Sabres, Stars remain top two, while Flyers take cellar

Note: All statistics are through Sunday.

BIGGEST CLIMB: Montreal (17 to 9)
BIGGEST FALL: Philadelphia (19 to 30)

NHL Power Rankings Rank LW Team 1 1 Buffalo Sabres (8-0-0) Is there any slowing this train? With a 6-2 breezer on Saturday, the Sabres matched their 1975-76 club record with their eighth straight win to start a season. If you go back to last season, Buffalo has won a team-record 13 straight regular-season games. There are many reasons for their success (9th on penalty kill, 5th on power play), but the biggest might be the play of Maxim Afinogenov. The 27-year-old has five goals and 14 points and is a good bet to shatter his career high of 73 points set last season. Last Week: 3-0-0 2 2 Dallas Stars (7-1-0) The Coyotes probably went into Saturday's game against Dallas thinking they had a decent shot because Stars rookie Mike Smith was making his NHL debut between the pipes. Wrong. The 24-year-old Ontario native stopped all 22 shots he faced as Dallas won for the seventh time in eight games -- matching the best start in franchise history. While Smith's debut was stellar, Marty Turco has been tremendous, sporting a 6-1 record, 1.98 GAA and .930 save percentage. Last Week: 2-1-0 3 4 Anaheim Ducks (6-0-2) For the first time since April 18, 1998, to March 18, 1999, the Ducks have won six straight over the Kings. Sunday's 3-2 shootout victory over L.A. gave Anaheim a three-game win streak and its best start in franchise history. "I've had all kinds of starts in Anaheim," Jean-Sebastian Giguere told the Los Angeles Times. "This one is definitely more fun." The Ducks have definitely gotten healthy off the Kings, but it never hurts to have special teams in the top 10 (7th on PK, 6th on PP). Last Week: 3-0-0 4 3 Minnesota Wild (7-1-0) The Wild has the top-ranked PK unit, but the PP (10th) has hit a bump in the road. In their recent three-game road trip, it went 0-for-15 while managing just 18 shots. The task won't get any easier with Marian Gaborik expected to be sidelined 10-14 days. So how does this club continue winning? The simple answer is Manny Fernandez, who has allowed just four goals in his past four starts. Last Week: 2-1-0 5 8 Atlanta Thrashers (6-1-1) What a difference a season makes. Winning six of its last seven, Atlanta has picked up 13 of a possible 16 points -- the only regulation loss coming to defending Cup champion Carolina. In contrast, the Thrashers started 4-9-1 last season and wound up missing the playoffs by just two points. While Kari Lehtonen has been standing on his head all season, have you noticed the play of sniper Marian Hossa? The eight-year winger has nine goals and 13 points. Last Week: 2-0-0 6 5 San Jose Sharks (6-2-0) With the aid of a team-record five PP goals, the Sharks rolled to the best start in their history with their sixth victory in seven games. It's hard to believe they've done it without much assistance from reigning MVP Joe Thornton, who has a minus-4 rating and has yet to score a goal. Sans Mighty Joe's help, San Jose's offense has still been clicking -- ranked fourth in the league with 29 goals. Last Week: 2-1-0 7 7 Edmonton Oilers (5-2-0) The Oilers are rewarding their best player each game with the 'ugly coat' -- a long, leather jacket with a thick fur collar (fashion critics must be cringing). It's hard to imagine any Oiler being rewarded with anything right now, as Edmonton was a pathetic 0-for-19 on the PP in its last three games. "The power play might take a bit of time but we're finding ways to win," Steve Staios told the Edmonton Journal. Last Week: 2-1-0 8 14 Nashville Predators (4-3-1) To say Tomas Vokoun is back on track would be a huge understatement. After allowing 13 goals in his first two starts (both losses), the 30-year-old netminder came up big during the Preds' recent four-game win streak. Before Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Canucks, Vokoun had turned away 93 of 95 shots in his last three starts. Next on the agenda: straighten out that 22nd-ranked penalty-kill unit. Last Week: 3-0-1 9 17 Montreal Canadiens (4-1-2) The Habs on Saturday night saw firsthand why Jose Theodore was expendable. Making his return to the Bell Centre, Theodore allowed eight goals, including five in the third period, in an 8-5 loss to Montreal. "I felt sorry for him," the Habs' Craig Rivet told the Montreal Gazette. Also notable from Saturday's victory was the production from the second line: goals from Sergei Samsonov and Alex Kovalev. Last Week: 2-1-0 10 6 New Jersey Devils (4-3-1) Martin Brodeur wasn't about to be outdone by the first goal by Evgeni Malkin in the rookie's NHL debut. With Wednesday's 2-1 victory over the Pens, the veteran became just the third netminder in NHL history to reach 450 wins -- joining Patrick Roy (551) and Ed Belfour (458). "I think people always look at round numbers, you see 450 and you notice it," Brodeur said. "Now the race is on to 500, hopefully in a couple of years." Unless the Devils improve their special teams, Brodeur could wait a while for No. 451. Last Week: 1-2-1

Read on for teams 11-20 ...