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CAPSULES AND RANKINGS

Team (Record): Comment

1. Philadelphia (10-5-3): Flying with 3-0-2 streak.

2. Montreal (11-4-2): Habs win five straight, seven of eight.

3. St. Louis (12-5-2): Big win over Dallas.

4. Detroit (12-3-3): Depth will carry Red Wings.

5. Mighty Ducks (8-6-4): Paul who? They’re 5-2-2.

6. Colorado (8-3-6): Little guns scoring.

7. New Jersey (11-5-0): Perfect penalty killing in last seven.

8. N.Y. Islanders (7-7-3): Solid in 4-2-1 run.

9. Boston (10-6-1): Wins in three of last four.

10. Kings (7-7-4): Many good signs in 4-2-1 stretch.

11. Dallas (10-6-3): Stars lose big to Blues.

12. Ottawa (9-6-3): Lost three of four.

13. Washington (9-7-2): Offense is sputtering.

14. Phoenix (7-7-2): Usual inconsistency.

15. Pittsburgh (8-7-4): Rough spot in 0-2-2 streak.

16. N.Y. Rangers (4-6-7): Looking better in 1-0-2 stretch.

17. Chicago (7-10-1): Revived Blackhawks go 5-0-1.

18. Florida (5-8-3): First back-to-back wins.

19. Carolina (6-9-3): Wins over Detroit, Ottawa.

20. Buffalo (5-8-4): Wait till last year.

21. San Jose (6-11-1): Nice rally to beat Ducks.

22. Edmonton (5-9-4): Oilers’ slide hits 0-3-3.

23. Toronto (4-8-3): Call them the Maple Laughs.

24. Calgary (3-12-4): Uglier and uglier.

25. Vancouver (3-12-2): No GM, no direction.

26. Tampa Bay (2-12-2): Winless in 12 (0-11-1).

GAME OF THE WEEK

COLORADO AT DETROIT

* When--Today. Time--4:30 p.m. TV--ESPN.

* Storyline--This matchup of the last two Stanley Cup winners is sure to be an emotional game. The Red Wings defeated the Avalanche in the Western Conference finals last spring before winning the Cup, avenging their 1996 loss to Colorado. The Red Wings are 2-2-1 in their last five games and have been outscored in that span, 15-13. Are they starting to miss unsigned free agent center Sergei Fedorov, who is back in Russia? The Avalanche is 2-1-2 in its last five, and its power play is two for 24 in that span. Center Peter Forsberg is day to day because of a bruised shoulder. Joe Sakic leads Colorado with 10 goals.