The Carolina Hurricanes have won eight straight games, and are nipping at the heels of the top-ranked Ottawa Senators. Meanwhile, the Colorado Avalanche – also in the midst of an eight-game winning streak – have surged into a three-way tie for the hotly contested Northwest Division lead.

At the other end of the spectrum are the Pittsburgh Penguins, who drop to 29th in this week’s power rankings. The Pens yesterday announced the retirement of 33-year-old Zigmund Palffy due to what was described as “personal reasons.” The team’s leader in assists and plus/minus rating, Palffy has struggled with injuries throughout his NHL career, but it’s unclear whether his retirement was due to his nagging shoulder problems or his frustration with the Pens’ persistent failures. One of the NHL’s most exciting players when healthy, the former Islanders star will surely be missed.

Here’s how the teams line up in this week’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 NHL’s top four plus/minus leaders all play for the Senators, who are the league’s best team at even strength. Making them even more devastating, the Sens boast the league’s second-best power play and penalty killing. 31-10-3 65 183 103 20.0% 88.9%

2 CAROLINA HURRICANES (3) In his second full season, Eric Staal has emerged as one of the NHL’s finest forwards. Equally adept at goal-scoring and playmaking, Staal ranks sixth among forwards with 60 points. 31-10-4 66 164 139 16.6% 83.9%

3 DETROIT RED WINGS (5) After a seven-game streak in which he didn’t register a single point, power forward Brendan Shanahan has come on like gangbusters, scoring six points and garnering a plus-five rating in his last two games. 30-12-3 63 167 120 22.8% 87.1%

4 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (2) Peter Forsberg has gone down with another groin injury, but Ken Hitchcock’s club has proved to be incredibly resilient this season, withstanding injuries to key players at all positions yet remaining atop the Atlantic Division. 28-10-8 64 163 139 17.0% 83.6%

5 DALLAS STARS (4) He’s scored points in 25 of the Stars’ 30 victories, and 35- year-old Mike Modano is proving that Stars GM Doug Armstrong was justified in bringing him back for another tour of duty in Dallas. 30-13-2 62 144 116 15.1% 86.3%

6 BUFFALO SABRES (7) Martin Biron (.901 SV%, 2.97 GAA, 15-5-3) generated a lot of attention with his impressive winning streak, but it’s rookie Ryan Miller (.924, 2.97, 13-6-0) who represents the future between the pipes for Buffalo. 29-13-3 61 147 125 19.6% 87.9%

7 NASHVILLE PREDATORS (6) He’s known primarily as a faceoff and de fensive specialist, but since he’s been moved alongside Paul Kariya, center Yanic Perrault has emerged as a point-pergame scorer for the Predators. 28-12-5 61 140 129 15.6% 86.9%

8 CALGARY FLAMES (9) Just halfway through the season, goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff has already set a Flames singleseason record for shutouts, while Kristian Huselius has scored 19 points in 18 games since his acquisition from the Panthers. 26-14-5 57 118 111 16.7% 83.2%

9 NEW YORK RANGERS (8) Jaromir Jagr remains atop the league’s scoring charts with 69 points, while rookie netminder Henrik Lundqvist is among the leaders in all three crucial categories: winning percentage, save percentage, and goals-against average. 25-14-7 57 140 119 13.1% 85.2%

10 VANCOUVER CANUCKS (11) The Canucks had been struggling at the turn of the New Year, but with five wins in their last six games – including an 8-1 drubbing of the Isles – they appear to be back on track. 26-15-5 57 153 138 17.3% 82.7%

11 COLORADO AVALANCHE (14) Riding an eight-game winning streak, the Avs have surged into a three-way tie (in points) with the Flames and Canucks. Milan Hejduk is starting to break out of a seasonlong slump. 27-17-3 57 174 146 18.1% 88.1%

12 LOS ANGELES KINGS (10) With losses in four of their last five games – including an absolutely atrocious 10-1 loss to the Sabres – the reeling Kings need a spark. Jeremy Roenick (broken finger) is due back soon, and could be the perfect remedy. 28-18-2 58 160 146 12.8% 82.9%

