NHL Power Rankings: St. Louis Blues surge to top

Tarik El-Bashir assesses the top teams in the National Hockey League this week (March 9). Records are through Thursday’s games.

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1 (4 last week): St. Louis Blues; 43-18-7

With three straight wins over San Jose, Chicago and Anaheim, they've assumed the top spot in the NHL standings for the first time this late in a season since 2000. During the winning streak, the Blues have scored 13 goals while yielding only three, lowering their league-leading goals against average to 1.87. No other team is below 2.

Sarah Conard / AP

2 (2 last week): Vancouver Canucks; 42-18-8

The defending Presidents' Trophy winners bounced back from back-to-back losses to Buffalo and Dallas with a 3-2 win over Winnipeg on Thursday. Henrik and Daniel Sedin have combined for one points -- and assist -- in the past seven games.

Rich Lam / GETTY IMAGES

3 (1 last week): New York Rangers; 42-17-7

Back-to-back defeats have dropped the Rangers' record in March to a pedestrian 2-2-1. They scored only two goals in losses to New Jersey and Ottawa. But their biggest concern right now should be the surging Penguins, who are now only six points behind them in the Atlantic Division.

Christopher Pasatieri / GETTY IMAGES

4 (3 last week): Detroit Red Wings; 43-21-3

Where's the Wings' Motown mojo gone? The injury-depleted club is 2-4-1 in its last seven games after dropping back-to-back decisions to Chicago and Philadelphia this week. Leading scorer Pavel Datsyuk (minor knee surgery) can't get back soon enough.

Carlos Osorio / AP

5 (6 last week): Pittsburgh Penguins; 40-21-5

The NHL's hottest team has won seven in a row, solidifying its spot in the playoff picture. Top defenseman Kris Letang (head) remains sidelined, but captain Sidney Crosby has been cleared for contract. Crosby's return date, however, remains uncertain.

Gene J. Puskar / AP

6 (5 last week): Nashville Predators; 39-21-7

They're 2-2-0 in their last four games but picked up a 4-2 win over Colorado on Thursday. Goalie Pekka Pinne set the franchise record for wins with his NHL-best 37th, surpassing Tomas Vokoun's previous mark. The Predators have the league's third-best record at home, but after hosting Detroit on Saturday, they'll play eight of 10 away from Bridgestone Arena.

Mark Humphrey / AP

7 (8 last week): Philadelphia Flyers; 38-21-7

After posting a forgettable 5-7-1 record in February, the Flyers have won their first four games this month behind a resurgent Ilya Bryzgalov. The netminder, who has struggled to live up to the nine-year, $51 million deal he signed last summer, is 3-0-0 in his last three games with two shutouts and a .980 save percentage.

Matt Slocum / AP

8 (7 last week): Boston Bruins; 40-23-3

With back-to-back victories over Toronto and Buffalo, the Bruins earned consecutive victories for the first time since mid-January. Since Coach Claude Julien put together a line of Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Tyler Seguin five games ago, the unit has produced 10 goals and 10 assists.

Marianne Helm / GETTY IMAGES

9 (not ranked): New Jersey Devils; 38-24-5

Ilya Kovalchuk and Co. are 3-1-0 in their last four games, yielding a total of three goals while scoring 19. After Thursday's three-goal performance in a 5-1 win over the Islanders, Kovalchuk has two hat tricks and 15 points in his past 12 games.

Christopher Pasatieri / GETTY IMAGES

10 (9 last week): Ottawa Senators; 36-25-8

They've won two in a row, including a 4-1 thumping of the Rangers on Thursday to strengthen their grasp on a playoff spot. Ben Bishop, the 6-foot-7 goalie acquired from St. Louis after starter Craig Anderson suffered a freak hand injury last month, is 2-0-0 with a 2.00 goals against average and .926 save percentage after beating New York.

CHO / AP

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