 spot in the West. The Canucks trail Calgary by just three points in the Northwest Division, while they have a somewhat favorable schedule remaining, including one game with the Flames. A division title is not out of reach.
8. Flames (Last Week: 6)
Suddenly the Flames have Vancouver breathing down their necks, as Calgary has not won back-to-backs in over two weeks. The Flames earned a 2-1 win over Dallas this past week, but gave up an incredible eight goals in a loss to Toronto.
9. Flyers (Last Week: 7)
Philadelphia dropped both of its games this week, including a 3-2 decision in Detroit that came apart in the third period. Busy schedule this week, as the Flyers have six games in 10 days including road games in Buffalo and Pittsburgh this weekend.
10. Blue Jackets (Last Week: 11)
Columbus continues to look like a legitimate playoff team, losing only one game over the past two weeks. Antoine Vermette has been a tremendous pickup, having scored four goals, including the game-winner in the Blue Jackets 4-3 win over Chicago on Wednesday.
11. Blackhawks (Last Week: 9)
Not only have the Blackhawks lost four in a row, they've also lost their claim on home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, dropping to the No. 5 spot in the West. Fortunately, there's still another month before the playoffs begin, and time for Chicago to turn things around.
12. Hurricanes (Last Week: 10)
Carolina appears as if its prepared to ride Cam Ward until the wheels come off, as the 25-year-old netminder has appeared in 36 of the past 37 games. The Hurricanes have a huge game on Monday when they travel to Florida.
13. Rangers (Last Week: 13)
Sean Avery seems to be motivated to be back in New York, getting his first two-goal game with the Rangers in a 4-1 win over the Flyers this past Sunday. He has four goals in seven games. Nik Antropov also seems to be fitting in, scoring four goals and adding two assists in his first seven games with the Rangers.
14. Oilers (Last Week: 16)
The Oilers have picked up a point in five consecutive games, and earned back-to-back wins over St. Louis and Colorado on Tuesday and Thursday. The win over the Blues was big due to its possible playoff implications, while Thursday's win over Colorado was an 8-1 dismantling to close out the week.
15. Predators (Last Week: 20)
Nashville finished its West Coast road trip with a shootout loss in San Jose. The Predators gained six of a possible eight points on their four-game swing.
16. Canadiens (Last Week: 12)
The Canadiens' disappointing season continues with a four-game losing streak, as they now find themselves tied for the No. 8 spot, only one point ahead of ninth-seeded Florida.
17. Panthers (Last Week: 15)
The Panthers snapped their four-game winless streak with a 3-1 victory against Toronto on Thursday, while Tomas Vokoun stood on his head, making 37 saves. Florida is just one point out of a potential playoff spot with a huge game against Carolina coming up on Monday.
18. Wild (Last Week: 17)
The bad news is Minnesota has lost four of its past five. The good news is three of those losses came in overtime or a shootout, so the Wild still have a couple of Bettman points to show for their struggles. They enter the weekend as part of a three-way tie with Dallas and Anaheim for the No. 9 spot.
19. Stars (Last Week: 18)
The Stars' Jekyll and Hyde season continues with a pair of losses in Vancouver and Calgary. On the plus side, at least Loui Eriksson has put together a strong season in Dallas.
20. Sabres (Last Week: 19)
The Sabres haven't done themselves any favors, losing four of their past five. Buffalo is just 3-5-2 since Ryan Miller went down with his ankle injury.
21. Ducks (Last Week: 22)
Anaheim keeps pace out West, winning three of four. The Ducks are three points behind the Predators, with a game in hand and a trip to Nashville still on the horizon.
22. Blues (Last Week: 21)
For a while, it was looking like the Blues were putting themselves in a position to qualify for the playoffs. Their current West Coast road trip has proven to be troublesome, as they've dropped the first two games in Edmonton and Vancouver.
23. Senators (Last Week: 25)
The Senators helped continue Montreal's misery on Thursday with a 5-4 win, as Ottawa has now won seven of its past eight games. After getting busted with an illegal stick against Toronto, Jason Spezza has gone on a tear, registering nine points in the following five games.
24. Maple Leafs (Last Week: 24)
We have a Jeff Hamilton sighting in Toronto. Since being signed by Toronto on March 5, the veteran forward has chipped in two goals and two assists in eight games. Meanwhile, Jason Blake and Mikhail Grabovski had another "incident" in practice.
25. Thrashers (Last Week: 26)
Despite not having Ilya Kovalchuk, the Thrashers still went on a franchise-record six-game winning streak, highlighted by a 5-1 win over division rival Washington.
26. Kings (Last Week: 23)
The Kings' playoff hopes are slowly slipping away, as they now find themselves seven points back with four teams sitting between them. With only 12 games remaining, that's asking a lot. On the plus side, five of their remaining games are against teams directly ahead of them in the standings.
27. Avalanche (Last Week: 27)
Avalanche beat writer Aaron Dater recently suggested -- perhaps jokingly, perhaps not -- the team needs to do whatever it can to lose as many games as possible the remainder of the season. Why? To get the No. 1 pick -- or a chance at the No. 1 pick. While a team of professional athletes, many of who are playing for jobs next season, would never take part in such shenanigans, Thursday's 8-1 dismantling at the hands of Edmonton was about as ugly a performance a team can put on.
28. Islanders (Last Week: 29)
The Islanders continue to show some improvement, hanging with the Bruins on Saturday and then beating Chicago on Sunday. They still occupy the NHL's basement in the standings, but they get rewarded in the power rankings for not tanking on the season. Twenty-five-year-old rookie Peter Mannino made his first career start against the Blackhawks, making 40 saves to earn the win.
29. Lightning (Last Week: 30)
After a disappointing start to his career, which made him a frequent target of former head coach Barry Melrose, Steven Stamkos has been one of Tampa Bay's best players the past couple of weeks, averaging nearly a point per game since the start of February.
30. Coyotes (Last Week: 28)
When this season began, the Coyotes looked like a potential playoff team, especially with the addition of Olli Jokinen. Hasn't gone to plan, as Jokinen is now playing in Calgary and the Coyotes have won only five of their past 23 games. Still plenty of young talent on this team, but it obviously needs a little more time to put up some wins.

