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NHL Power Rankings: Blackhawks hold off Ducks, Canadiens for top spot

By Patrick Schmidt

Jan 1, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) and center Jonathan Toews (19) shake hands with Washington Capitals players after the 2015 Winter Classic hockey game at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) and center Jonathan Toews (19) shake hands with Washington Capitals players after the 2015 Winter Classic hockey game at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 1, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; A general view of Nationals Park during the 2015 Winter Classic hockey game between the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks. Mandatory Credit: H. Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; A general view of Nationals Park during the 2015 Winter Classic hockey game between the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks. Mandatory Credit: H. Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports /

The halfway of the NHL season is here with every team playing between 36 and 41 games but despite being in a new year, the NHL power rankings remain very much the same near the top.

Heading into the 2015 portion of the schedule we are in the middle of what promises to be an entertaining chase for the President’s Trophy with seven teams within four points of each other for the most points in the NHL.

The Anaheim Ducks continue to set the pace with 58 points through a league-high 41 games played after outlasting the Nashville Predators on Sunday who are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for the Central Division lead with 54 points. Chicago got the better of Nashville in a scintillating 5-4 shootout win on Monday.

Meanwhile. over in the Eastern Conference the Montreal Canadiens are the hottest team in the league with six straight wins and a 9-1 record in their last 10 games. The hot spell has them tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Atlantic lead with 54 points, but the Habs have two games in hand. Tampa beat Montreal 7-1 in the third game of the year but the two meet in the Bell Centre on Tuesday in the game of the week.

The race in the Metropolitan continues to see the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders jockey for position and ended the week tied for first with 53 points. Don’t look now but the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers, winners of nine of their last 10, are coming on strong with 47 and 46 points, respectively.

But who is the best of the best?

Let’s take a look at all those aforementioned teams and where the rest of the league stacks up in this week’s edition of the NHL power rankings.

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