Weekend rankings: The five best teams who haven’t cracked the Top Five

As we head down the season’s final stretch, we’ve hit that part of the schedule where the top and bottom five aren’t changing all that much. The top five has featured the same three or four teams for most of the last few months, with the occasional cameo from a fringe contender or two. The bottom five is even more locked in, with four teams pretty much set in stone and just the last spot up for grabs.

That’s life with a long-term view; as the long-term becomes near-term, it shouldn’t be fluctuating all that much. But it does mean some teams might not be getting the attention they deserve, especially in the top five. There are always more than five real contenders in the parity era, after all, and even if these teams aren’t chasing down the Bruins, they still deserve some respect.

Let’s focus on a few of those good teams that haven’t cracked the top five all year long. We’ve had good teams like the Leafs, Stars and Lightning show up on the list from time to time. But today, let’s offer up some accolades to the best five teams that haven’t found a spot even once all season long.

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