13 EDMONTON OILERS (12) Just four points behind the triumvirate of North west Division leaders, the Oilers will need to improve their goaltending if they’re to make an extended playoff run. 24-17-5 53 148 142 18.3% 86.0%

14 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (13) Defenseman Bryan McCabe (49 points in 42 games) is the Leafs’ leading scorer, but he’ll miss some time with a groin injury. 24-18-3 51 144 140 18.3% 84.7%

15 MONTREAL CANADIENS (15) A coaching change was just what the doc tor ordered for the reeling Habs. They have won both games since GM Bob Gainey stepped behind the bench. 21-16-6 48 126 136 18.0% 83.7%

16 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (19) With 11 points in six games, Patrik Elias has sparked the Devils to a seven-game winning streak since his January 3 return. 23-18-5 51 133 136 15.6% 82.9%

17 SAN JOSE SHARKS (16) San Jose is 13-5-1 since “Jumbo” Joe Thornton pulled on his teal-and-black Sharks sweater for the first time. Coincidence? Hardly… 21-17-5 47 135 128 13.8% 82.4%

18 ATLANTA THRASHERS (20) Ilya Kovalchuk (66 points) and Marian Hos sa (55 points) anchor the Thrashers’ highpowered offense. 22-18-6 50 163 155 19.7% 81.9%

19 ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS (17) Despite dealing away two high-profile forwards (Sergei Fedorov and Petr Sykora) this season, the Ducks have managed remain in the thick of the Western Conference playoff picture. Teemu Selanne is day-to-day with a strained groin. 19-16-9 47 126 121 12.5% 86.7%

20 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (18) The defending champions have struggled mightily this season, and their middling power play and goaltending are the reasons why. 23-20-3 49 134 138 11.3% 84.0%

21 PHOENIX COYOTES (22) Set to embark on a stretch in which they’ll play an improbable five games in seven days, the Coyotes’ season hangs in the balance. 22-22-2 46 126 142 15.0% 79.9%

22 MINNESOTA WILD (21) Look for GM Doug Risebrough to deal either Manny Fernandez or Dwayne Roloson to make room for rookie goalie Josh Harding. 20-21-4 44 123 114 17.2% 90.3%

23 NEW YORK ISLANDERS (24) If Brad Shaw can extract more consis tent production out of Alexei Yashin, the Isles’ season might actually be salvageable. 20-23-2 42 131 160 16.0% 81.5%

24 FLORIDA PANTHERS (25) The Panthers have been trucking along at a .500 clip for the past six weeks, but it hasn’t been enough to make up for their dismal November (1-9-3). 18-22-7 43 121 146 12.9% 83.9%

25 BOSTON BRUINS (23) The Bruins quashed rumors that goaltender An drew Raycroft is on the trading block, but it appears that some roster maneuvering must be imminent. 17-21-7 41 128 145 13.3% 85.1%

26 WASHINGTON CAPITALS (27) Alexander Ovechkin’s goal on Monday night against Phoenix will go down as the season’s most incredible athletic feat. Even better, a court ruled yesterday that Ovechkin cannot be forced to return to Russia to play for his former team, Dynamo Moscow. 15-24-5 35 120 166 10.0% 81.3%

27 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (26) The Hawks’ defense hasn’t been very good, but their weakest link is their atrocious power play. 15-25-6 36 117 159 9.9% 85.6%

28 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (29) The return of Rick Nash has revitalized both Sergei Fedorov and Nikolai Zherdev. The Blue Jackets are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. 16-28-2 34 106 160 12.3% 84.3%

29 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (28) Zigmund Palffy’s retirement leaves the Pens with only one regular – Lasse Pirjeta – who boasts a positive plus/minus rating. 11-26-9 31 127 183 14.8% 79.4%

30 ST. LOUIS BLUES (30) Until Keith Tkachuk returns, the Blues will contin ue to struggle. When he returns, look for him to be quickly dealt to a contender. 10-29-5 25 109 168 13.9% 81.5%