NHL Power Rankings: Flames becoming contenders; Predators slumping

In this week’s edition of the NHL Power Rankings the Calgary Flames keep climbing toward the top thanks to a 12-2-0 run over their past 14 games, including a nine-game winning streak entering the week. That stretch has included big wins against other top teams Florida (5-1), Toronto (5-2), Vegas (6-0), and St. Louis (7-1). They entered the season looking like a bubble playoff team but have taken off under Darryl Sutter in his second stop with the team.

Calgary boasts one of the league’s best top-line duos in Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, and already made a significant move to strengthen their depth by getting Tyler Toffoli from the Montreal Canadiens. Add in their strong defensive player under Sutter and excellent goaltending and they are starting to look like a team that can make a deep run in the playoffs.

Elsewhere, the Colorado Avalanche maintain their hold on the top spot while the Nashville Predators go through a slump that has seen them drop down a few spots thanks to a stretch that has seen them go 4-7-2 over the past month.

We look at all of that and more in this week’s rankings.

Where does your team rank?

1. Colorado Avalanche (Last Week: 1). After a slow start Darcy Kuemper has very quietly put things together. He and Pavel Francouz both have save percentages north of .920 for the season. They get that level of goaltending this is as complete of a team as you will find in the NHL.

2. Florida Panthers (LW: 2). They already have nine players with at least 10 goals this season, including six with at least 15 goals. Just an insanely deep offense.

3. Carolina Hurricanes (LW: 4). Andrei Svechnikov‘s big breakout season is happening as he chases the 40-goal mark.

4. Minnesota Wild (LW: 3). Kirill Kaprizov is