Improbably, the wild Western Conference playoff picture manages to get more compelling by the week. Only seven points separates third-seeded Colorado from 10th-seeded Los Angeles, and ninth-place San Jose is just eight points back of the Avs with two games in hand. With about 10 games left for each team, this could be the most exciting playoff race in NHL history.

The Eastern Conference playoff picture, on the other hand, features a series of subtle battles for position. The Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils, and Montreal Canadiens hold the sixth, seventh, and eighth seeds, respectively, and none of them are likely to catch the fifth-place Philadelphia Flyers, who are chasing the Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres in a race for home-ice advantage in the first round.

Statistically, teams are measured from left to right in record, standings points, goals scored, goals allowed, power play success, and penalty-killing success (as of start of play yesterday). Note that our statistics for special teams effectiveness also take shorthanded goals into account. Each team’s ranking from last week appears in parentheses.

1 DETROIT RED WINGS (2) The Wings have padded their record with a slew of victories over their hapless division foes, but their performance against the West’s best proves they’re serious Cup contenders.

REC PTS GF GA PP PK
49-15-7 105 266 181 21.2% 87.2%

2 OTTAWA SENATORS (1) It seems a foregone conclusion that Alexander , preposterous that Sens rookie blueliner Andrej Meszaros, the NHL’s plus/minus leader, receives so little attention. 48-16-7 103 279 172 18.3% 91.5%

3 CAROLINA HURRICANES (3) As the playoffs approach, NHL injury pro nouncements become increasingly ambiguous: Center Doug Weight is currently suffering from a “lower body injury.” 47-18-6 100 262 217 15.8% 85.2%

4 DALLAS STARS (4) The Stars’ amazing 11-0 record in the shootout has gone a long way toward helping them rise to the top of the Western Conference standings. 48-20-3 99 235 186 15.9% 85.7%

5 BUFFALO SABRES (5) Rookie goaltender Ryan Miller’s NHL career has gotten off to a wonderful start, but his recent struggles might cause coach Lindy Ruff to go with veteran Martin Biron for the home stretch. 44-21-6 94 243 211 17.0% 88.4%

6 NEW YORK RANGERS (7) The Blueshirts’ dramatic come-from-behind shootout victory over Buffalo on Monday provided a much-needed confidence boost. 40-20-12 92 232 184 17.6% 85.6%

7 NASHVILLE PREDATORS (6) Riding the ever-steady goaltending of Tomas Vokoun, the Predators have compiled the NHL’s second-best save percentage (.914). 42-22-8 92 229 208 15.7% 86.4%

8 PHILDELPHIA FLYERS (8) As good on the road (20-11-4) as they are at home (20-11-6), the Flyers own the NHL’s most consistent home/road splits, which bodes quite well for their playoff chances. 40-22-10 90 240 230 16.8% 82.7%

9 COLORADO AVALANCHE (11) Injuries to Alex Tanguay and Marek Svatos have robbed the Avs of some scoring punch, but Pierre Turgeon and Milan Hejduk have picked up the slack in their absence.

40-25-8 88 258 225 17.1% 86.7%

10 ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS (10) Rookies Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry have provided great scoring punch, while young defenseman Vitali Vishnevski has emerged as a top-pair blueliner following Keith Carney’s trade deadline departure. 37-22-12 86 217 196 15.1% 86.3%

11 CALGARY FLAMES (9) The Flames’ anemic offense puts an enormous bur den on goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff. Calgary will reach the postseason, but a repeat of 2004’s Cup Final appearance is unlikely. 39-24-8 86 187 181 17.2% 85.0%

12 SAN JOSE SHARKS (12) Backup goaltender Vesa Toskala – the NHL’s Defensive Player of the Week – has finally emerged as the starter in San Jose after outplaying Evgeni Nabokov all season long. 36-25-10 82 228 213 15.4% 83.5%

13 VANCOUVER CANUCKS (14) Anson Carter’s stints in New York, Washing- , were , he has re-emerged as an impact forward playing alongside the Sedin twins in Vancouver. 39-28-6 84 235 226 15.8% 83.3%

