The Nashville Predators have surged to the top spot in the Power Rankings for first time this week, and it’s largely because of their impressive depth. The usual suspects upfront, Paul Kariya and Steve Sullivan, are once again lighting up the score sheet virtually every night. On the blue line, the unheralded tandem of Kimmo Timonen and Marek Zidlicky continues to pile up points while quarterbacking the Preds’ power play. And in goal, Tomas Vokoun — when healthy — is one of the National Hockey League’s best.

But it’s the emergence of young players at every position that is making the Predators the class of the NHL. When Vokoun went down with torn ligaments in his thumb, backup Chris Mason stepped up with a remarkable performance. He leads the NHL with a .930 save percentage and has provided the Predators with an incredibly valuable safety net. Even in Vokoun’s absence, Nashville can compete for the Cup.

On the blue line, youngsters Shea Weber and Ryan Suter have played key roles all season-long, combining for 40 points and a plus-20 rating. Up front, Martin Erat (38 points in 43 games, plus-12 rating) has been a very pleasant surprise; he will shatter career marks in virtually every meaningful statistical category.

But the most important emergence for the Predators has been David Legwand. The franchise’s first-ever draft pick, Legwand’s development has been frustrating. But this season, he’s come into his own, emerging as one of Nashville’s most important players. His point production is on a career-best pace (36 points in 43 games), but it’s his two-way play that’s been most impressive. He leads the Predators with a glitzy plus-23 rating.

So here’s how the teams line up this week. Statistically, teams are measured from left to right by 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 NASHVILLE PREDATORS (3): J.P. Dumont has caught fire of late and was riding a seven-game point-scoring streak (during which he tallied nine points) entering last night’s game against the Red Wings.
32–11–3 67 156 116 16.8% 88.4%

2 BUFFALO SABRES (1): The Sabres have slumped a bit of late (2–4–1 in their last seven games entering last night’s matchup with the Bruins), largely because slower opponents have begun to figure out ways to counter their tremendous speed.
31–11–4 66 166 131 13.3% 83.4%

3 ANAHEIM DUCKS (2): After a slow start to the season, dynamic forward Andy McDonald (45 points in 48 games) is proving that last year’s 85-point performance was no fluke.
30–10–8 68 162 117 21.5% 86.6%

4 DETROIT RED WINGS (5): With seven points in his last 10 games, defenseman Niklas Kronwall is starting to live up to his advance billing and justify the Wings’ huge commitment to him (five-year, $15 million extension signed this season).
29–12–5 63 141 106 15.2% 85.4%

5 SAN JOSE SHARKS (4): The only team in the NHL without an overtime loss — and without a shootout appearance — the Sharks have gone 6–1 in their last seven games. Tonight, they host Wayne Gretzky’s red-hot Coyotes.
31–15–0 62 144 107 25.6% 85.6%

6 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (6): Martin Brodeur now leads the NHL with 28 wins and eight shutouts, and is on pace soon to take over the lead in save percentage and goalsagainst average. But he’s started 44 of the Devils’ 46 games, a frighteningly heavy workload.
28–14–4 60 116 101 14.8% 88.1%

7 ATLANTA THRASHERS (7): Any discussion concerning “best player in the NHL” must include winger Marian Hossa. Incredibly versatile, Hossa is used in virtually every game situation, and is — along with goalie Kari Lehtonen — the key to Atlanta’s success.
26–14–8 60 145 143 14.5% 82.0%

8 DALLAS STARS (9): With Mike Modano, Brenden Morrow, and Sergei Zubov all out with injuries, the depleted Stars have been able to depend upon goaltender Marty Turco and role players like Stu Barnes to keep them above water.
27–18–1 55 119 112 16.1% 84.1%

9 CALGARY FLAMES (10): But for their struggles against the Predators (an eight-game losing streak), the Flames have been redhot of late and were 7–2 in their last nine games entering last night’s match-up with the Stars.
24–16–4 52 138 113 13.2% 83.6%

10 MONTREAL CANADIENS (8): The Habs’ special teams and goaltending have slipped a bit of late, and not surprisingly, they’ve fallen in the standings. Cristobal Huet is 1–4 in his last five games, and has given up 19 goals during that stretch.
25–17–5 55 134 132 20.7% 91.2%

11 OTTAWA SENATORS (12): Chris Kelly has been a revelation playing between Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson, leading to speculation that Jason Spezza will have new linemates when he returns from his knee injury.
27–19–2 56 166 136 14.4% 87.0%

12 VANCOUVER CANUCKS (11): Roberto Luongo shut out the Canadiens in Montreal on Tuesday night, and he’ll likely be between the pipes again tonight when the Canucks take on the surging Senators.
26–19–1 53 116 116 14.5% 88.3%

