NHL power rankings: No. 1 Jets hold steady, but who's soaring behind them?

The trade deadline has passed, and in a month, the playoff field will be set. 

Getting there is going to be fascinating thanks to a combination of Jekyll-and-Hyde play from the teams trying to work their way back into the race and teams in the hunt that are dealing with significant injury problems. 

The teams are separated into these tiers:

• Lifting 34.5 Pounds Tier
• Spiteful Dominance Tier
• A Long Wait Tier
• The Butterfly Tier
• The Walking Wounded Tier
• Enjoying Meaningful Hockey Tier
• Playing Meaningful Hockey Tier
• Last Lotto Tier
• Last Legs Tier
• Cautionary Tale Tier

(All records are through Monday's play.)

Lifting 34.5 Pounds Tier

They're equipped to make a deep playoff run and should get those arms ready to lift the greatest trophy in sports. 

1. Winnipeg Jets: 47-17-4, 98 points (Previous rank: 1)

The Jets may regret not making a push for a second-line center at the trade deadline, but they otherwise look even harder to play against with the additions of speedy forechecking winger Brandon Tanev and perennially frustrating third-pair defender Luke Schenn. 

2. Colorado Avalanche: 41-24-3, 85 points (Previous rank: 8)

The Avalanche remade a significant portion of the bottom half of their lineup through the additions of forwards Jack Drury, Jimmy Vesey and Charlie Coyle, defensemen Ryan Lindgren and Erik Johnson. At the top of the lineup, they also added center Brock Nelson to anchor their second line while the main piece of the Miko Rantanen trade — winger Martin Necas — excels playing next to Nathan MacKinnon. Since a slow start to the season, the Avalanche turned over one-third of their forward corps, one-third of their defense and have a new goalie tandem to capitalize on the prime of MacKinnon. 

3. Vegas Golden Knights: 39-20-8, 86 points (Previous rank: 7)

Vegas had a surprisingly quiet trade deadline, though it added winger Brandon Saad for nothing when St. Louis and Saad agreed to a mutual termination of his contract. There's a strong argument to make that Vegas really didn't have any major needs after adding Saad. 

4. Florida Panthers: 41-24-3, 85 points (Previous rank: 4)

The additions of defenseman Seth Jones and winger Brad Marchand and the looming playoff return of injured superstar Matthew Tkachuk (plus defenseman Aaron Ekblad from suspension) mean this lineup will get a boost. The big question is whether everyone can get up to playoff pace after all the missed time. 

5. Washington Capitals: 44-15-8, 96 points (Previous rank: 2)

Washington's possession metrics improved significantly across the board the past month as they went 8-4-0. There's nothing left to prove in the regular season for the Capitals as they cruise to a Metropolitan Division title. 

Spiteful Dominance Tier

Each one of these teams has a major flaw, but they're still playoff locks. 

6. Dallas Stars: 42-21-3, 87 points (Previous rank: 6)

They're 7-3-1 in the past month, have the third-best points percentage in the league and added superstar Mikko "Moose" Rantanen, a proven playoff stud. Dallas' fatal flaw is a defense that doesn't look particularly strong on the right side with Ilya Lyubushkin, Cody Ceci and Mathew Dumba. 

7. Edmonton Oilers: 39-24-4, 82 points (Previous rank: 3)

Edmonton sputtered out of the 4 Nations Face-Off with a 5-7-0 record in the past month. The fatal flaw is in the supporting pieces. Coach Kris Knoblauch has repeatedly tinkered to find the best possible combination of forwards but without any clarity. 

8. Tampa Bay Lightning: 38-23-5, 83 points (Previous rank: 10)

The Lightning have five-on-five possession issues, but they have done a good job keeping the high-danger chances down (eighth best in the league in the past month). Trade-deadline additions from Seattle (winger Oliver Bjorkstrand, forward Yanni Gourde) are expected to bolster Tampa's biggest flaw: depth. 

9. Carolina Hurricanes: 41-22-4, 86 points (Previous Rank: 5)

The bizarre Mikko Rantanen affair left the Hurricanes worse in the short term. Plus, Carolina failed to address a group that has been surprisingly leaky at times. 

The Long Wait Tier

This is a small tier, but you'd be hard-pressed to find two other teams in the NHL with less to show in playoff success compared to their recent regular-season success. 

10. Toronto Maple Leafs: 40-24-3, 83 points (Previous rank: 11)

The good news: Toronto is 6-4-1 in the past month and made big deadline additions (center Scott Laughton and defenseman Brandon Carlo). The bad news: The Leafs have switched into playoff mode early with a brutal 9.21 high-danger chances per 60 minutes in the past month — 29th in the NHL by Natural Stat Trick's model.

11. Los Angeles Kings: 36-21-9, 81 points (Previous rank: 12)

The Kings have given up the fifth-fewest shots per 60 minutes in the past month. Meanwhile, Quinton Byfield is on a six-game goal streak for a team that desperately needs the hulking 6-foot-5 center to produce in the postseason.

The Butterfly Tier

This tier could potentially get larger before the end of the season. It is composed of a longtime rebuilders finally returning to contention. 

12. Ottawa Senators: 36-25-5, 77 points (Previous rank: 16)

A 7-2-1 month has put the Senators in firm grasp of a playoff spot — firm enough that they took a big swing in trading oft-injured center Josh Norris for underachieving do-it-all center Dylan Cozens from Buffalo. The early returns are good. (Cozens has four points in five games.)  

The Walking Wounded Tier

It's hard to grade these teams. They're playing badly while missing critical offensive pieces because of injuries. 

