NHL power rankings confuse me

In the past I've taken a look at various sources' power rankings, just to see where each team stands in the big scheme of things but also to get an idea of how the national media feels about my Dallas Stars.

But then I started to get frustrated because there wasn't any real consistency to the process and it was all too subjective for my tastes. I also realized that who cares what these power rankings say, because they have absolutely no bearing on the final standings.

Lately, I've started to sneak a peek again. I wanted to see how far the Stars have climbed in the media's minds during this big turnaround we've enjoyed.

Man that was a mistake. Because it's still as random and uninformed as always.

ESPN.com has the Stars ranked 12th (17th last week), but here's the kicker: San Jose is ranked 5th, behind two teams with 10 more losses than the Sharks. I know they haven't won in three games but come on.....

The Hockey News has the Stars ranked 7th. That's mildly flattering.

Mark Stepneski puts Dallas 9th. What's even better is that he can make a blurb about the Stars without mentioning Sean Avery.

Here's the kicker, however.

TSN has the Stars ranked 15th. That's not so bad, but take a look at who is in front of them. The LA Kings, six spots behind the Stars in the standings and currently out of the playoffs are 14th. Vancouver, who overall has lost more games than they've won, is 13th. The Florida Panther, ninth place in the East, are ranked 10th.

Either TSN doesn't believe the Stars capable of sustaining this level of play or after the top 5 they just randomly start placing teams helter skelter across the board.

By the way, they still list key injuries to the Stars as "none".