The Islanders are in the midst of a huge shake-up. Just one day after dealing veteran defenseman Janne Niinimaa to the Dallas Stars, General Manager Mike Milbury fired head coach Steve Stirling. The move should come as no shock to Islanders’ fans, who have been vociferously chanting for his dismissal for nearly a month.

Though Stirling did lead the team to the playoffs in his debut season, the team’s disappointing results this season left Milbury with no other choice. In fifth place in the Atlantic Division, the Isles have lost considerable ground to the Devils in the past two weeks.

Here’s how the teams line up in The New York Sun’s power rankings. Statistically, teams are measured from left to right in record, standings points, goals scored, goals allowed, power play success, and penalty-killing success. 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 OTTAWA SENATORS (1) The Senators have slipped dramatically, and are no longer the overwhelming Cup favorites. They could be overtaken in the rankings as early as next week. REC. PTS GF GA PP% PK% 29-9-3 61 172 97 20.2% 89.0%

2 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (2) No NHL team has successfully faced adversity as the Flyers have this season. Ravaged by injuries, they have managed to kick off their interminable 11-game road trip with a stellar 7-1-1 record. 27-9-6 60 149 124 17.4% 83.7%

3 CAROLINA HURRICANES (4) Though it’s true that they play in the Eastern Conference’s weakest division, the Hurricanes proved their mettle with an impressive victory over the Red Wings on Tuesday night. 28-10-4 60 152 130 16.5% 84.2%

4 DALLAS STARS (7) The addition of Niinimaa to a talented, Finn-heavy lineup is as smart a move as the Rangers’ deal for Petr Sykora. Look for the newest Star to shine. 28-12-2 58 137 110 16.1% 86.6%

5 DETROIT RED WINGS (3) Manny Legace (.920 SV%, 2.07 GAA) is back be tween the pipes, and that’s good news for the Red Wings. His numbers are far superior to those of backup Chris Osgood (3.01, .888). 28-12-3 59 157 114 22.8% 86.6%

6 NASHVILLE PREDATORS (6) While his shooting percentage (10%) is a bit be low his career average (12%), Paul Kariya is averaging only about three shots per game; in his best seasons, he averaged close to five. 27-12-3 57 128 117 15.3% 87.1%

7 BUFFALO SABRES (5) In his third full season, Brian Campbell has emerged as the quarterback of the Sabres’ power play. With 24 points in 37 games, he’s now among the NHL’s top 25 scoring defensemen. 27-13-2 56 133 122 19.3% 86.4%

8 NEW YORK RANGERS (10) The Petr Sykora deal paid immediate dividends, as the Blueshirts took their battle with the powerful Calgary Flames. Look for Sykora to energize the Rangers’ power play and give them two bona fide scoring lines. 24-12-7 55 129 107 14.3% 86.0%

9 CALGARY FLAMES (8) The Flames will need an underwhelming Jarome Igin la, who’s scored just six points in his last 13 games, to start producing at a feverish clip if they’re to return to the Cup Finals. 25-13-5 55 112 107 17.1% 83.1%

10 LOS ANGELES KINGS (9) Pavol Demitra has compiled a +22 rating while tallying 21 of his 50 points on the pow er play -a testament to his strong two-way play. With a team-leading +23 rating, the surprising Joe Corvo anchors the Kings’ blue line. 27-16-2 56 152 132 13.6% 83.5%

11 VANCOUVER CANUCKS (13) Alex Auld has been fairly solid in goal since Dan Cloutier went down with an injury, but rumors persist that Vancouver is looking to make a huge upgrade in net. 24-14-5 53 141 132 16.6% 83.4%

12 EDMONTON OILERS (12) Chris Pronger is starting to come on strong, and that’s good news for the Oilers. He has scored six points in his last four games, including an impressive four-assist performance against division rival Calgary. 24-15-4 52 140 129 17.8% 85.4%

13 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (11) Alexander Steen – son of former Win nipeg Jet Thomas Steen – has emerged as one of the Leaf’s top forwards. He scored a highlight-reel goal against the Canucks in a losing effort on Tuesday. 24-16-3 51 138 131 17.8% 85.7%