13. Minnesota Wild: 38-25-5, 81 points (Previous rank: 9)

They're missing star winger Kirill Kaprizov and unheralded center Joel Eriksson Ek because of injury, resulting in a 5-6-1 record in the past month and the hands-down worst five-on-five scoring drought in the league. 

14. New Jersey Devils: 37-26-6: 80 points (Previous rank: 13)

They've managed to tread water at 6-6-0 in the past month and are 4-3-0 since superstar center Jack Hughes suffered a season-ending injury. They're also missing star defenseman Dougie Hamilton.

Enjoying Meaningful Hockey Tier

The vibes are generally encouraging for these teams. They'd all like to be playing a little better, but being in this tier means they have a shot to make the playoffs when few thought that could be possible. 

15. St. Louis Blues: 33-28-7, 73 points (Previous rank: 25)

The Blues' 8-2-2 run in the past month is third best in the league by points percentage. A team that looked dead has roared to life thanks to the league's best high-danger chances against rate per 60 minutes in the past month (7.94). 

16. Montreal Canadiens: 32-27-7, 71 points (Previous rank: 24)

Their season was in jeopardy before a 7-1-2 stretch made them the hottest team in hockey. The possession metrics don't look great, but it's hard to argue with the results after Montreal willed its season back from the brink.

17. Utah HC: 30-26-11, 71 points (Previous rank: 21)

Utah's 6-3-2 record the past month included wins against teams it is in direct competition with (Minnesota, Anaheim and Vancouver twice). For many of the ex-Coyotes, it will be their first meaningful March since they were prospects. 

18. Columbus Blue Jackets: 31-28-8, 70 points (Previous rank: 20)

The Jackets' meaningful games may dwindle because of a four-game losing streak in which they were outscored 15-4. They've been shut out in three of their past six games, possibly indicating the league's best Cinderella story is nearing midnight. 

19. Calgary Flames: 30-25-11, 71 points (Previous rank: 19)

There are warning signs flashing in Calgary, where the team has lost four of five games, including a critical home shootout loss to a team they are in direct competition with for a wild-card spot (Vancouver). 

Playing Meaningful Hockey Tier

They are at least playing meaningful hockey. And, record-wise, there isn't much difference between them and the prior tier. The major difference comes down to expectations and a more nebulous concept: vibes. With these teams, the vibes are significantly worse. 

20. New York Rangers: 33-29-6, 72 points (Previous rank: 17)

They have been the definition of mediocrity — 16th in points percentage in the past month -- and suffered crushing losses to Columbus and Buffalo in that stretch. 

21. Detroit Red Wings: 32-29-6, 70 points (Previous rank: 14)

Another season, another March swoon in Detroit. A six-game losing streak that included losses to wild-card contenders Columbus and Ottawa from Feb. 27-March 10 has put what looked like legitimate playoff hopes in jeopardy and could extend Detroit's playoff drought to nine seasons. 

22. Vancouver Canucks: 31-25-11, 73 points (Previous rank: 15)

They are 5-7-0 in the past month because of a sputtering offense that has scored 1.97 goals for per 60 minutes at five-on-five in that stretch (29th in the NHL). A possible sign of hope: Sputtering superstar center Elias Pettersson has six points in his past four games. 

Last Lotto Tier

It's tough enough to win the draft lottery, but each team in this tier has shown signs of life lately. 

23. New York Islanders: 30-28-8, 68 points (Previous rank: 18)

The Isles' 5-5-1 stretch in the past month included two losses to a team they are chasing — the New York Rangers — by a combined score of 9-1.

24. Pittsburgh Penguins: 28-31-10, 66 points (Previous rank: 27)

The Penguins have four straight wins, three against teams that are sitting in a playoff spot. That will help mask the deficiencies of a team that went 1-6-1 out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break. 

Last Legs Tier

There's not much fight left in these trade-deadline sellers. 

25. Boston Bruins: 30-30-9, 69 points (Previous rank: 22)

They are 3-6-3 in the past month and 30th in NST's high-danger chances against per 60 minutes. 

26. Anaheim Ducks: 29-31-7, 65 points (Previous rank: 23)

The Ducks' splash was short-lived. They're 5-7-1 since returning from the break and have allowed seven goals twice in the past week. 

27. Seattle Kraken: 29-34-5, 63 points (Previous rank: 29)

Seattle has been out of gas for months, but it is 3-1-1 in its past five games.

28. Philadelphia Flyers: 28-33-8, 64 points (Previous rank: 26)

The Flyers' 4-7-1 record in the past month looks better than it really is. Philly has lost seven of its past eight and hasn't won in regulation since Feb. 25. 

29. Buffalo Sabres: 27-33-6, 60 points (Previous rank: 28)

They're 3-2-0 since trading Dylan Cozens to Ottawa for Josh Norris and somehow minus-six in that span. 

30. Nashville Predators: 25-33-8, 58 points (Previous rank: 30)

A perfectly fine 6-5-1 month had absolutely no impact on their season. 

The Cautionary Tale Tier

Let this tier be the warning for all fans who want their favorite team to undertake a rebuild. A full stripdown is painful and rarely shows signs of an end date. 

31. Chicago Blackhawks: 20-38-9, 49 points (Previous rank: 31)

Do you think getting thrown out of back-to-back games is what franchise center Connor Bedard had in mind this March? 

32. San Jose Sharks: 18-41-9, 45 points (Previous rank: 32)

Macklin Celebrini, 18, looks like he's going to be a pretty good player (50 points in 56 games). But the Sharks stink overall.