Top 10

CAPSULES AND RANKING

Team (Record): 1. Colorado (12-4-3)

Comment: A 8-0-2 streak makes the Avalanche No. 1. Team hasn’t given up more than three goals in any game during that span.

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Team (Record): 2. Florida (10-2-4)

Comment: Panthers still have the Penguins’ number and contained the streaky Capitals. JohnVanbiesbrouck’s bruised leg won’t stop them.

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Team (Record): 3. Detroit (10-6-2)

Comment: An 8-2-2 run has the Red Wings vying with Dallas and Chicago for Central Division lead.

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Team (Record): 4. Chicago (10-6-2)

Comment: Goalie Ed Belfour stops ‘em; Tony Amonte, Eric Daze and Alexei Zhamnov put ‘em in.

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Team (Record): 5. New Jersey (8-5-1)

Comment: The Devils have won four in a row and given up only three goals. Someday they’ll learn how to play at the other end of the rink.

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Team (Record): 6. Dallas (11-5-0)

Comment: Still wobbling after a fast start. Is Mike Modano leader enough to stop their skid?

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Team (Record): 7. Toronto (8-8-0)

Comment: Golden oldie Wendel Clark has five goals in three games to fuel a 7-3-0 surge.

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Team (Record): 8. Kings (7-7-3)

Comment: A 2-0-2 trip was the heart of a 3-0-3 streak that showed they can hold their own if they don’t panic.

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Team (Record): 9. San Jose (7-7-3)

Comment: Tony Granato and Al Iafrate continue their strong comebacks from brain and kneesurgery, respectively.

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Team (Record): 10. Hartford (7-5-2)

Comment: Plucky Whalers won two of three, despite injuries and illnesses that thinned their defense.

GAME OF THE WEEK

COLORADO at DETROIT

* When--Wednesday.

* Time--4:30. TV--ESPN.

* Storyline--Two of the NHL’s hottest teams meet in this rematch of last spring’s Western Conference finals. Detroit’s defense ranks among the best, but Colorado has tightened defensively without sacrificing offense. Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg are among the top 10 scorers and Keith Jones has four goals in five games since being acquired from Washington. The Red Wings are still waiting for their power play--six for 77, the league’s worst--to show up. Their penalty killing, however, is the league’s best, 94.1%.