As the NHL season nears the quarter pole, the pecking order should become less volatile. Here come Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta. There go Colorado and  Vancouver. Here are this week's NHL power rankings, courtesy of Dispatch reporter Aaron Portzline, with last week's rankings in ( ):

1. San Jose (1): Nobody loves the regular season quite like the Sharks. They haven't lost in regulation in almost a month, going on a 9-0-3 run.

2. New Jersey (4): Three is the magic number in the NHL; it's pure gold in Jersey. When the Devils hold opponents to less than three goals, they're 13-0-0.

3. Washington (3): How telling is this? Only two regulation losses for the Caps since Oct. 10, and both have come vs. New Jersey.

4. Calgary (6): Now this is Sutter hockey. The Flames have allowed seven goals in six games since the calendar flipped to November.

5. Chicago (14): It appears the Blackhawks can rest easy. Goaltender Cristobal Huet hasn't allowed more than three goals in his past nine starts, putting up a .932 save percentage in that span.

6. Buffalo (9): After a down 2008-09, goaltender Ryan Miller has been the NHL's top goaltender. Good sign for Team USA at Olympics.

7. Detroit (16): Everybody get their licks in? The Red Wings, after a stunning 5-1 loss in Toronto, look like they're rounding into form.

8. Colorado (2): The thaw has begun with a 2-4-1 slide. Goaltender Craig Anderson was yanked during an 8-2 loss to Vancouver, which isn't a good sign.

9. Philadelphia (7): Maybe the best-kept secret in the NHL so far this season is goaltender Ray Emery's play for the Flyers.

10. Pittsburgh (5): Hard to believe, but the Pens had scored only three goals in their previous four games before Evgeni Malkin returned Saturday.

11. Los Angeles (8): All of a sudden the Kings are teetering. A 4-3-2 mark since Oct. 25 includes a 7-0 loss in Atlanta on Friday.

12. Columbus (10): The Jackets have given up 65 in 18 games. Dirty little secret: They gave up 63 goals through 19 games last season, then shaped up.

13. N.Y. Rangers (15): Y'all scooch over and keep your heads up. The Rangers -- 4-7-1 since Oct. 17 -- are coming back to Earth amid a slew of injuries.

14. Phoenix (11): The Coyotes' offensive struggles are best explained like this: Third-line maniac Scott Upshall leads the club with six goals.

15. Atlanta (25): Four straight wins -- including a 7-0 smoking of the Kings -- has to help in the Thrashers' attempt to sign star winger Ilya Kovalchuk to an extension.

16. Dallas (13): No signs of a sophomore slump here. Right winger James Neal leads the club with 10 goals and is second with 19 points.

17. Vancouver (12): It took Henrik Sedin 667 games to get his first hat trick, and it helped the Canucks bust out of a three-game scoring slump.

18. N.Y. Islanders (19): With a fairly light next four games -- Boston, Minnesota, St. Louis and Toronto -- the Isles might hang around longer than anybody expected.

19. Tampa Bay (17): The Bolts have earned points in nine of their past 10 games, and they've found a new No. 1 goalie: Antero Niittymaki.

20. Nashville (21): A couple of tough games this week -- San Jose and New Jersey -- before the "rivalry" vs. Columbus is resumed in Music City.

21. Ottawa (18): The high-flying offensive days are over for the Senators. They need great goalie play, and Leclaire has been only OK.

22. Boston (23): Wins over Buffalo and Pittsburgh last week were a good sign. But a scoreless shootout loss vs. Florida says the struggles aren't over.

23. Montreal (20): Rough-and-tumble clubs can push the Habs out of a game. Recent shutout losses to Calgary and Nashville prove as much.

24. Florida (29): Nothing comes easy for the Panthers. In back-to-back shootout wins over Boston and the N.Y. Islanders, the allowed 80 shots on goal.

25. St. Louis (28): Since season-opening wins over Detroit, the Blues have four victories -- Anaheim, Minnesota, Carolina and Vancouver. Not exactly murderer's row.

26. Edmonton (22): The Oilers' 2-7-1 road mark is the best evidence of their offensive limitations beyond Penner and Hemsky.

27. Minnesota (27): Free-agent add Martin Havlat has been a free-agent minus -- as in minus-13, the worst mark in the NHL.

28. Anaheim (24): The Ducks have one threatening line, but the biggest issue is their checking. Center Todd Marchant has a minus-7 rating.

29. Toronto (26): Back to reality with three straight losses. But there is hope. The Leafs play Carolina later this week.

30. Carolina (30): This situation keeps getting uglier. The 'Canes are the NHL's second oldest club, they're up against the salary cap and they're dead last in the standings.

aportzline@dispatch.com