NHL Power Rankings, Week 5: Sharks Make Run For No. 1

The San Jose Sharks started slow, but led by Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton they have rebounded with a NHL-best five-game winning streak. The Sharks now sit just one point shy of the overall lead, but our voters were impressed enough to go ahead and give them top billing in the West.

Surprise of the week: New Jersey climbs into the top 10; if only they could play every game on the road...

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	1	Pittsburgh Penguins	11-3-0	Atop the rankings while fighting through games without Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar and Tyler Kennedy is a scary thought.
	2	9	San Jose Sharks	10-4-1	A five-game winning streak as propelled the Sharks to the top of the standings.
	3	3	Colorado Avalanche	10-3-2	The Avs have lost two straight after rolling so easily earlier in the season.
	4	2	Washington Capitals	8-2-4	If there's a silver lining to the Ovechkin injury it's that we'll learn a lot more about what the rest of the Caps are made of while the two-time reigning MVP is on the shelf.
	5	5	Buffalo Sabres	9-4-2	The NHL's stingiest defense continues to impress.
	6	10	Phoenix Coyotes	9-5-0	A bump in the road, but Dave Tippett's team is still doing better than any thought they might.
	7	6	New York Rangers	9-5-1	Overachievers or real deal? Some are questioning.
	8	8	Chicago Blackhawks	8-4-1	Goalscoring is down but the goaltending has improved.
	9	7	Los Angeles Kings	9-4-2	The Kings continue to roll behind Anze Kopitar.
	10	-	New Jersey Devils	8-4-0	The Devils are unbeaten on the road, and are starting to gain some momentum.

Eastern Conference

Biggest Winner: New York Islanders (+3)

Biggest Loser: Atlanta Thrashers (-3)

Eastern Conference Power Rankings
	Rk (Prv)	Team	Record	SB Nation Blog
	1 (1)	Pittsburgh Penguins	11-3-0	PensBurgh
	2 (2)	Washington Capitals	8-2-4	Japers' Rink
	3 (3)	Buffalo Sabres	8-2-1	Die By The Blade
	4 (4)	New York Rangers	9-5-1	Blueshirt Banter
	5 (5)	New Jersey Devils	8-4-0	In Lou We Trust
	6 (6)	Philadelphia Flyers	7-4-1	Broad Street Hockey
	7 (7)	Ottawa Senators	6-4-2	Silver Seven
	8 (10)	Montreal Canadiens	7-7-0	Habs Eyes On The Prize
	9 (9)	Boston Bruins	6-6-1	Stanley Cup of Chowder
	10 (13)	New York Islanders	5-4-5	Lighthouse Hockey
	11 (8)	Atlanta Thrashers	5-4-1	Bird Watchers Anonymous
	12 (11)	Tampa Bay Lightning	4-4-4	Raw Charge
	13 (14)	Florida Panthers	4-7-1	Litter Box Cats
	14 (12)	Carolina Hurricanes	2-8-3	Canes Country
	15 (15)	Toronto Maple Leafs	1-7-4	Pension Plan Puppets

Western Conference

Biggest Winner: San Jose Sharks (+4)

Biggest Loser: Edmonton Oilers (-3)

Western Conference Power Rankings
	Rk (Prv)	Team	Record	SB Nation Blog
	1 (5)	San Jose Sharks	10-4-1	Fear The Fin
	2 (1)	Colorado Avalanche	10-3-2	Mile High Hockey
	3 (3)	Chicago Blackhawks	8-4-1	Second City Hockey
	4 (6)	Phoenix Coyotes	9-5-0	Five For Howling
	5 (4)	Los Angeles Kings	9-4-2	Battle of California
	6 (7)	Dallas Stars	6-3-5	Defending Big D
	7 (2)	Calgary Flames	7-4-1	Matchsticks and Gasoline
	8 (10)	Vancouver Canucks	8-7-0	Nucks Misconduct
	9 (9)	Columbus Blue Jackets	7-5-1	The Cannon
	10 (12)	Detroit Red Wings	5-4-3	Winging It In Motown
	11 (8)	Edmonton Oilers	7-7-1	The Copper & Blue
	12 (14)	Nashville Predators	6-6-1	On the Forecheck
	13 (11)	St. Louis Blues	5-6-1	St. Louis Game Time
	14 (13)	Anaheim Ducks	4-6-2	Battle of California
	15 (15)	Minnesota Wild	5-9-0	Hockey Wilderness