Our first decent shake up of the season in the NHL rankings, as the Chicago Blackhawks are riding a seven-game winning streak all the way to the No. 1 spot in our Top Ten rankings. The New Jersey Devils, who were threatening the San Jose Sharks for the top spot last week, had a down week and have fallen back to No. 6.
SB Nation’s NHL Power Rankings, Week 8:
Surprise of the week: The Detroit Red Wings pop back into the Top Ten rankings, despite only winning one of their past four games.
PLEASE READ: Western Conference rankings are determined by votes from Western Conference bloggers, Eastern Conference bloggers for Eastern rankings. The Top 10 Power Rankings are determined by a separate vote of Western and Eastern Conference bloggers.
| NHL Top Ten Power Rankings | |||||
| Rank | Last Wk | Team | Record | Comments | |
 | 1 | 4 | Chicago Blackhawks | 15-5-2 | Seven straight wins have propelled Chicago to the top led by the two Patricks, Kane and Sharp. |
 | 2 | 1 | San Jose Sharks | 16-5-4 | Still unbeaten in regulation at home, and have a NHL-best +23 goal differential. |
 | 3 | 3 | Washington Capitals | 13-5-6 | Capitals fans are reeling after four losses in five games, although they did get points in two of those. Hey, it's the important things. |
 | 4 | 8 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 16-8-0 | Fours wins in five games is a good sign for an injured team. As guys keep returning - Letang, Goligoski, Kunitz, Kennedy, McKee - it can only get better |
 | 5 | 5 | Calgary Flames | 13-6-3 | A great road record (7-1-3) has helped Calgary overcome shaky play on home ice (6-5-0). |
 | 6 | 2 | New Jersey Devils | 14-6-1 | After an eight-game winning streak, the Devils have slowed a bit with three road losses. |
 | 7 | 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | 12-8-1 | Voters still feeling good about Philly, despite a three-game losing streak. |
 | 8 | 6 | Buffalo Sabres | 12-6-2 | One of the strongest defensive teams in the NHL has struggled lately, allowing 13 goals in the past three games (all losses). |
 | 9 | 9 | Colorado Avalanche | 14-7-3 | The incredible goaltending to start the season has caught up with the Avs a bit, who are 4-5-1 in the past ten games and are now 18th in the NHL in goals allowed. |
 | 10 | - | Detroit Red Wings | 11-7-4 | 1-2-1 in the past week and are suddenly having some struggles scoring. |
Eastern Conference
Biggest Winner: Ottawa Senators (+5)
Biggest Loser: New York Islanders (-4)
| Eastern Conference Power Rankings | ||||
| Rk (Prv) | Team | Record | SB Nation Blog | |
| 1 (2) | Washington Capitals | 13-5-6 | Japers' Rink |
| 2 (5) | Pittsburgh Penguins | 16-8-0 | PensBurgh |
| 3 (4) | Philadelphia Flyers | 12-8-1 | Broad Street Hockey |
| 4 (1) | New Jersey Devils | 14-6-1 | In Lou We Trust |
| 5 (3) | Buffalo Sabres | 12-6-2 | Die By The Blade |
 | 6 (11) | Ottawa Senators | 12-6-3 | Silver Seven |
 | 7 (9) | Boston Bruins | 11-8-4 | Stanley Cup of Chowder |
 | 8 (10) | Tampa Bay Lightning | 9-5-7 | Raw Charge |
 | 9 (6) | Atlanta Thrashers | 10-7-3 | Bird Watchers Anonymous |
 | 10 (7) | New York Rangers | 12-10-1 | Blueshirt Banter |
 | 11 (13) | Florida Panthers | 10-9-3 | Litter Box Cats |
 | 12 (8) | New York Islanders | 9-8-7 | Lighthouse Hockey |
 | 13 (12) | Montreal Canadiens | 11-11-1 | Habs Eyes On The Prize |
 | 14 (15) | Carolina Hurricanes | 5-13-5 | Canes Country |
 | 15 (14) | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4-11-7 | Pension Plan Puppets |
Western Conference
Biggest Winner: Columbus Blue Jackets (+4)
Biggest Loser: Phoenix Coyotes (-3)
| Western Conference Power Rankings | ||||
| Rk (Prv) | Team | Record | SB Nation Blog | |
| 1 (2) | Chicago Blackhawks | 15-5-2 | Second City Hockey |
| 2 (1) | San Jose Sharks | 16-5-4 | Fear The Fin |
| 3 (3) | Calgary Flames | 13-6-3 | Matchsticks and Gasoline |
| 4 (4) | Detroit Red Wings | 11-7-4 | Winging It In Motown |
 | 5 (9) | Columbus Blue Jackets | 12-7-3 | The Cannon |
 | 6 (8) | Dallas Stars | 11-6-6 | Defending Big D |
| 7 (6) | Colorado Avalanche | 14-7-3 | Mile High Hockey |
 | 8 (5) | Los Angeles Kings | 13-9-2 | Battle of California |
 | 9 (11) | Nashville Predators | 13-8-1 | On the Forecheck |
 | 10 (7) | Phoenix Coyotes | 13-10-1 | Five For Howling |
 | 11 (10) | Vancouver Canucks | 12-11-0 | Nucks Misconduct |
 | 12 (12) | St. Louis Blues | 8-9-4 | St. Louis Game Time |
 | 13 (13) | Edmonton Oilers | 10-11-3 | The Copper & Blue |
 | 14 (14) | Minnesota Wild | 8-12-2 | Hockey Wilderness |
 | 15 (15) | Anaheim Ducks | 8-11-3 | Battle of California |
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