13 CAROLINA HURRICANES (13): Going 4–0–1 in their last five games, the hardworking Hurricanes have managed to battle their way back into playoff position largely because sophomore netminder Cam Ward is rounding back into his Conn Smythe Trophy-winning form.
25–18–5 55 146 141 14.6% 87.0%

14 MINNESOTA WILD (19): The Wild are 7–0 in games during which star winger Marian Gaborik has scored a goal. If their talented forward can stay healthy and keep scoring, the Wild should reach the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.
24–20–3 51 124 123 13.9% 89.4%

15 BOSTON BRUINS (15): Only two NHL teams have a worse goal differential than Boston, yet the inconsistent Bruins find themselves in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Will logic prevail, or will they actually find their way to the postseason?
21–18–4 46 124 154 16.4% 83.4%

16 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (17): Erik Christensen snapped a six-game pointless streak on Tuesday night against the Islanders, tallying three points (including two goals) to lead the Pens to a 5–2 victory.
20–17–7 47 138 137 14.3% 83.6%

17 NEW YORK RANGERS (14): The Rangers signed forward Martin Straka to a contract extension yesterday, ensuring that one of their most productive players will be back in 2007–08. Straka has developed great chemistry with Jaromir Jagr, and has been a vital ingredient in Jagr’s post-lockout resurgence.
23–20–450 134 143 17.8% 84.5%

18 COLORADO AVALANCHE (16): With John-Michael Liles (broken foot) and Jordan Leopold (groin strain) on the shelf, the Avs need to shore up their blue line, and former Rangers star Brian Leetch would be the perfect fit.
22–20–3 47 137 131 16.4% 80.1%

19 EDMONTON OILERS (18): Though both acquisitions have excellent long-term potential, the players Edmonton got in return for Chris Pronger — Joffrey Lupul (19 points, minus-16 rating) and Ladislav Smid (five points, minus-8) — haven’t been very helpful thus far.
22–20–448 126 131 14.6% 88.6%

20 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (22): Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier are among the league’s leading scorers (63 points each), but Brad Richards (40 points, minus-11 rating) continues to struggle mightily.
24–22–2 50 149 150 15.5% 80.0%

21 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (24): Inconsistency between the pipes has plagued the Maple Leafs all season. Just when Andrew Raycroft appears to be getting back on track, he delivers a shoddy performance that puts the Leafs back behind the eight ball.
21–20–6 48 152 154 16.4% 80.8%

22 NEW YORK ISLANDERS (21): Defenseman Radek Martinek returned to the Isles’ lineup on Tuesday night after missing nine games with a broken foot, but he wasn’t able to help turn the tide for the Isles, who are an atrocious 2–8–1 in their last 11 games.
21–21–4 46 129 132 14.4% 81.0%

23 WASHINGTON CAPITALS (20): Streaky forward Matt Pettinger scored 15 points in a 16-game stretch earlier this season, then went on a nine-game scoreless streak. Now he’s starting to score again and has tallied five points in the Caps’ last seven games.
19–20–7 45 143 157 14.9% 83.8%

24 PHOENIX COYOTES (23): The Coyotes have gotten increased production from their defense, and Ed Jovanovski in particular (seven points in his last five games) is a key reason why Phoenix was on a 9–2–1 run entering last night’s game against Colorado.
21–22–2 44 121 152 12.9% 80.2%

25 FLORIDA PANTHERS (26): After the announcement that he was named to the All-Star Game for the first time, defenseman Jay Bouwmeester (26 points, plus-10 rating) exploded for four points in the Panthers’ 7–3 victory over Washington on Saturday night.
17-21-10 44 137 151 18.3% 84.1%

26 ST. LOUIS BLUES (29): The surging Blues are 10–2–4 in their last 16 games and have made tremendous progress over the last month. But they’ll need to continue performing at this clip in order to earn a playoff spot, an extremely unlikely scenario.
17–21–8 42 115 142 12.6% 83.6%

27 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (25): The Blackhawks’ power play has been horrific this season, tallying only 24 goals in total, by far the league’s lowest total. To put that number into context, the Ducks’ Teemu Selanne has tallied 16 power play goals by himself.
17–22–7 41 115 136 9.6% 85.5%

28 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (28): With Ken Hitchcock behind the bench and Sergei Fedorov on the ice, the Blue Jackets have compiled a 12–9–2 record this season, which bodes well for next season. But a playoff spot is all but out of the question for 2006–07.
17–24–5 39 116 141 13.7% 84.4%

29 LOS ANGELES KINGS (27): Alexander Frolov’s production has come in fits and starts this season; 25 of his 46 points have come during three point-scoring streaks lasting three, four, and five games.
16–26–6 38 133 173 16.6% 77.4%

30 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (30): Alexei Zhitnik earned an impressive plus-13 rating in 30 games with the Islanders, but it’s taken him only 14 games with the Flyers to put together an equally unimpressive minus-12 rating. Location, location, location.
11–30–4 26 108 172 9.5% 87.4%

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