14 COLORADO AVALANCHE (15) A shoulder injury to Pierre Turgeon could be disastrous for the Avs. His presence in the lineup gave the team two solid scoring lines to work with. He’ll be out 3-4 weeks. 24-17-3 51 163 139 17.7% 88.5%

15 MONTREAL CANADIENS (14) The Habs snapped a seven-game slump with an impressive 4-1 victory over the Senators on Saturday. If they can’t start winning more consistently, look for goaltender Jose Theodore to be dealt. 19-15-6 44 115 130 16.3% 82.1%

16 SAN JOSE SHARKS (21) Joe Thornton’s return to Boston ended quickly – he was ejected for a hit from behind less than six minutes into Tuesday night’s game against the Sharks. San Jose still managed to come away with a decisive 6-2 victory. 19-16-5 43 128 121 15.2% 83.2%

17 ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS (17) Trading Sykora was the Ducks’ latest cost-cutting move. Given that they’re on the verge of a Western Conference playoff spot, it seems strange to purge top players, but GM Brian Burke ostensibly has a plan. 19-16-7 45 121 114 12.4% 86.4%

18 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (16) The Lightning are becoming increasingly frustrated with the inconsistent goaltending provided by John Grahame and Sean Burke. Could GM Jay Feaster make a move to bring Nikolai Khabibulin back to Tampa? 21-19-3 45 125 132 11.2% 83.6%

19 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (22) The return of Patrik Elias was just what the doctor ordered for the Devils, who have won four straight games since he rejoined the lineup on January 3. 20-18-5 45 123 131 14.0% 82.9%

20 ATLANTA THRASHERS (20) Winners of four of their last five, the Thrashers have one of the NHL’s most exciting offenses. Though his stats won’t be very impressive, all goalie Kari Lehtonen must do is keep the high-flying Thrashers close. 20-18-6 46 158 152 20.2% 81.5%

21 MINNESOTA WILD (18) Will the last-place Wild deal one of their pla tooning goalies for some much needed offensive support? 20-19-4 44 121 104 17.6% 90.7%

22 PHOENIX COYOTES (19) Losers of four straight, Wayne Gretzky’s team will look to turn things around tonight in Buffalo. If they continue to falter, some Coyote veterans will be trade deadline casualties. 20-21-2 42 120 132 15.1% 80.6%

23 BOSTON BRUINS (25) The Bruins appeared to be turning things around until Tuesday’s ugly 6-2 loss to the Sharks. Look for the disappointing Bruins to undergo some serious roster retooling. 16-20-6 38 123 135 14.0% 84.9%

24 NEW YORK ISLANDERS (23) The Janne Niinimaa trade and the Stirling firing were the first and second of many moves GM Mike Milbury needs to make to revamp his underachieving team. 18-22-2 38 125 149 15.8% 82.1%

25 FLORIDA PANTHERS (24) It’s little surprise that Olli Jokinen and Roberto Luongo are included in virtually every trade rumor involving the Panthers, but GM Mike Keenan would be wise to retain them. 17-22-6 40 114 140 13.0% 83.8%

26 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (28) Top prospect Tuomo Ruutu has proven incredibly injury prone, missing more games than he plays. 14-24-4 32 108 149 9.2% 86.0%

27 WASHINGTON CAPITALS (27) Despite playing on a far inferior team – at least where their talent level is concerned – Alexander Ovechkin has outperformed fellow super-rookie Sidney Crosby. Will he win the Calder? 13-23-5 31 110 159 9.8% 80.8%

28 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (26) That he’s managed to compile a +7 rating on a team that’s a combined -163 says an awful lot about Zigmund Palffy. Only one other regular (Erik Christensen) is on the positive side of zero. 11-22-9 31 119 164 15.0% 80.2%

29 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (30) Bryan Berard tallied a hat trick last , – – defenseman more of a liability than an asset. 13-27-2 28 89 148 11.3% 83.5%

30 ST. LOUIS BLUES (29) That journeyman Mike Sillinger is the Blues’ leading goal scorer says all anyone needs to know about their struggles.. 10-25-5 25 103 154 13.6% 81.7%