In one of the best week’s of hockey we have seen in quite a while, there was a lot of fireworks and action. From Mike Fisher being traded to Nashville (remember the last time a star player got traded to a city potentially because of his wife?), to fans in Detroit booing off their team after getting embarrassed against Nashville, to New York and Pittsburgh throwing town on the ice multiple times this is why I love hockey. The NHL even got lead time on The Mothership (for those who aren’t familiar, it’s ESPN). Gary Bettman needs to do whatever it takes to get hockey off Versus and on ESPN. For me being member of the Hockey Elite, I can get more information and news from the NHL Network than from Versus. I’d be willing to get if you surveyed 95% of fans why call themselves a hockey fan, probably don’t even know a NHL Network exists and can’t find it on their cable television. And NBC is a joke for not mentioning or talking about the brawls during Penguins-Islanders Sunday afternoon. If I was a producer I would show the footage and have the idiot talking head that is Pierre McGuire talk about how fighting like that is part of the game and necessary for the star players to do what they do best: score goals.
| Rank | Team | Last Week | Team Notes |
| 1 | VAN | 2 | Loses Hamhuis, Ballard, and Edler, but will get Salo in return. They are climbing up the ladder as a potential dangerous team in the postseason, especially if the Sedin twins are clicking. |
| 2 | TB | 3 | No matter how Vancouver does this week, if the Lightning can beat both the Flyers and Red Wings at home this week, I might have no other choice but to put them No. 1 in next weeks rankings. |
| 3 | PHI | 1 | Tomorrow night’s game at Tampa should be exciting. Could this be a potential Eastern Finals matchup? They will look even better now they added Kris Versteeg. |
| 4 | DET | 6 | How they respond to getting showered with boos after Wednesdays 4-1 loss against Nashville? Sweep and outscore Boston 10-3. |
| 5 | ANA | NR | 8-2 record in last 10 games, including sweeping a four-game Northwest Division road trip. Anytime you can beat Vancouver on the road, that’s worth two wins anywhere else. |
| 6 | PHX | NR | Another team that’s won four straight. In a tight playoff race where one day you can be fifth and the next out of the playoffs, any win is a important win from here on out. The division is so tight, three points separate first from last. |
| 25 | PIT | 4 | This a team that is falling faster than gravity since Evgeni Malkin went down Feb. 4. Since then they have gone 1-4 and has been clowned in every game they lost. They even got drilled physically and on the scoreboard to the lowly New York Islanders. Look for them to acquire someone before the trade deadline to help the offense. |
| 26 | ATL | NR | This was a team I had high hopes for not too long ago. I thought they could play good hockey and make a playoff run late in the season. But when you go 2-5-3 in your last 10, the season can end quickly. They currently sit ninth in the East, so look for them to make a all-in push late in the season. |
| 27 | COL | 24 | They have lost seven straight games. They were so desperate for offensive help, they had to get Peter Forsberg from the attic to come out. He lasted only two games, seeing he can’t even help this team win. |
| 28 | OTT | 30 | They have not defeated a team from the United States since December 26, then they beat Pittsburgh. That is two wins against the anybody in a span of 17 games. They get two cracks this week as they host New York Islanders and Boston Bruins. |
| 29 | TOR | 28 | They shouldn’t belong on Hockey Night in Canada like the Detroit Lions don’t belong playing on Thanksgiving. They have gone 1-5 in their last six Saturday games. The only win was against Ottawa Jan. 1. Guess who they face this weekend? You got it, the Senators. |
| 30 | EDM | 30 | They haven’t won since before the All-Star break. They do get three chances to win this week as they take on Dallas, Montreal and Atlanta at home. |
