After a three-day sojourn, the NHL is back and so are ESPN's Power Rankings, voted on as always by our panel of experts.
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
Previous ranking: 1
They're on pace for 129 points. They've gone a month without a regulation loss. Eighteen players have double-digit points. What else is there to say?
2. Toronto Maple Leafs
Previous ranking: 2
How good has Mitch Marner been? He's only the fourth Maple Leafs player all time to have 50 points before Christmas (the others: Mats Sundin, Dave Andreychuk and Doug Gilmour)