Last season, the Detroit Red Wings won the President’s Trophy by a landslide, finishing the year with 124 points. Their tremendous success was no doubt due in large part to the hapless performances of three of their four division rivals, the St. Louis Blues (57 points), Chicago Blackhawks (65 points), and the Columbus Blue Jackets (74 points).

Put simply, the Wings (and the second-place Nashville Predators) absolutely feasted on that trio, playing 24 of their 82 games against the three worst teams in the Western Conference. So it wasn’t a surprise when the two teams were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

But this year, that scenario will not be repeated. While the Blues, Blackhawks, and Blue Jackets are all likely to miss the postseason again, the gap between the top and bottom teams has been significantly reduced. By the end of this weekend, every Western Conference team will likely have accumulated more points than the Blues did last season.

Looking East, things are similar. Even the hapless Flyers (47 points following Tuesday night’s victory over the Devils) are probably going to top the 60-point mark, and the other 14 teams have already done so. In order for the Buffalo Sabres (currently the NHL’s leader in points a game played) to match the Wings’ 124-point total, they’d need to finish the season with an improbable 15–1–1 record. In other words, it’s not going to happen.

What is the impact of all this parity? In the Western Conference, barring a spectacular finish by the Colorado Avalanche, the eight playoff teams are all but fixed more than a month away from the end of the season. But where they’ll finish is anyone’s guess. Entering last night’s games, five teams (including the Pacific Divisionleading Vancouver Canucks) were separated by only four points.

In the East, things are even more dramatic. The standings shift virtually every night, with only the top five teams’ postseason appearance relatively secure. Entering last night’s games, six points separated the eighth-place Toronto Maple Leafs from the 13th-place Florida Panthers, and eight of the mid-ranked teams (11th through 20th) in our Power Rankings are from the East. Needless to say, this sets up what should be a very compelling race to the finish line.

So here’s how the teams line up this week. Statistically, teams are measured from left to right by games played, W–L–OTL, standings points, goals scored, goals allowed, power play success, and penalty-killing success. Please note that the data are 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 BUFFALO NHL’s most SABRES prolific offense (1): wel The – comed Chris Drury back for last night’s game against Colorado, but they still must make do without six valuable regulars, most notably Russian dynamo Maxim Afinogenov.
65 44–16–5 93 251 189 15.3% 83.1%

2 Stronger DETROIT competition RED WINGS — and (3) a : much more diligent focus on team defense — would appear to bode well for the Wings’ playoff chances. But their reliance upon 42-year-old Dominik Hasek will likely be their undoing.
67 42–16–9 93 212 165 14.9%86.4%

3 ( NASHVILLE 2): Peter Forsberg PREDATORS has missed the last two games with a mysterious “upper body injury.” The Preds are wise to exercise caution with their star center now, for by himself he can be the tipping point in their favor come playoff time.
68 44–18–6 94 234 177 17.1% 87.1%

4 Ducks ANAHEIM are 4– DUCKS 0–1 in their (5 last ): The five games, largely due to the play of their absolutely stifling defense. But for the next two weeks, they’ll be without perennial Norris Trophy candidate Chris Pronger, currently out with a broken toe.
67 39–17–11 89 213 174 20.7%85.5%

5 The NEW Devils JERSEY are swooning DEVILS a (4 bit ): , and tonight would certainly be a good time to get back on track, when they go head-to-head with Sidney Crosby’s hard-charging Penguins in Pittsburgh (at least for the time being).
67 40–19–8 88 179 162 14.6%86.0%

6 The VANCOUVER Canucks’ CANUCKS “CCM” line (9) — : featuring Jeff Cowan, Matt Cooke, and Brendan Morrison — has been very effective this week; after going 52 games without a goal, journeyman grinder Cowan has scored five times in the last three games.
66 39–22–5 83 178 166 15.7%88.6%

7 DALLAS starting netminder STARS (6 Marty ): Streaky Turco’s play (2.30 GAA, .908 SV%) must improve dramatically down the stretch. Otherwise, it’s possible that backup Mike Smith (1.97 GAA, .922 SV%) will get the call come playoff time.
65 38–22–5 81 170 156 16.4%85.0%

8 Boasting CALGARY balanced FLAMES scoring (12 for ): the first time in a long time, the Flames are one of the most complete teams in the West. If Vezina Trophy winner Miikka Kiprusoff gets hot at the right time, the Flames could do serious damage in the playoffs.
66 36–21–9 81 215 176 17.1% 84.5%

9 ( PITTSBURGH 10): Ever so quietly PENGUINS , rookie Jordan Staal (27 goals, team-leading plus-15 rating) has crept to within two of the Pens’ goal-scoring lead (held by fellow rookie Evgeni Malkin); his seven shorthanded goals are an NHL rookie record.
66 36–21–9 81 226 207 16.4%84.5%

10 Rookie SAN JOSE rearguard SHARKS Marc (8) – : Edouard Vlasic has become a key component on the Sharks’ blue line, one more in a long line of strong prospects they’ve developed. In fact, nine of the San Jose’s top 11 scorers are homegrown.
67 40–25–2 82 200 169 21.0%85.8%

11 After OTTAWA an atrocious SENATORS start, goal (7) – : tender Martin Gerber’s play has improved tremendously of late. He’s gone 5–0–2 since the All-Star break (with a 2.20 GAA and a .922 SV%), and he might start pushing Ray Emery for playing time.
67 38–23–6 82 230 186 14.6%88.6%

12 Starting MINNESOTA goaltender WILD Manny (11): Fernandez has recovered from a sprained knee and could make his return to the lineup for the Wild tonight in Boston; 15–5–4 in their last 24 games, the Wild have improved by leaps and bounds this season.
67 36–24–7 79 190 170 15.8%88.5%

