2/2 Power Rankings Roundup: Preds break losing streak, but still fall in polls

While the Nashville Predators recently broke an awful losing streak, work remains yet to do. Tonight the Predators will field a complete, healthy roster, which means it'll be important to finish this homestand well. Marcel Goc returns to boost the bottom two lines, and Jason Arnott will look to continue his progress made on Saturday. The losses to the Blue Jackets and Red Wings led hockey journalists to once again drop Nashville further in their rankings, and justifiably so. 

Follow below where the Preds average out at 13th and the Washington Capitals duke it out with the Blackhawks for tops in the NHL...

ESPN.com's Scott Burnside drops Nashville five spots to 16th:

The Preds had lost five in a row before beating Atlanta on Saturday, but these are the kinds of stretches that cost you a playoff spot. Again.

CBS Sports and Wes Goldstein only move the Preds two spots down to 16th:

Special teams are hurting a team that plays more one-goal games than anyone. Nashville's penalty kill is 29th, the power play 26th.

Craig Custance, an underrated writer, has Nashville in 12th, down 1:

Ryan Suter is excited about playing in the Olympics, but not the idea of stepping in front of a shot by Nashville teammate Shea Weber. "No, it would not be fun," he said.

Robert Picarello from FoxSports.com places the Preds in 12th, down from 10th:

By losing two of the three games they played in Week 18, the Preds dropped out of the top 10 in the rankings. Nashville's only win of the week put an end to a five-game losing streak.

Ryan Dixon of the Hockey News moves the Predators down two to 14th:

Tough call on whether to keep Dan Ellis or Pekka Rinne at season's end; both are UFAs and neither is getting wins right now.

TSN.ca surprisingly leaves Nashville unmoved, but in 18th:

Saturday's win over Atlanta snapped a five-game losing streak, but the Preds power play is still firing blanks, going 1-for-24 (4.2%) in the last eight.

Finally, SI.com's Allan Muir slides the Preds down five to 15th:

They aren't having trouble getting the puck on the net, outshooting foes 213-130 in the last six games. The emptiness of that stat is reflected in a five-game losing skid snapped in Saturday's 4-3 win over Atlanta. They were outscored 7-1 on special teams in the six games. "You can't be 29th in the league on both sides of penalties and expect to win," said goalie Dan Ellis