Power Rankings, Penguins on Top

6. Vancouver Canucks (21-11-6, 3rd in West)
The Canucks are hot right now. 8-2 in their last ten, the defense is playing well, and the goaltenders are also playing well, making Vancouver dangerous. Fourth in the league goals against per game, the Canucks goaltenders have three shutouts in the last eight games. Sitting on top of the Northwest at the moment, they are ahead of the Minnesota Wild by two points.  They’re playing well at home winning their last 5.
7. Boston Bruins (24-9-4, 4th in East)
Boston’s defense and goaltending has been the good side of the Bruins this season. Boston has the top penalty kill in the NHL and are second in the league allowing only 2.1 goals a game. After picking up Jaromir Jagr from the Dallas Stars, the Bruins are hoping to get their 24th ranked powerplay going. If the powerplay picks up this team is extremely dangerous. The Bruins haven’t been closing out games, and their record of 5-4-1 is not getting them anywhere in their chase for the division.
8. Toronto Maple Leafs (21-13-4, 5th in East)
Toronto is rolling right now. Points in 9 of their last 10, going 6-1-3. This is a team that is playing well, and I would not be surprised to see them make a push in the playoffs. The Leafs are scoring 3.1 goals a game and 3.5 in their last ten. They have been giving up an average of 2.8 in the last ten and they seem to live and die in the offensive end. Either way, the Leafs are hoping Joffrey Lupul will be back shortly giving them extra fire power on the offensive end. 
9. San Jose Sharks (20-11-7, 5th in West)
San Jose has been one of the leagues best home teams this season. 14-1-5 on their home ice. Their poor road record has been holding them back at 6-10-2.  San Jose is 8-1-1 in their last ten games. Good defense and good penalty killing has gotten the Sharks to where they are right now. Sitting in the 5th spot in the West, they’re fighting with the Kings for the 4th seed, and home ice in the first round of the playoffs. The Kings are up by a point, but the Sharks have an extra game to play.
10. Minnesota Wild (22-14-2, 6th in West)
The Wild are playing well, but not well enough to keep up with the Canucks in the Northwest. 6-4-0 in their last ten the Wild have been good, but not great. Offseason additions, Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, lead the team in assists and goals, but the offense hasn’t been getting it done lately, and the defense hasn’t been helping out too much either. They finally got a win the other night against the Columbus Blue Jackets shutting them out 3-0, snapping a three game losing streak. The Wild are still in the race for the division, but they need to keep winning like they did against the Jackets.