13 ( ATLANTA 15): The Thrashers THRASHERS have won four straight games following the acquisition of Keith Tkachuk. But Marian Hossa remains the key to the Thrashers’ offense; he leads the team in every meaningful scoring category.
68 35–23–10 80 207 211 13.8%80.5%

14 ( NEW 14): YORK Rick DiPietro ISLANDERS (.917 SV%) is silencing the naysayers this season, and although Monday’s 56-save performance against the Rangers might be his finest to date, the best is likely still to come for the Isles’ highly touted netminder.
66 33–23–10 76 198 186 15.1% 82.7%

15 ( TAMPA 13): The BAY Lightning LIGHTNING have lost their last two games by a combined 11–3 score and have given up 15 goals in their last three, leading to speculation that they should have outbid the Flyers for Martin Biron last week.
68 37–27–4 78 215 213 16.2% 81.9%

16 ( TORONTO 18): Darcy MAPLE Tucker is LEAFS back in the Leafs’ lineup, good news for a team that was sorely lacking a physical edge. And when Kyle Wellwood (sports hernia) returns, perhaps as soon as Tuesday, he’ll provide the offense with a valuable spark.
67 32–26–9 73 211 217 15.4%79.8%

17 The NEW injury YORK -ravaged RANGERS Rangers (19): head to Nassau Coliseum tonight to take on the Islanders without Marcel Hossa, Brendan Shanahan, and Fedor Tyutin; how they respond to this heightened adversity will determine their playoff fate.
66 32–27–7 71 192 185 17.4% 86.1%

18 ( CAROLINA 16): It’s been HURRICANES a trying season for the Hurricanes, particularly for star center Eric Staal; his points-pergame average has dropped from 1.22 to 0.88, and his shooting percentage has fallen from 16.1% to 10.5%.
68 33–28–7 73 199 209 13.1% 86.4%

19 ( COLORADO 22): Rookie AVALANCHE playmaker Paul Stastny tied the Avs’ rookie record points-scoring streak on Tuesday night; the mark was set previously by his father, Peter, back in 1980–81, when the franchise was based in Quebec.
67 33–29–5 71 220 211 18.6%82.4%

20 ( MONTREAL 17): A controversy CANADIENS erupted in Montreal after Habs forward Alexei Kovalev was quoted as saying that coach Guy Carbonneau, Canadiens fans, and the Montreal press discriminate against Russian players.
68 33–29–6 72 197 211 21.3% 87.5%

21 Goaltender BOSTON BRUINS Tim Thomas (20): doesn’t receive much respect in Boston — much less outside it — but the cold, hard truth is that he is the no. 1 reason why the Bruins remain in the hunt for a playoff spot.
66 32–29–5 69 190 232 13.6%84.5%

22 Entering EDMONTON last OILERS night’s battle (21): with the Lightning, the Oilers had lost four in a row. They are clearly reeling without “heart and soul” forward Ryan Smyth and significant free agent upgrades will be required for a 2007–08 bounce-back.
66 30–30–6 66 174 194 14.4%86.5%

23 It ST ‘s . looking LOUIS as BLUES though (23 top ): prospect Erik Johnson will forego his sophomore season at the University of Minnesota and turn pro in 2007–08; it will be interesting to see whether the 6-foot-4-inch, 223-pound blueliner can make an immediate impact.
66 28–28–10 66 171 200 11.1% 83.7%

24 ( FLORIDA 24): The red- PANTHERS hot Panthers are 7–2–2 in their last 11 games and have risen back into playoff contention against all odds, largely due to the surprisingly strong play of cantankerous 41-year-old goaltender Ed Belfour.
67 27–27–13 67 196 214 17.7%83.4%

25 ( WASHINGTON 25): Though the CAPITALS Capitals have taken a giant step forward this season as a group, it’s fair to say that Alexander Ovechkin (plus-two in 2005–06, a team-worst minus-17 this season) has some work to do on his play away from the puck.
67 24–31–12 60 199 239 13.8%83.9%

26 ETS COLUMBUS (28): The BLUE Blue JACK Jack- – ets have stepped to the draft podium 75 times in their seven-year history, and, to date, not even 2002 first overall pick Rick Nash (21 goals, minus-8 rating) has emerged as an impact player. It’s time for a regime change in Columbus.
66 26–33–7 59 165 205 14.3% 82.1%

27 ( CHICAGO 27): It took BLACKHAWKS him 99 games, but underachieving netminder Nikolai Khabibulin finally earned his first shutout with the Blackhawks, blanking the Los Angeles Kings 3–0 on Tuesday night.
67 25–33–9 59 165 205 9.7% 86.7%

28 The PHOENIX Coyotes COYOTES ‘ summer (26): spending spree was expected to yield far better results, but there’s been only one positive: the play of sophomore defenseman Keith Ballard, who is quietly building on a fine rookie season.
65 27–35–3 57 174 222 11.5% 79.6%

29 ( LOS 29): ANGELES Though Rob KINGS Blake’s minus-25 rating is cause for serious concern, his work mentoring John-Michael Liles in Colorado gives the Kings confidence that he can do the same for Jack Johnson in Tinseltown next season.
66 22–34–10 54 185 231 15.9% 78.3%

30 ( PHILADELPHIA 30): Since arriving FLYERS in Philadelphia in the Peter Forsberg trade, Scottie Upshall has thrived under the added responsibility, tallying nine points in seven games and emerging as one of the Flyers’ best young players.
66 18–37–11 47 178 252 11.0% 88.3%

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