NHL power rankings: Sharks, Flyers, Senators rocket up standings

NHL power rankings: Sharks, Flyers, Senators rocket up standings originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . With five to six games left on the NHL schedule, the regular season is entering its final orbit, and the playoff picture is coming into clearer view.

Fittingly, the hockey world finds itself mirroring the excitement around Artemis II, which is set to loop around the Moon on Monday in humanity’s first return to deep space since Apollo 17 back in 1972. As teams make their final burn toward the post-season, the league’s hierarchy is experiencing some serious turbulence. Contenders are either achieving liftoff at just the right time or losing thrust when it matters most, creating a shifting landscape in the latest power rankings.

The Colorado Avalanche continue to sit in the captain’s chair, holding steady at No. 1 after a statement win over the Dallas Stars this past week. Their trajectory remains stable, and they look every bit like a team on a direct flight toward a deep playoff run.

Further down the standings, the San Jose Sharks are one of the hottest teams in the league, rocketing up the rankings with the kind of late-season surge that can turn into a full-blown launch sequence. Meanwhile, not every team is maintaining escape velocity. The New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets appear to be drifting off course at a critical moment, their playoff hopes caught in a tightening gravitational pull as the wild card race intensifies.