14 EDMONTON OILERS (13) Dwayne Roloson is starting to find his groove between the pipes for Edmonton; he’ll need to be on top of his game if the Oilers are to secure a playoff spot. 36-25-12 84 232 234 16.9% 86.7%

15 MONTREAL CANADIENS (18) With six shutouts and a .930 save percentage, Cristobal Huet is quietly delivering one of the NHL’s finest goaltending performances, helping Habs fans forget about Jose Theodore. 36-27-9 81 213 220 18.5% 83.1%

16 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (17) Injuries to Dan Boyle and Pavel Kubina have robbed the Lightning of two of their best offensive defensemen; how soon they return will play a huge role in deciding Tampa’s fate. 38-29-5 81 225 227 13.8% 84.5%

17 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (16) The cracking of the EGG line – moving Pa trik Elias alongside Sergei Brylin and Jamie Langenbrunner and placing Zach Parise with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta – gives the Devils two solid scoring lines. 36-27-9 81 203 209 16.0% 82.6%

18 LOS ANGELES KINGS (15) The free-falling Kings suffered another set back with Monday’s ugly loss to the Canucks, and their playoff hopes are fading fast. 38-29-5 81 236 245 13.1% 81.8%

19 ATLANTA THRASHERS (19) Just one week ago, the Thrashers were in playoff position, but a 5-1 loss to the Isles – combined with the Canadiens’ hot streak – have placed them behind the eight ball again. 35-30-6 76 237 240 17.4% 82.1%

20 FLORIDA PANTHERS (22) The NHL’s best team since the trade dead line, the Panthers are sneaking back into the playoff picture and are gaining momentum for a great 2006-07 campaign. 32-30-9 73 206 219 13.5% 84.3%

21 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (20) The aging, injury-riddled Leafs have suf fered through a season to forget, and will be shaken up dramatically in the off-season. 34-32-6 74 218 242 17.7% 82.5%

22 MINNESOTA WILD (21) Until some scoring help is provided to complement Brian Rolston and Marian Gaborik, the Wild will to struggle to score enough goals to win. 33-32-7 73 206 192 16.2% 90.1%

23 PHOENIX COYOTES (24) Phoenix’s future success rides largely on the health of forward Ladislav Nagy, who has suffered through two straight injury-plagued seasons. 34-34-4 72 219 237 15.7% 82.9%

24 NEW YORK ISLANDERS (23) The future looks much brighter for the Isles following the trade deadline arrivals of Jeff Tambellini and Denis Grebeshkov. 33-33-5 71 207 239 14.1% 80.1%

25 BOSTON BRUINS (25) A front-office shake-up in Boston is a harbinger of things to come, as the hapless Bruins need to make major organizational changes if they’re to rejoin the league’s elite teams. 28-32-13 69 208 235 12.8% 85.3%

26 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (26) Though this has been a disappointing year in Columbus, the team’s improved play of late offers hope for the future. 29-40-3 61 185 250 12.2% 82.7%

27 WASHINGTON CAPITALS (27) With 47 goals in 69 games, Alexander Ovechkin is putting together the best offensive season by a rookie since Teemu Selanne tallied 76 goals for the 1992-93 Winnipeg Jets. 23-38-9 55 201 271 10.8% 81.0%

28 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (28) Injuries have continued to plague the , clearly some “iron men” to the roster for next season. 21-38-11 53 180 244 9.7% 84.5%

29 ST. LOUIS BLUES (29) The recent sale of the team to Dave Checketts (former president and CEO of Madison Square Garden) should help the ailing Blues get back on track. 20-36-11 51 174 241 15.4% 14.0%

30 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (30) The 2006-07 season is shaping up to be a very interesting one for the Pens; it should bring the debut of highly touted forward Evgeni Malkin, and may also be their final season in Pittsburgh. 18-41-12 48 205 282 14.5% 80.1%

Mr. Greenstein, the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com, ranks the NHL’s best and worst each week in The New York Sun.