Ranking the league top to bottom:

(Through Thursday night's games, last week in parentheses)

1 San Jose Sharks. Next game versus Blackhawks could be in conference finals. (1)

2 Washington Capitals. Pulling away in Eastern Conference with eight straight

victories. (3)

3 Chicago Blackhawks. Kokanee was good choice, but limo pictures were not. (2)

4 New Jersey Devils. Three games versus Leafs in seven days should cure ills. (4)

5 Buffalo Sabres. Lindy creating stiff competition along the blue line. (5)

6 Phoenix Coyotes. Leading league in winning percentage when scoring first. (7)

7 Vancouver Canucks. Check back after 14 straight road games. (9)

8 Pittsburgh Penguins. Malkin on his recent hot streak: "I'm back to being Geno." (6)

9 Colorado Avalanche. Rookie O'Reilly has one point in 28 games. (8)

10 Los Angeles Kings. Five straight wins on the road. (12)

11 Ottawa Senators. Elliott stops 164 of 170 shots during recent surge. (14)

12 Nashville Predators. Legwand, Arnott absent during four-game slide. (10)

13 Detroit Red Wings. Five third-period leads blown in seven-game stretch. (11)

14 Calgary Flames. In 1985-86, they lost 11 straight — and reached the finals.

(15)

15 Minnesota Wild. Sykora clears waivers, automatically becomes UFA. (20)

16 Dallas Stars. They would be lost without Eriksson and Neal. (18)

17 Philadelphia Flyers. Better PK would work wonders going down the stretch. (17)

18 New York Rangers. Three goals scored during four-game losing streak. (13)

19 Atlanta Thrashers. Kozlov consecutive-games streak ends at 251 after scratch. (25)

20 Boston Bruins. Scored 13 goals and had 1-6-1 record without Savard. (16)

21 St. Louis Blues. Steen's winner was only shot on goal in third against Oilers. (23)

22 Anaheim Ducks. Bobby Ryan to Penguins? No way. (21)

23 Montreal Canadiens. Markov, Price feuding after overtime loss to St. Louis. (22)

24 Tampa Bay Lightning. Victory over Habs was third straight, a first in exactly a

year. (26)

25 Florida Panthers. Vokoun stops 427 of 449 shots during 13-game span. (24)

26 New York Islanders. It's a matter of time before they fall apart, right? (19)

27 Columbus Blue Jackets. Mason hasn't won back-to-back starts since Oct. 17. (27)

28 Carolina Hurricanes. Staal has seven goals in first four games after getting "C."

(30)

29 Toronto Maple Leafs. Burke is working the phones but not getting very far. (28)

30 Edmonton Oilers. Horcoff has 20 points, minus-24, $7 million salary. (29)