With the league’s third-best team (the Philadelphia Flyers) and 25th best (the Atlanta Thrashers) only four wins apart, the NHL Power Rankings are tight as a drum. Indeed, the parity has become a parody of sorts, and with the teams so close together, where unrestricted free agent Peter Forsberg signs could be the tipping point in a playoff race. The Flyers are the front-runners to land “Foppa,” but a handful of other teams (including the Rangers) are also reportedly in the running.

Please note that the data is up to and including games played on Tuesday night, and that our statistics for special teams effectiveness also take short-handed goals into account. Each team’s ranking from last week appears in parentheses.

1. DETROIT RED WINGS (1): Defenseman Niklas Kronwall is listed as day-to-day with an injured shoulder; unfortunately, the talented rearguard has found it impossible to stay off the injured list during his young NHL career.
G REC PTS GS GA PP% PK%
55 41-10–4 86 180 111 18.11% 86.19%

2. OTTAWA SENATORS (2): Tuesday night’s 4–3 loss to the Canadiens shaved the Sens’ Northeast Division lead down to a single point. Without star winger Dany Heatley (separated right shoulder), the Sens just aren’t looking the part of Cup contender.
54 32–18–4 68 183 156 18.01% 86.48%

3. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (4): It appears that unrestricted free agent Peter Forsberg is close to making a decision as to which NHL team he will play for, and the Flyers are the clear front-runners to land the superstar Swede.
52 30–17–5 65 169 143 22.87%84.86%

4. SAN JOSE SHARKS (3): Netminder Evgeni Nabokov has been stellar in starting all but one of the Sharks’ 52 games, but as long as captain Patrick Marleau continues to underachieve, the Sharks can’t be considered legitimate Cup contenders.
52 29–16–7 65 136 121 15.29%89.32%

5. MONTREAL CANADIENS (5): Second-line center Tomas Plekanec scored three points in the Habs’ 4–3 win over the first-place Senators on Tuesday night, further establishing himself as one of the keys to the Habs’ surprising success this season.
54 29–16–9 67 170 145 25.00%84.83%

6. DALLAS STARS (9): Dating back to January 7, the day he signed a lucrative five-year contract extension, center Mike Ribeiro has scored 17 points in 14 games to go along with a plus-5 rating.
57 32–20–5 69 162 143 16.96% 90.91%

7. MINNESOTA WILD (8): Led by netminder Niklas Backstrom, the Wild outplayed the top-ranked Red Wings on Tuesday night, but couldn’t seal the deal; the Wings tied the score with 80 seconds remaining in regulation and then won 3–2 in overtime.
53 30–19–4 64 148 140 14.98%85.52%

8. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (6): Marc-Andre Fleury should soon be returning to the Pens’ lineup, but there’s good reason to wonder whether he’ll immediately reclaim the starting job from the surprising Ty Conklin (12–3–3, .932 SV%, 2.18 GAA).
53 29–19–5 63 149 141 18.03%82.40%

9. NEW JERSEY DEVILS (7): With 10 points in his last six games, former captain Patrik Elias appears to be rounding into top form. With Elias and Zach Parise both firing on all cylinders, the Devils will be an extremely dangerous playoff foe.
53 30–20–3 63 134 127 14.03% 83.41%

10. CALGARY FLAMES (10): With 25 points in 49 games, former Isles captain Adrian Aucoin has re-emerged as a significant factor with the Flames. With both Aucoin and Dion Phaneuf blasting away from the point, the Flames’ power play is bound to improve.
54 27–19–8 62 153 154 13.39% 81.53%

11. NASHVILLE PREDATORS (17): The Preds are one of the NHL’s best teams at killing penalties, with the unheralded Greg Zanon leading the way, and it’s a key reason why they’re in playoff position despite a terrible first month.
54 28–21–5 61 153 141 12.40% 87.56%

12. COLORADO AVALANCHE (14): They’re not the frontrunners to land Forsberg, but should he choose to make a return engagement in Denver, it would immediately transform the Avs into legitimate Cup contenders.
54 28–21–5 61 150 149 12.79% 82.83%

13. BOSTON BRUINS (11): The Bruins’ surprisingly strong power play — quarterbacked by Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman — is a key reason why they’ve managed to stay within striking distance of the division-leading Senators and Canadiens.
53 27–21–5 59 137 139 16.41% 81.00%

14. PHOENIX COYOTES (13): Should the Coyotes reach the postseason, Wayne Gretzky should be a strong contender for the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year, and Ilya Bryzgalov a deserving but unlikely Hart Trophy candidate as most valuable player.
54 28–22–4 60 146 146 15.25% 84.79%

