Anaheim takes fall, while Predators grab top billing

Note: All statistics are through Sunday.

BIGGEST CLIMB: Tampa Bay (24 to 20)
BIGGEST FALL: New York Rangers (12 to 17)

NHL Power Rankings Rank LW Team 1 3 Nashville Predators (34-12-3) There's a new leader in the clubhouse. To say things are going swimingly for the Preds would be a huge understatement. Winners in eight of their last nine, they hit the All-Star break with a league-high 34 wins. One of the biggest reasons: Chris Mason, who has already pocketed a franchise-record five shutouts. But there isn't a goalie controversy in Nashville. "Tomas [Vokoun] is the No. 1 goalie, plain and simple," coach Barry Trotz told the Tennessean. Last Week: 3-1-0 2 1 Buffalo Sabres (33-12-4) Not only have they won just four of their last 10, they have been one of more streaky teams since Dec. 26: won four, lost two, won two, lost three, won two. A positive: they did manage to end an 0-3-1 skid against Vancouver -- dating back to Jan. 8, 2002 -- with a 4-3 shootout win on Friday. Of course, their momentum was stopped cold with a loss to Montreal on Saturday. The Sabres are 3-2-1 against the Habs this season -- with just one win in regulation. Last Week: 2-1-1 3 4 San Jose Sharks (32-16-0) They have won four of their last five, and eight of nine since a blowout loss to Phoenix on Dec. 30. That surge has brought them within four points of Pacific-leading Anaheim. "Objects are closer than they appear right now," coach Ron Wilson said. But San Jose's top-ranked power play has hit a small snag. The Sharks on Saturday went 0-for-3, just the second time they have gone consecutive games without a conversion. Last Week: 2-1-0 4 2 Anaheim Ducks (30-12-8) After bursting out of the gate with a 27-4-6 mark, the Ducks grabbed just six points while dropping nine of their last 11 games. It won't get any easier after the break. Of their next seven, five are against near locks for the playoffs (Nashville, Dallas, San Jose). If Ducks fans still aren't concerned, they should look at the third-ranked PP, which was just 2-for-17 in the last four. If there's any good news, it's that No. 1 netminder J-S Giguere will soon be back between the pipes. Last Week: 0-3-0 5 5 New Jersey Devils (29-14-5) Sage advice to all teams: Stay away from this team! Since Dec. 26, the Devils have just one regulation loss and are 7-1-2 in January. Need more convincing? All-world goalie Marty Brodeur has allowed more than three goals in a game just once since Nov. 24. After starting slowly (4-4-1), New Jersey got it together and went into the break with a huge 13-point lead in the Atlantic. I'll go out on a big limb and say the division crown is already theirs. Last Week: 2-0-1 6 6 Detroit Red Wings (30-14-5) Like Buffalo, the Wings have been streaky since Christmas. Some of that can be attributed to the schedule. Detroit played 14 games in 25 days before the much-needed break. But two Wings probably wish they could keep playing. In their last seven games, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg combined for six goals and 25 points. Since it's All-Star week, I've got to get this out: How did Dom Hasek (25-8, 2.03 GAA, .911 save percentage) get left off the Western team? Last Week: 2-2-0 7 8 Dallas Stars (29-18-1) Hey, Alanis Morissette, this is what you call ironic. Dallas on Saturday night played in its 1,000th regular-season game since moving from Minnesota in 1993. How fitting that it was against the Wild in Minny. It was also an historic night for Marty Turco, who set a franchise record with his 161st career victory. "To be here where the franchise started, to accomplish that here, was probably too perfect if you draw it up," said Turco. Last Week: 3-0-0 8 7 Atlanta Thrashers (27-15-8) The Thrashers edged the Rangers 3-1 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. But that wasn't exactly stop-the-press news. Atlanta swept this season's two games at MSG and haven't lost there since Oct. 15, 2005. "I don't have any interest in finding out [why]," coach Bob Hartley told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "as long as it keeps going." Despite their MSG success, the Thrashers have been stuck in neutral this month, going 4-4-2. Last Week: 2-1-0 9 10 Vancouver Canucks (27-19-2) A real rarity occurred Tuesday. The Canucks shut out the Canadiens in Montreal for only the second time in their history. The first: Dec. 4, 1991. The win made a nice return to the Bell Centre for Alain Vigneault, who coached the Habs from 1997-2000. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't appreciate the win," he said. Since the Christmas break, the Canucks are 10-1-1. The biggest reason? Roberto Luongo: 10-1 with a 2.05 GAA and .938 save percentage over that span. Last Week: 2-0-1 10 9 Montreal Canadiens (27-17-5) After dropping eight of their last 10, the Habs appear to have righted themselves with back-to-back wins. They earned a solid 4-1 victory over Atlanta on Thursday after being shut out in consecutive games. They also connected on two PP chances after being blanked on 10 in a row, and carried over the momentum with a 4-3 win over Buffalo. But they didn't make it easy on themselves by blowing a three-goal lead. Last Week: 2-2-0

Read on for teams 11-20 ...