That Scott Gomez didn’t develop immediate chemistry with Jaromir Jagr was no huge surprise. Both players’ games depend upon their ability to carry the puck and control the flow of play, and with only one puck for both to share, some adjustments were going to be required. Given Gomez’s history with Alexander Mogilny (his linemate for much of his first two seasons with the Devils) and Patrik Elias (his linemate for much of his final five seasons in New Jersey), there was precedent to suggest that chemistry with Jagr wasn’t going to be immediately forthcoming.

“Both [Mogilny and Elias] didn’t work out in the beginning,” Gomez said of his former Devils teammates back in September. “We got separated for a couple of weeks or a month — for whatever reason the next time you get back it just clicks. Hopefully it clicks [with Jaromir Jagr] right away.”

Indeed, the two players mixed like oil and water in the early going, forcing head coach Tom Renney to separate them. And though Jagr has looked reasonably comfortable playing alongside young Brandon Dubinsky, that not-so-dynamic duo is not going to be the answer for the Rangers if they’re to compete for the Stanley Cup this June.

Perhaps with that in mind, Renney put Gomez back together with Jagr (and Martin Straka) for Tuesday night’s 4–0 whitewashing of the Penguins, and the results were excellent. Gomez scored twice, once at even strength and once on the power play, and for the first time all season, the Rangers looked like they might have a Cup-caliber first line.

“Sometimes you have to make changes, sometimes you’ve got to mix things up,” Gomez said after Tuesday’s win. But then he continued with an almost comically inaccurate assessment. “We’re in the NHL — it doesn’t matter who you play with.”

Indeed, that couldn’t be less true. Former Anaheim Ducks center, Andy McDonald, scored at a point-per-game pace while playing alongside Teemu Selanne, but he didn’t come close to that level of productivity without the Finnish Flash, which accounts for last week’s trade that sent him to the Blues for Doug Weight. Across the league, there are dozens of other stories of players’ production slipping and/or rising dramatically with changes in linemates.

“I think Scotty’s got a lot more confidence than he had the first time we played together,” Jagr said after Tuesday’s game. “I think he’s a lot quicker than he was before … he’s so dangerous, he can make the game easier.” If Gomez can continue to make the game easier for Jagr, then the Rangers are far more likely to re-emerge as bona fide Cup contenders.

Statistically, teams are measured from left to right by won-loss record, standings points, goals scored, goals allowed, power play success, and penalty-killing success. 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 shorthanded goals into account. Each team’s ranking from last week appears in parentheses.

1 DETROIT RED WINGS (1): Gritty winger Tomas Holmstrom returned to the lineup on Monday night and promptly scored two goals. With 16 goals in 31 games, the tireless Swede is on pace to crack the 40-goal barrier for the first time in his career.

REC PTS GS GA PP% PK%

24–6–3 51 112 73 19.63% 87.20%

2 OTTAWA SENATORS (2): Center Jason Spezza is known primarily for his passing ability, but he demonstrated the goal-scoring touch of an elite-level sniper on Tuesday night, when he scored two goals to lead the Sens to a 3–2 win over the second-place Bruins.

22–7–3 47 111 80 18.98% 88.59%

3 DALLAS STARS (9): Power play quarterback Sergei Zubov is on pace to score 77 points for the Stars this year; it would be the most he’s tallied in a single year since he led the Rangers in scoring during their 1993–94 Cup-winning season.

19–11–4 42 97 85 21.71% 89.80%

4 SAN JOSE SHARKS (3): With 39 points in 33 games, Joe Thornton has played a hand in nearly half the Sharks’ goals this season and is the biggest key to their success thus far. But captain Patrick Marleau’s 15 points are untenably inadequate production.

18–11–4 40 82 71 13.29% 90.00%

5 MINNESOTA WILD (12): Forward Aaron Voros — a former Devils draft pick — has provided the Wild with a very valuable spark this season, scoring six goals in 18 games while registering a teamleading 53 penalty minutes.

19–12–2 40 83 81 14.84% 83.80%

6 BOSTON BRUINS (6): Under head coach Claude Julien, the Bruins’ improved attention to detail in the defensive zone gives them a fighting chance to win every single night. It is also a huge reason why they’re the second-winningest team in the Eastern Conference.

18–12–3 39 86 80 16.10% 77.04%

7 COLORADO AVALANCHE (10): Captain Joe Sakic remains out with an injured groin, but the Avs have still managed to win five of their last six games, with sophomore center Paul Stastny and veteran wingers Milan Hejduk and Ryan Smyth leading the way.

19–13–1 39 99 95 14.00% 83.33%

8 VANCOUVER CANUCKS (7): Roberto Luongo returned from a rib injury for his showdown with Martin Brodeur and the Devils on Tuesday night, stopping 32 shots en route to a decisive 5–0 victory. 18–12–4 40 91 77 15.66% 85.37%

9 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (8): Jamie Langenbrunner has scored 16 points in the 17 games following his return to the Devils’ lineup; not coincidentally, the team has gone an impressive 11–5–1 during that time.

18–13–3 39 83 83 12.08% 82.76%

10 ST. LOUIS BLUES (5): With 19 goals in 30 games, Brad Boyes is by a wide margin the Blues’ most effective sniper. And though the team has been quite effective thus far, more production from the likes of Keith Tkachuk (six goals) is critical to the team’s success.