15. ANAHEIM DUCKS (12): Teemu Selanne made his season debut against the Islanders on Tuesday night, tallying an assist in Anaheim’s 3–0 win. With 25 games remaining in the season, the Ducks have plenty of time to gel for another long playoff run.
57 28–22–7 63 135 140 13.73% 83.74%

16. VANCOUVER CANUCKS (15): The Canucks’ defense — anchored by superstar netminder Roberto Luongo — is as good as any in the league. But unless they get some secondary scoring to support the Sedin twins, the Canucks won’t go far in the postseason.
54 26–21–7 59 138 129 16.12% 84.15%

17. NEW YORK RANGERS (20): With their horrendous performance against the Kings on Tuesday night, the Rangers illustrated clearly why sacrificing their future in advance of the trade deadline would be a terrible idea.
56 27–23–6 60 135 136 14.98%84.30%

18. BUFFALO SABRES (21): With the Sabres severely downgraded at every other position, goaltender Ryan Miller has stepped up this season, giving his risk-taking teammates a chance to win virtually every night.
52 24–21–7 55 154 142 15.42% 86.61%

19. ST. LOUIS BLUES (16): Journeyman goaltender Manny Legace has found a home in St. Louis, where he’s gamely outplayed two former first-round picks (Hannu Toivonen and Marek Schwarz) to take firm possession of the starting job.
52 24–21–7 55 133 145 10.60%84.38%

20. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (18): After a promising start, the Blue Jackets have fallen back in the standings a bit. Unless they go on a tear in advance of the trade deadline, look for Sergei Fedorov and Adam Foote to be dealt.
55 25–23–7 57 134 137 14.57% 89.24%

21. WASHINGTON CAPITALS (24): Like Ribeiro, Alexander Ovechkin has maintained his focus following the signing of a huge contract extension; in the 11 games since the deal was announced, he’s tallied an impressive 20 points (and a plus-6 rating).
54 25–24–5 55 154 167 14.16% 81.47%

22. FLORIDA PANTHERS (27): The Panthers have six former top-10 draft picks in their starting lineup, most in their early-to-mid 20s, yet have made frighteningly little progress toward contention.
55 25–25–5 55 140 150 18.45% 82.33%

23. CAROLINA HURRICANES (22): The ‘Canes have slipped dramatically in recent weeks, and it’s no coincidence that their demise was timed almost exactly to Justin Williams’s knee injury: They’ve gone 8–12–1 since he was knocked out of the lineup.
56 26–26–4 56 164 177 14.39% 77.87%

24. NEW YORK ISLANDERS (19): The Isles have surrendered 28 more goals than they’ve scored, and with Mike Comrie their first line center and top points-producer (37 points in 54 games, minus-19 rating), things are unlikely to improve much.
54 24–24–6 54 126 154 11.11% 87.06%

25. ATLANTA THRASHERS (26): Marian Hossa’s uninspired performance this season (48 points in 53 games, minus-15 rating) should give GM Don Waddell all the justification he needs to deal away the talented Slovak in advance of the trade deadline.
56 26–26–4 56 148 179 14.80%83.33%

26. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (23): The ‘Hawks are still without Jonathan Toews (knee) and Jason Williams (groin); unfortunately, now-healthy Martin Havlat’s contribution (six goals in 24 games) hasn’t done much to stem the tide.
52 23–24–5 51 140 150 12.99% 86.11%

27. EDMONTON OILERS (25): Losing Shawn Horcoff to season-ending shoulder surgery was the death knell for the Oilers, who under new owner Daryl Katz can now be expected to conduct a fire sale in advance of the February 26 trade deadline.
55 24–26–5 53 134 162 13.03% 87.10%

28. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (28): It seems a fait accompli that Mats Sundin will be dealt for a combination of prospects and draft picks; will Darcy Tucker, Bryan McCabe, and/or Andrew Raycroft also be swapped away?
55 21–25–9 51 148 177 11.39% 80.17%

29. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (29): Brad Richards’s league-worst minus-26 rating and onerous contract ($7.8 million per year through 2010–11) combine to make him the worthy successor to former Islander Alexei Yashin as the NHL’s biggest salary cap albatross.
54 22–27–5 49 156 181 17.59% 83.09%

30. LOS ANGELES KINGS (30): On Tuesday night, the Kings came into Madison Square Garden and performed like anything but the NHL’s worst team. Look for a big turnaround in 2008–09.
55 22–30–3 47 152 179 17.24% 81.82%

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.