Burnside's Power Rankings: Stars jump to No. 6 in this week's Terrific 10

The National Hockey League has entered bye week season where teams are off for the better part of a week, which will skew the standings somewhat in the short term vis a vis games played. But it will never skew the determination of the Terrific Ten or the Frigid Five. Read on and find out for yourselves.
Previous rankings: Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2| Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13

1. Vegas Golden Knights (29-10-2)

Last week: No. 1
No reason to dislodge the amazing (see, we're still not calling them surprising as per our New Year's resolution) Golden Knights from the number one spot as they hit the midpoint of their first season with a nice win over the New York Rangers and a 9-1-0 record in their last 10.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning (30-9-3)

Last week: No. 2
Whatever affection we have for the Golden Knights, leaders in the Pacific Division now by 10 points over Los Angeles, the real powerbrokers in the NHL remain the Tampa Bay Lightning and their league-best plus-52 goal differential.

3. Boston Bruins (23-10-7)

Last week. No. 6
Bruins have leapt over Toronto and into second in the Atlantic, and it's to recognize the work Bruce Cassidy is doing in getting the Bruins, 11-1-3 in their last 15 games, into contention once again.

4. Winnipeg Jets (25-11-7)

Last week: No. 5
Jets have reassumed the top spot in the tough Central Division without top center Mark Scheifele, still out with an upper body injury. Jets are 7-1-2 in their last 10, but still haven't quite figured out how to consistently win on the road, where they're 9-8-6. Still, that's quibbling because the Jets are the real deal.

5. Washington Capitals (26-13-3)

Last week: No. 3
Caps have won four in a row as they continue to set the pace in the league's toughest division, the Metropolitan. Alexander Ovechkin in a heated race with countryman Nikita Kucherov in the goal-scoring race, tied at 27.

6. Dallas Stars (24-16-3)

Last week: No. 10
Dallas hits the bye week playing its best hockey of the season and own the top wildcard spot in the West, thanks to a 6-2-2 run. Alexander Radulov might be the team's first-half MVP.

7. Toronto Maple Leafs (25-16-2)

Last week: Not ranked
Nice comeback win for the Leafs over Vancouver on Saturday, but offense has been on and off again as of late. Pretty much a given Boston and Toronto will play in the first round. We're okay with that.

8. Colorado Avalanche (22-16-3)

Last week: Not ranked
Avs have won five in a row, Nathan MacKinnon is tied for second in league point production and Colorado currently holds down a wild card spot in the Western Conference. Go figure.

9. Nashville Predators (24-11-6)

Last week: No. 9
Preds, learning to adjust to life without Filip Forsberg for the next month or so, came up with a nice win over Los Angeles in L.A. on Saturday to keep nipping at Jets' heels atop the Central.

10. Carolina Hurricanes (19-14-8)

Last week: Not ranked
Canes, 8-3-1 in their last 12, will need to bounce back quickly from 7-1 thrashing by Boston on Saturday but they're right in the hunt, just one point back of Pittsburgh for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with three games in hand.

Frigid Five

#

#

27. Edmonton Oilers (18-22-3)

Last week: No. 27
Brief spasm of life late last month forgotten with 1-5-1 stretch that pretty much destroys their playoff hopes. Oil are eight points and five teams in arrears of a playoff spot.

28. New York Islanders (21-18-4)

Last week: Not ranked
Islanders and their leaky defense and shoddy goaltending have seen them go 1-5-0 in their last six to fall beneath the playoff line and now need to climb over three teams to get back into the grid.

29. Vancouver Canucks (16-20-6)

Last week: No. 29
Canucks play hard. That's about it, though, as they've won just once in their last nine outings.

#

30. Arizona Coyotes (10-27-6)

Last week: No. 31
How long until the Coyotes find a new home for Anthony Duclair who has asked for a trade? That's about as good as the news gets for the 'Yotes, who continue to occupy the league basement these days.

31. Buffalo Sabres (10-23-9)

Last week: Not ranked
Sabres looked so good on New Year's Day in the Winter Classic loss to the New York Rangers, which contributed to their brief absence from the Frigid Five. But they've followed that up by losing three in a row and being outscored 14-6 along the way. Ugly.
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. You can follow Scott on Twitter @OvertimeScottB.