Helene Elliott’s NHL rankings

HELENE ELLIOTT’S NHL RANKINGS

Through Monday’s games (last week’s ranking)

1. San Jose, 16-5-4; Joe Thornton (seven goals, 32 points) zooms to second in scoring race. Dany Heatley leads NHL with 18 goals (1).

2. Chicago, 15-5-2; Backup goalie Antti Niemi outduels Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo for shutout in Blackhawks’ seventh straight victory. (6)

3. New Jersey, 14-6-1; Devils’ 0-2-1 streak is first adversity this season. Dainius Zubrus joins long injured list. (2)

4. Washington, 13-5-6; Injuries are wearing Capitals down. They missed seven regulars in shootout loss at Toronto on Saturday. (3)

5. Calgary, 13-6-3; Jarome Iginla has 12 goals in 10 games, the Flames only consistent scorer. (7)

6. Detroit, 11-7-4; Defenseman Niklas Kronwall will miss at least four weeks after taking an ugly knee-on-knee hit from Montreal’s Georges Laraque. (10)

7. Buffalo, 12-6-2; Sabres haven’t scored more than three goals in any of their nine games this month. Defense and Ryan Miller’s goaltending has saved them. (4)

8. Philadelphia, 12-8-1; Losing Blair Betts (dislocated shoulder) and Darroll Powe (injured left shoulder) will effect the penalty killing and depth. (5)

9. Pittsburgh, 16-8-0; Five of their top six defensemen have missed time because of injuries. Martin Skoula has stepped up and played key minutes. (11)

10. Dallas, 11-6-6; Stars have won two straight games only twice this season. First quarter was a mixed bag under new coach Marc Crawford. (18)

11. Columbus, 12-7-3; Derek Dorsett was placed on injured reserve after suffering a concussion on a hit by Dallas’ James Neal last week. (16)

12. Kings, 13-9-2; Loss of Ryan Smyth (upper-body injury) resonates. They need more depth and secondary scoring and consistently sharper goaltending. (8)

13. Ottawa, 12-6-3; Senators have scored 18 goals in winning four straight. Goalie Pascal Leclaire was hurt Saturday, but Brian Elliott got the win and won again Monday. (20)

14. Nashville, 13-8-1; Predators bouncing back after 3-6-1 start and have won six in a row. But the hurdles for them are always size and depth. (19)

15. Vancouver, 12-11-0; Daniel Sedin returned Sunday after missing 18 games because of a broken leg, but Canucks got shut out by Blackhawks. (14)

16. Colorado, 14-7-3; A surprisingly good start has faded. Young Avalanche needs strong leadership to stay in the playoff picture. (9)

17. Phoenix, 13-10-1; Coyotes are hanging tough, going 3-2-1 in last five. They’re reportedly looking at 47-year-old Chris Chelios, now in the American Hockey League. (13)

18. Tampa Bay, 9-5-7; Overtime goal by Steven Stamkos at Atlanta leaves Lightning 2-1-1 on tough trip. Stamkos leads Bolts with 15 goals. (15)

19. Florida, 10-9-3; Panthers pull off a sweep on tough trip to Buffalo, Detroit and New York. They’re 7-2-2 since an awful start. (25)

20. Boston, 11-8-4; Things are looking up for Bruins: they won first three on four-game trip and Marc Savard (broken foot) returned Monday. (22)

21. N.Y. Rangers, 12-10-1; Seven goal spree against Columbus ends three-game home losing streak. Chris Drury progressing after suffering a concussion on Nov. 7. (12)

22. Atlanta, 10-7-3; Evander Kane, the fourth overall pick in last June’s entry draft, ranks second among rookies with seven goals. (17)

23. N.Y. Islanders, 9-8-7; Dwayne Roloson makes career high 58 saves to beat Maple Leafs. Kings castoff Matt Moulson thriving with team-high 11 goals. (21)

24. Montreal, 11-11-1; Rumors say Canadiens are actively trying to trade Sergei and Andrei Kostitsyn. They need help with Brian Gionta (broken foot) out long-term. (23)

25. Edmonton, 10-11-3; Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin’s back problems are worrisome. Injuries and illness continue to sink the Oilers, who had a long team meeting Sunday. (24)

26. Minnesota, 8-12-2; With five forwards injured or ill, Wild takes a chance and claims former Ducks center Andrew Ebbett on waivers from Chicago. (27)

27. Ducks, 8-11-3; Ryan Getzlaf is hitting stride, giving them some hope of turning this misery around. They’re eight points out of eighth place in the West. Ouch. (26)

28. St. Louis, 8-9-4; Loss kills Blues’ hopes of winning three straight for first time this season. (28)

29. Carolina, 5-13-5; Loss to Dallas ended streak of points in five straight games. Win over Lightning on Saturday was only second in regulation for Hurricanes, though they now have points in five straight games. (30)

30. Toronto, 4-11-7; Maple Leafs turn their helmets around and rally to beat Washington in shootout. Next up: turn the season around. Not so easy. (29).