from Sports Illustrated,

Welcome to the latest installment of our 2014–15 NHL Power Rankings. We've passed the first quarter mark of the season and there have surely been some surprises, most notably on Long Island, in Nashville and out west in Calgary and Vancouver.

Once again our three scribes—Allan Muir, Sarah Kwak and Brian Cazeneuve—have submitted their choices for the league's Top 10 teams....

#1 NEW YORK ISLANDERS

LAST WEEK: 7, RECORD: 15-6-0

MUIR (1): Coach Jack Capuano says his Islanders have a bit of swagger in their game right now, and who can blame 'em? They may not be the best team in hockey, but they're the best team in hockey right now. Their home-and-home weekend sweep of Pittsburgh and a thoroughly dominant performance on Monday night against the Flyers made that abundantly clear. Jaro Halak has been lights out, stopping 180 of the past 188 shots he's faced while posting seven consecutive wins.

KWAK (2): Isles fans shall hail the shootout! Indeed, their team is an impressive 5-0 in the skills competition this season, picking up valuable points and joining the Penguins at the top of the rather dumpy Metropolitan Division. Those points have come on the sticks of Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo, who are each 4-for-5 this season.

CAZENEUVE (2): It has been refreshing to see the Islanders reaching for new glories. They've won four straight, but more important, with that home-and-home sweep of the Penguins, they are positioning themselves very well should they happen to meet Pittsburgh in the playoffs. They then beat the Flyers, 1-0, in a shootout, proving that this emerging young team can play high- or low-scoring contests and survive the tests.

read on for the rest...