Winning 13 of their last 17 games has the Minnesota Wild in the top tier of this week's ESPN NHL Power Rankings. See where they landed as well as where the other 29 teams stack up this week.

ESPN's 2016 NHL Power Rankings: Week of January 2nd

  1. Columbus Blue Jackets (26-5-4)
  2. Minnesota Wild (23-9-4)
  3. Pittsburgh Penguins (25-8-5)
  4. New York Rangers (26-12-1)
  5. Washington Capitals (22-9-5)
  6. Chicago Blackhawks (23-11-5)
  7. San Jose Sharks (23-13-1)
  8. Montreal Canadiens (22-9-6)
  9. St. Louis Blues (19-13-5)
  10. Edmonton Oilers (19-12-7)
  11. Anaheim Ducks (19-12-8)
  12. Calgary Flames (20-17-2)
  13. Los Angeles Kings (18-15-4)
  14. Carolina Hurricanes (16-13-7)
  15. Philadelphia Flyers (20-14-5)
  16. Toronto Maple Leafs (17-12-7)
  17. Ottawa Senators (20-13-4)
  18. Boston Bruins (20-15-4)
  19. Tampa Bay Lightning (19-15-4)
  20. Nashville Predators (16-14-6)
  21. Dallas Stars (12-11-2)
  22. Vancouver Canucks (17-18-3)
  23. Florida Panthers (16-14-8)
  24. Winnipeg Jets (17-19-3)
  25. Detroit Red Wings (16-16-5)
  26. New York Islanders (15-15-6)
  27. Buffalo Sabres (13-15-8)
  28. New Jersey Devils (14-16-7)
  29. Arizona Coyotes (11-21-5)
  30. Colorado Avalanche (12-23-1)

ESPN comments:

The Wild won 12 in a row before running into the buzz saw that is the Blue Jackets. Still, Wild coach Bruce Boudreau's squad hit January 1st just one point behind Chicago for the Central Division lead (with three games in hand) and owns the top winning percentage in the Western Conference.

The biggest risers of the week are the Toronto Maple Leafs, jumping eight spots from #24 to #16. The biggest fall of the week belongs to the Philadelphia Flyers, plunging eight spots from #7 to #15.

The Wild embark on a three game West Coast road trip taking them to San Jose (1/5), Los Angeles (1/7), and Anaheim (1/8) -- before returning home on January 12th against the Montreal Canadiens.

Go Wild!

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