Bruins keep Rangers at bay

Happy holidays, eh? After a nice little two-day break, the NHL was back at it Monday night with a big slate of games. While we do not have a new No. 1 in our rankings this week, we do have a nice Boston-New York 1-2 thing going. When is the last time that happened in any sport besides baseball? Although the Rangers entered Tuesday with more points than Boston, we can't knock Claude Julien's club out of the top spot just because the schedule-maker gave them only one game last week.

A DISCLAIMER (of sorts): These rankings are based not just on each team's record at the moment, but an empirically tested formula that includes a) realistic near-term future expectations; b) consensus talent level and payroll considerations and; c) whatever the Magic 8-Ball I've had since I was seven years old tells me will happen. One more thing: Rest assured, I don't have it in for your team. OK, so I once hated the Philadelphia Flyers with a passion bordering on the psychotic, but that was 30-something years ago and Dave Schultz has long since retired. I welcome your emails to the link attached to my name above, and I always respond -- even to the ones that start with "Dear Idiot?")

Without further ado, this week's 1-30 list:

NHL Power Rankings