Through the NHL pause. Last week's rankings in parentheses.
1. Tampa Bay Lightning. Pulled out win at Vegas in last game before league pause. (4)
2. Carolina Hurricanes. Lead league with plus-33 goal differential. (5)
Krebs' sole focus now is to earn a permanent spot with the Sabres, but the transition hasn’t been seamless on the ice.
3. Washington Capitals. NHL-high seven OT/shootout losses. (6)
4. Toronto Maple Leafs. Major Covid-19 outbreak could shelve them for a while. (8)
5. New York Rangers. Pushing Caps and Canes in Metro. (3)
6. Florida Panthers. Elite teams have to be better than 4-4-4 on the road. (1)
7. Minnesota Wild. NHL desperate to make sure Winter Classic at Target Field is played. (2)
8. Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby bitterly disappointed at loss of Olympic chance. (12)
9. Vegas Golden Knights. First team in West to 20 wins. (17)
10. Anaheim Ducks. Just one regulation loss in last 10. (10)
11. Nashville Predators. Seven-game win streak ties Pens for NHL's best at the break. (11)
12. Colorado Avalanche. Starting to overcome injuries, build real momentum. (9)
13. St. Louis Blues. Are up to impressive 11-3-2 at home. (14)
14. Calgary Flames. Mayor announces new arena project has fallen apart. Now what? (7)
15. Edmonton Oilers. Still need help on defense and in goal. (13)
16. Winnipeg Jets. Lowry gets season-long chance to make impression behind bench. (16)
17. Dallas Stars. Won two straight to get within three points of wild card. (20)
18. Los Angeles Kings. Are within three points of Oilers in Pacific. (23)
19. Detroit Red Wings. Yzerman openly wonders why NFL testing model isn't in place. (24)
20. San Jose Sharks. Burns a big name on Covid-19 list. (18)
21. Boston Bruins. Are 7-5-1 at home and 7-5-1 on the road. (15)
It was a busy debut for Casey Fitzgerald, who played 27 shifts totaling 16 minutes, 42 seconds. He got his first NHL point with an assist, had two shots on goal and even his first fight against Pittsburgh forward Sam Lafferty.
22. Vancouver Canucks. Didn't need a break from Boudreau Boost. (21)
23. Columbus Blue Jackets. Wonder if NHL reschedules two lost games with Sabres as back-to-back. (19)
24. Philadelphia Flyers. Bruins-like: 6-6-2 at home, 6-6-3 on road. (26)
25. Chicago Blackhawks. Kane with one goal in 14 games, shooting just 7.4%. (25)
26. Buffalo Sabres. Lots of Canadian eyes on Owen Power as World Juniors open. (28)
27. New Jersey Devils. Rebuilding blues: On six-game skid and 1-8-1 slide. (22)
28. Seattle Kraken. Big disappointment that first visit by Leafs was postponed. (27)
29. New York Islanders. Sabres slated to make UBS Arena debut on Thursday. But will they? (29)
30. Ottawa Senators. Won five of last 10 games after taking just four of first 18. (30)
31. Montreal Canadiens. Sight of no fans in Bell Centre again was hard to see. (31)
32. Arizona Coyotes. Hideous: Minus-53 goal differential in 29 games. (32)