16–12–2 34 78 78 10.69% 88.03%

11 MONTREAL CANADIENS (14): Smithtown, N.Y. native Chris Higgins leads the Habs with 113 shots (and is second on the team with 13 goals), while fellow Long Islander Mike Komisarek (West Islip) leads the club in both hits (114) and penalty minutes (59).

16–12–5 37 93 89 23.23% 82.01%

12 NEW YORK RANGERS (11): The tandem of Fedor Tyutin and Daniel Girardi doesn’t get much attention for their fine work, but they’ve supplanted Marek Malik and Michal Rozsival as the team’s top shut-down defense pairing.

17–13–3 37 73 73 14.29% 88.32%

13 CALGARY FLAMES (23): Riding the white-hot goaltending of Miikka Kiprusoff and the timely goal-scoring of captain Jarome Iginla, the Flames have put together a six-game winning streak that’s gotten them back into the thick of the playoff race.

17–13–5 39 103 102 12.90% 80.00%

14 CAROLINA HURRICANES (13): It may be unorthodox, but head coach Peter Laviolette’s use of five forwards on the power play (including Matt Cullen and Jeff Hamilton on the points) has proven effective.

18–14–3 39 109 110 17.20% 75.46%

15 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (4): The reacquisition of rearguard Jim Vandermeer from the Chicago Blackhawks (in exchange for forward Ben Eager) was a good move by Flyers GM Paul Holmgren, solidifying the team’s defense for a relatively minimal price.

16–13–3 35 99 91 21.15% 83.65%

16 BUFFALO SABRES (25): The Sabres have won four of their last five games, getting hot just in time for their outdoor showdown against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, which will take place on New Year’s Day in Buffalo and be televised nationally on NBC.

16–14–1 33 99 88 19.29% 87.50%

17 NEW YORK ISLANDERS (16): The NHL announced yesterday that forward Chris Simon will be suspended for 30 games — the longest suspension in league history — for stepping on Penguins winger Jarkko Ruutu. Counseling is the next, necessary step for Simon. 15–14–2 32 70 86 12.50% 86.36%

18 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (17): Streaky winger Nikolai Zherdev needs to be more consistently productive; otherwise, it becomes entirely too easy for the Blue Jackets’ opponents to key on leading scorer Rick Nash.

14–13–6 34 81 78 12.80% 89.17%

19 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (18): The Pens have been erratic of late, and though it’s been speculated that they’re trying to play head coach Michel Therrien out of his job, it’s more likely that the fiery bench boss has simply and predictably worn out his welcome.

16–15–2 34 88 97 18.35% 80.77%

20 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (21): With Vesa Toskala providing some steady netminding (only 25 goals-against in his last 12 games), the Leafs have risen from the ashes and raised their record above .500.

14–13–7 35 104 104 10.53% 83.44%

21 ANAHEIM DUCKS (19): It isn’t taking long for Scott Niedermayer to get back into game shape. In Tuesday night’s 2–0 win over the Sharks, he logged nearly 22 minutes of ice time, including approximately three minutes of time on the power play.

16–15–5 37 84 97 12.73% 83.01%

22 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (20): After getting off to a strong start, the ‘Hawks have lost six of their last seven games. GM Dale Tallon is clearly hoping that big Ben Eager (acquired from the Flyers) will provide a much-needed physical presence up front.

15–15–2 32 92 91 15.86% 90.91%

23 PHOENIX COYOTES (28): Wayne Gretzky’s Coyotes have battled their way back to respectability, going 4–1 on their ongoing road trip that ends tonight in San Jose, and it’s clear that the Ilya Bryzgalov acquisition represented a major turning point.

16–16–0 32 81 87 11.19% 83.94%

24 FLORIDA PANTHERS (27): Goaltender Tomas Vokoun’s first season in South Florida got off to a rocky start, but he’s re-emerged as one of the league’s top netminders, posting a winning record (16–12–1) to go along with a stellar .923 save percentage.

16–16–2 34 83 90 19.55% 82.69%

25 . EDMONTON OILERS (26): Three wins over likely playoff teams (St. Louis, Detroit, and Vancouver) and two overtime losses to the Stars have the Oilers believing they’ve got what it takes to battle their way into the postseason.

16–16–3 35 83 103 11.11% 86.18%

26 NASHVILLE PREDATORS (15): The Preds have fallen in four straight games, and the difference is without question their anemic power play; if they could score more consistently with the man advantage, they would be a bona fide playoff contender.

14–15–2 30 83 90 9.86% 86.03%

27 ATLANTA THRASHERS ( 24 ) : GM/coach Don Waddell took drastic action in response to his team’s recent slump, splitting up Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa, and it paid immediate dividends when they thrashed the Lightning on Tuesday night by a 6–2 score.

15–17–1 31 89 113 12.14% 82.07%

28 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (22): Failing to pull off a trade for Ilya Bryzgalov — and letting him fall to the Coyotes via waivers — will likely turn out to be their defining moment if the Lightning miss the postseason.

14–17–3 31 101 113 19.01% 84.06%

29 WASHINGTON CAPITALS (30): With 14 NHL teams hovering within three games of .500 more than one-third of the way through the season, the sputtering Caps are currently the only Eastern Conference team looking likely to be sellers at the trade deadline.

13–18–3 29 88 100 15.23% 84.08%

30 LOS ANGELES KINGS (29): There’s only up to go for the talented Kings, whose record is much more a reflection of their inexperience than their inability. Look for them to surge a bit in the second half, and to be one of the league’s most-improved teams in 2008–09.

12–20–2 26 91 111 18.01% 81.75%

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