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St. Louis Blues goalie Chris Mason, left, stops Vancouver Canucks' Mason Raymond, second right, as Blues' Jeff Woywitka, 29, and Dan Hinote, far right, watch during first period NHL action in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday March 19, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 19: Steve Sullivan #26 of the Nashville Predators, is denied in the shoot out by Evgeni Nabokov #20 of the San Jose Sharks during an NHL game at HP Pavilion at San Jose on March 19, 2009 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Steve Sullivan;Evgeni Nabokov

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SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 19: Devin Setoguchi #16 of the San Jose Sharks moves the puck into the zone during an NHL game at HP Pavilion at San Jose on March 19, 2009 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Devin Setoguchi

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SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 19: Jonathan Cheechoo #14 of the San Jose Sharks celebrates his game winning goal in the shoot out during an NHL game at HP Pavilion at San Jose on March 19, 2009 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jonathan Cheechoo

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San Jose Sharks right wing Jonathan Cheechoo, left, scores the game-winner past Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne, of Finland, during a shootout in an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, March 19, 2009. San Jose won 3-2, in a shootout. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

San Jose Sharks right wing Jonathan Cheechoo celebrates after getting the game-winner during a shootout in an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, March 19, 2009. San Jose won 3-2, in a shootout. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller, left, of Switzerland, kicks aside the shot attempt by Phoenix Coyotes center Matthew Lombardi, right, in a shootout during an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 19, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. Hiller's stop gave the Ducks a 3-2 win in a shootout. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Kurt Sauer, left, checks Anaheim Ducks right winger Teemu Selanne, right, of Finland, to the ice in the overtime period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 19, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. The Ducks won 3-2 in a shootout. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 19: David Legwand #11 of the Nashville Predators, looks for a deflection in front of Evgeni Nabokov #20 of the San Jose Sharks during an NHL game at HP Pavilion at San Jose on March 19, 2009 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** David Legwand;Evgeni Nabokov

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