Note: All statistics are through Sunday. BIGGEST CLIMB: Minnesota (14 to 11)
BIGGEST FALL: N.Y. Islanders (15 to 18)
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Sabres fans, you can exhale. Buffalo topped the Panthers on Thursday to snap a season-high four-game slide. The skid got most of the attention, but have you seen what Daniel Briere has been doing? The veteran pivot has seven points in his past five games to move into the top 10 with 86. More good news: Tim Connolly, who hasn't played this season due tothe concussion he suffered in last year's playoffs, and a stress fracture of the knee, skated on his own Monday.
Last Week: 2-0-2
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The Preds have been hit-and-miss lately -- thanks to the Red Wings. The same can't be said for Kimmo Timonen. The blueliner has 14 points in his past 12 games. His two goals on Saturday established a career-high with 52 points. Equally impressive: Nashville's ever-improving power play, which has at least two man-advantage scores in four of the past nine games to climb to 13th in the league. Killing off 18 of 20 penalties in the past five has given the Preds the fourth-ranked PK.
Last Week: 1-2-0
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In addition to taking a home-and-home last week, the Red Wings swept the Preds in Nashville for the first time since 1999-2000 while climbing to 5-1-1 against their Central rival this season. If that's not enough, Detroit has just two regulation losses since Feb. 12 (9-2-3). The biggest reason may be Pavel Datsyuk, who matched a career-high with a 10-game point streak that includes five multipoint games.
Last Week: 2-1-0
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The Ducks made history on Sunday -- even though it came in an embarrassing loss to the lowly Kings. Ryan Getzlaf's assist gave Anaheim six players with at least 50 points for the first time in the franchise's history. He joined Teemu Selanne (86), Andy McDonald (71), Scott Niedermayer (62), Chris Kunitz (55) and Chris Pronger (53). If he catches fire, Dustin Penner (42) could join the club. Only Buffalo and Nashville have more 50-point guys (7).
Last Week: 1-1-1
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Roberto Luongo became the second goalie (joining Marty Brodeur) this season -- and 20th ever -- to win 40 games in a campaign. "It's nice to get the milestone, but it's really not important at this stage of the season," he said. "Every win for me is about playoff position." That position, the No. 3 seed, has improved after the Canucks went 7-1-1 in the past nine games despite a PP that was 4-for-42 during the run. A first-round matchup with the Stars is a high possibility.
Last Week: 2-0-1
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What's going on? Not only was all-world goalie Marty Brodeur pulled for only the second time this season, but the Devils have dropped five straight at home -- their longest skid at Continental Airlines Arena in more than six years. A five-game road trip may actually do this team some good. But the injury bug has bitten hard: Patrik Elias, John Madden and Brian Madden are all sidelined with groin injuries.
Last Week: 1-2-0
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The winning ingredients of late have been stellar goaltending and the No. 1 line of Joe Thornton, Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek, which combined for eight goals and 24 points in the past five games. But that's only average compared to what Evgeni Nabokov and Vesa Toskala have done lately between the pipes. In their last eight games, the duo has has earned four shutouts, tying the team record of 11 set in 2003-04, while turning away 211 of 218 shots.
Last Week: 3-0-1
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I know what you're thinking. The Stars take three of four last week and they drop in the Power Rankings? When it comes to this stretch of the season, it's much more than wins and losses. Dallas beat a solid Calgary squad, but the other wins were over the Flyers and the Coyotes. The Stars came up short against top-tier Nashville, and while they are 14-5-3 in their past 22 games, I'm still not convinced. I'll sprinkle in a positive: the club is 32-14-3 with Mike Modano in the lineup.
Last Week: 3-1-0
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Unlike the Stars, the Pens last week proved they can hang -- and beat -- the NHL's best. After edging the Sabres on Tuesday, Pittsburgh completed a two-night sweep of the East's top two teams with a 3-0 win over the Devils, Jocelyn Thibault's first shutout in more than three years. Winning five straight and going 7-0-1 in their past eight has moved the Pens within two of New Jersey for the Atlantic lead.
Last Week: 4-0-0
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The Sens appear to be firing on all cylinders at the right time -- going 4-0-4 in their past eight and not suffering a regulation loss since March 2. After struggling out of the gate, Ottawa has gotten its special teams near the top (8th PK, 10th PP). Despite seeing Dany Heatley's 16-game point streak end, the Sens knocked off the Flyers 3-2 to sweep their four-game season series. Newbie Mike Comrie came up big with a goal and assist.
Last Week: 3-0-1
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Read on for teams 11-20 ...  |
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