The playoff push continues. Even if it's a hard one to figure out.

While almost all but a few clubs can still make an argument near the March 1 trade deadline that they remain in the mix for a postseason run, that also doesn't mean there aren't any powerhouses who stand above the rest.

The Washington Capitals, for one, appear darn near unbeatable thanks to their longstanding streak of victories at home. And the Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins each offer flashes of dominance in varying aspects of the game.

Roughly halfway through January, here are this week's NHL power rankings:

Biggest Movers
22 Blue Jackets
25 Stars
Rk
Teams
  
Chg
Rcrd
1 Capitals In the midst of a 12-game home winning streak, the Caps aren't showing any signs of wear and tear with top-10 rankings in goals per game and power plays among other categories. -- 40-31-11
2 Wild Youth makes the top Western force of this season a thrilling one. Hold onto your seat belts, Minnesota. 14 39-34-9
3 Blackhawks They're streaky and they're dangerous. With a few more games under their belt than the Wild, they have the slightest of advantages over the defensive inconsistencies of the Penguins. 3 23-53-6
4 Penguins To secure a spot as one of the NHL's top five teams, the Pens better unleash their high-flying offense on a relatively mild schedule the rest of the way. 1 38-32-12
5 Blue Jackets Let's not forget this team still has one of, if not the, best power play in the league. The huge winning streak is long gone, but the pieces that brought it to life are not. 22 27-43-12
6 Rangers On the heels of Henrik Lundqvist's historic 400th career win, the Rangers are hot, threatening to match the Caps' current win streak. 3 55-23-4
7 Sharks Recent losses show there is, in fact, cause for concern in San Jose. But the Sharks' year-long track record is too solid to ignore. 3 19-54-9
8 Canadiens Like the Sharks, their production as of late has been lackluster. Below .500 in their last 10, this exhausted lineup awaits a break and easier schedule down the road. 15 30-36-16
9 Ducks Lots of streaky struggles for these supposed top-10 teams, huh? The Ducks are coming off three straight duds, but they're still far and away Pacific contenders with a tough reputation at home. 6 27-50-5
10 Oilers Grittiness aside, the Oilers can't win forever with a severe shortage of goals. 19 49-27-6
11 Predators Speaking of grittiness, this team sought to add some with its acquisition of Vern Fiddler. Now is the time for Nashville to go on a little bit of a run. -- 47-30-5
12 Senators Back-to-back wins helped offset a missed chance to gain some ground on the Canadiens. Even with a rough stretch, the Sens are firmly in contention in the Atlantic Division. 9 37-41-4
13 Maple Leafs Their youthful exuberance hasn't equated to Minnesota Wild levels of dominance. But it's got this club on the right track after a rebound from a three-game losing streak. 17 46-26-10
14 Kings They'd better keep their eyes on Nashville, not to mention a few others, while fighting for that wild-card spot. 6 44-27-11
15 Flyers Check back in a few weeks, when this enigmatic bunch either strings together consistency for a late tear or fizzles out as they've been prone to do. 2 38-33-11
16 Blues For the sake of their playoff lives, the Blues best get all they can in a deal for Kevin Shattenkirk. Otherwise, their negative goal differential is bound to get worse. 12 43-33-6
17 Islanders Still riding at least some of the momentum from their coaching change, these guys are squarely in contention for one of the Eastern wild-card spots. 5 39-27-16
18 Bruins Big move at the trade deadline or not, the Bruins have endured a heavy schedule and are poised for an improved record down the stretch. 1 47-20-15
19 Flames Right on the brink of .500, this fire needs more formidable defense to be taken seriously. 7 38-39-5
20 Panthers Things need to swing their way in some instances if they're going to break away from the wild card-contending Islanders, who are much better when it comes to goal differential. 13 52-24-6
21 Devils This one is almost exclusively dependent on what the Devils do with their roster as the trade deadline approaches. They've got money. Let's see how they use it. 1 38-39-5
22 Hurricanes They might be big buyers at the deadline, but that doesn't change the fact they've been through some red-hot and icy-cold streaks. Only time will tell which one they'll ride toward the playoffs. 4 52-23-7
23 Canucks They can't win on the road. And although they're not too far removed from wild-card contention, it'd be a stretch to call them a surefire candidate for a late-season run. 5 50-23-9
24 Lightning Somehow, some way, the Lightning aren't dead. But teams with similar marks, like the Devils, have more flexibility to make a run in advance of the trade deadline. 10 45-29-8
25 Sabres If nothing else, this No. 25 team can take pride knowing it has a recent "W" over Ottawa under its belt. 1 39-37-6
26 Jets Don't be fooled by the three-game win streak as of late. Winnipeg is back in a big slide, now up to four games. 1 52-24-6
27 Stars No defense, no chance. A 7-15-4 record at home doesn't help, either. 25 52-21-9
28 Red Wings So long to the more-than-two-decade streak of playoff appearances, probably. A (minus)-28 goal differential just is not going to get the job done. 13 41-32-9
29 Coyotes When Coyotes talk centers more on the future of the franchise than the team's product on the ice, you know there's an issue. 7 36-41-5
30 Avalanche Sell, sell, sell. If this list were based on teams looking to unload a roster, the Avalanche just might be No. 1. 11 50-25-7