While you're busy enjoying the 2018 Winter Olympics without any NHL-fueled men's hockey, the NHL is busy sorting itself out for the playoff race.

And we are busy sorting out who's who in the mid-February push for postseason contention.

If you've been riding the Tampa Bay Lightning bandwagon since they took the league by storm in October, you don't have to hop off just yet, because they're back to a winning streak thanks to some superb saves in net. That's one of the reasons they remain atop our latest edition of NHL Power Rankings, although their continued supremacy doesn't mean the rest of hockey's best is far behind.

Take the Boston Bruins, for example. They were upset by the Buffalo Sabres and almost coughed up a weekend game against the slumping New Jersey Devils, and yet there's also an argument to be made that no one has been better since December kicked off, especially since Bruce Cassidy's bunch is still an admirable 8-2 in its past 10.

Throw in the Vegas Golden Knights, who have endured some goaltending issues; the Nashville Predators, who are still getting elite work from Pekka Rinne; and even the Toronto Maple Leafs, who climbed into the top five this week on the heels of three straight wins and Mitchell Marner production, and you have yourself a tight crop of front-runners: