Young, talented Hawks make climb; Flames doused

BIGGEST CLIMB: Chicago (22 to 13)
BIGGEST FALL: Calgary (11 to 19)

Note: All statistics and records are through Sunday.

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NHL Power Rankings Rank LW Team 1 1 Ottawa Senators (14-2-0) How well have they been playing? Saturday's win over the Habs saved them from their first consecutive regulation losses in regular-season play since Dec. 19-21, 2006. Another impressive stat: Daniel Alfredsson has notched eight of his 13 goals in the past eight games. Last Week: 2-1-0 2 2 Detroit Red Wings (13-3-1) Despite holding the best record in the West, the Wings can't get fans in the seats at Joe Louis. Detroit, which had its 452-game sellout streak halted on opening night, is drawing at 86.2 percent capacity (ranked 19th). Too bad. Fans are missing a career-season from Henrik Zetterberg, who I predict will rack up 100-plus points. Last Week: 2-1-0 3 3 Carolina Hurricanes (10-4-3) Ray Whitney has a new nickname: the adapter. After playing a handful of games on a line with Erik Cole and Matt Cullen, the 35-year-old was reunited with Rod Brind'Amour and Justin Williams. His production continued: one goal, six assists in his last four games. Last Week: 2-1-0 4 8 Colorado Avalanche (11-5-1) Paul Stastny continues to amaze. With his three-point performance Sunday against the Wild, the second-year pivot had notched 100 points in 99 career games, just the sixth player in franchise history to reach 100 in 100 or fewer games. His dad, Peter, did it in 73 games. Last Week: 3-0-1 5 10 New York Islanders (9-4-0) I haven't jumped on the Isles' bandwagon, but I have one foot up. When Miroslav Satan scores three straight game-winners, I guess anything can happen, right? Let's see how Ted Nolan's boys handle this tough four-game trip: Philly, Pittsburgh, New Jersey and the Rangers. Last Week: 2-0-0 6 4 Minnesota Wild (9-5-2) Here we go again. The Wild are foundering (2-2 in last four games) with Marian Gaborik out with yet another groin injury. It's no coincidence. "It's 85 percent, but I don't think it's enough," Gaborik told the Star Tribune. "We'll just wait a couple more days." Gabby is expected to play this week. Last Week: 1-1-0 7 5 Philadelphia Flyers (10-6-0) Win, lose, win, lose. That's been the pattern since October 27. One positive: both wins last week came against the Pens, who whitewashed Philly 8-0 in last season's series. Another plus: the Flyers' fourth-ranked PP notched more than one score (4-for-7) for the first time in five games. Last Week: 2-2-0 8 6 Montreal Canadiens (9-4-3) The top-ranked PP unit has been outstanding from Day 1, notching one goal in 12 of 16 games. But the 18th-ranked PK has stepped to the forefront, killing 10 straight situations over the past three games. Last Week: 2-1-0 9 16 New York Rangers (9-7-1) Who was that between the pipes on Saturday? I was under the impression the Rangers had just one goalie. Stephen Valiquette got his first start after Henrik Lundqvist played every minute of the first 16 games. The move paid off as Valiquette led New York to its first road win. Last Week: 3-1-0 10 7 Columbus Blue Jackets (8-5-3) On Saturday and Monday, they dropped consecutive games to the Preds. That's not news. Columbus, 0-7-1 against Nashville last season, is 5-17-2 against its division foe since 2003-04. Despite last week's slide, I'm not about to abandon ship on Ken Hitchcock's crew. Last Week: 0-2-1

Read on for teams 11-20 ...

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